Lead with Confidence

Lead with Confidence - How your clothes can transform your confidence in your job and life, with Anna from Anna Mabin Styling

Ever thought about how a wardrobe refresh could actually kickstart a positive shift in your life? Today I'm sharing my recent experiences with virtual stylist Anna from Anna Mabin Styling.  Life threw me a series of curveballs, from health scares to the joys of new motherhood, and my closet was in desperate need of a revamp.

In this chat, Anna breaks down why people turn to stylists during big life moments like post-maternity or career transitions. We dive into the overwhelming world of fashion choices and how a stylist can simplify it and help give you an amazing confidence boost with rocking an outfit that feel great in.

We also explore the thrill of Thrift Shopping in the era of fast fashion – it's like finding hidden treasures. We discuss the evolution of style, especially in the corporate realm, where the right outfit can reshape perceptions and propel you up the career ladder, be it a manager or CEO. But it doesn't end there – we get into how clothing affects our self-esteem and share practical tips to ensure your style aligns with your professional image.

And for those who think injecting some lively colors into your wardrobe might compromise professionalism, fear not! We've got advice on finding the perfect fit across different brands, embracing your size with confidence, and even tackling style challenges during weight changes. Anna and I champion the idea that everyone deserves to feel fabulous in their fashion, no matter the size.

If you're itching to elevate your personal style, tune in for a dose of inspiration. And hey, if you're looking for professional styling services, Anna Mabin is just a click away, no matter where you are in the world.

Contact Anna and see her services and prices: www.annamabinstyling.com.au
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Episode Transcript:

Kate Peardon: The year was 2019, and I was celebrating one year since a vertebral artery dissection and mini stroke, and I decided to give myself the gift of a stylist. What I found is, in this year, I didn't exercise the same, my life was different, and I felt the clothes that I was wearing, not only did they not fit the same, but I just felt like a different person.

And I decided to work with a stylist called Anna from Anna Mabin Styling and she helped me clear up my wardrobe and choose a few new pieces that fit with what I already had and to help reflect how I felt now. 

What you wear can really influence how you feel, and I often talk about confidence being an inside job, but you can also get some help from the outside too. It was such a great experience, although daunting, working with Anna, that I've also started working with her again to refresh my wardrobe.

Think less pieces, more flexibility. I now work a lot from home. I live at the beach and I'm always on the move with my one year old and then I go and facilitate a multi day corporate leadership program. So I need a wardrobe that is all about efficiency and spending less time every day working out what fits and what I can wear.

And to me this was such a good investment and such a great way to delegate something that I am not good at. So in today's episode, I want to share a little bit about what it's like to work with a virtual stylist and how someone like Anna can help you with your wardrobe in finding things that feel like you in a way that gives you confidence and makes your life easier and more streamlined.

As you know, I'm all about delegating and doing things that are effective and efficient and clearing out your wardrobe and what you wear every day is just the epitome of that.

Welcome to the podcast, Anna. I've shared a little bit about why I've worked with you over the years. And just as an introduction, I would love to hear what your other clients come to you about. 

Anna Mabin: it can Be a number of different reasons. But mostly, I see people when there's been a change in their life, so they could be going back to work from maternity leave, they could have moved from Singapore to Australia, or the UK to Australia, and all of a sudden, what they used to wear to work is not really relevant anymore,like achange in weather or lifestyle change. A lot of people are really busy and we don't have time to shop. So they hire me to shop and if they're going to go through that process, they need someone to hold their hand and tell them that they're doing it right. You're like, well, just put money behind and what not to.

I think the fashion industry is just so overwhelming. It can even be overwhelming for me. That if you do need to start with adding pieces into your wardrobe um, to get a few outfits for work or lifestyle, just your day to day life, then, you want to know that what you're buying is actually going to work and make you feel really goodand just help you to go about your day.

