Episode Transcript
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0:40
Welcome to Being Boss, a podcast for
0:40
creatives, business owners and entrepreneurs who want to
0:44
take control of their work and live life on their own terms.
0:44
I'm your host Emily Thompson. And in this episode, I'm
0:50
joined by Kathleen Shannon to talk about developing your
0:50
personal style as an outlet for exploring your creativity
0:57
and expressing yourself. You can find all the tools, books
0:57
and links we reference on the show notes at
1:01
www.beingboss.club. And if you like this episode, be sure to
1:01
subscribe to this show and share it with a friend.
1:12
It's no secret that I have a soft spot for product bosses,
1:12
those of you who embark on a business journey that includes
1:18
making or curating physical products. And even if that's not
1:18
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1:25
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1:25
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1:31
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1:31
and Minna Khounlo-Sithep brought to you by the HubSpot
1:38
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1:38
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1:44
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Jacqueline and Minna as they deliver a workshop style
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1:51
you can uplevel your business. Listen to The Product Boss or
1:58
wherever you get your podcasts. Kathleen Shannon is the co founder and former co host of the
2:03
Being Boss podcast joining me for the first 240-ish episodes
2:09
of this show. With several one off episode since. Kathleen
2:09
is a partner and creative director at Braid Creative, a
2:15
branding agency she founded with her sister over 10 years
2:15
ago, Kathleen has always lived by capturing shaping and
2:21
sharing who she is whether that's with a blog post a
2:21
podcast, or on social media. Well, welcome back, Kathleen.
2:31
It's good to be back.
2:34
Again, again, oh, we actually recorded the
2:34
last episode that we did together yesterday. So it's
2:40
especially kind of funny for us today in this moment to say
2:40
that. But I think the most exciting thing is that you and I
2:50
are taking a trip together this weekend.
2:52
Yay. We're going to NOLA our stomping
2:52
grounds.
2:58
Yep. Indeed, our stomping grounds. We were
2:58
talking this morning, and you brought up the curse that we
3:07
have been under for the past year, I guess.
3:13
Yeah.
3:14
There were two times that Kathleen and I
3:14
were supposed to have gotten together and 2021. And my kid
3:19
got sick both times. Both times. And so we had to cancel two
3:19
trips. I was going to go see Kathleen in Michigan. Kathleen
3:28
was going to come to Tennessee to see me later in the year.
3:28
And when we got together to figure out well then what are we
3:35
doing? Like I can't come see you. You can't come see me. You
3:35
were like, Let's go to New Orleans. And I was like, well,
3:43
obviously that's what the universe was waiting for was for
3:43
us to be like, let's go to New Orleans.
3:50
I know and you're going for a Being Boss
3:50
trip. So I was like, Well, can I just come too basically. So
3:58
we're meeting up a couple days early before you have to be
3:58
on. I'm also going to be hanging out with some bosses. But
4:04
it's fun because like it's not my job anymore. But I get a
4:04
pop in like I know, you know, there's such a shorthand
4:11
having cofounded Being Boss with you and having been around
4:11
so many bosses all the time. A lot of these are people that
4:19
I already know, or people that I know I'll get along with.
4:19
So I'm really excited to kind of pop back in.
4:25
Yeah, me too. Me too. I was thinking we
4:25
haven't been there together since 2018, which feels like a
4:31
lifetime ago. But I feel like aren't we always there
4:31
together?
4:33
I know it really does feel that way. Like every 6 months or something.
4:35
Wow, we really haven't been there for five years together.
4:36
Yeah.
4:36
Wow. Wow. And I don't know that we've ever
4:36
been there without working. Have we always been working
4:50
while we're there?
4:53
Yes. I mean, I feel like the lightest was we
4:53
went for just like a photoshoot. So the book photo shoot,
4:58
but that was also like that was a lot of work.
5:01
No, that was a lot of work.
5:04
It was some grueling couple of days. So
5:04
yeah, it's always been for work. And so we're going to be
5:10
there for a couple of days just for fun, but three of the
5:10
bosses who are in the C-Suite right now, we're part of the
5:17
VIP group from that 2018 trip. So it's almost like we're all
5:17
getting back together five years later.
5:26
Yay. I'm just really excited and I know
5:26
I've said this before, but I'm just really excited and
5:32
really proud of our friendship, you know, like, we owned a
5:32
business together. We dissolved, you know, my partnership in
5:41
it, I sold my half of Being Boss to you. And that could
5:41
really, I don't know, like that could be a make or break
5:49
moment, right. And it wasn't, it was definitely a place
5:49
where, you know, we kind of probably individually had to
5:57
like work through some things and like kind of create some
5:57
subtle boundaries around like what we could discuss or not
6:04
discuss. And I think with enough time and space,
6:04
professionally, I'm able to come hang out on Being Boss a
6:10
little bit more, I'm able to come hang out on a vacation in
6:10
New Orleans. But more than anything, I mean, through all of
6:17
it. Like I've really thought you're one of my people like
6:17
you are one of my ride or dies, and it goes beyond business.
6:24
And it was really scary knowing like, were we so close,
6:24
because we had a business partnership together or had we
6:30
actually become that close. And obviously, we're not getting
6:30
the same amount of frequency that we used to get as far as
6:36
seeing each other everyday podcasting, even though the past
6:36
two days, it's kind of been a little bit like that. Um, but
6:44
I feel like you know, you're always gonna be that person
6:44
where we're like, we can just pick up where we left off and
6:49
meet up in New Orleans five years later and feel like it's
6:49
been maybe six months.
6:54
Yeah.
6:55
That's where we're at. And I'm really just
6:55
proud of it.
