Style Edit: The Perfect Match

After working as a successful lawyer for six years, Emma Willmann returned from maternity leave looking for something more creative. It was there she found her dream job helping clients discover their own personal style.

What’s the difference between a makeover and a transformation?

Makeovers tend to focus on your clothes, hair and make-up, but unfortunately, the effects do not last. Without the hairdresser, make-up artist and new clothes, you can quickly return to your old thought patterns and habits, so there is no lasting benefit.

A transformation on the other hand, begins internally, via a process where a client is led to re-examine their internal wiring, their personality, their gifts, their values and experiences and they go on a journey of understanding their unique identity. This is done through a series of personality profiling and deep questioning with a trained consultant. Once the client can see that they have unique preferences and attributes which are meaningful, they realise that their visual image is merely an expression of that reality. The foundation of good image consulting is affecting change internally that results in an enhanced appearance, behaviour and communication. In my experience, this also leads to clarity around one’s life purpose.

This job is obviously more than making people look good. What does it mean to you?

Looking good is a byproduct of experiencing an internal shift, which causes you to value yourself more highly and decide to show up in the world as an individual.

Not only have I led hundreds of clients on this journey, I have experienced this shift in myself, and I know that it overflows to all external areas of your life including making better choices in eating and exercise, choosing healthier relationships, more traction in career and personal goals, greater joy in everyday life and an excitement about one’s purpose.

What are the benefits of finding your own personal style?

Personal style benefits you in every area of life. Much like self awareness, it allows you to live intentionally, increases your decision-making ability and enhances your presentation. It helps you be more purposeful, enjoy more self confidence, become an informed consumer, it helps you experience greater enjoyment, and waste less money and time on unsatisfying purchases. It also gives you better rapport with people, since their first impression of you matches up with their experience with you. It helps you attract like-minded people, and studies show that it will help you advance in your career path too.

What is a capsule wardrobe?

A capsule wardrobe is a certain number of garments built around a harmonious colour scheme, which all mix and match to create a maximum number of outfit options. The reason it falls under the definition of minimalist is not because you have to live off only a few items, but because you need less items to make your wardrobe function well.

Without the knowledge of how to properly stock a wardrobe (this was commonplace a century ago), we shop sporadically or without strategy and the result is needing to buy large numbers of clothes and accessories to create an outfit or the inability to make an outfit despite having a closet full of clothes.

Whether or not you want to put an upward limit on the number of clothes that you own, we should all learn the key items that help us get dressed easily and enjoy every day and once we have those items, we can build a highly functional and stylish wardrobe from there. A capsule is merely a starting point.

What is your number one fashion tip?

Don’t strive to be fashionable. Since fashion exists in a constant moving cycle, something which is at the height of fashion today is only one step away from being tacky. It is important to realise that fashion and style are two very different things. I do not consider myself a fashionable person, I choose not to play the game of, ‘Who can keep up?’, as I consider it a huge waste of resources (time, energy, emotional stress and money). Rather, I use fashion as a tool to enhance my personal style and I pick and choose from what is available and only wear items which align with my own personal style. Whereas fashion is continually moving, style is timeless. If you have been striving to keep up with fashion, hoping to one day be enough, it is actually a relief to get off the conveyor belt and carve a path for yourself.

We hear you’re a master of op shopping. What are your top op shopping tips?

I would guess that around 50 per cent of my wardrobe is sourced second hand and apart from the fact that it helps me be a better steward of resources, I op shop because I can’t find the things I am looking for in retail stores and because I enjoy personalising my outfits with unique items that no one else has.

My top op shopping tips are:

1. Shop strategically and don’t just buy because it is low cost, otherwise you are basically treating op shopping as fast fashion.
2. Choose fabric quality and cut over brand name or price.
3. Shop every rack. I cannot tell you how many items I own that were found on the menswear rack, children’s or even sleepwear racks!