Carla B Styling

Inspiring confident individual style

Real Personal Styling: Styling V's Influencing

Recently I have been canvassing my local area to enlist the help of other local, independent businesses to learn from them and potentially partner with them. My faith in humanity has been restored as I’ve been met time after time with enthusiasm and warmth and understanding that I am not alone - others have gone before me and are still going strong, working hard. My business is personal styling and through my conversations on my travels about town I began to realise that perhaps the role of a Personal Stylist needs a little more explanation. Could you describe what a personal stylist does?

Being stylish is not about incorporating every latest trend into your wardrobe or even just a few. It's not nailing the outfit formulas adopted and advised by your favourite influencers. They have never met you and likely do not look like you, in short - they are not you! Neither is it having the ‘IT’ bag or the ‘IT’ shoe. There will always be another ‘IT’ something or other next week. So personal styling is not really about fashion, though having said that there are ways of looking current rather than outdated.

So what IS personal styling? It’s personal! What looks good on you may not look nearly as good on someone else and vice versa. This is down to various factors like body proportions, skin tone, hair colour, lifestyle, emotional associations and even personal history. How we dress, whether we realise it or not, expresses to the world who we are and how we feel about ourselves. Being stylish is understanding what types of clothes flatter your individual proportions and enhance your overall appearance. It’s comprehending that although a piece may flatter you, it does not suit your style personality. It’s grasping colour theory and combining colours in a way that sit well and make your outfits cohesive and pleasing. It’s caring about your appearance, dressing for yourself and feeling well in what you wear, expressing yourself and gaining confidence. For some people this comes naturally but for others getting dressed daily is a wearisome exercise that exhausts you before you even leave the house!.

A qualified stylist can ask all the right questions to understand you physically and emotionally. We can navigate the minefield of conflicting advice all over social media and fashion magazines. We can work with you to teach you skills and give you tools to create outfits that make you feel confident, happy and motivated, but most importantly, make you feel like you. We can work with items already in your wardrobe and help you to streamline your wardrobe so that getting dressed is not a chore but fun and enjoyable.

We can help you buy new pieces that will stand the test of time and work with everything else in your wardrobe. (This does not have to cost the earth - literally. Pre-loved is loving the planet and your bank balance). We can analyse your skin undertone so that the colours you wear will always make you look your best rather than tired or a bit ‘under the weather’. A good stylist will not put their style onto you but work with you to uncover your unique style so that you can continue dressing yourself with ease and confidence long after you’ve met them.

If authentic, confident, style is something you’re searching for then making an investment in a personal styling service is something you’ll likely want to consider. Like with any services you purchase you will want to research a stylist and choose one you feel a connection to from their website or social media. Lots of us have a colourful work history that enhances all the services we offer. For me, I am a qualified mental health counsellor and educational trainer which helps me to empathise and understand a client's mindset easily, helping them to define and articulate their needs and wants. The feedback I receive confirms this. I love empowering people with tools and knowledge and then watching them flourish. Creating self-sufficiency is incredibly motivating for me.

Unfortunately, the personal styling business is unregulated so anyone with a passion for clothes and/or fashion can call themselves a stylist. Before parting with your hard earned cash, just make sure they have a passion for you too!