6:57
I am as well, I'm glad you feel that way. I
6:57
was telling someone not too terribly long ago, I had
7:03
mentioned something about like having a business partner,
7:03
and they just like get that face like, oh, and I was like
7:07
no, no, not like that. Like, we're still great friends. And
7:07
we started talking about a little because they were very
7:12
curious about that. And I was like, actually, I can say with
7:12
confidence, that the dissolving of that partnership was one
7:21
of the things in my life that I am most proud of. Period,
7:21
how we were able to do that so amicably, and yeah, and then
7:30
be on this other side of it, where we can just sort of like
7:30
hop in and do whatever, whether it's very reminiscent to
7:36
what we used to do together, or just like a fun weekend in
7:36
New Orleans and tag some bosses onto it. And all of the feet
7:42
like it's it really is. I know that one day, I will look
7:42
back at my life and still feel like that was one of the
7:54
maneuverings that I am most proud of. And you are also one
7:54
of my people.
7:58
And I think, you know, we've done a whole
7:58
episode on this, and I can't really remember what we said
8:01
Yeah. there as far as breaking up our business partnership. But I
8:05
think that a big reason why it was so amicable is because we
8:08
But we knew it was important.
8:12
were having really hard conversations along the way the
8:12
whole time. Like we'd never shied away from really diving
8:20
into what our boundaries were, what our goals were, what our
8:20
vision was, and a lot most of the time that was aligned, you
8:27
know, like most of the time we were on the same page, even
8:27
if we weren't sure that we were on the same page, like we
8:33
would talk it out. And the way that we started that business
8:33
was very much under the guise of you know, we weren't as
8:40
like tight as friends then starting the business as we are
8:40
now I would say, but we still started it under the kind of
8:49
understanding that our relationship was more important than
8:49
it was like the most important thing, even though we didn't
8:55
have the same relationship then that we do now. Does that
8:55
make sense?
9:01
I think a lot of people though, say like
9:01
friends first. Right? But like, how often does that actually
9:06
pan out? Right, like, probably not as often as it said, I
9:06
would assume. So yeah, I feel the exact same way. I feel
9:16
like, you know, our relationship has evolved so much over
9:16
the years. And we really made the thing that we were saying
9:23
I mean, it was true then, but like we kept it true, I guess
9:23
Yeah. Which is quite a feat in itself as well. Okay, I can't
9:31
wait to eat with you.
9:33
Same. But I think that sorry, real quick,
9:33
and then we'll move on to like what we're excited about for
9:39
New Orleans. But I think that a lot of people say friends
9:39
first as a way to kind of have slippery boundaries. You
9:47
know, I think it's like a cop out of having hard
9:47
conversations by saying friends first. Yeah, sometimes.
9:55
Well, not us.
9:56
Not us. And not like not in my partnership
9:56
with my sister either. Like same you know, like we're we
10:03
have to say sisters first but oh sometimes that's like a
10:03
really hard boundary to draw on to figure out and navigate.
10:11
That's a completely different scenario and
10:11
thing to say actually.
10:15
Yeah.
10:16
Not the same.
10:17
So we're going to New Orleans, it's going
10:17
to be so fun because we've got two full days, just us. We
10:23
are going to eat some food. We've been Marco Polo going and
10:23
Google mapping and pinning all the places that we're
10:30
dreaming about eating at. I literally Googled romantic date
10:30
night restaurants in New Orleans because that is our vibe.
10:39
That's how we do.
10:42
It is the vibe and I love that David was
10:42
standing there earlier or whatever you said that on Marco
10:48
Polo and he got incredibly tickled about it because he
10:48
knows, he knows that that's the vibe. So I am, I am so
10:55
excited about just, I was texting you and saying, one of the
10:55
things that I really want to accomplish out of this is I
11:00
want like a long, slow late dinner. I want to like, get a
11:00
bottle of wine. I don't, we don't have to finish it.
11:11
I know I'm so scared right now between
11:11
late and wine. I'm like, okay, one my bedtime is like at
11:18
nine so I don't know how late you're wanting to go. Two.
11:23
Yeah, well okay, so East Coast though nine
11:23
is 10. So it'll be late for me not so late for you. We'll
11:30
have the same experience but in different ways.
11:33
Is New Orleans East Coast or Central Time?
11:36
Central so it'll feel late but not be.
11:38
Yeah, so it's gonna feel even later.
11:40
Yes.
11:41
And then that means we need to have dinner
11:41
at 6pm. But we can hang out there for three hours.
11:46
Romantic date night my ass. More like
11:46
geriatric midday supper, whatever. No, I love it though.
11:59
Same same. I'm talking a big game. Okay. A glass of wine.
11:59
Not a bottle of wine at lunch.
12:07
We're Golden Girls, we're going to be
12:07
Golden Girls.
12:10
Yeah, I think we're already kind of there.
12:12
Eating late. I mean, eating early, but
12:12
being fabulous.
12:15
Yes, yes. I'll bring up my caftan. How about
12:15
that? Perfect. I'm very excited about this as well. I can't
12:22
wait to see where we get into. But mostly it's going to be
12:22
food. And that is literally the most exciting thing of all.
12:27
Well, speaking of caftan.
12:29
Speaking of caftans, I am super excited
12:29
about having this conversation with you today. This is a
12:35
little bit of like a spin off of the personal branding
12:35
episode that we did at some point in the recent past. So
12:44
that's in the show notes, if anyone wants to go find that we
12:44
talked about personal branding. And we talked a little bit
12:49
about personal style in that episode, and I wanted to come
12:49
chat with you about personal style. Because it is such an
13:00
element of personal branding. It's also something that I
13:00
think a lot of people a lot of folks do kind of struggle
13:07
with, like really developing and like owning their personal
13:07
style. And I think that talking about it from two people who
13:17
are creative and have a good eye but have no like
13:17
professional experience in being stylists talking about what
13:24
it looks like to develop a personal style. Could be a fun
13:24
conversation.
