“Dig out something in your wardrobe you feel fantastic in” she said, and there it was in one sentence the realisation I hadn’t felt fantastic in anything since well before my 50th birthday, which just happened to be accompanied by my first hot flush and a set of reading glasses!
As preparation for the next WDF meeting in Jersey – Does Image Matter? – Our guest speaker Kay Davidson from ASKAY offered to demonstrate her wardrobe workout service for me. Ahead of us exploring the link between female confidence and image, as well as how we both judge others and are judged ourselves on how we look.
Kay arrived looking both casual and polished – how is that possible? To find me having spent a couple of hours ransacking my wardrobe, with the result that I’d actually found a skirt and top combination, never tried before, that seemed to work well. “What do you think?” I asked tentatively, “Great” she said “but it’s too long” and within 2 seconds she’d made a few adjustments which I had to admit really made a big difference.
“You’ve got great legs” Kay remarked “Stop hiding them”. “WHAT!” was my instant reply, having always considered my legs definitely something to be covered with as much fabric as possible. Which got us on to the subject of naming the parts of my body I like, impossible to do it would seem, without first drawing attention to all the bits I don’t like.
Kay’s advice was simple – identify your best bits and focus attention on them, do not focus on hiding the bits you don’t like. Over the next couple of hours Kay showed me how to transform outfits with assessories, revolutionised my thinking on hem length and assembled a number of “new” outfits from my existing wardrobe. (Also creating a large pile of alterations in the process by the way!)
“Now you’re smiling” she said, and indeed I was. The following day I wore one of my newly assembled outfits to a meeting with a colleague, the first thing she said was – “you look nice”, which of course made me smile some more.
A huge lesson in how making a few adjustments to what I wear can raise my mood, put a spring back in my step and create a general sense of wellbeing. Now if that isn’t a recipe for more confidence I don’t know what is!