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How To Develop Your Signature Style

The amount of messaging we receive regarding how we should look and what we should wear is insane. In this “everyone is a star” era driven by social media, the pressure to conform, while standing out at the same time, is exhausting.

I’m going to put all of my cards on the table here, if you’re looking for a stylist who gives a shit about trends or if something is “in or out” – I’m not your girl.

The jacket I have on right now is over ten years old – and I got it on sale.

Whether you love the jacket or not, my outfit today still looks current and most importantly, it looks like me.

Think about it; all of the celebrities that are best known for their style (aka style icons) seem to transcend time with their looks. For example photos of Jackie O from the 1960s look just as chic today as they did back then.

So what do those icons have that you don’t?

A signature style.

I’m going to teach you how to get started on developing your signature style.

Step 1: Set Some Goals

Before we even begin to think about clothes, we need to think about your goals. Every season I go through this style development process and what I wear ties directly in with my goals. If my goal is to advance in my career, then I need to focus on my work wardrobe. If I am single and don’t want to be, then the focus needs to be a date-worthy wardrobe.
So what are your goals? Close your eyes, and I want you to envision your goals happening. Picture them going exactly as planned. Now open your eyes. What were you wearing?

Step 2: Identify Your Icons

Now that you can see your bright future, you need a little inspiration to help you get there. Identify at least ten celebrities, influencers, TV/ movies characters, political figures, models … anyone who’s style you admire. Now here is the kicker, their style has to line up with your goals.

Step 3: Get Pinning

Your icons are set, so the next step is to get your imagery all in one place. I use Pinterest for myself, my clients, and all of my Personal Style University members use it as well. Such an amazing tool to stay organized and inspired.

Those first three steps will get you moving in the right direction so start there. I will warn you that step 2 is the most challenging step. It sounds simple, but you’d be surprised at how easy it is to draw a blank. Do me a favor and help each other out by commenting below with your favorite icon. I also have a complete list inside of Personal Style University.

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Fashion Tips for Teens

I love it when my work has an impact more substantial than just making women look cute. I mean looking cute rocks, but how awesome would it be to change your family tree with style?

Now we’re cooking with grease.

Know what I’m sayin?
Check out this post from one of my Personal Style University members …
“Personal finance guru Dave Ramsey is fond of saying that learning to control your money can “change your family tree.” I’m seeing that making an effort to look your best can too. I come from a long line of geeks, and my mom wears literally no makeup or jewelry simply because she doesn’t see the need.
After my first run through of PSU, I did a closet cleanse for my kids and started making outfits for them. My daughter has picked up the habit. She’s been so excited to start wearing her jackets. I was walking by the bathroom and found her OOTD hanging on the door.”

That post made my day.

As children, we were never really taught how to style ourselves. We were left to our devices when it comes to this important daily task. I can remember being a kid, and especially when I was a teen, struggling to fit in and accept my appearance.
What if we were taught some basic styling principles early on? How would that affect our self-confidence? How would a boost of confidence impact other areas of our lives?
Some food for thought …
In today’s video, I am sharing some styling tips for teens. I also definitely sound like an old lady! LOL.
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How To Set Your Closet Up For Success

“Serious development of the personality begins at the closet door” – William James

Look at William James, the father of American psychology serving up some truth from the great beyond.

As true as that quote is, this is the number one issue I see with so many of my clients. When the going gets tough, the tough cleans out their closet like an unsupervised child in a candy store.

I blame Marie Kondo. Everyone latched onto her “sparks joy” catchphrase and immediately tossed everything from their closet.

So I say Screw Marie Kondo because this is how you set your closet up for success.

Today I am going to share with you:

  • The secret weapon for cleaning out your closet like a pro – it doesn’t cost a penny and pretty much everyone has one.
  • The one-sheet that will change the way you shop and get dressed – it certainly did for me.
  • The thought-provoking question that will change the way you get dressed forever.

Read to begin?

Lesson 1: Your Secret Closet-Cleansing Weapon

The biggest mistake people when cleaning out their closet is going at it alone. I’ve cleansed hundreds of closets throughout my career, and the reason they were so successful is that I was there. I know what you’re thinking, “well duh you’re a stylist.” But that’s not it because I can’t successfully clean out my closet without having a partner in crime there to keep me honest.