13:29
I'm here for it. I whenever thinking about
13:29
this episode, though, I do kind of, I think I'm going to
13:35
approach it just as speaking from a personal style point of
13:35
view, I don't really know how to tie it back into personal
13:41
brand other than whenever you really start to develop your
13:41
personal style, you will leave an impression and you will be
13:48
memorable. And that's what having a personal brand is it's
13:48
simply making an impression and having a reputation and you
13:58
know, like visually sharing on the outside what people can
13:58
expect whenever they get a little bit deeper. But for me,
14:07
I'm just talking about like cool clothes.
14:10
Good. Yes, yes, yes. And I think there's
14:10
like showing people on the outside what they can expect
14:17
inside, but also just dressing in a way that makes you feel,
14:17
regardless of other people's perspective, confident,
14:25
comfortable, I'm gonna be talking about that a good bit
14:25
today. And we're talking like clothing style. But I also
14:32
want to bleed this over into interiors. Because this is also
14:32
something that I'm talking to a lot of my boss friends
14:37
about. You know, we all get to these phases where we're
14:37
buying houses, friends, who are getting divorced and moving
14:44
into their first house by themselves and have the
14:44
opportunity to really express themselves in their spaces.
14:49
And those sorts of things are maybe you know, you're setting
14:49
up your home office or whatever it may be. I think this
14:55
bleeds over a lot into interior styling as well. And us as
14:55
creatives and business owners who are here to do things the
15:03
way we want them done. I feel like we are naturally pulled
15:03
to this idea of wanting our space and our like outward
15:10
appearance, to represent something to really speak to who we
15:10
are. And so I think this can just be a really fun one. And
15:18
I'm excited about doing this with you. Because this makes up
15:18
a whole lot of our just general conversations, right what
15:25
clothes we're wearing, or what we've bought or found or some
15:25
inspo or our spaces, we're always showing each other that
15:31
like, you know, Facebook marketplace find that we got or how
15:31
it is that we styled this corner in our house or whatever it
15:38
maybe this is really what Kathleen and I are talking about
15:38
behind the scenes in addition to food.
15:44
Uh, yeah, food, clothes, home, and on the
15:44
clothes front. I'm also a lot of time asking what your
15:52
daughter's wearing lately, like, what she's into what her
15:52
style is, as she's becoming a teenager. I'm just so curious.
15:59
And she's my child. So of course, there's a.
16:02
I mean, you might.
16:02
Yeah, there's a lot of stomping, I can tell
16:02
you that. Kathleen walks around with very heavy feet, you
16:10
can hear coming from a mile away, and my kid does the exact
16:10
same. I told you the day like please stop stomping the
16:12
You might you might you can actually too.
16:16
You might need to pick up a dazzler.
16:18
houses too old, it will fall down. It's a real thing. I also
16:18
want to just note, why I think it's important to have this
16:19
How about I'm bringing a dazzler to New
16:19
Orleans.
16:27
conversation have bosses hear this is because this sort of
16:27
styling of yourself and your surroundings is a really easy
16:27
Wait what?
16:28
If you have anything he won't be dazzled. So
16:28
for a long time I've had a joke with David's mom and in
16:35
way to I don't want to say expend creative energy in a way
16:35
that like you just want to get rid of it. But we do have a
16:44
lot of pent up creative energy, like we want to make
16:44
something we want to do something. And it's really easy for
16:52
us to get into this idea as creative entrepreneurs that we
16:52
then need to sell the thing, right. But this is a great way
17:01
to express your creativity in a way that does not make you
17:01
money and just nurtures your life without you going and
17:09
picking up like some other hobby. Like you don't need to go
17:09
to the craft store to be creative with the clothes you have
17:18
in your closet. particular about the dazzling things. And this year for
17:36
Christmas. She bought me a Be Dazzler and I was so excited.
17:44
It's not like the name brand one but like it. It will put
17:44
rhinestones on things.
17:50
Is it rhinestones and studs like do you
17:50
have all the things? Yes, I'm going to bring some things.
17:56
Yes, bring whatever you'd like. And we will
17:56
bedazzle it together. Yeah.
18:02
Do you have enough rhinestones?
18:04
Oh my god, like 1000s.
18:06
Okay, okay.
18:07
1000s of rhinestones. Yes. Whatever you
18:07
need.
18:11
So now I know what we're gonna be doing
18:11
after our late early dinner we're gonna be bedazzling some
18:17
things and watching HGTV.
18:20
Absolutely, absolutely. So okay. Oh, I'm so
18:20
glad you brought that up. Because I've been meaning to tell
18:25
you that I was bringing it. Because also, I was thinking
18:25
about the other day I have this BeDazzler. I keep like
18:31
looking at it thinking what am I going to bedazzle like, I
18:31
don't even know. And I don't just want to sit there and do
18:36
it by myself. And I can do with my kid that is not her style
18:36
at the moment. Who else would I want to bedazzle with in a
18:43
group of bosses? Yeah, like who more than a group of bosses.
18:43
So I threw it in my box of things that I'm taking to New
18:50
Orleans so that we can bedazzle and then I can we can
18:50
brdazzle with the C-Suite bosses as needed. We're going to,
18:56
we're going to add rhinestones. But I do want to bring up
18:56
that earlier this week, I was hosting a new moon circle in
19:03
the Being boss clubhouse. And one of the questions because
19:03
it was Pisces season at the time of recording. And one of
19:12
the questions was, how are you being called to express
19:12
yourself creatively. And everyone had the the like gut
19:23
reaction to want to go into something they wanted to create
19:23
for their business. And then every one of them also followed
19:31
that up immediately with. That's not what I should like go
19:31
into immediately or that's not the only thing I should do.
19:39
And they either put what they were wearing, or their space.
19:39
And so even like, like bosses are feeling this and they're
19:49
getting it so it just it all sort of wrapped up to be the
19:49
perfect time to have this conversation.
