Podcast 80: How to Find Your Own Style with Diane Miller
Aug 26, 2021
This week on Holistic Business Matters I’m joined by stylist and life coach Diane Miller.
Diane’s approach isn’t telling clients what they should be wearing, instead, she looks to help them create a style that's authentic and fitting to them as an individual.
We chat about how to create your own personal style and how it impacts your personal brand as a practitioner.
Being your authentic self
Diane helps people turn up as their authentic selves with confidence and takes the stress out of getting dressed, often through wardrobe decluttering.
She helps her clients understand who they are, through the clothes. They uncover why and how they came to have specific pieces to understand how clients want to portray themselves.
A vast wardrobe with nothing to wear
There’s often a big difference between a man’s and a woman’s wardrobe - men generally get away with trousers, shirts and jackets. Women can be overwhelmed with the choice and types of clothes, and end up with vast wardrobes, but still nothing to wear.
They then grab what they feel safe dressed in - wearing 20% of their wardrobe 80% of the time.
By reducing the number of pieces in their wardrobe, Diane’s clients no longer feel exhausted by trying to put together outfits. Essentially, they will have a core selection of clothes that can be combined to suit any occasion that they feel great in.
Discover your style personality
Coaching is a skill that Diane uses to discover someone’s style personality. This can differ from what someone actually wears or even thinks they should like.
Women often play safe by purchasing clothes that don’t represent their true personalities. Diane encourages clients to explore the meaning of words related to style to find their style personality. For example, one client loved the idea of being a ‘Diva’, so Diane encouraged her to try ‘Diva’ on and test out how it feels.
This can take Diane’s clients completely out of their comfort zone.
Implementing your true style personality can be unnerving if you change everything at once. Give yourself permission to play dress up and experiment by switching one accessory at a time.
First impressions
Diane admits that first impressions are important and whilst we may not like to admit it, we judge others on their appearance. We assume people portray an image that confirms they are, who we think they are.
As well as the style of clothes, the colours and textures affect first impressions and influence people’s perception of us. Our clothes are our uniform or even our armour metaphorically speaking.
For example, dark colours and tightly woven fabrics are authoritative, pink is considered feminine, and blue is trustworthy.
Using colours and paying attention to the type of fabric your clothes are made from can enhance first impressions and help clients decide you’re the practitioner they want to work with.
Our choice of clothes
As practitioners, we are our brand - what we wear and how we style ourselves affect how we’re perceived by clients and prospective clients.
You can even create your own uniform (if you don’t have one) where you step into your version of ‘Diva’ when you put it on.
Ultimately, you can use your clothes to build your confidence, reflect your branding and show up how you want to, for your clients.
Podcast 80 show notes:
- (01.57) Being your authentic self
- (04.00) A vast wardrobe with nothing to wear
- (07.00) Discover your style personality
- (13.42) First impressions
Find out more about Diane Miller and her work:
