I'm over makeovers. Every time I see anything on television even hinting at a makeover, I turn the channel. Why? Because a makeover is a temporary fix to a bigger issue.
What would put you in a position to require a complete overhaul of hair, makeup, accessories, shoes and clothing?
Let's spend some time looking at the key areas of a woman's style life that allow for such a fall from grace. This week we'll cover "the job."
The reason so many women fall from grace on the job is that they live in either one extreme or another. They are either too under-done or too over-done. The under-done woman thrives in comfort and consistency. Never wanting to really change, she wears the same style day after day, year after year.
Is there anything wrong with wanting to be comfortable? No. But when that comfort impedes your ability to look even remotely business casual or professional, you're in trouble.
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You know a woman has hit rock bottom in her style if: She's been wearing the same sad suit for years on end. Her pants are elastic waist. She's constantly seen in square-toe, beat-up leather loafers. She's wearing the 1980s shoulder pads versus the 2012 shoulder pads. She's always more casual than business casual. Comfort and consistency have placed her in a pit, and until she can refuse to live in this shell, no makeover on Earth will hold.
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The over-done woman never knows when to stop, when to say enough is enough. There's never too much blush, never too many bangles, never too many colors, never too many layers of clothing.
It's like trying to hide in daylight. Hiding under all those layers and that loud style mean the conversation is always centered on your attire versus anything to do with you. Just as every office has the women who are under-done (probably in high ratios), there's always one that is so over-done.
Hiding behind a loud exterior has brought her to rock bottom, and until she can be comfortable in her own skin and peel off a layer or two, her makeover won't hold either.
So how do you avoid being under- or over-done? Learning to live in the middle of your style, always a little out of your comfort zone without being so far gone that you seem raging mad. A woman living in the middle of her style knows that owning black trousers is a must, but that living in the middle means acquiring a colorful pair of work trousers such as Alice + Olivia's Eric pants in poppy red.
More living in the middle: the double-breasted blazer versus the plain, two-button blazer; the patent leather bag in purple versus the black leather bag; cotton jersey tees versus unrelenting pima cotton tees; remembering that loud magenta cheekbones are never as classy as subtle pink ones; knowing that your arm should be functional and not a man-made musical instrument due to an overload of jewelry.
No matter what, take enough pride in the job you're getting ready to accomplish from 9 to 5 to show up looking like the confident, intelligent woman you were born to be.
Stay tuned next week as I address women who consistently fall from "style-grace."
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