 The clients that I work with, some of them are into fashion, but a lot of them aren't. They wouldn't class themselves as fashionistas. They just need a wardrobe that works. And what I love is when you're in an outfit that you feel really good in, it almost takes the attention away from you, even though you might be drawing attention.

Because you're not worrying about what you look like, you're not worrying about if the fit of your shirt's right, or if someone's looking at your butt because your pants are a little bit tight. You're all of a sudden just serving others and just being really present with what you're doing.

 Clients have said that as well. 

Kate Peardon: I completely agree. I think when there's something about feeling comfortable and confident in what you're wearing that it fits well, you don't have to worry about whether something matches or that stress in the morning of what am I going to wear. I remember thinking I have a workshop to run that's a little bit professional. I can't wear heels all day, but I don't want to be in sneakers. I need to wear something that I turn around and I run on the board, it's not going to be see-through. And then having to go through that and then search through my own wardrobe, what goes together?

I was like, "Ugh." And I'm a huge for delegation for anyone that's listened to the podcast. I'm like, delegate anything you're not good at. And I am not good at this. And now I have these set pieces that I know if I do a workshop, these are my five go tos. That makes life so much easier. 

Anna Mabin: Sometimes I'll get a message at 6am from a client, telling me about what she's got on during the day.

This is a Sydney based client. It might be raining. It might be freezing. You know, she's doing a meeting around the park, but she has to go walking. And so, it's my problem with what she's wearing for the day. And because we've got, how I work with some of my clients, they're on retainers.

So we can talk however much we like during the year. And on our phones, this is the beauty of Apple, we'll have a shared album. 

I piece together outfits and I'll just flick a photo, this is what you're wearing. As I have my morning coffee and then she'll come back and say, "That's at the dry cleaning!" 

 It's funny but those are the problems are then put on to me

as a stylist, which I love. 

Kate Peardon: It's sort of like at school, you never taught about how to do finances. You're also not taught about how to dress in a way that feels like who you are. And it reminds me of when you see kids and there's a time in between that you haven't seen them andevery time you say, "Oh, you've grown so much" because you can see the change and kids can grow so much that they change clothes so frequently.

Even though they don't have full influence on what they wear, they can have this influence of style, but once you get to a certain age, you don't change clothes that much, but we don't stop growing. I don't know in other podcasts I talk about how we continually grow as humans and our mind and how we see the world continually grows, but we still have that same outside picture.

We still have the same clothes but we're not the same person, which is why I had come to see you, because I really didn't feel like the same person. It was a year after my stroke. Clothes didn't fit the way they used to because I didn't exercise the same way I used to, and I just felt different. And I was sick of just feeling crap every time I went into my wardrobe and thought there must be a better way to do this.

Anna Mabin: And we wear clothes every single day. It's just crazy that we can think like that. And think it comes back to how we were brought up as well. Like for me personally, we were in a small country town. I think there was like three shops. I was raised in a family where you save your money, you don't spend money on clothes.

And a lot of people think like that even now, which is a really great way to be, but I think all in moderation. And I think you can look and feel really good without spending a lot on fashion, if you can't necessarily. 

Kate Peardon: I clearly remember one of the reasons I chose to work with you was that you talk about shopping your own wardrobe.

 And I found a whole lot of things that I already had. I just needed someone to tell me how to put it together. 

Anna Mabin: And if you've got an event coming up, just allowing yourself to do it by yourself, just to see what you come up with, it's a really fun exercise. 

 I guess it is stressful for some, but you never know what you're going to come up with. Even just trying things on. There's items in my clients wardrobes that they might not have even tried on for a couple of years. So how do we know if we can work with it or how do we know if you actually just need to say goodbye to it?

Because it's just not matching your lifestyle and your shape anymore. 

Kate Peardon: And I think sometimes the overwhelm of having too much choice makes it overwhelming. It's almost better to have less choice. Do you still get people talking about capsule wardrobes? Is it still a thing?

Anna Mabin: Yes, very much so.It sort of pops up when there's a trip.