So here is your first tip. Never clean out your closet alone! Find your most honest friend or family member and then proceed with the cleanse.

Lesson 2: The Ultimate Wardrobe Checklist

Am I the only one who gets a little high when I check something off of my to-do list? Just me? Ok.

Even as a stylist it took me years to discover the importance of having a closet full of basics that I could mix and match to create endless outfit combinations. Everything in my closet was loud, busy, and if I’m honest with myself, nothing went together.

So I created a list of items that would help make my wardrobe more functional, I call it The Ultimate Wardrobe Checklist.

This is what I want you to do … print out your checklist, grab a pen, your closet cleaning buddy, and get to work. Mark all of the items that you own (and are in good condition) and the unchecked items will migrate over to your shopping list.

This sets you up for shopping success and ensures you won’t get rid of valuable pieces in your closet. We’ll go into styling those pieces later, all of that is covered in Personal Style University.

Lesson 3: Pop The Question

Ok, final lesson in setting up your closet for success … pop the question. The question that changes everything. Ready for it?

How do you want to be perceived?

This is the new “sparks joy.” This magical little question also puts you in the driver’s seat. You aren’t changing your style to be cute; you are changing the narrative and ultimately improving your life.

Do you want to perceived as sexy or powerful? Smart or sassy? Trustworthy and free-spirited?

When you get clear on your answer, this again provides more clarity regarding what stays and what goes during your closet cleanse.

So let’s recap what you learned today …

1.) That your sometimes annoying brutally honest friend or family members is your greatest ally during the closet cleansing process.

2.) Santa isn’t the only who can benefit from a list. The Ultimate Wardrobe Checklist is the start of your style blueprint.

3.) Going deeper by asking one little question will change the way you get dressed.

Believe it or not, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to cleaning out your closet (there’s a reason top stylists charge thousands to do this for you.) But fear not, inside of Personal Style University I teach you all the secrets, and I even support you while you clean out your closet inside our private community.

But for now, identify your partner in crime, print out that list, and start asking yourself that magical little question.

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How To Look Stylish After A Workout

During my vacation to Asia, I did something crazy.
I worked out every single day of the trip.
Maybe that doesn’t sound crazy to you, but as a person who always packs workout clothes but never actually uses them – this is huge.
I came back from the tip looking better than when I left. Not typical for a traveling Lauren.
These workouts would often transition into a new activity fairly quickly — a quick coffee (tea for me), or meeting with new friends.
Looking anything less than cute wasn’t an option.
In today’s video, I am sharing some simple styling tricks that will take your from sweaty to chic.
Free Style Resources

5 Steps to Style

Style. You either have it or you don’t, right?

Wrong!

Looking good can be learned.

Think about some of the most beautiful people in the world and their “before they were famous” photos. Yikes. Am I right?

They were all put through the “Hollywood carwash” aka fancy stylists, hairdressers, makeup artists, media training, etc. by people who learned those skills.

Who is to say you can’t learn those same skills to look like a million bucks?!

Growing up I always loved fashion, but that didn’t mean I was stylish. Honestly, I cringe when I think back on some of my old outfits, but I was determined to figure out this whole looking good thing. And that’s exactly what I did.

Cut to I’m now paid to make people look good.

I’ve spent the past decade and some change working as a personal stylist. I’ve worked with thousands of women to transform their style using five simple steps. Yep, I was turning 7’s into 10’s for a living. Not to brag (okay I’m bragging), but at one point I had 42-person waiting list full of women who wanted to work with me.

Since I don’t have a little army of Lauren’s to style the clients I would never have the time to serve, I re-engineered my five steps to style giving women the power to dress themselves successfully.

Today I’m going to walk you through those five steps:

Step 1: Clear Out The Past

To reinvent yourself, you need to clear out the past – I’m talking the mental muck that is preventing you from showing up as your most authentic badass self, and the actual junk that is hanging in your closet.

Step 2: Develop Your Sense of Style

Once you’ve cleared the decks, and set up a solid foundation, it’s time to rebuild by developing a style that is completely unique to you, your goals, your lifestyle, and your body.

