“Olive already looks in the mirror and says she doesn’t like the way she looks” - said my mum friend about her 5 year old.

What can be the reason for a 5 year old to have a negative opinion of the way she looks?

We form our opinions based on everything we observe around us:

TV;
Social media;
Friends and colleagues;
We model the behaviour of our parents while growing up

My mission is to contribute to our next generation’s positivity and confidence around their appearance and style. So I came up with an easy to follow 3-step method of finding out your own unique style formula, so you can be comfortable, confident and have fun with your wardrobe and pass these good vibes to the others:

My method is called CEO and it stands for:

C - Comfort

E - Environment

O - Occasion

1. COMFORT.

If you are not comfortable in what you are wearing you can’t come across as your true self. I’m not suggesting you put on a trek suit 7 days a week. Comfort can mean different things to different people.

Here are a few questions to guide you towards the right level of comfort for you. I divide comfort into physical and emotional.

First, physical:

1. What kind of shapes are you comfortable with? Do you like loose silhouettes or fitted?

2. Do you like soft textures or the ones which can hold shape?

3. Do you prefer natural fibres like linen, silk, cashmere or would you rather go for a synthetic mix?

4. Do you like wearing a high neck or would you rather let your neck breathe?

5. Do you like your hair sleek or messy?

And now let’s talk about your emotional comfort:

1. What kind of dresser are you? Do you dress for practical reasons or do you express yourself through clothes?

2. Do you like to be sassy or modest in your choices?

3. What is your heritage/origin/family history? I find that showing it through in your prints/shapes/colours always helps to come up with your style formula.

For more visual examples go here:

https://www.mindoverfashion.com/journal/how-i-explained-self-love-to-my-7-year-old

Now, let’s move on to the second part of the CEO method:

ENVIRONMENT:

This is when we think about the people around us and the line of thought they might have when they communicate with us. Your style needs to be aligned with:

Your essence/character
Your line of work or your lifestyle
Your surroundings

Why? Because one of the basic human needs is connection. And faster the person next to you can digest your look - faster they will be able to concentrate on what you are saying - faster you will be able to connect with them, whether it’s conscious or subconscious.

Here are a couple of examples.

1. Health / holistic medicine sector.

Train of thought:

Health -> Nature -> Natural fibre -> Natural fabrics

Consider natural fabrics, natural colours, soft lines, texture, natural make-up and hair.

2. AI advisor.

Train of thought:

AI -> Future technology -> Futuristic -> Sleek lines -> Shiny Textures

Consider sleek minimalistic lines, shiny textures and fabrics, sleek hair.

3. Potter.

Train of thought:

Pottery -> Messy/creative -> Apron/dungarees

Now let’s move on to O for OCCASION.

You can have variations within your style to cater for different types of occasions.

You don’t need to have a few completely different styles within your wardrobe to cater for different occasions / clients / groups of friends, as this will become confusing to you and those around you. Just tweak your style slightly, depending on the dress code and stay true to yourself.

Which occasions have you got in your life?

Office
Working from home
Zoom/online presence
Going out with the kids
Date-nights
Parties with friends
Etc…

I hope you found my CEO method useful!

I go into nitty gritty of this method inside my membership, which is about to reopen it’s doors for new members next week! So look out for my newsletter in a couple of days 😉