Kate Peardon: I always take pride in myself taking carry on baggage only, although this recent trip with my husband and baby, we didn't quite do carry on, but we were able to carry all our things on and off trains, including a porta cot pram, hiking backpack. Like it was out of principle, like what do we really need? What can do double or triple? Don't just take one thing that can do one thing. 

Anna Mabin: Yes, and I bet you would have spent a lot of time thinkingthat through.

Kate Peardon: What's a smart way to pack? Yeah. You asked me what I had purchased when I was overseas and I purchased two things. In Paris, I purchased a pink cashmere sweater because I don't have any colour and I was like, "I want to wear more colour." And there was this pink and I knew what I wanted and I tried a few on, I was like, "This is it." And I have worn it so much. 

Anna Mabin: Was it a store that you hadn't heard of before? Ordid you go to Paris thinking, I really want to go to this store?Did you just pass it in the street? 

Kate Peardon: I thought I would go to the boutiques and I would shop around and have this great Parisian experience because I've lived in Paris and I was like, "This isn't me. I am not this person." I don't know. This is why I use someone like Anna because I am not that shopper. I want someone to give me the things. I went to Galleries Lafayette, which is like the massive department store, and they had a wall of all the sweaters of different colours. And I chose the pink one. 

Anna Mabin: Well done.

Kate Peardon: Thank you. 

Anna Mabin: How many times have you worn it so far?

Kate Peardon: I wear it maybe three times a week, now it's a bit hot.

Anna Mabin: Okay,that's good. Obviously War on Waste is back on our screens. Have you been watching?

Kate Peardon: No. 

Anna Mabin: It just reminds you to just check in and make sure that what you buy, you're actually going to wear.

Kate Peardon: So they sort of say, "Are you going to wear this 30 times?" It just makes you question every purchase. I think that's a really good reminder for where we're at. So that's good. If you've worn it at least three times a week, that bad boy is here to stay in your wardrobe. You mentioned the War on Waste and how there's so much fast fashion. And you can buy anything from Shein.

And I saw an article about now there's Shein all through the secondhand stores and we can consume so much. And I think when it comes to fashion, perhaps there's a thought, "Well, I don't want to add more waste." How is it that you can help people to wear something that they feel comfortable in, but do it in a way that's good for the environment, too?

Anna Mabin: Well, stop panic buying. If you're a panic buyer, taking risk with yourself and ask you what your behaviors are around when you feel like you need to panic buy and how you could maybe shift your behavior with doing that. But also, I think we need to start getting curious about buying pre-loved.

 If you've got an event coming up, you could hire a dress instead of going out and buying one. Ask yourself actually how many times you're going to wear this piece. And if you really, really, really love it, I'm not saying like if you find a dress that you just love,but if it's a piece that you're just buying for the sake of having something new, I think that's where we need to start shifting our mentality with how we're consuming. 

I mean, short op shopping at the moment is just the funnest activity. I personally op shop once a week and have clients in mind, when I do it. I think there's certain things that you need to remember when you are buying pre-loved. It's really hard to go into an op shop or a little antique store or even marketplace. Actually, the beauty of Facebook Marketplace and Depop, is you can search for a specific item, but when you're actually shopping in person in say, Vinnies, you never know what you're going to come across, which is the fun. It's sort of like a treasure hunt. 

A lot of people are overwhelmed by pre-loved shopping,but it can be really enjoyable if you are in a store that's really well laid out. Vinnies and Lifeline and Salvation Army, they're all stepping up and they're actually making it more about the customer experience in store.

So you'll find if you haven't actually been in store for a couple of years, you'll notice a really big shift and it's actually more of a retail experience than what it used to be. 

Kate Peardon: That's really good to know. I wasn't aware. 

Okay. So capsule wardrobes in for people that are traveling. 

Anna Mabin: Yeah.There's got to be an element of capsule wardrobe for every wardrobe. I mean, if you buy a pair of pants, you want at least three ways to wear them by mixing how you wear it like to work a blazer and trainers for a casual day or a different blouse and then step it up with a high heel. 

