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When the rules are plain wrong

Creativa Women in Business event

When you work with me you’ll hear a few themes. I view fashion as a beautiful, creative tool for life – for enjoyment, for success and for fun. I am all about having fun with fashion and for me that means creating possibilities and freedom.

My view on the fashion industry is firstly that I’m grateful it provides us with options.

However I do think that sometimes the industry creates standards that are ludicrous and limiting. For example, the idea that white should only be worn in summer, or you ‘have to have’ this particular colour to be stylish this season. (Maybe it doesn’t flatter you.)

There is usually far more freedom in fashion than most people realise, which just adds to the fun. I am here to show you how enjoyable styling can be – it could surprise you.

Once you’ve solved your style challenges with me you will have more space in your mind and heart for the rest of life’s challenges and adventures. Ready, set, go!

Does that mean that it’s not good to spend time thinking of fashion? Not at all. Heck, I dream of fashion designs!

I love the art of fashion and love playing with it. I simply wish that more of us would be able to view fashion so that it serves us (who’s the boss?) rather than being caught up in the unnecessary drama that can often be part of the fashion scene.

Thank you Vera and Maribel at Creativa Design Studio for the opportunity to be a panellist and to share with women in business my views on looking good in the world of business. Your fabulous (and first!) Women in Business event was so much fun! I look forward to the next one.

– Nina Fountain

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P.S. My 5 top tips for shopping are a great way to start having more fun with fashion: http://eepurl.com/cKPYEr

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“Do you always dress so smartly?”

“Do you always dress so smartly? Have you had your colours done?”

The question came from an unexpected source. The guy across the table from me was my agent for keynote speeches.

We met at late notice when I had an hour up my sleeve on a recent business trip to Auckland.

Over a quick cafe catch-up we talked about my keynote speaking gigs.

Surprisingly, the conversation turned to how styling fits into my consulting work and could be used in my keynote speeches.

I could see it all coming together. At the end of the meeting, my agent walked away with a new pitch for my work and one that he liked a lot better.

It was a joy to have the two arenas where I play come together in a synchronous reflection of who I am.

I hope this little example is inspiring.

People DO notice when you’ve put together a great, flattering outfit. It’s persuasive.

And when it only takes you two minutes in the morning, that’s not cheating.

Not in my books.

– NinaGreat Style Stands Out
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P.S. If you don’t know where to start to get great style I invite you to take up my five top shopping tips: http://eepurl.com/cKPYEr

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“I get compliments nearly every day…”

Jackie O

“I get compliments nearly every day on my new style and colours.

I always say Nina Fountain from Style Gorgeous helped.”

It’s such a privilege to give women an experience that is not just fun but at the same time creates fun that keeps on going.

“Today I was told I’ve got ‘Jackie O style’. Which is fantastic as Jackie O was the style I was going for!”

…. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I keep turning up.

This client walked through her three style foundations and four style features, to end up with a complete concept of how to build a personal style that is absolutely *flattering* and absolutely *her*.

Her body shape and colours are different to Jackie O’s, but there was something about Jackie O’s style that inspired her.

I helped her discover what those things were and what that would look like on her.

Then together we shopped and created looks. I tailored the Style Therapy package to suit her, which is something I tend to do with most of my clients.

You might recall a post from me about two months ago when I talked about an incredible sewist who was on her style journey? This was her. I’m so thrilled with the results she was able to achieve.

– Nina
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P.S. If you would like to shop like a pro, you might like to download my 5-tip checklist which has sold out to rave reviews 😆

http://eepurl.com/cKPYEr

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There is a way that is more powerful

CREATE A STATE OF STYLE

If you worry about not having enough clothes, it is not all the amazing clothes you have that make you stylish.

It’s not even knowing how to create balance and proportion. Nor the fact that you know quality and can pick it a mile off.

It isn’t that you maximise your colours.

It isn’t even that you can buy designer pieces.

It is definitely not that you have lots of outfits.

In fact all the things that you think make you stylish don’t count if this one thing isn’t right.

Michelangelo said that when he sculpted David it wasn’t so much that he carved David into the rock, it was that he removed everything that wasn’t David.

When we remove everything that isn’t stylish, we end up with stylish.

It might seem like a funny way to look at it but I think a lot of us concern ourselves with ‘becoming stylish’ whereas actually we just need to ‘not be unstylish’.

And in fact, that’s easier!

It’s keeping your standards high – recognising when ‘ok’ feels just ok.

It’s not buying things that you’re not sure about.

It’s sticking with what you know works.

Creating a State of Style, not a few stylish outfits.

I talked about this with a friend over lunch the other day, as she was saying she needs more clothes.

I thought about last year, when I had hardly any money to spend on clothes and yet I picked up clients through word of mouth.

Think about it – have you ever seen the stylish women you know looking frumpy or dishevelled? If you did, would you think something was wrong, because it’s so out of character?

Creating a State of Style is a different way of thinking about style, but it’s much more powerful than trying to become stylish.

– Nina

P.S. I invite you to take up this free gift of 5 tips on how to shop like a pro – take it with you next time you shop.

http://eepurl.com/cKPYEr

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Wellington-based event for women who sew – September 2018

Style Explorer event

Can you believe I get to do this?

8 or 10 women who sew, leading them through a fun session exploring their style foundations.

I so admire sewists – they spend years perfecting their craft, months curating their collection of materials and patterns and hours poring over each piece. I admire the patience and attention to detail – it’s incredible.

Lately I’ve met a few women who have found that despite all this, they haven’t been able to get that ‘wow’ factor from their wardrobe.

Through working together they’ve discovered that there’s a slightly different combination of materials, colours, textures, patterns, shapes etc. that brings the ‘wow’ to their pieces.

… Their unique combination of style foundations.

