When Lila and I first met she was just coming out of school (I helped her get a job where I was working at the time). Her “style” was textbook… exactly what she thought she should be wearing. (A lot of us do this, don’t we? Especially when we’re in a new role and feeling things out.) She definitely looked presentable but she wasn’t really satisfied. Although THE REFINERY wasn’t even an idea yet, back in my corporate days, I was already a personal stylist. Lila would ask me for style advice and I would help her with her wardrobe, sharing my tips and tricks. And her style began to shift. She started to embrace her femininity. She wore colours that worked for her. She began to look like her.
Then, the magic happened. She took everything she learned from me and she made it her own. She mastered “the rules” and began breaking them where she wanted. Her current style—we’re still good friends—has transformed into something original and inimitable. No one knows her like she knows herself. If she had continued using a prescriptive style service she never would have grown into a woman whose style I admire and learn from, too.
And then there’s the “stranger” up the street. A few weeks ago, a woman caught my eye just ahead in the distance, and I thought, “Damn, she’s got it together!” As I got closer, I realized it was Deb! Deb is a client I worked with regularly for a few years, but hadn’t seen since late 2012. I felt so happy. Pure joy. She’d morphed into a woman with confidently amazing style and she was doing it all on her own!
I see this over and over with women I’ve worked with for a while. They take what they’ve learned with me and feel empowered to make it their own. They have their safe base of clothing all set, along with a few fun pieces, and they gain the confidence to take risks… their own way!
This is what I want for women. This is what I want for my work. Some stylists love to dress a client up. They want to whisk in each season with new armloads of clothes that delight and dazzle. And I love that too. But, what I love even more is seeing a client delight herself. Clothes, to me, aren’t just clothes. They’re expressions of who we are, or at least they can be. And when a woman finds her voice in that way, and she doesn’t need me to “speak” for her, that is so powerful. That’s what my work is about here at THE REFINERY. I want to help you find your own style genius. And I can!
I am so excited to tell you about the newest service we will be offering through THE REFINERY. It is the most all-encompassing, the most exclusive, the most hands-on practical and the most premium style experience we’ve ever offered, and I know it’s going to make a lot of women feel more beautiful and more confident. It takes makeovers to a new level.
It’s called You, REFINED, and I’d love for you to click here to read all the details.
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