 Sometimes, with clients who get into a rut with just wearing dresses because they think that that's all they can wear, I love breaking that mindset because all of a sudden, they've gone from feeling  they might even worn the dress 30 times or more. But then they're just not feeling as fresh as they were when they first bought the dress. So if you add pants and skirts, all of a sudden, they can mix and match and feel like they're doing something different. 

Kate Peardon: I do remember you had a list of like, "These are the staple items you need in your wardrobe, and then you add in a couple of splashes of things."

Anna Mabin: Yeah, of course. It's a list that we sort of rejig with every client, depending on their lifestyle, their body shape and what they like to wear, what they're most comfortable in, they're most they feel most confident in.

Kate Peardon: Some of the clients that I work with, they come to me when they're in this point of transition, which it sounds like is when they come to you as a point of transition, like they might be stepping into a management or a leadership role and they want to be seen differently. And often they'll change how they are interacting, but they feel that people haven't updated their view of them. For example, I've had a client that has been working with the same company since they were a junior and they've worked their way up and they're now at a senior position. But people's mindset, you capture someone when you meet them. You form an opinion and often we hold that opinion and that doesn't update or change.

It's different for kids because you see them change, but we don't really see adults change, so we don't update our opinion of them. So it's common in the corporate world that someone might go on sabbatical, work in a different area of the business, or go work somewhere else for six months and come back to help people update their perception of them. 

Something that I think you can also do is change a little bit how you dress. And now I want to be careful on how to say this because this is not about you have to look a certain way for a certain job. But if you feel different on how you are in your job and you think you've evolved, but you still feel like you are presenting the same ways when you were a junior, you might have that same perception of yourself.

So if you start wearing something a little bit different, you might see, "Actually, no, I am in a more senior position. I have changed." 

Anna Mabin: Totally. If there's a lifestyle change, then your wardrobe has to change. There's elements of it. There's a little activity that I get to do with my clients.

So, say in that moment where you're having a role change, when you're getting ready in the morning, and you're in an outfit for work, take a selfie of what you're wearing when you're actually ready. Cut your head out because if you haven't done your makeup or your hair, or you just don't have a good hair day, then you're too self critical. Just cut that out, so then you don't have time for that. 

And look back at the photo, and ask yourself, "Is that how you want to be perceived?" And it would be interesting to ask yourself that if you were in the same role from when you were 18, then you come into a management role because there might be a disconnect with how you're actually showing up, obviously, like throw on a blazer.

You might need to totally do an update. You might've had the same top that you've been wearing since the day that you started at the business. Obviously that's not going to make you feel fresh and like you're in a miserable role, It might be time to update. 

Kate Peardon: That confidence can be from the outside. I think a lot of my clients I'll talk about inside confidence. Sometimes, the outside can influence the inside,So if you're feeling happy and confident in yourself, you act happier and confident. If the clothes you're wearing make you feel happy and confident, you then act happy and confident.

So it can be this cycle that actually works the other way. 

Anna Mabin: Yeah, without even thinking about it, you just find an outfit that you feel really good and all of a sudden you just have the best day ever. 

Kate Peardon: I asked some people what questions they had for you because there was a lot of interest when I said you were coming on the podcast.

Some of the questions were all about colour because there's a lot of black and white in the corporate world, particularly and also for lack of not knowing what goes with what. So a couple of questions. One was around, "I don't feel like I'm fun enough to wear colour." They would love to wear more colour, but don't feel that that is who they are, which is interesting. If they want to wear colour, maybe it is who they are.

Anna Mabin: Okay. Approach it in baby steps. So you might add a pop of colour on your ears like you're wearing today, or a slightly brighter shade of lipstick that you are usually used to wearing.

