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Helpful Posts about styling clothing

By Barbara Cosgrave 14 Mar, 2024
I’VE GOT NOTHING TO WEAR……!!! Do you really mean I can’t find what I want to wear? Has your wardrobe become so packed with impulse buys, oh no I can’t get rid of that one outfits, I just need to get something to go with it tops, why did I buy that item? Swiftly followed by the cry…. WHAT SHALL I WEAR …? And you’ve got 20 minutes to get out to that interview, business meeting, lunch with friends, a special party or event. Next thought being… I REALLY NEED TO HAVE A SORT OUT! Therein lies the problem, you need to action that thought and not keep putting it off. Worrying about what to wear each day for whatever reason, should not be the most important thing you need to worry about. THERE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE. Here’s the plan. Follows these steps. 1. Where are you in life now? Professionally and personally. Be honest with yourself. Still working, aiming for career progression, employed/self-employed, major life changes happening? Be clear on what the situation is. 2. Commit to setting aside time to go through your wardrobe – ruthlessly. Put a date in your diary and STICK TO IT. Clear out what doesn’t fit, what is past its best, what doesn’t work anymore, items you haven’t worn in a year or more. Get rid of them immediately, no second thoughts. 3. BOOK MY REFRESH AND REVITALISE PACKAGE! THIS WILL SAVE YOU TIME, MONEY AND EXPENSIVE MISTAKES – I PROMISE! You will have a wardrobe that works, you will look and feel great always, you will never be stuck in the morning wondering what to wear and you will definitely have a clear, uncluttered wardrobe. A wardrobe that works for every occasion, is mix and match and multi-functional. NOW HOW ABOUT A LITTLE 10% OFF ALL MY PACKAGES UNTIL END OFF MARCH…THAT WORK FOR YOU? www.barbaracosgrave.co.uk https://www.barbaracosgrave.co.uk/refresh-and-revitalise-style-package
By Barbara Cosgrave 07 Feb, 2024
Life changing events in our mid-years can make us stop in our tracks, such as, career changes, approaching retirement, divorce, bereavement, caring for elderly family or children leaving home. It is a time when we need to open-up new possibilities for the years ahead and redefine who we are. Gerry, Leonie and Barbara have all experienced similar life changes and are 100% on your side to guide you into a future you can enjoy to the fullest at this stage of your life. Join us for an energising afternoon to equip you with insights, tools, and strategies for you to make a meaningful difference to your mid-years – to live the life you love LEONIE WRIGHT an Experienced Nutrition Advisor will REVIEW YOUR NUTRITION to optimise good health, with foods that will give you the vitality to enjoy life. BARBARA COSGRAVE is a Stylist guiding you to RESTYLE YOUR WARDROBE , so you feel confident and comfortable every day, whatever age or stage in life. GERRY MULVIHILL a Life and Fitness Coach will motivate you to REFOCUS YOUR THINKING to take action to create the life you want. A HALF DAY WORKSHOP TO LIVE, LOOK AND FEEL AMAZING – INSIDE AND OUT. Venue : Pyrford Lakes Golf Club Warren Lane Pyrford, Woking GU22 8XR The afternoon includes : Lunch, tea/coffee/healthy snacks Several discounts on individual coaching and consultations available. £99 EARLY BIRD until end Jan THEN £119 BOOK via Eventbrite by clicking the link below : Transform your mid-years  
picture for blog november
By Barbara Cosgrave 06 Nov, 2023
It seems to happen suddenly doesn’t it? You look in the mirror one day and don’t recognise the person looking back at you. Your body has changed shape, the contours of your face have changed, maybe a little grey is creeping into your hair. The styles that once suited you don’t seem to work anymore. Maybe you are divorced, bereaved, empty nest when children leave home, retired. All life changing events. This person in the mirror has lost some confidence and wonders, “Who am I now?” Hold that thought! Let me tell you who you are now! You are a survivor You have years of life experience You are wiser, stronger and are in your prime Now we need to find the woman or man you are today and show the world who you are now. Through your attitude, style and presence. Dressing the way you did 20 years ago is not going to work or be flattering to the person you are now. My Refresh and Revitalise programme will help you dress in a way that reflects the current you, your personality, your shape, your lifestyle, your personal values. Finding the styles, shapes and colours that fit, flatter and make you feel confident, comfortable and look amazing …. always. Learn how to accentuate your best parts and disguise the ones you don’t love so much. We all have them. With all the tips and tricks of a professional stylist with 30 years’ experience I will guide you every step of the way. Be the authentic you. Be the you that has lived, loved and learned from life. Time for you to shine and show the world who you are now.