Step 3: Shop Like A Stylist

Contrary to popular belief, most women hate shopping. It’s stressful, and when nothing ever fits, it makes us feel bad about our bodies. Oh, and can we talk about how expensive it is? All of that stress is kicked to the curb when you use the shopping secrets all of the top stylists’ use (including myself)

Step 4: Putting It All Together

You know what you want, heck you even bought it but how the heck do you put Pinterest-worthy outfits together. It’s not as hard as it looks. A couple of tips … 1.) Planning pays and 2.) Outfit formulas will set you up for success

Step 5: Maintain and Evolve

In this final step, we end the vicious cycle of wanting to burn your whole entire closet down after your new clothes high wears off. It’s all about maintaining the clothes you’ve got, reworking them in fresh ways, and evolving your sense of style as your life gets more awesome.

Oh yes, your life WILL get more awesome when you activate these five steps into your life.

If you think about it, your outfits are like your vehicle for navigating life. Every piece of clothing you wear helps paints a picture of your life. The fabulous first date outfit you wore for your now husband. The great suit that landed you your dream job. The right outfit is like wearing a Ferrari; the wrong outfit is like rocking a Pinto.

What steps have you taken to improve your style?

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How to Dress Better Without Buying Anything New


In high school, I had the ugliest pair of jeans. They didn’t start off ugly; I made them ugly.

I wanted to stand out, so I punched holes all across the bottoms, then I tied ribbons to the holes: not fabric ribbons, but curling ribbon – the kind that’s used to wrap gifts.

Ouch.

They were terrible, but the concept was good.

I was doing my best to reinvent what was already hanging in my closet since my mom wasn’t into buying me new clothes every five minutes.

Even today I can certainly relate to not being able to buy new clothes whenever I please. Between being a responsible adult (aka keeping the budget in check), and limited closet space – style reinvention is crucial.

These days it isn’t about adding ribbons (unless that’s your thing), it’s more about finding new ways to wear old clothes.

In today’s video, I am sharing some of my best-kept secrets, in fact, I usually only share them with my Personal Style University members but I’m feeling nice, so here you go!

>> WATCH NOW <<

Operation Live Life

QUIZ: Do You Need A Style Upgrade?

Style. It matters and I’m going to prove it to you.

I’m going to walk you through a little style quiz to see where you’re at with your style. Don’t worry you aren’t being graded, answer as honestly as you can:

 

1.) Do you love the way you look right now?

2.) Are you feeling like a ten on the confidence scale?

3.) If you ran into an ex, old friend, or a client would you be embarrassed because of your appearance?

4.) Do you feel comfortable in your clothes? Nothing is riding up, or showing those extra cookies you wolfed down during a This Is Us cry-fest?

5.) Are you a little too comfortable in your clothes? Like a baggy, sloppy, stretchy mess.

6.) What’s the state of your closet?

7.) Is that chair in your bedroom being covered up by a pile of failed outfit attempts?

8.) Have you recently experienced a “closet meltdown”? Aka a toddler level outburst that happens when you can’t figure out what to wear

10.) Do you love everything in your closet or just a measly 20%?

 

I hope you didn’t answer yes to any of those questions, but something tells me that you did to at least one of them.

Now lets quickly envision the polar opposite of that experience…

You spring out of bed happy to start your day. When you fling open your closet doors, you feel inspired. You love everything hanging in your closet, and the outfit possibilities are endless. You feel sexy, cool, and confident because you aren’t tugging at your skirt and you’ve properly highlighted your best assets. All of this and you haven’t even walked out the door. After you head to work, you are stunned by the number of people smiling at you; some are even stopping you on the street to pay you a compliment.

This can be your reality.

Now I know getting dressed can be hard work, if it were that easy then everyone would be walking around looking like models and movie stars. And I get it; it’s so much easier to flip your wrist and say, “Style is dumb. It’s superficial. People should like me for me.”

They SHOULD, but they don’t.

In order for people to like you, trust you, spend money with you, date you, marry you … whatever! They need to get to know you first. How you look/what you wear is the trailer to a great movie. We need to be enticed by the trailer before we spend money on the movie.