It can even be like a pop of colour on your feet, that goes with all the colours that you're wearing in your wardrobe and just introduce a little bit of colour that way. If you're stuck in the black pants, get out of it. Because there's just so many options. Do a colour, do a print. You don't have to mix it up. You don't have to be too crazy and go completely away from what you're used to, but I think the black pant is a really good example because like black pant, high heel, colourful blouse or black blouse, white blouse, whatever.

 If that's your go to, then switch it and do colour on the bottom, black on top and that's just a subtle change. You've got your monochromes in there, but party down the bottom. And then all of a sudden you've got different options for outfits. It just totally reverses your wardrobe. 

Kate Peardon: Yeah. I remember coming to you because I had a whole wardrobe of Cue.

So in Australia, there's a brand called Cue, which is like the corporate uniform of tailored black, whites, neutrals. And what are they called the fit and flare dresses? And you're like, "We're not doing that anymore." And I was like, "I don't feel like I can wear pants because I'm not the right proportion and pants don't fit."

And you're like, "You just haven't found the right pants. Don't blame the pants."

Anna Mabin: And it's not you. It's never you. If you're in the changing room and a pair of pants don't suit you, it's not you. The pants need to earn their keep in your wardrobe, and you just need to find the pant. And it's usually because like Cue, that's actually a really hard brand to beat because they do a really nice fit.

But, just explore different brands because they all have different cuts, andyou might vary in different sizes from brand to brand too. But there is a pant out there for everyone, a different pant. No one just has a black pant in their wardrobe, and if you do, come and see me because I will fill your wardrobe with colour.

Kate Peardon: Well, this is actually leads into the next question, which is also around colour. Someone that loves to wear colour, like colourful earrings, colourful dresses, colourful shoes, but feels it's not professional enough. How to find that line? 

Anna Mabin: Okay. A client of mine, she could have even written into you, but I actually shot with her for the really boring things.

She's really good at adding colour, but she's terrible at adding the really boring basics that you need that are like the glue for your wardrobe to pair everything together. 

So notice what you're buying and what you're drawn to and what you're not buying and see if there's a gap in there that you could purchase like a neutral or like a navy palazzo pant that you could add to wear with your colour, but give you that professional vibe as well. . 

Kate Peardon: You remind me of something that you had said to me about, notice what you're always buying and what's a lot in your wardrobe and I buy a lot of navy and a lot of dresses.

I was like, "I really don't need any navy dresses," but it's the thing that I go to. And I remember being in a store and there was this khaki trench, sleeveless trench. And you said, "Try this on." And I was like, "That's not my colour. It's not my style." And you said, "No, this is the way you have to trust me and just try it on."

And honestly, that is the piece that I wear the most because like, I don't think I can wear it with lots of things, but actually it goes with everything and I can dress it up and dress it down, put sneakers on, put a heel on. 

Anna Mabin: And when you live in a hot climate, it's really hard to finish a look without being hot.

So sometimes a jacket would actually look awesome with what you're wearing, but you just would pass out at your first meeting. 

So it's the third element like a sleeveless trench that you're not going to be too hot wearing it, but it's that extra layer to the outfit that makes it pop. Even if it's not a sleeveless trench, it could be that you're matching your glasses with your earrings or you're doing a tonal look that brings it all together without having that third element.

Kate Peardon: One other question that I hadn't told you about was one that I feel like you are going to get a lot, which is, I would love to see a stylist. I would love someone to do the shop, but I just need to lose five kilos first. 

Anna Mabin: Yes, this comes up a lot. And I don't think that's unreasonable if that's how you feel, fine. Getting a stylist is actually a really personal thing and you want to feel okay about it, but I think it comes back to what's realistic. Like if you're a really busy person and you're setting unrealistic goals of wanting to drop five kilos, I think it comes back to why you want to do that.

But I also challenge you by saying, what if you had an outfit that you felt really good in? Like less is more, add one or two outfits that you can go about your day while you're trying to lose weight. You wear them to death. 

