December Reflections on *very* Personal Styling

As someone who spends a LOT of time driving back and forth from Taos to Austin, I am lucky to enjoy a great deal of quality reflection time (and my fair share of true crime podcasts). Now that I’m freshly back from another action-packed trip to visit clients in person, I am grateful to share my reflections because this trip was a perfect microcosm of the range and breadth of my styling work with clients.

I met with several brand new clients struggling with brand new challenges (glp1 weight loss, moving from NM to Texas, how to confidently walk into a boardroom to fundraise as a trans woman dressing as herself for the first time) as well as see clients I have known for years and have been lucky to witness through multiple style eras.

This trip was also refreshingly all over the place in terms of body type, and it was a really great reminder that no body is impossible to dress. I got to help men find pants that didn’t swallow them alive, sneakers that feel not so basic but also kinda grown up, and help them see that there’s a whole world of style outside of scrubs or that same pair of jeans and white tee. I worked with tall and petite women with curvy frames, long torsos, short torsos, and a few with extra long feet (a style challenge that doesn’t get discussed enough)! We created balance and symmetry and self-expression of a broad range of style vibes from flirty fun to biz casual, stuff for lounging and going out with friends as well as power outfits for stepping it up in the leadership department.

I couldn’t stop thinking about how lucky I am on my drive home to New Mexico. I felt creatively alive the whole entire trip, and it’s mostly because of how open and willing my clients are to be vulnerable with me. Everything flows so well when I connect with my clients in this way, when you’re able to put into words what you’ve been struggling with in your head, what’s made you feel uncomfortable or out of place, as well as when you’ve felt most like yourself, when you’ve felt in the zone, and what you really want people to know about your truest self, how you want to be seen.

To me, this is the most important element of personal styling, when you can trust someone to help you define and execute this vision with you, something that feels murky at first but comes into view when you trust me enough to try some of the ideas I have when I listen to you talk or see what images you’re drawn to collect. When I shop for you from this place of knowing, I can channel your desires as I look at potential pieces and intuitively know whether something will feel or look right to you. I love to push this to the limit so I can see the borders of what you’re open to, as I feel this allows you to see your own potential style as well. This is the part that makes me giddy when I show you what I’ve collected in the fitting room for you—it’s like I get drunk on your potential! I feel so proud to have built a business with this kind of depth and creativity, and it’s exactly what I had in mind for myself when I embarked upon this career 15 years ago as a burned-out social worker.

This trip brought into focus how far I have come in terms of my own clearly defined style as a personal stylist. I have worked hard to build my confidence within the context of the wild west of styling (there really are no templates for this work) and I am now consistently attracting clients who are ready to do this work with me without holding back what they’re feeling along the way. This allows me to see a fuller picture of you in a shorter amount of time, and lets me linger in my ideal creative zone, one where I am allowed to turn concepts, memories, challenges you’ve been through, even secret unrealized dreams into pieces of your style personality. We love a good misfit to icon transformation after all, and the only way to get there is to turn your challenges into gifts.

All this, AND I was also able to fully realize how grateful I am that most of my in-person clients are comfortable getting changed with me in the fitting rooms. Seems like a little thing (and obviously I am going to respect your modesty if you’d rather change in private) but it does save us so much time, allows me to really see how things fit and feel to you, plus I can put everything back on the hangers and keep things organized. I was surprised to find that this isn’t always the case with other stylists, and witnessed how much longer it takes when you’re going in and out and just standing there on your phone when your client is in the room all alone.

I could go on and on about my reflections and how great my clients are (I did drive 12 hours this week after all) but I will leave you with a little gift in case you’ve been wanting to work together and need a little extra enticement. Use the code FUN15 for a discount when you book your next session with me! This is open to new clients as well as for gift cards, so if you’re looking for a last-minute gift for someone who might benefit from supportive and aligned styling this year, don’t worry I got you (and a printable gift card)! Return clients, you know the drill, just ask me for the code for 25% off your next session.

I can’t wait to see you in the new year, and I’m looking forward to creating more outfits, having more fun, and more strategies for stepping into icon status in 2026.