‘Good is the enemy of Great’…

 'Good is the enemy of Great'.......

…is a well known Jim Collins quote From Good to Great - he states that:

 

‘Get rid of the good to make room for the great in your life’. 

I’ve noticed an ongoing theme this week:

Holidays are useful changes in energy which either cause a spate of activity before the deadline of leaving, or an injection of inspiration and enthusiasm after which a spot of spring cleaning is often initiated.

• My trusty swimming costume got left on holiday - it saved me finding a plastic bag to carry it in after using it during the day and flying home in the evening!  But this wasn’t the real reason, the Lycra was starting to go (Chlorine is the enemy of Lycra!) and I realised that I bought it when I was about ½ stone heavier, maybe not a lot, but on a 9½ stone frame, that’s 5%.  It didn’t make me feel great.
• As I started to unpack and return everything to their rightful homes, I recognised that at least 8 of my tops, trusty stalwarts, were no longer in regular use - past their best.  They didn’t make me feel great.
• I moved along to my dresses and realised a couple, while fine, never really worked. Each time I would overlook them in favour of another.  While I thought I liked them, they didn’t make me feel great.
• I’ve never quite bought into the handbag graveyard, preferring to have 5-6 covering the main colour/purpose points in my spectrum rather than one in every style or colour possible.  One, well loved and used, was past its best, another too floppy, unstructured, I could never find anything because it either fell to the bottom of the ‘bucket’ style, or the bag flopped over when I put it down and everything fell out.    They didn’t make me feel great.
• And so to shoes.  There comes a time in every shoe’s life when it has earned its retirement but at what point? Sometimes they’re looking past their best before date, other times, past the fashion trend, even though I like the colour or style and they still fit - 2 pairs gone.  They don’t make me feel great.

Are you noticing a theme here?

Working through accessories and jewellery, I removed 20+ items, resulting in a gentle feeling of relief at  the extra ‘breathing space’ in my wardrobe. 

 

By removing a small percentage of energy drainers I’ve freed up myself and the space in my wardrobe.  Even without any more clothes I immediately feel better because the ones left are the ones which make me feel great!

The mantra I’ve passed on to many friends and clients over the years is ‘if you don’t use it or love it, pass it on’.  Regardless of your feelings for 'it', if ‘it’ doesn’t love you, it won’t make you feel great and you deserve more than that! 

Why settle for ‘good’ when ‘great’ is available?

A True Gift

With 2 children under 4, I took advantage of a treat that actually seemed like a good investment.  We all have our own variation on ‘leading a busy life’ and I hadn’t been shopping for anything but maternity clothes, stretchy tops and jeans for 5 years.  I teach this stuff and knew that by embracing a totally different lifestyle it was easy to lose myself! I took the opportunity of a shopping trip with a Fashion Stylist. 

 

As an Image Consultant myself, I was fully aware that hiring someone, an 'expert' to help me make the most of a rare day’s shopping should be an excellent investment,; this is what I had seen my clients experiencing time and again when shopping with me.  Focus and objectivity is the key.  Staying objective when you are losing the will to live in changing rooms is a type of sanity worth paying for.  We all find it difficult to stay objective about ourselves and I’m no certainly no exception. It’s so much easier to be objective when I’m working with a client but I needed to become the client!

Within a few weeks of this shopping trip, the opportunity arose to go shopping with some of my colleagues at House of Colour, all fully trained Image Consultants.  Due to other commitments my available time was only 3 hours not the whole day, so off I went.

 

Both days were fun, both days included a break for lunch and both days resulted in me purchasing some great pieces for my wardrobe and looking outside my normal comfort zone for inspiration.  The real value for either option was making the most of someone else’s expertise to get a job done more efficiently, effectively and enjoyably than I would on my own.

 

Success is generally a subjective measure which in the case of clothing also needs to consider cost per wear for each item.  With my tendency to analysis, I weighed up the two alternatives which revealed the smarter investment was employing a fully trained image consultant. 

Statistical Analysis	Fashion Stylist	HOC Consultant
Investment	£300 + travel	£150 + travel
Time invested (hrs.)	1 day (7 hrs.)	3 hrs.
Items tried	Approx. 60	11
Items purchased	11	6
Items returned	3	0
Items kept	8	6
ROI Ratios
Productivity = items/hr.	1.3	2
Returns	27%	0%
Wasted energy = (Items tried x hrs.)	420	33

The added value came from savings in time and energy and keeping hold of my ability to make clear decisions. This relied on my ‘shopper’ remaining objective and keeping me focused – which became harder as the day progressed.  I could also see that the training of the HOC Consultant ensured they remained objective rather than being influenced by their own styles or preferences.