And then when you're at your goal weight, whatever you'd like, then you're done with that. You've worn them, you can then add more pieces. I think less is more if you are on a weight loss or weight gain journey. 

Kate Peardon: Yeah. That's a good point. It could also be, "I want to put on five kilos." 

Anna Mabin: After I had my second baby, needed to buy a pair of jeans. And I think it's in your mind. 

Kate Peardon: This is exactly the position I'm in right now. I'm not in pre pregnancy jeans. And what jeans do you wear? No jeans. 

Anna Mabin: Exactly. I just remember standing in my wardrobe thinking, "Ah, like if I could go back to all my clients that I spoke to that had said the same thing when I didn't have children and hadn't gone through this body change, I would have just said buy a pair of jeans if it make you feel like you're awesome in them because, 

Kate Peardon: Life's too short to not feel confident. 

Anna Mabin: You don't have time to wear pants that don't fit you. It's uncomfortable. You're in a bad mood all day. And it's because of the pants you're wearing. You can't tell anyone that. 

Kate Peardon: No, I totally get it. And I completely agree with your comment on why is it that you want to be a certain way?

Is it that, like if I think about it, I want to feel comfortable and confident in what I'm wearing. I don't want anything to be too tight or sit the wrong way. And I think the perception is, "Well, I need to be a certain size for that to happen." And I think that's incorrect. 

Anna Mabin: Isn't that crazy? I mean, if you watch the news, whatever you watch on TV, it doesn't matter what shape a person is, male or female, if they are looking awesome and really rocking what they're wearing and it's really flattering, it doesn't matter. 

Kate Peardon: It doesn't matter. Yeah. So you talked about a couple of the clients that you work with. I know you do online shopping.

So, how can people work with you?

Anna Mabin: It's all online, but we can either just do a wardrobe refresh where I go into your existing wardrobe and I can tell you different ways on how to wear existing items and also help you cleanse what you might struggle with. Getting.

Kate Peardon: Absolutely what I need. Help me clear out the clutter. 

Anna Mabin: Yes, and just lighten the load in your mindset when you actually go into your wardrobe. Like, if you're getting ready in the morning, most people only have a short amount of time. So it's actually fascinating. 

When I walk into wardrobes, when I used to walk into wardrobes, it's the same virtually. The space that they are looking at every single day generally has like the items that they wear a lot, but then like things that might be pretty, but they haven't worn for maybe five years, but they like to look at. 

Some people put it there for the goal weight that they want to get down to again.

But then if they actually looked at the piece, sometimes, that piece actually, they wore it when they were 20.

So I help cleanse and get the wardrobe into a state where you are only looking at items that help you to get ready for your lifestyle for the day, for whatever you're doing in your day at the moment and for the season that we're in. 

And then we can stop there, but generally it's a virtual shop that follows on from that. So I add pieces into your wardrobe as well and show you how to work with them, with your existing pieces. And then the next package is the retainer and that's where you have me in your pocket every day. And, you can send me a question. This is what's happening. I've got this trip coming up, I've got this event. What do I wear? You might actually be wondering how I do this, but we have a shared album on our phone. So if it's an Apple, if you've got an iPhone, it's through a shared album. And if you're a client of mine, you add all the pieces in your current wardrobe and then I can add comments to it.

And I have a little program that I can actually make a flat lay and like an outfit using those photos That's why it's really important to get those, show me what's in your current wardrobe. 

The retainer basically suits a lot of travelers with work because their week's just different from one week to the next, and they don't have time to show up. A lot of my clients said that I save them money because they'll be panic buying for an event. They'll send me a selfie in their change room and say, "Do I need this?" And I'll say, "Take it off! Get it off!."

Kate Peardon: And it's also really good because in that moment I can say, "Yeah, that goes with these pants." And quickly do an outfit flat lay, send it back, and it'll give them confidence to actually buy the piece and know that they're going to wear it.

