Instant Makeover Failure

So many people watch the plethera of makeover shows on TV and say to themselves, "Oh, if only I had a super-famous makeover artist make me over then I could finally look fabulous, too!" We are so envious of these makeover recipients because we think that they have been given the answer to all their style woes...and we want the same magical answer for ourselves.

But the truth is, not long after that super-famous makeover artist makes over those lucky individuals, all but a small percentage will be back to looking the way they always looked, dressing the way they always dressed, styling their hair the way they always styled their hair, and going about their lives in exactly the same way as before.

Why is it that, even after being "fixed" by the industry's top professionals, these people cannot maintain their new looks?

There are several reasons for this.

The first is the problem of dissonance...the new style is so different from their previous look that it is not within their comfort zone to truly maintain. And if you are not comfortable in your clothes you will not continue to wear them.

Another reason is that true style is cultivated over time, and is based in a large part on personality. A stylist in these makeover situations hardly has the time to develop a relationship with the person he or she is dressing--or the the time to help them develop a style and build a wardrobe, rather than just the one look created for the camera.

And the third reason is the problem of habit...it takes time to make changes in your routine. If you try to change too much all at once, nothing will stick.

Your wardrobe is a reflection of many thoughts and decisions and experiences. If you try to make yourself over in one fell swoop, you will not succeed. Develop the image of how you want to present yourself to the world, and then work on becoming that person one step at a time. Integrate the new aspects into the old.

And consider that you are always a work in progress...which is a really exciting thing to be.

In the next post I'll continue with this idea and tie it into how we make mistakes buying too many new clothes at once. See you then...same blog time...same blog channel...

Jennifer Skinner, Wardrobe Planning Expert