YOUR INSTINCTIVE SELF

As you may be aware, I’ve just been to Australia - part work, part holiday - and have had the most marvellous time. Thank you Suzanne Dekyvere The Dressing Coach for looking after me so wonderfully well. You may also remember that, in a previous post, I wrote about how I intended to get ‘dressed’ rather than get ‘dressed up’ for the workshops I was delivering and why, though slightly alien, it seemed so important to me.

My Australian friends and colleagues are all far more flamboyant in the way they style themselves. Maybe it’s something to do with the sunnier climate. It was autumn/ winter while I was there but still warmer than the weather that met me on my return to the UK a couple of days ago. Most of them know I have a more Northern Europe/Scandinavian aesthetic in my wardrobe so weren’t overly surprised at my neutral palette and simple styling. However, even I was quite shocked at just how low maintenance my suitcase was. I would normally loudly shout “hurrah” for the 30kg luggage allowance but, this time, I managed to weigh in at well under 20kg. Quelle surprise!

Looking back, I think my instincts were correct. Many times abroad, I meet students that are previously unknown to me. Apart from email enquiries and subsequent follow ups, I have little idea about their characters, personality or style preferences. On this trip, If I had dressed in a more elegant, glamorous, dramatic or quirky way I now believe it may have alienated me from them. Somehow, I must have intuited this either through their way of writing or the content of their messages. Whatever the reasons, I think I did good.

I was also delivering brand new content. Something that always makes me slightly anxious. Doubts creep in - will I know the content well enough, can I make it sound interesting and inspiring, will the audience like it and so on. If you’re in a frantic state when you’re writing or practising the content, you just put yourself back a few steps each time. There is a need to be calm and centred even if everything is going against the way you planned.

With this in mind, I had been dressing prior to my trip with an intention of Earth. In feng shui, the element of Earth sits at the central point of the compass. It’s somewhere we all need to reside when we are transitioning from one season to another to give us the bandwidth to change our behaviours and feelings as the year progresses. Earth nurtures and supports us but, just as importantly, enables us to become grounded.

Despite what others may think I am rarely clear about what I want to do or where I am heading professionally. I tend to have many unfinished projects on the go with no real direction until an idea takes hold and I go for it. By having the foresight to create an Earth environment in my clothing, I have now returned from Australia brimming with ideas and a passion for exploring new, and previously undiscovered, topics. This includes already putting in my pitch to speak at the AICI conference, scheduled to be held in Manila 2025. Thank you Imogen Lamport Inside Out Style for having faith in my ‘out of the box’ ideas when I needed it.

Here’s the Thing: changing your clothes can change your life. Feng Shui believes that everything (both animate and inanimate) is living and has energy (chi). As long as we take the time to tune in, we can set an intention related to what we need/want and access by mindfully selecting the clothing we wear. Earth is accessed via traditional styling, earth tones, square silhouettes or patterns, thick textures and/or solid footwear. It appears, that in my case, sturdy boots, jeans and a thick chunky sweater were all I needed to change the direction of my life - note also the fire sparkles to add enjoyment. So, where do YOU want to go and how might your wardrobe help you get there?