It takes people less than 7 seconds to form an opinion about you. Do you know how they’re gathering their data? By looking at you. Seven seconds isn’t enough time to win anyone over with your personality.

Let’s get real; people are judging you.

This is going to sound crazy, but honestly, this is GOOD NEWS.

You get to change the narrative; you get to fully express your best most powerful self through style.

This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “retail therapy.”

You can start dressing like the woman you were meant to be right now. You can look and feel polished and put together – without looking like you tried too hard! But more importantly, you can dress for the life you WANT.

I’ve dressed my way into career success, body confidence, more fun, and love.

Do you think style matters?

Business Badass

A Day in the Life of an Stylist: Launching the Style Planner

Wanna know the coolest part about running your own business? Doing whatever the f*ck you want!!!

Seriously.

Right now, as I type this email, I am sitting at my dining room table eating a peppermint cookie while looking at my adorable dog Yohji. The cookie is delicious, btw.

As glorious as that is, that isn’t the type of freedom that I’m talking about.

You see, in another lifetime I worked in corporate America. I sat in a cubicle and witnessed just how long it took for an idea to go from inception to execution.

It took FOREVER!

500 emails, 55 meetings, and there was still a chance your big idea would get shot down in the end.

Now that I am running the show, I can essentially think of something and then do it.

However, just because the process is fast, doesn’t mean it’s easy.

>>WATCH NOW<<

In today’s video, I am giving you a little behind the scenes look at the making of my first physical product – The Style Solution print edition. 

Holy smokes there was more to this process than just hitting “print” and “add to cart” … it was hard work!!!

I know it will all pay off in the end though because the finished product is going to be breathtaking. The first batch of orders ships out on Friday. Eeekkk!! Order your copy before they sell out.

Style How-To's, The Science of Style

The Truth About Your Closet

Your closet should be a reflection of who you are. It should tell pleasant stories of your past and give us a glimpse into your beautiful feature. For most women, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Psychologist William James says, “Serious development of the personality takes place at the closet door.”

The truth is most of our closets are a mess. They are snapshots of painful memories, reminders of the bodies we’ve left behind, and they aren’t representing our bright and powerful futures. Nine out of ten women own at least one item of clothing they have never worn. Never put it on once! This fact is only true for 1/3 of men. Craziness! The majority of women wear less than 50% of the clothes they own; this is true of only one out of five men.

So what the heck is going on in our closets? Why aren’t we wearing what we buy?

Well in case you didn’t know, clothing can be used as a way to manage your mood or change it completely. Women are more sensitive to different moods and have a ton more of them than men- thank you hormones! So maybe that is why we need to have more clothes in our closets than men. Men usually have a smaller collection of garments so of course, they are wearing them more often.

Most people wear between a quarter and a half of their wardrobe regularly – women who are unhappy or stressed this proportion the percentage of their closet that they neglect was more significant.

So next time your husband gives you shit for not wearing what you own, blame it on your hormones. Kidding, a little. To me, this means we need to cleanse our closets more often, so we don’t get into these states of having a closet that doesn’t represent who we are and one that doesn’t make us feel good every single time we stand in front of it.

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Organizational Tools To Help Get Your Closet In Order

One of my favorite things to do on a Sunday afternoon is to take a walk through The Grove with my dog Yohji.

We hit all of our favorite spots; Nordstrom, Sephora, Anthropologie, The Dog Bakery, World Market, and The Container Store.

The trip always ends with The Container Store because obviously, we want to save the best for last. The truth is I am an absolute sucker for closet gadgets, organizational tools, and little doodads for the office.


#YohjiDog at The Container Store

Some more truth …

I often search out The Container Store for inspiration, and then I take my booty to Amazon.com to score those goodies for less.

Well, I decided it was time to give The Container Store some of my hard earned cash (they deserve it after months of window shopping), and I am showing off my finds in a little haul video.


>>WATCH NOW<<

Take a look and please let me know in the comments if you’ve tried any of these products. While you’re commenting go ahead and share your favorite finds so I can pick them up on my next shopping trip.

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