Many of my blogs are dedicated to inner beauty. This one is all about outer style. I am such a big believer that our inner and outer beauty are so closely interlinked. To quote Miranda Kerr, “Beauty is not physical, it’s a way of thinking about yourself – it comes from within. Women who radiate inner beauty are attractive to everyone around them.” Miranda herself is a glowing example of this. She literally radiates beauty from within. All those who know her or have met her talk about what a beautiful, kind-hearted woman she is. Yet at the same time she exists, very successfully, in a very material world. To this end she is always beautifully styled and groomed, both on and off the runway. She takes good care of herself on both the inside and the outside.
If we focus only on nurturing our inner beauty and neglect our physical appearance, in my view, we are selling ourselves short. Similarly, if we focus only on our outer appearance and neglect our inner beauty we are selling ourselves short. Ultimately, I believe we can live a richer, more fulfilling life if we connect with, cultivate and celebrate our inner beauty. I have experienced this first hand in my own life and know many other beautiful, successful women who have also. Equally though, such an amazing sense of self-appreciation, respect and love (a.k.a. Aprelo) can come through taking pride in our physical appearance. It’s about creating the perfect harmony between inner beauty and outer style. If we feel confident in ourselves outwardly, in terms of our clothing, accessories, hair and make-up, this can have a material (pardon the pun) effect on how we feel inwardly. Just think of how life changing it can be for the contestants on makeover programs.
I am however, passionate that outer styling should be all about enhancing our natural beauty; making the best of what we inherently have. Our clothing, accessories, hair and make up can be used as a fabulous celebration of who we intrinsically are, not a disguise behind which we hide. In my view, there’s nothing attractive about an inch of foundation, or butchering ourselves with plastic surgery so we no longer resemble our true being.
One of the most amazing things I have done for myself in a long time, actually perhaps ever, is to get styled! It was some of the best money I have ever spent. Just over a year ago I invited a stylist into my home for four indulgent hours of personal styling, including an image consultation, colour consultation, make-up consultation and wardrobe review.
Now before you go dissing “colours”, thinking that they’re better off left back in the 80’s, let me preface things by saying that a colour consultation isn’t what it used to be. It’s no longer about summer, autumn, winter and spring. There’s been progress. There are 14 possible colour combinations that are personally matched based on skin tone and eye colour.
Now let me also say that I am a Melbourne girl. In Melbourne we wear black. 90% of my wardrobe was black. If in doubt, I would always buy black. It was my safe option, my sexy option, my skinny option… Well, it was pretty much my only option. I didn’t even see colour hanging on the racks. It was always straight to the black. You can imagine the shock on my face when my stylist did my colours and black didn’t even get a look in!! OMG!!!
Much to my girlfriends’ delight (they continue to benefit from my discarded wardrobe items which I have been, one by one, slowly letting go), it has been out with the black and in with the bold. Lashings of orange, blue, green, coral, aqua, purple, gold and tan (yes tan is my new staple for accessories) have slowly nudged black out and made themselves at home in my wardrobe. In 2011 I embraced colour blocking and in 2012 I love that tangerine has been dubbed the new red (red isn’t in my colours either!). I can’t tell you how much better, brighter and more beautiful I feel putting on splashes of colour each day, especially knowing they are complementing my natural beauty. It really has been a life changing experience. Not to mention the positive impact it’s had gaining a better understanding of which styles to avoid because they make my legs look short, my butt look big, or my boobs look small and which styles to embrace as they enhance my natural curves. Life changing. I highly recommend.
Shopping has become a breeze. By knowing the styles and colours that are flattering I can instantly rule out whole sections of a store and make a B-line for the shapes and colours that work on me. Online shopping is also less of a gamble as I know what flatters my body and what doesn’t. …and the savings I have made on avoiding purchases that will hang in the cupboard never to be worn! (Well I must confess there have also been additional purchases that I’ve just had to have because they’ve been in my style and colour, but there have been no regrets!)
Has anyone else had a similar experience you would like to share?
If you’re interested in being styled, Loveena Guilford of Styled With Love will be conducting a styling workshop at the Up Yourself and Fabulous retreat in March. Come along. We would love to see you there! It’s the perfect opportunity to pamper your inner beauty and hone your outer style.
This blog post was written by Gabrielle Aitken, Inner Beauty Stylist and inspirer of Appreciation, Respect and Love (a.k.a. Aprelo).
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