Stephanie

“I need to not have to think. D’you know what I’m saying?…” I made sure that those were my first words to the colour analyst once we settled in to talk before my draping.

I have three children between 4 and 10 years old and they’re keeping me busy! I’m committed to staying involved with my own life but like many families at this stage, my budget is small and my time is smaller.

I’m into fitness and I love figuring out ways to keep my family healthy, but sometimes, I spread myself too thin. I want to create a Fitness at Home series of videos focused on stay-at-homes Moms. I believe that every woman deserves to be the best version of herself that she can be and that our families are better for it.

I see strong, independent women leave themselves behind because they’re giving their all to the family, but I’m not so sure the family gains as much as the woman gives up.

It was my husband Mike’s idea to come here today.

I am comfortable saying Yes and No, but sometimes I say them too fast. My initial reaction to colour analysis was “Seriously? My Grandma did that.” Besides, shopping looks like too much choice, so I make no choice.

We talked about it and he reminded me of something fitness taught me, which is that I’ve always been willing to do what others won’t…and it gave me back something others don’t have.

I like to get after what I want. The more I do, the more I can do.

And of course, I want to look good in my videos.

I told him, “I’ll go if you will.”, so that was it.

First of all, we had a great day. Over lunch, we looked at my colours (we agreed that I’d go first). I wasn’t sure how I was going to find these colours at the mall, but Mike said, “Hey babe, we just invested in our family and our businesses. We’ll figure it out.”

In the afternoon, I watched his analysis and tried to be as complimentary as he had been, but in some of those test colours, all I could think was bloated or Barney. He even laughed at himself in some of my Bright Winter colours. Mike turned out to be a (very hot) True Autumn.

Well, that was that. When the kids were doing homework, we sorted our clothes, which didn’t take long; too much of it was black. It was a lot easier doing it with him than it would have been on my own. I can see that there’s a learning curve, just like everything worth learning.

For now, I kept a lot of black because I knew it was better than the softer colours I also had. I thought they looked casual and unthreatening, like they worked in jeans or as Yoga colours, but now I can see when I wear soft colours… I don’t know which looks worse, me or the clothes.

Just one thing. I’m committed to some professional pictures for my website next week.

Postponing crossed my mind, for about a minute, but if I can figure out a family budget, I can definitely do this. At least I can wear my fitness gear, which I already buy. Now, I’m looking at more high-end stores than I would ever have considered before. I’m still just learning about my colours but this is my chance!

Mike had made me a beautiful set to film the videos and it’s about the workouts, not the clothes, right? We took the colour scheme from the set and worked backwards to pick an amazing outfit for me. Even the kids said they were proud of me! You know what? I’m proud of me too.

I really feel like I’m on my way. Now, I’m going to help other women in my community see that they can find their way too.