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Speaker 1
So picture this. You've just transitioned from a corporate role you've held for years, and you've got a new entrepreneurial venture. Everything feels fresh except your wardrobe, that same suit and tailored blouses you once wore no longer feel like you. This happens to so many women I work with. The way we dress is an absolute extension of our personal brand.
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Speaker 1
And during career transitions or major life changes, our style needs to evolve with us.
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Unknown
I'm Sonya, a personal brand and style coach. My journey began in the corporate world and through lived experiences has led me where I am today. I've walked in those uncomfortable shoes, faced the same challenges, and questioned my path to professional success while simultaneously navigating my personal style journey and the challenges that each decade brings. I wholeheartedly believe in the fusion personal brand and style strategy.
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Unknown
My mission here is to provide you with practical, actionable strategies and lived experiences to help you unlock your next level of success through the power of personal, brand and storm. Let's get started.
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Speaker 1
Welcome to the episode today on Style and Strategy. I'm Sonya, your host, a personal brand strategist and style expert. So today I want to dive a little bit deeper into, I guess, what I describe as career shifts. You know, or it might be motherhood or navigating, you know, significant change,
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Speaker 1
in your life.
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Speaker 1
And that can actually impact not only what you wear, but the woman you become and the woman you are and really want to be able to talk to some practical examples and tips around how you can actually harness those changes to make your style and your brand really work for you.
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Speaker 1
So let me start here with a,
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Speaker 1
topic close to my heart, which is around,
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Speaker 1
career transitions.
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Speaker 1
So, you know, maybe you have changed industries,
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Speaker 1
that, you know, you've gone into a new role,
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Speaker 1
maybe you've taken on a leadership position, but
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Speaker 1
it's a very different,
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environment. And you might feel like your professional identity is starting to shift.
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Speaker 1
Maybe you've looked at your wardrobe and you've thought what represented success before.
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Speaker 1
Doesn't really seem to represent future success going forward.
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Speaker 1
And, you know, you see around,
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Speaker 1
you know, it might be YouTube, might be Instagram, it might be, you know, around the pace that, you know, you've got a dress for success. But what I'm here to say is it's actually more than that. That's just scratching the surface. And when your career changes in some way, shape or form or there's a major shift there, you stone is likely to change to and it should, because I see it as that you are now embodying this new chapter.
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Speaker 1
You're stepping into. So think about it like this. If you were working in an environment which you know you dressed really corporate in, and then you maybe you've stepped into a much more creative role, you know, is that blazer going to really fit within who the woman you're becoming in that new creative role? Yes, it might, but it may need some twists,
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Speaker 1
in the mix to make it feel more like you in that space.
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Speaker 1
I
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Speaker 1
remember working with a client who went from a leadership role in, financial services, who then went on to build out her own kind of wellness brand. And at first, she was really hesitant to let go of those tailored suits because they were so synonymous with her identity and her authority. But really, here's the catch by clinging on to that old wardrobe, she was holding herself back, back from fully stepping into her new identity as a creative entrepreneur.
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Speaker 1
So we worked together to really build out a wardrobe that feel more aligned. So there was a bit of introduction of soft but structured pieces that really mirrored her journey from,
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Speaker 1
sort of finance to wellness while still building and kind of maintaining that her authority.
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Speaker 1
Sort of part two of this really touches on. So we talked about, you know, career transitions.
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Speaker 1
But what about life changes?
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Speaker 1
Because these play a really significant role. So these could be things like, you know, maybe,
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Speaker 1
you've become a new mom or maybe, you know, your mom again for the second and third time. And what you sometimes find is the experience is different,
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Speaker 1
at every stage. Perhaps you've gone through a divorce or separation of some sort or lost a loved one.
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Speaker 1
Or maybe it's you on your own personal growth journey. And you know that. That whether it's a level up or it's a change, it's happening innately and something in your world no longer feels aligned. So life changes like that don't just affect our internal world. They really change how we see ourselves and how we want to present ourselves to others.
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Speaker 1
let's take motherhood as, you know, becoming a mum.
