Yesterday I was online wardrobe planning with a client on Zoom and I thought I’d share a little about what we do in these sessions and how they work.

I love connecting with my clients in this way, having a cup of tea and a catch up before styling up outfits or planning their new season wardrobe. All my style consultancy, personal shopping and styling sessions are done remotely, which makes them focused and fun! 

We always start with a check-in, taking some time to reflect on what’s changed, what’s working and what’s not. True Style is a continually evolving response to your inner and outer journey. A lot happens in 6 months. Especially this past 6 months! 

This client’s life has changed dramatically on many levels – changes which we will reflect and celebrate in her evolving style. She’s shifted from a very busy career, with a dynamic single social life and lots of travel to an equally busy, but more casually dressed professional life, a new partner and 3 new stepchildren. There’s more time spent gardening and retrieving items of clothing from her teenage stepdaughter and less air travel and fancy events. It’s a beautiful blossoming in so many ways and a joy to collaborate from the sidelines.

My clients lead very different lives in very different locations around the world, yet there is synergy like never before. Everyone is experiencing big shifts, everyone is more carefully considering their lifestyle and choices, becoming more discerning of what they choose to keep in their lives (and wardrobes) and what they choose to let go. The two are more connected than you might think.

Sometimes physical changes spark a new look, sometimes it’s a change in lifestyle and sometimes it’s an inner shift. Previously, a leg injury resulted in this client needing crutches. At that time, we switched her go-to silhouette from skinny jeans and voluminous tops to (cast-friendly) flared pants with fitted tops and flowing midi dresses. This feminine silhouette has been a hit, so we identified the perfect style of short winter jacket to go with long dresses (in her case a cropped peacoat) and what to wear with long dresses when it’s too cold for sneakers (ankle boots).

We looked at which outfits have worked best and came up with new ways to wear lesser worn pieces. A black wide-leg jumpsuit that hadn’t yet made it into rotation, became tomorrow’s work outfit with a simple bit of styling. We added a skinny red belt, which improved the fit, injected a pop of colour and hoisted the legs up enough to avoid needing a hem alteration.

We did some transeasonal styling. A summer maxi dress got an Autumn upgrade, by layering a fine long sleeve turtleneck underneath and a lightweight V-neck sweater on top. We re-styled a simple navy shift dress for Autumn by adding a pair of unworn black patterned tights, ankle boots and a cosy black base layer. Have you tried mixing navy and black? It works. 

Old pieces got a new lease of life. Others went in the charity donation pile. And we drafted a list of useful additions for her Autumn/Winter wardrobe which I will source for her in next week’s online shopping session.

What’s great is how relatively little is needed each season when you regularly plan and shop in this considered way.

What are you letting go off this Autumn/Winter? And what’s on top of your wishlist? 

Leesa x

Photo by Alexandra Gorn on Unsplash