19:54
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21:06
Let's look at curating your personal style as I want to look
21:06
at it through the lens of like you are expressing your true
21:14
self like outwardly on your body, in your space. I think
21:14
this can be a little bit intimidating for some people, which
21:23
is why I think it's fun for us to have this conversation
21:23
because we're gonna dive in as two hobbyists, right? No
21:28
professional training, I didn't go to fashion school, I'm
21:28
certainly not an interior designer. But we both do the
21:34
things. And we've both sought help like we've consulted with
21:34
interior designers, or stylists or whatever. So we we know,
21:42
just enough to get us in trouble. So we're gonna spread that
21:42
trouble to you guys. So then let's start with where you
21:51
would start Kathleen, when it comes to personal style, where
21:51
are you beginning?
21:59
Well, I was born on May 5 1982. And I came
21:59
out of my mother's womb with some style, right? I really do
22:11
the I know that you say that we're not professionals, but it
22:11
kind of like, you know, we styled ourselves for a photoshoot
22:21
that was then on a book and on all of our our website, like,
22:21
we've done a lot of styling. And yes, just because we don't
22:29
sell it doesn't mean that we're not well versed in it. So I
22:29
will say that I really do think though, looking back at
22:38
This, this is also literally my job at
22:38
Almanac which I had not actually considered at all like when
22:45
it comes to what my job is in that business really, really
22:45
is making sure that store looks fabulous.
22:56
And it does.
22:56
Noted, I was incorrect.
22:58
I was just telling my sister the other day
22:58
about Almanac and how you are so naturally gifted at
23:05
merchandising and setting up a space and it just is
23:05
beautiful. Like you are so so good at it. So yeah, all of
23:13
that to say I think that whenever it comes to being a
23:13
creative and having an eye, if you are a graphic designer,
23:20
which we both are, if you are a merchandiser, or a retailer,
23:20
you know all the things, it's all the same principles, it's
23:26
all about color composition, creating a tone and a style. So
23:26
we've got it. So let's not diminish, you know what we've got
23:35
whenever it comes to this sort of thing. But also speaking
23:35
to the perspective of someone who might be a little bit more
23:41
intimidated or not know how to find their style, here's
23:41
where I would begin. So I would begin by looking back. And I
23:48
have found that through my whole life, I've had certain
23:48
points of inspiration and certain points of style that I've
23:56
always gravitated to. So I would look back and think about
23:56
from zero to seven, what were you wearing? Were you being
24:03
dressed by someone else I was dressing myself. And so I
24:03
think that that was the beginning of really truly my parents
24:10
nurturing my own sense of style. And me just picking out
24:10
what it is I wanted to wear in putting together combinations
24:17
for better or worse, right? And then thinking about my
24:17
teenage years, and what was I attracted to then funny
24:24
enough, I've been coming back around a lot and maybe because
24:24
it's kind of what's in style now. Like some 90s y2k stuff is
24:31
going on now. And so it really is reminiscent of that. But
24:31
back then in the 90s, I was wearing a lot of 90s those 70s
24:39
look and feel like I was wearing a lot of bell bottoms a lot
24:39
of like polyester matching, like jumpsuit type things.
24:48
But like even as a kid I was always really drawn toward
24:48
military style. And okay, so this is another thing you might
24:53
do is like look back on, you know, what your style has been
24:53
throughout the years and what you've come back to over and
24:59
over again. And I think that that is a big clue as to what
24:59
some foundational pieces of your personal style are. Um, but
25:08
thinking back whenever I was little, and I still do this
25:08
now, I was always really inspired by characters in movies or
25:15
shows. You know, I really wanted to be Sarah Connor and
25:15
Ellen Ripley whenever I was a kid. And so at this time in my
25:23
life as I think I was in the sixth or seventh grade, I would
25:23
wear combat boots and flight suits that I would find at the
25:32
it's not the thrift store, but what's it called like the
25:32
army surplus the army surplus store, I would find Navy
25:38
peacoats, flight suits, combat boots and loved it. I had
25:38
some like a lot of camouflage. And I was mixing it in with
25:46
band T shirts. And I'm still dressing like this today,
25:46
basically. But now my inspiration is probably a little bit
25:53
more broad, but I do always come back to these badass women
25:53
like specifically Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde and Mad
26:00
Max. And you know, thinking about Ellen Ripley that's played
26:00
by Sigourney Weaver, in Aliens. I'm also recently was really
26:10
inspired by her character in Ghostbusters.
26:14
So I find myself coming back to these women, whether it's
26:14
characters or the actual actors and actresses themselves.
26:22
Another person I've been really inspired by lately is
26:22
Natasha Leone, specifically in her show Poker Face. It's so
26:31
cool. She has this like bohemian meets Southwestern country
26:31
meets kind of like mechanic like working mechanic vibe. And
26:40
so she's wearing things like flared black jeans and a T
26:40
shirt with cowboy booties and maybe a trucker hat with like
26:46
a cool vintage 70s jacket and I've just been so inspired by
26:46
her. Um, so I would say, you know, look at one look at
26:54
things that have you've gravitated toward along the way your
26:54
whole life, like what kind of vibe or style and then look at
27:02
maybe who you've been inspired by along the way and like
27:02
look at what's changed and what hasn't changed? So like for
27:09
you, Emily, what what has been a style point that you've
27:09
come back to time and time again over the years? Or who have
27:16
you been inspired by over the years?
27:20
Wide leg pants, any color fabric. Like bell
27:20
bottoms? Yes, but wide leg pants are my favorite I think
27:29
about for me.
27:30
JNCOs?