 

As a result, some of my nearest and dearest are receiving HOC gift vouchers for Christmas this year (let’s hope this doesn’t spoil the surprise!).  As well as being a useful and valuable present, it’s my contribution to a greener Christmas – fewer ‘things’ that they have to find a home for, less mistakes in purchases and the bonus of supporting a fully functional wardrobe that carries fewer unused, often excessive, items (frequently disguised as ‘bargains’)!

Gift vouchers are available for a class, a product or an amount of money (note - wardrobe reviews are sometimes more valuable and almost as much fun as shopping trips!).  You can purchase them from your local consultant or you could take advantage of free Post & Packing on all Gift Vouchers from the House of Colour web shop until the end of December. 
Happy Christmas everyone! J

 

Simplify Daily Life!

Heading off on the school run, I realised that having a wardrobe that’s a ‘natural extension of me’, i.e. where all the clothes suit me, are in my colour and style and organised by function and colour makes my mornings so much less stressful.

Most of you reading this will be able to relate to the school run – at some stage you’re likely to have been on one either as a student or a parent!  The best run homes have a routine; the alarm goes off at the same time, the bathroom routines execute in an agreed order.  Distributing responsibilities is the way to go when more than one adult is available!  Breakfast is usually based on a recognisable formula and can be timed to the minute.  Brush your teeth, pick up your bags and head out of the door!

The children dress in a uniform, thankfully no choices to be made there! What a joy to have an element of that autonomy for myself.  I don’t have a uniform but having worked with my colour and style for nearly 20 years, I have a good range of my colours in my wardrobe and a good selection in my make-up kit.  It doesn’t matter what I ‘grab’ from either, I know that ‘the worst’ I’ll look is presentable because the colours are from the same family even if they don’t match they will harmonise and complement each other. 

My wardrobe is organised - I hate hunting for things and can usually lay my hands on something within a few moments.   Organising my wardrobe by clothes type (jackets, tops, trousers etc), then function/style (work, casual, short/long sleeved), then colour (blues, reds, pinks and so on) I can quickly find an appropriate outfit… if what I’m looking for isn’t there I know it’s in the wash and can easily find a suitable replacement on one of the neighbouring hangers!  I use simple wooden hangers so that everything looks tidy and organised - I’ve found Ikea and Wilkinson’s good value but others are available!

I love the fact that it’s easy on the eye, therefore one more stress factor is removed!  I used to hate clothes, hate shopping and invested minimal time and money in the whole process, I was never sure whether things really suited me….we rarely enjoy something we don’t know how to do well.   Investing in a Wardrobe Review or Shopping Trip will pay back several times over, the knowledge, experience and skills you learn will remain with you for ever. 

Business and industry use processes to save time and effort, minimise error rates and massively reduce cost, sometimes they have to invest up front to get the medium and long term savings – other savings are immediate.  Co-ordinate your ‘wardrobe’ process and you’ll get all of these benefits for yourself - dressing just got one step easier!

Wearing Colour Trends

When I had my colours analysed 3 years ago, I left the session both excited and with renewed confidence having discovered the palette of colours that suited my natural complexion. Click here for more information about the colour analysis process

I certainly enjoyed shopping for my ‘star’ colours and wearing my new wardrobe for a while but what do to, six months or a year after I’d first had my colours analysed, when I wanted to update my wardrobe?  There are only so many damson or royal blue pieces I can wear!

I love fashion and looking current and on trend is important to me.  Each new fashion season sees a dominant colour palette take the title of the ‘must have’ trend colour and although I do feel slightly resentful when the ‘it’ colour is orange (I’m a Winter), we can all adapt certain colour trends to suit our season. 

This season it’s all about Pastels, featured everywhere in fashion publications.  It’s all about introducing pretty pastels such as peachy rose tones, soft forget-me-not blues and baby pinks, even leafy greens and pale lemon yellow, which are all key for this season’s more feminine looks.

At first I  was sure this would be another colour trend I couldn’t invest in as I need cool, bright colours to create contrast, however when I looked through my colour wallet I realised I could do it as long as I remembered my ‘rules’ for wearing colour. I would recommend that you consult your wallet each season to see how to make the ‘on trend’ colour work for you, ensuring your wardrobe stays current and on trend.

It’s easy for all seasons to update their look with a few pastel shades. Here are a few suggestions for each season:

 

Winters – Look out for Ice Aqua and Ice Blue. Team with a strong neutral such as black or navy to give you the contrast you need.

Springs – Mint Green looks amazing this season, team with a brighter colour such as Geranium Red to ensure your vibrancy.

Autumns – Look out for lemon yellows for extra zing. Textured finishes such as lace or brushed wools will ensure you are bang on trend.

Summers –Look out for this season’s key colour trend, Dusty Pink, especially in outerwear and a lot of other soft, muted tones such as Powder Blue will work well for you, especially when worn together.

Generally, look out for Winter Pastels in soft tailoring, knitwear, especially with brushed or textured finishes, and outerwear. 

Find out what colours work for your season with our free Autumn/Winter 2013-14 colour guide