By Barbara Cosgrave 07 Mar, 2023
Do you ever open your wardrobe and see clothes for a person that is not you anymore? Do you look at old pictures of yourself and wonder where that confident person went? Do you see pictures of a person who knew their own style, looked great and didn’t doubt themselves. We change. That is a fact. Life changes us, we survive, we grow, we have experiences that leave their mark, some good, some not so good. For women, our bodies change, but through all that it still keeps working hard for us. Time, then, to celebrate the person you are today, find your confidence and self-esteem, acknowledge all the life experience you have and find a style that embraces the person you are now! Time to step into the present you. Refreshed, revitalised, confident in how you look and feel. My Refresh and Revitalise Style Class , my most popular class, will show you the confident, stylish person you want to be going forward. It includes discovering who you want to be and how you want to be seen going forward with: COLOUR ANALYSIS to find the colours that suit your skin, eye and hair tones that make you feel and look great, bringing the sparkle back to your eyes. Plus, your most striking and glamorous colours, those I call your “WOW!” colours for when you have a special occasion or presentation to give. Tips on colour psychology and how to use colour to your advantage in different situations. SIGNATURE STYLE ANALYSIS to identify the shapes and cuts of clothing that suit you, your body shape, your personality, lifestyle and career. Styles that fit well, hang well and are comfortable to wear as well as looking stylish. How to co-ordinate and choose mutli-functional items using your new knowledge of colour in your wardrobe. ACCESSORIES how to fine tune that look with the right accessories to match your style. PRIORITY SHOPPING LIST a review of what you have in your wardrobe and what you need to shop for. TIPS FOR WHERE TO SHOP online suggestions of where to buy. SKINCARE AND MAKE-UP TIPS – With 30 years of experience looking after all skin types and advising on make-up to suit each individual that is quick and easy to do. Skincare and make-up is part of our image. YOU WILL KNOW EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO DRESS THE PERSON YOU WANT THE WORLD TO SEE NOW. YOU WILL SAVE TIME, MONEY AND EXPENSIVE MISTAKES. No more wandering around getting more and more frustrated. No more looking at the clothes in your wardrobe that just don’t represent you anymore. YOU WILL HAVE A PLAN TO FOLLOW – YOU WILL LOOK AND FEEL AMAZING! From £395
By Barbara Cosgrave 16 Nov, 2022
Does this sound familiar? You get up in the morning, have an hour to get out dressed and ready for the day. You have an interview, important meeting, special social event, networking meeting, lunch with friends. You didn’t plan the night before and now the morning is a nightmare! What on earth am I going to wear? Wardrobe is disorganised, nothing seems to go together, some things don’t fit, others need repairing, there are items you bought on impulse and haven’t worn because they don’t go with anything else, your favourite outfit is in the wash...…...you know what I mean! What a waste of time and who has time to waste? Here’s the plan – Ladies and Gentlemen! 6 STEPS TO A WARDROBE THAT WORKS 1. ANALYSIS – OF YOU Who are you now? Take a step back and look at where you are in life now. How have you changed? How do you need to present yourself for your career or business? Do your current work clothes do this justice. Do they represent the business you are in and your professionalism and personality. What is your social life now, do you need more formal outfits or less? What proportion of your wardrobe do each of these categories represent? Have life changing events changed your outlook and the way you see yourself and your values? Can you recognise your authentic self? 2. INVENTORY Set some time aside to go through your wardrobe – ruthlessly! Clear out everything that doesn’t fit, is out of date, you haven’t worn over the last 2 years and is past it’s best. Then get those items out of your house, either to charity or recycling. Then clear or sell items you bought on impulse but never wear. Only keep what looks good on you, fits well, is still useful. Items that fit the life you have now and the you that you are now. The aim from here is to build a wardrobe that all works together, multi-functional items, that mean you save time in the morning. Get up, get dressed, ready for whatever the day holds for you, appropriately dressed for every occasion, knowing you look your confident best – always. 3. INVEST IN YOURSELF Save time money and expensive mistakes with professional styling advice. Make dressing effortless, with a detailed plan of what really suits you. 4. COLOUR Having your colours analysed will give you the starting point for that multi-functional wardrobe. Understanding what colours suit your natural skin, eye and hair tones makes a huge difference to how you look, how you are perceived and your confidence. The wrong colours can and will make you look tired, dull, unprofessional. The right colours that work for you make you look energised, confident, and together. A person people want to listen to spend time with trust or employ. 