27:31
Like middle school, I remember. Yeah,
27:31
absolutely. A brand that did not evolv well. let's just say
27:38
they still exist. Well, you can go look them up. But they
27:38
did not evolve well. They really missed an opportunity, I
27:45
think because I would buy them all. So wide leg pants is
27:45
definitely my shtick. I like to pair things together that
27:55
don't necessarily go together or just like wear weird
27:55
interesting things. Not quite like flight suits. But think
28:03
like animal print. Like I remember having like this leopard
28:03
print jumpsuit and high school that I loved so much and it
28:11
was weird. I remember getting some weird comments about it.
28:11
But I loved it. I whenever I think about the threads of it,
28:19
it's definitely I love clothes that don't touch me. It's an
28:19
ongoing thing and something I've I've realized as I've
28:25
gotten older I like just like really flowy like let me move
28:25
around clothes. And I'm a sucker for neutrals. Like since I
28:34
was a kid since I was a kid so I've always really enjoyed
28:34
pairing together unexpected things. I do love a bold print.
28:41
And I love things that are a little more baggy and flowy if
28:41
we can harken back to that caftan comment earlier that is my
28:49
like, ideal wardrobe piece period. And when it comes to
28:49
inspiration, you know, it's less people. I've never been
28:57
like much of a TV watcher. There's a couple of ones I'm
28:57
really surprised you didn't bring up The Craft like actually
29:05
that wasn't at the top of your list. And I also think of
29:05
like Buffy the Vampire Slayer like definitely that like
29:12
darker side. Like strong women don't really care what other people think
29:14
like just going to wear what they want but also practical
29:21
because you might be slaying vampires. Right? as needed. So
29:21
little less people were I've always gone back for
29:29
inspiration. And this is such a funny thing considering
29:29
everything I think but I have always loved streetwear
29:38
especially Fashion Week. Like if you look back at years and
29:38
years of Pinteresting or whenever I think about like when I
29:47
was a kid looking at magazines I wanted like I was looking
29:47
at what what what are they called like movie stars like
29:56
famous people. What are they called? I don't know what
29:56
people wearing like streetwear. Celebrities thank you that's
30:02
the word. So like the the streetwear sections in in the in
30:02
the magazines or like these days I will still Paris Fashion
30:11
Week, New York Fashion Week, Milan doesn't even matter. I am
30:11
looking up street like fashion week streetwear and that is
30:19
where I always gather probably the most of my inspiration
30:19
and whatever variation that is since I was a kid, I want to
30:28
be incredibly practical layered as needed. Lots of neutrals
30:28
and don't touch me, I want them to flow flow behind me. So
30:43
that's where most of my inspiration has come from. I do love
30:43
a really solid color palette, it's so it's less about like,
30:51
looking to inspiration in specific people or in specific
30:51
places. And for me, it's definitely more of a mood. I think
31:00
that I'm going for mood and comfort.
31:04
I love what you were saying to go and looking at. So and I
31:04
think you can go at this from whichever way you know, there
31:10
are the pieces that you had, when you were a kid that you
31:10
still remember of like, I wish I still had that pair of
31:15
jeans or that shirt, like whatever that thing was that made
31:15
you feel totally badass, as you know, a seven year old or
31:21
whatever. There are things like that along the way. And it's
31:21
picking up the threads of what is the same between those
31:29
things. For me, it's like, you know, baggy, practical, or
31:29
neutrals with bold prints, or whatever it may be, it's
31:37
looking at those threads, and finding them and recognizing
31:37
what they are. So you can start putting things together from
31:45
that place. If you have a hard time doing that, I also think
31:45
it's a great tactic to just look at what you currently have,
31:54
and what of it you like. So if you are thinking like, you
31:54
know, I've always hated all of my clothes, or you know, I've
32:01
never had a couch that I liked, because we can also bring
32:01
interiors into this. Just look around at what you do have.
32:06
Check out your closet. Look around your house, is there like
32:06
a shape of a table that you like, right? Or is there a shirt
32:14
you currently have? Is it the fit, is it the color, is it
32:14
the material, is it the pattern, is it the way you can pair
32:21
it with you know, five things in your closet, whatever it
32:21
may be looking at what you currently have, and identifying
32:26
what you love and why you love it, I think is also a really
32:26
powerful backbone for you to build on to to develop a
32:35
personal style.
32:35
I think also logistically, a great place
32:35
to start is with a Pinterest board, you know, just get on
32:42
Pinterest and start curating and pinning anything and
32:42
everything that you love whenever it comes to style. So just
32:49
type in style, start pinning, and it will start populating
32:49
the algorithm with more of that. So you might need to do a
32:55
new search at some point. So you don't fall down a rabbit
32:55
hole that you're not necessarily resonating with. And you
33:01
can just start pinning away. And then what you can do is pin
33:01
without abandon, then look at that board and start to notice
33:08
patterns and themes. So is there a color palette that you're
33:08
really attracted to like maybe you're pinning a ton of
33:14
things that are green, and didn't ever even think that you
33:14
would like wearing green. You know, so take a look at what
33:21
colors are showing up. What fits are coming up, what the
33:21
kind of style and vibe is. And that's a really great way to
33:28
start to see what it is that you're attracted to. And then
33:28
say, Okay, do I can I recreate any of these looks like do I
33:35
have stuff in my closet or in my home already, that can
33:35
elicit this vibe, you know, evoke this vibe? Because here's
33:45
the deal. Even people who have a ton of money can lack
33:45
style, like style isn't just about having all the money to
33:53
buy all the things that you want. Style is 100% an attitude.