One of these incredible women – Emma Prestidge – wrote a blog post this week about her journey: https://emmasatelierblog.com/…/cultivating-the-ultimate-wa…/

Emma and I got together with Sandra from Sew Social NZ and hatched a plan to make the style foundations more accessible to women who sew. We created a format that requires less commitment than a personal consultation.

The Style Explorer workshop will be a fun opportunity for sewists to explore their style foundations and swap notes with each other.

It’s a great first step to powerful personal style. As far as we know, there is rarely anything like this in Wellington that is tailored to the sewing community.

If you know a woman in Wellington who sews, feel free to share this post with them or the Stylegorgeous FaceBook page.

– Nina

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There is magic in ‘no’

No thank you

There is magic in “no”. It’s not the clothes you have in your closet that help you create style, it’s the ones you reject.

It might sound like semantics but there is a reason I regularly encourage my clients to embrace The No.

It’s all too easy to find clothes that are almost good. They look nearly right, you like something about them. I’ve spent thousands of dollars on mistakes like this.

I didn’t arrive at being a stylist but being stylish from my teenage years, I got here through trial and error and realising I had made a lot of mistakes.

I call them mistakes because I created outfits that were somehow good but never great. I looked nice but not amazing. And occasionally one outfit would really come together and it would feel awesome.

When I started to embrace my artistic side more I realised how important it was to me to enjoy my clothes – a source of colour, shape and inspiration that I carry with me all day every day.

That’s when I started educating myself, setting standards and valuing the power of my style.

One of those key standards is something along the lines of ‘don’t accept OK’. I notice that people often want to buy something because it’s ok, and it seems like it would solve the problem and do a good enough job.

Good enough is not enough for you. Not when you want to be your best ambassador.

Embrace The No.

– Nina
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This and other tips are in my 5-tip checklist on how to shop like a pro. http://eepurl.com/cKPYEr Enjoy! 🌞

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“That’s a great outfit – I love it on you!”

“That’s a great outfit – I love it on you!” Love that feeling…

You wonder was it the colour or the cut or the fabric. Or the fact that you bought it in an expensive store. That lady who sold it to you was incredibly bossy but maybe she does know what she’s talking about…

Ever been down that little mental alley wondering how to re-create the moment?

What if you could avoid those distracting moments of confusion…

Upping your Style Quotient is the way to be sure, every time.

Instead of thinking maybe it was pure luck that you pulled that compliment – somehow you fluked it – you’ll know ‘heck yes this does look great on me and I’ll look just as good tomorrow 😁‘

You can up your Style Quotient in one of two ways – you can ask me to coach you or you can ask me to style you.

Coaching is becoming smarter through having a mentor – why reinvent the wheel when someone else can make climbing that mountain more enjoyable?

I can also bring an expert eye to create outfits for you that sing your praises and always send the right message.

Most of my clients want a combination of the two – they want expertise, new ideas, fresh thinking and an expert eye. They want to know how to be their best, most authentic ambassador, every time that it matters.

I work online to coach and style women all over the world. I also work in person in Wellington and take select clients on shopping trips .

– Nina

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Download my free 5-tips checklist on how to shop like a pro: http://eepurl.com/cKPYEr

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I should tell more people about the Pre-Shop

Last weekend one of my clients told me I should tell more people about the Pre-Shop.

If you don’t have a stylist, don’t try this unsupervised 😆

The idea is that someone visits the shops ahead of time. Taking photos as she goes, she finds all the best things for you. The cream of the crop.

She is focused on just one part of the process for you: selection.

Once she has found your ideal items she shows you a bunch of photographs you can discuss to work out which ones you might like to try on.

The same client who mentioned I should tell more people about the Pre-Shop declared part-way through her shopping trip “I’m a Pre-Shop girl!”

I get it. Who doesn’t want to try on only things that have a high chance of looking fantastic?

Less than an hour later my client had bought about ten items. Wylie Coyote style.

So there you go, I’ve told you about the Pre-Shop 😁

Here are my free 5-tips checklist on how to shop like a pro: http://eepurl.com/cKPYEr

– Nina

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Your wardrobe edit could give a jobseeker what they need

Your clothes could help a jobseeker in need

I was really thrilled to take some clothes to Dress for Success Wellington recently – one of my recent clients wanted to donate her ‘No-longer-serves-me’ clothes – you know the ones – they give you low-lying stress every time you open the wardrobe.

Often the clothes that are causing us stress could be great for someone else with a different shape, colour or style.

Or maybe the woman who could use your clothes is at a different stage in her life and needs her clothes to do a different job to what you need right now.

The Style Gorgeous wardrobe edit is a great way to reduce your stress and you can opt to have your clothes donated to Dress for Success.

You can find out more by contacting me

It’s just so lovely to be able to create a win-win through this work.

Every item is appreciated by Dress for Success – they choose what they can use for their clients and sell the rest to contribute to running their service.

I am looking for other projects where Style Gorgeous can make an impact through fashion – if you know of a great one, please get in touch.

– Nina

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Become your best ambassador

Style Gorgeous - Become your best ambassador

I am celebrating a couple of great styling sessions recently with the launch of my new tagline.

I used to think that we all want to dress for career success, but who has a career these days in the traditional sense of the word?

One of my clients said to me this morning “I loved shopping for those new outfits, it was effortless and they look good.”

I love that! This gig is so much fun. I really love giving you that experience of stepping out feeling amazing.

It’s about knowing you can present the best version of yourself.

And still giving yourself permission to have pajama days 👀

With my approach to styling, my clients never feel boxed in or bullied into something that isn’t them. I work from the inside out to understand your unique style and work with that.

So thrilled to be sharing this journey with you – giving you the opportunity to be your best ambassador.

Launching my shopping tips e-book soon – message me if you want a copy.

– Nina