5. BODY SHAPE It doesn’t matter your height, dress, or suit size, what matters is finding what styles and shapes fit and flatter your body. Your body shape, proportion, and scale will indicate what styles will work for you best. Fitting well and making you feel comfortable and confident all day. 6. SIGNATURE STYLE Having a signature style that perfectly reflects who you are in work and socially doesn’t mean boring or wearing the same things day after day. It’s used by many prominent men and women the world over. Less decisions to make in the morning about what to wear because you have so many more important things to do each day. Think of Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson, Daniel Craig, Nicola Sturgeon, Anna Wintour, the Princess of Wales. All have a signature style that makes them recognisable and is a powerful visual communication of who they are and their personal brand. It makes them memorable. It also means one less thing to worry about freeing up your headspace to focus on more important business of the day. Work with a professional stylist to create together a signature style that suits you. Now you know what colours, what shapes and have a signature style, shopping is easy with a plan to follow building that multi-functional wardrobe that works! You have a wardrobe that completely represents who you are now, for work and life. It sends silent signals to all the most important people in your day, about your professionalism, your business, your personality. Signals that are used to judge you on first impressions. Take control, make them the signals you want.  Contact me for a complimentary evaluation to get you started.
By Barbara Cosgrave 20 Oct, 2022
When I was growing up, I had a great-aunt who was an actress. She always gave tips to a nervous, shy, teenager, me, if you can believe that now! Aunty Mimi was a great one for presenting yourself well and having a “presence.” So, what is “Presence”, and why is it important? Of course, my aunt was initially referring to Stage Presence, how an actor walked on stage, their aura, how they captivated an audience, the silent signals they sent with their appearance, and their body language. How they convinced the audience of the authenticity of the character they were playing, made them credible and believable, encouraging us with that presence to “buy into” believing the character. For that shy teenager that was me, she was, however, teaching me to walk into a room with my head held high, appropriately dressed for the occasion, a way that gave me confidence in myself, and allowed others to “see” the real me and not just a nervous girl who hid in the corner. She taught me valuable life skills that I still use to this day. How we look, how we present ourselves, and our day-to-day presence is so important in business especially. We have to look like confident person our “audience” can connect with, be those new clients, new employers, or colleagues. Do you look like somebody they feel they could connect with, trust, do business with or employ? Do you look like the expert in your field, well groomed, dressed appropriately for the business you are in, or the audience you will be addressing? Is your body language mirroring that? There are some interesting facts and statistics about “Perception”, how we see others when we meet them for the first time. It’s recognised that over 50% of communication is non-verbal, so for example, when you first enter a meeting, greet a new client, enter an interview situation, or join a zoom meeting, first impressions count. How you look, how you dress, how you behave and your body language. People, your “audience”, will instantly and subconsciously decide whether or not they will pay attention and listen to you - or not. It could mean the difference between gaining that new contract, or client, winning at interview – or failure. Here’s the problem, once they have decided they are not going to listen, you don’t look like the professional in your business, it is very hard, if not impossible, to change their minds. Simply because, as human beings, we like to be right, and we convince ourselves that we are. Just based on the fact that that person’s whole-body language and appearance is not congruent with their message, they don’t look like the real deal. The way you look, behave, and your body language when you walk into a meeting will influence how others perceive you and can, ultimately, influence how successful you are in business. Your personal impact needs to be strong, memorable, and professional to remain at the forefront of the minds of clients and employers as the right person to get the job done. Key to this is the way you dress. We are judged on the way we look, always. Do you look the part? Does your image signal success? The answer to the opening question, “What is Presence? ”Presence is the image, perception, and memory you leave with people you engage with everyday in person and online meetings. Take control of this and make the silent signals you are sending the ones that are the authentic, professional leader you are, creating the right impression at the right time – always. Take time to plan. Just a quick call to me can help; I promise it’s easy to achieve!  Above is the famous Great Aunt Mimi!
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"Buy well, buy once... good quality last years and good tailoring in suits, shirts and trousers stand the test of time."

Barbara Cosgrave
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