33:56
And you can have badass style or whatever style you want
33:56
without a whole lot of money. And what it is, is by really
34:06
narrowing in and pinpointing what are the pieces that you
34:06
want, what do you have? How can you start to put things
34:12
together in a certain way? You know, for me style is really
34:12
about the attitude, you were talking a little bit about this
34:18
too Emily like the confidence and the attitude, it really is
34:18
about the attitude that I want to embody. And it's how I
34:25
want to reflect that on the outside. So it's not only a way
34:25
to signal to other people who I am and what they can expect
34:31
for me, but it like really gives me the confidence to show
34:31
up as a badass. So that's another thing that you might want
34:38
to think about are like what are a few adjectives or words
34:38
that you would use to describe your ideal style. So for me
34:47
whenever it comes to how I want to look and feel, and I've
34:47
said this for many years now, I am dressing for the zombie
34:56
apocalypse, you know, like the movie version of a zombie
34:56
apocalypse. So whatever I'm wearing, I want to be able to
35:04
imagine wearing it for 300 days traveling across the country
35:04
to find my kiddo with a slingshot in my pocket and a bow and
35:15
arrow on my back and maybe a machete in my left hand right?
35:15
Like I just want to feel kind of like a well worn badass
35:28
ultimately. So think about what your style adjectives are as
35:28
well and you can also do this by looking at your Pinterest
35:33
board. So it might be you know, feminine and bohemian with a
35:33
little bit of rock'n'roll edge. Or it might be really super
35:42
classic bombshell. I don't know like, but just think about,
35:42
like what those different adjectives are whenever it comes
35:51
to how you want to look and feel. And that can be a great
35:51
touch point whenever it comes to buying new things or even
35:57
editing your current wardrobe, say, you know, does this fit
35:57
the vibe that I'm going for?
36:03
I love that you can also type those things
36:03
into Pinterest. So you can put like, badass style, worn,
36:12
well worn style? Sure, probably. Right, it'll give you
36:12
plenty of things. I also think the algorithms there will
36:19
give you like, more common terms for the things that you're
36:19
searching for us, like Pinterest is such a great tool for
36:25
this kind of thing. One of mine is is comfort, which I've
36:25
talked about a couple of times, but it's not, it's not just
36:33
comfort as in like, you know, sweat pants and hoodies all
36:33
day every day though I do have a really great selection of
36:39
those. It's more of this combination of pairing like classic
36:39
piece, classic and edgy pieces. And layering in comfort into
36:51
everything that I do. So and I've also found that whenever
36:51
you curate the pieces that represent what you're looking
37:00
for, and then you put them together in a way that just feels
37:00
good to you. Even if it's unconventional. People feel it,
37:13
and they love it. So one of the things I recently got up it
37:13
was a little cold here. I think it was going to be raining.
37:20
I had to come into the shop. And I put together the funkiest
37:20
little outfit I think I've probably ever worn but it was
37:26
literally just I wanted to be comfortable. I wanted to be
37:26
warm enough. I wanted to like have to if I had to get wet,
37:33
it wouldn't like ruin anything. So I like put on my rain
37:33
boots and I put on my pants and I put on like a sweat shirt,
37:42
and a blazer and then my like rain proof hat on top. And it
37:42
was it was weird. It was a weird outfit. And literally
37:50
everyone complimented my outfit. And the first time I was
37:50
like dude I literally just dressed for to be comfortable.
37:57
That is, was my only goal today was to be comfortable. But
37:57
when you have the right pieces and you put them together for
38:04
whatever purpose you're putting them together for and you
38:04
feel good in them, like the whole vibe is there and people
38:13
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38:22
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39:17
What about things that you are willing to
39:17
spend money on because whenever it comes to really
39:21
pinpointing your style, I do think it's a good idea to ease
39:21
into it. And I know that people a lot of people are against
39:28
fast fashion and that's bad and wrong and all the things but
39:28
I think it might be a good idea to try some things that
39:36
aren't so expensive. So that then you know what it is that
39:36
you want to invest in, you know what I mean? So I do this
39:43
with actually makeup as well like I will buy kind of the
39:43
cheaper Covergirl version of a color that I'm wanting to try
39:50
out before I'm spending the $30 on a lipstick that I'm not
39:50
sure if I even like the color or not. So I think that you
39:57
can do this with clothes as well. So check out places like
39:57
Zara or h&m but also thrifting is like a really great I'm
40:03
more on the thrifting side whenever it comes to my home
40:03
style for sure. I like I love bringing in some weird thrift
40:13
store and estate sale stuff into my house. I guess because
40:13
it almost in some ways seems lower stakes than what I'm
40:20
wearing. Like what I'm wearing feels so much more personal.
40:20
Even though my house does feel like this living breathing
40:27
entity on its own. Like it has this vibe of its own that I'm
40:27
less in control of like I let my house itself really dictate
40:37
what it wants to be. Which is kind of weird to say, but I
40:37
really do feel like I listen to my house whenever it comes
40:45
to that style.
40:45
Well, and I, that's a really great point to
40:45
make. Because I do think staying true to the style that is
40:48
already present in your house is important, I think for
40:48
everything to feel cohesive, it will, it's important if you
41:00
want it to be important if you don't give a shit, and you're
41:00
like I'm stuck in or I love my like, you know, mid century
41:08
modern house, but what I really want is a, you know, plant
41:08
filled jungalow. You do that love that for you. Um, but I do
41:17
think there is something about letting a very prominent
41:17
style of a house really lend very heavily to the style that
41:28
you add to it in a way that you don't really have to do
41:28
whatever it's your wardrobe, unless you have to dress in a
41:37
particular way for your job, which I would imagine, most of
41:37
us listening to this probably don't have to do that very
41:43
often feel like that's sort of a similar scenario. But it is
41:43
quite true with your house.