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Speaker 1
For instance, as a bit of an example here,
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Speaker 1
many women who go through that, you know, you experience a complete and total body and mindset shift. And you look at this wardrobe and think, this not only does it not fit you in the way that it did before, but it doesn't fit who I am or who you are internally.
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Speaker 1
And like I said, it's not just about that size tag that sitting there. It's comes back down to, you know, what do you want your clothes to say about you? Maybe the structured wardrobe or,
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Speaker 1
the
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Speaker 1
sophisticated soft wardrobe that you had pre kids, you know, may feel constricting and impractical, but that doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your style for for really comfort.
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Speaker 1
know, I've worked with many mums over the years who,
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Speaker 1
have felt like they've lost touch,
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Speaker 1
with their style. You know, drowning in sort of oversize pieces or shapeless pieces that really didn't help her confidence,
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Speaker 1
in any way, shape or form.
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Speaker 1
But really wanted to feel comfortable as, as well. So we kind of work together to work out where was she in that career life transition?
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Speaker 1
How do you introduce some more fitted, comfortable type clothes that still have your essence, that showcase your personality while being practical for your new life? It wasn't about,
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Speaker 1
just her wardrobe. It was actually about reclaiming her confidence in herself.
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Speaker 1
So
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Speaker 1
part of this evolution is thinking about your shopping habits and your brand, right? Because it is an evolution. And, you know, I've talked about before that your brand isn't just, you know, a personal brand. And thinking about what that looks like, whether you're an,
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Speaker 1
in an employed environment or whether you're an entrepreneur.
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Speaker 1
It's thinking about it much more deeply than that.
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Speaker 1
One of the biggest challenges I see during these transitions, whether it's career or personal, is, you know, bumping into those same stores or sticking to brands that no longer reflect who they are or where they are. And the real trick here is to knowing when and how to really evolve your style, so that it reflects that current stage of life where you know, you see it heading.
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Speaker 1
Two.
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Speaker 1
Sometimes you can feel like you're struggling to find that that middle ground because you haven't spent that time to figure out, well, who is that? Where does she want to go?
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Speaker 1
You know, another client example was that, you know, she kept visiting those same stores that she knew and loved, even though she felt really frustrated with the selection. And then every time she walked in, she felt like this brand doesn't feel like me anymore. And then we spent a lot of time really discussing her career. What does that look like now?
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Speaker 1
Where has it been? What does her personal growth journey look like now? And it became really clear that her style needed an upgrade, and introducing some different brands and things that felt sophisticated without feeling too trendy or stuffy. You know, create. Creating that wardrobe with a lot more intent enabled her to feel really aligned with her personal brand and stop wasting money on clothes that just didn't work for her.
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Speaker 1
So I want you to take away today,
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Speaker 1
that whether you're transitioning in your career or you're experiencing a major life change. You may be evolving as a person and therefore your style should absolutely evolve with you. So don't let that wardrobe that doesn't light you up or give you that spark anymore stop you from fulfilling that next chapter in your life.
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Speaker 1
You don't need to be sort of stuck between looking too young to be boring, you know, stuck in a box. You really want to create that wardrobe that reflects your growth and your personal brand with confidence. So if you're ready to really start thinking about your personal reinvention, your personal brand, and then how to make your style link together with that and really reflect who you truly are.
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Speaker 1
Drop me a DM, let's have a chat and work out how you can start to create what that next chapter looks like for you. I hope you really enjoyed,
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Speaker 1
today's podcast and has given you some food for thought.
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Speaker 1
Let me know,
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Speaker 1
in the comments. Drop me a DM. I'd love to hear from you. Enjoy. Take care.
00:11:27:01 - 00:11:47:12
Unknown
Thank you so much for being part of this inspiring episode. If you found value in today's discussion, please don't keep it a secret. Share it with a friend on social media. Tag me at Your Style Collective and leave a review. Your support means the world. Join me again next week for another empowering episode of Style and Strategy, The Leadership Series.
00:11:47:14 - 00:11:59:07
Unknown
Thanks so much for tuning in. And remember, you're already taking that first step towards your transformation journey. See you next time.