Anna Mabin: What we do struggle with me being virtual is it comes back on you as the client. You've really got to be honest with yourself in the change room. So what I will remind clients of is that I'm not there to see. Like the back,how it's fitting, how is it actually feeling and standing. I'm like the polished selfie but yeah, this is my best angle, Anna.

But yeah, it comes back on you as to how you really feel about it. And if you feel really confident in it too, I think we sometimes lose confidence in change room because we have this little voice in our mind saying, "You've got to buy something because you've got that event and you've got nothing to wear."

And this is where it comes back to if you shopped your own wardrobe beforehand and gave yourself a little tiny bit of time in there, you might have one piece that you could have in your mind when you go shopping, but then you've got like a bit of a plan instead of panic buying.

Kate Peardon: And something that I also loved is when I talked to you about, like, "I can't find pants that fit you."

Like, "Okay. Looked at what my body shape was like." These are the brands. This is where we're going to go. We went to shops that I'd never been into before. I never even noticed exist because I don't have the interest in it, but you opened up a whole lot of different ways to thinking of how to dress and I loved what came up, but I never would have been able to do it myself.

 I remember when I decided I wanted to work with a stylist, I had told myself the story of like why I wanted to do it, but I also felt it was such a vision board thing.

And when I told people I was doing it, the number of people that said, "Oh, I would love that. But that's so out of reach." I was like, "It's not out of reach. Think about how much you waste on clothes that don't fit, that don't match, that you didn't need to buy in the first place." It is something that is accessible, so people have all sorts of feelings about engaging a stylist.

What other ones do people have? 

Anna Mabin: It feels really indulgent especially when they might have small children and they might only be working part time. If you think of it as, it's just such an investment on how you feel and show up for the day, it's just a no brainer.

As soon as they do it, they're like, "How come I haven't done this sooner?" I really love it when husbands, buy a styling session as a gift, because I think it's so thoughtful and they've gone and like researched who they think their wife or partner might like. And then all of a sudden they panic because they're like, how do I tell her I'm getting her a stylist?

It's not because she's like not stylish. It's generally because they're time poor and they just don't spend time or money on themselves. Yeah. I hate to stereotype, but females are bad at that, spending money on themselves and putting themselves first sometimes, investing in themselves.

That's silly.

Baby steps, and it's exactly what you just said, just chip away at it, but itcomes down to does your wardrobe match who you want to be? 

Kate Peardon: So, from what we've spoken about, the couple things that I want to take away from is to start going through my wardrobe and just seeing what I've got and what am I holding on to for what reason.

Like I know there's a couple of dresses in there and I think I'm holding on to them because I think I'll wear them again, but if I put them on they actually never fit well in the first place. I just spent money on them and I feel guilty if I don't do something with them, but they've been sitting in my wardrobe for years.

I'd be better off bringing them to friends so they could wear it or donating it, because they're just going to sit there for another five years. 

Anna Mabin: And I think it's making you feel guilty when really like, it's your wardrobe, you will actually probably forget about it and not have that feeling anymore because you're only looking at pieces that work and that help you get dressed, so help you look the way you want to feel.

Kate Peardon: ​As a way to finish, is there something that you would love people to know, whether it's about clothes or about styling or about how people feel in clothes or the shell that we have with us all the time, what's the one thing that you would love people to know?

Anna Mabin: There are clothes out there. It doesn't matter what age you are, what shape you are, what style you like, what budget you have, you deserve to feel really good in what you wear. 

Kate Peardon: I think that's a wonderful thing to tell people because we often forget. 

So whether today's episode has inspired you to do a bit of a wardrobe clear out, or you'd like some professional help with Anna, you can find her at www.AnnaMabinStyling.com.au, I'll put the link in the show notes, and you can work with her in one of two ways. The first is with a Wardrobe Spark Session and Virtual Seasonal shop Up, which is how she's been helping me. And the second is a Total Style transformation. And the best thing is you can do this from anywhere in the world. Thanks for listening into today's podcast and we'll catch you next week.