41:49
I want to come back I want to talk about
41:49
house and style just a little bit more. Because whenever it
41:55
comes to my house, I live in a really amazing mid century
41:55
modern house that was built in the 1960s. I've got wood
42:03
ceilings, it's split level, I mean, it is funky like funky
42:03
60s mid century, but it was remodeled in the 80s. So I've
42:11
got those like melamine like the white melamine and oak
42:11
cabinets in my kitchen. My a lot of my sconces are like
42:19
mixed metal like gold and silver angular sconces, I've got a
42:19
whirlpool in my main bathroom, I mean it is full on 80s
42:34
remodel in like half of the house. And I love it. I love
42:34
that someone came in in the 80s and remodeled this house
42:42
that was built just a couple of decades before. And so what
42:42
I've really tried to do in my own home is blend this mid
42:50
century modern with like the 80s vibe, but also in the 80s.
42:50
If you I'm really inspired by 80s kitchens like Golden Girls
42:59
and Alf and Roseanne. And the really interesting thing about
42:59
these 80s kitchens is that they're oftentimes referencing
43:06
the 40s. Because if you were looking at kitchens in the 80s,
43:06
they're wanting to do what was retro and classy, which was
43:12
what was happening four decades before that, right. So you
43:12
have to consider that as well. Like everything's kind of
43:18
referencing each other, and you end up in this hall of
43:18
mirrors. But I really love that. So I started you know, kind
43:26
of modeling my kitchen in this 80s does 40s vibe with a
43:26
bunch of copper tin molds, you know, like the ones that are
43:33
like little fish and a lobster that looks like a penis and
43:33
grapes. And you know, like the Bundt cake pans and stars. So
43:42
I have a whole wall filled with those because it's very
43:42
Golden Girls and Alfish I really I wanted to keep the
43:49
cabinets everyone was shocked that I love my cabinets. And a
43:49
few people have even noted like, that's so cool that you
43:56
just kept the cabinets and rock them and I have those
43:56
cabinets and now I'm going to keep mine too. So you don't
44:02
have to always do what other people are doing and my house
44:02
is not super Instagrammable right. But whenever people come
44:09
into my home, they are delighted. They're delighted by all
44:09
of the art, all of the layers, all of the things in there.
44:18
The incense burning, the music playing, it is about a
44:18
layered an eclectic vibe, that again, my house itself is
44:28
really dictating. But whenever it comes back to my clothes,
44:28
I feel more in charge on my clothes, like my house, she's
44:34
doing her own thing. Like she's letting me know what she
44:34
wants and what she does not want. But whenever it comes to
44:40
my clothes, I feel like I'm really in the driver's seat
44:40
there. So coming back to clothes. What are you willing to
44:49
spend money on because there's a few things I dropped some
44:49
coin on and I'll let you all know what that is. But what do
44:56
you, what do you spend money on?
45:00
There's a couple of things and I want to do
45:00
clothes and maybe a little bit of furniture as well because
45:07
I really hadn't thought of house decor as well because I
45:07
think these two things like I think you'll see those sort of
45:11
common threads here. When it comes to clothes, boots. Boots
45:11
are one of those things for me right like I will drop some
45:22
coin on a good pair of boots.
45:25
Like how much?
45:27
A couple 100. Maybe they ever spent was like
45:27
three 350.
45:32
Yeah, I've spent up to $500 on boots
45:32
before and that's a lot of money for me. Like I do not spend
45:38
a lot of money on clothes? You will I want you to understand
45:38
that I am also on Instagram wondering how all these people
45:45
have all this money to buy all these designer things right?
45:45
So that is not us. If you're listening to this right now
45:50
that is not us, we are not buying designer things.
45:54
No, I literally, I don't think I own a
45:54
designer thing at all actually.
45:58
Same.
45:59
No, I don't own anything designer. And
45:59
whenever I talk about like dropping some coin on something,
46:05
it's definitely like I'm buying one of these, or in the case
46:05
of boots, I have two or three really nice pairs. But they've
46:13
also lasted me for years. The first pair I bought I bought
46:13
five, six years ago, and those things are still stomping
46:21
around with me on an ongoing basis. And I spent that much
46:21
money on them because I wanted to have them forever. Because
46:28
I loved them so much. I did not want them to be boots that
46:28
were going to last me a season or two. And then I have to
46:34
chunk them. So boots and hats are two things that I will
46:34
spend some good money on because those are like those are
46:44
also like exclamation points to outfits for me right like
46:44
and in the case of shoes are literally going to get the most
46:52
wear because I'm stomping around in them not as hard as
46:52
Kathleen. But boots and hats are two pieces of clothing that
47:01
I will pretty ongoing. I do have cheap boots, I do have
47:01
cheap hats. But when it comes to seeing a price tag and
47:08
going okay worth it. I love that boots are something that
47:08
I'm going to be wearing a ton and hats, I like to think of
47:16
as literally heirloom items, like my hat collection will go
47:16
to my daughter and they will be like a good timeless hat
47:23
will carry on for several more decades. So I'm definitely
47:23
thinking about them as long term investments and literally
47:32
heirloom items.
47:34
Yeah, my most expensive pair of boots I've
47:34
had now for 15 years and will easily have them for 15 more,
47:40
and I still get compliments on them every time I wear them.
47:40
Same with hats, you know, whenever it comes to style, there
47:47
are days I don't want to get dressed. But if I throw on a
47:47
hat and a red lip, I'm good to go. You know, and people will
47:54
be like, Oh, you're fancy. And I'll say I'm literally just
47:54
wearing a hat. I mean, there's not much more to it. Yes,
48:05
exactly. The other thing that I'm really willing to spend
48:05
money on so like boots, jeans, I'm willing to wear, spend
48:13
more money on jeans, because I'll wear them again for
48:13
decades.
48:20
I don't like jeans.
48:22
Exactly. So you know, jeans are a little
48:22
tighter.
48:26
Yeah, yeah, I don't like it.
48:29
I will say style of jeans. I mean, what goes around comes
48:29
around, but even jeans that I've had that come back in style
48:35
aren't quite right. So I wouldn't say that they don't have
48:35
quite the same amount of lasting power as far as style goes,
48:41
as maybe some boots do. And then the other thing I spend a
48:41
lot of money on is my hair. And my hair has become a really
48:50
integral part of my style. And it's always changing. So it's
48:50
the thing that I know if I can get it right and then feeling
48:59
good about my hair. I'm feeling good about everything else.
49:03
Yeah, here's a good one, high five, I don't
49:03
spend that much money on my hair, my hair is like it just
49:07
kind of takes care of itself for the most part, we have very
49:07
different kinds of hair. And you definitely use yours more
49:14
than I use mine. In terms of like defining your style.
49:16
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And like and like how I
49:16
show up in the world. You know, one other thing I want to
49:23
talk about a little bit whenever it comes to style, is
49:23
really thinking about and whenever it comes to, especially
49:28
investing in your style, whether that's in your home, or
49:28
your clothes, is really thinking about what you want to grow
49:35
into. I think that really thinking about style as almost a
49:35
manifestation tool, or really kind of becoming who it is
49:43
that you want to be is a great way to think about what
49:43
you're going to purchase or what you're going to put on your
49:50
body or what you're gonna wear. And so for me, like whenever
49:50
earlier we were talking about inspiration. Lately I've been
49:58
really thinking about a way way way far back so not just you
49:58
know Sigourney Weaver in Aliens but I've been really
50:07
inspired by how I visualize you know, like, my ancestors, my
50:07
spirit guides, these ladies that have come before.
50:16
You about to bring corsets back?
50:19
Listen.
50:19
They are back regardless.
50:20
They weren't they, my ladies were not
50:20
wearing corsets. These were like badass Viking women who are
50:27
probably problematic, but you know, these badass Viking
50:27
women or witchy midwives, you know and healers that were
50:28
But this really is something that I truly consider whenever
50:28
it comes to style and being who I want to be like, I don't
50:34
threatened to be burned at the stake. What were they
50:34
wearing? And then also, I think of, whenever I think back
50:42
on, you know, where I come from, I imagine I also come from
50:42
a line of like, these artsy feminists who were making things
50:50
and creating things and living life on their terms before
50:50
that was acceptable and okay for women, you know, so I
50:58
really like to think about them and kind of making them
50:58
proud with who I am now. And how, how they've paved the way
51:05
so that I can wear these things or do these things with my
51:05
hair and with my body. So that even when I think about that
51:13
a lot, too, even whenever I'm working out, like I think
51:13
about drawing on the power of these really strong women that
51:21
came before me and just having them look down at me and say,
51:21
Yeah, girl, you're a badass you come from you come from us,
51:29
and you're doing well, you're making us proud. But then I
51:29
also on the flip side of that, whenever I think about style
51:37
inspiration, I like to think about myself whenever I'm 50,
51:37
60, 70, 80. And I want to make her really proud too and I
51:45
want to start to I want to meet her where she's at, you
51:45
know, so for me, if time is kind of a spiral, I kind of
51:53
believe that my eighty year old self exists out there
51:53
somewhere already, right. And so she's looking back at me
52:00
now. And I'm looking forward to her and we're gonna meet in
52:00
the middle. And I'm going to start making decisions now to
52:08
make her proud, but also to make her who she is, once I get
52:08
there. And so I know it sounds like I've been smoking a lot
52:17
of weed I'm totally sober right now.
52:32
want to become complacent or stop thinking about it. Like I
52:32
really love it. And I love it for my future self. And I love
52:42
it for the people who I've come from. And I just want to
52:42
live it big and live it loud, whatever that looks like.
52:51
That is deep. That's real deep. My extent of
52:51
this as I like to think about what I'm going to wear the
52:56
night before. I put myself to sleep going, What do I want to
52:56
wear tomorrow, like maybe I'll I'll put on those pants. And
53:05
I wonder what it would look like if I tried it with that
53:05
sweater or whatever. And then I wake up the next morning
53:09
excited about getting dressed, which is a whole thing in
53:09
itself. We were talking about investing the hour talk about
53:17
collecting things really quick because I think this is
53:17
important thing to throw in there. I don't want anyone to
53:22
think okay, now I need to go like redecorate my bedroom or
53:22
my office or like buy a new wardrobe. I think we're both
53:28
from a place where you talked about boots you've had for 15
53:28
years, I've had my favorite pair of boots for like six, you
53:35
know, a collection of hats that I've been collecting over
53:35
the past couple of years, I definitely I have pieces from
53:41
Old Navy that I have worn for 10 years, like there is
53:41
something about the accessibility of fast fashion, and
53:48
getting some really great timeless sort of staple pieces and
53:48
just wearing the living shit out of them.
53:54
Yes.
53:55
Which is one of the things that I love to
53:55
do.
53:57
Well worn.
53:58
Well worn, well worn. And if you're fighting
53:58
zombies, they're not asking you who you're wearing. Right?
54:05
As long as it's comfortable to you. And it feels great, and
54:05
it goes with what you're doing. But there is this process of
54:13
collecting pieces over the years, and I've been in my house
54:13
for seven and a half years now. I was actually I recently
54:20
saw a photo of my living room right after we moved in. And
54:20
it was like it was bare, it was so like, there was a couple
54:25
things in there that I had brought with me but not very many
54:25
things. And whenever I look at my living room now it is full
54:31
of plants and great pieces of furniture and amazing art and
54:31
all of these things. And it took me seven and a half years
54:39
to collect everything from where I started then to where I
54:39
am now. And for me, that's one of the things that makes a
54:47
wardrobe and a space feel really special not only to you,
54:47
but people who come in, they can feel the they can feel that
54:56
there are stories there. Right Like I remember I remember
54:56
when and where I was when I bought this house. It was last
55:01
time I was in New Orleans, right or like the piece of art on
55:01
my wall, or whatever it may be. Each piece has its own story
55:08
and it wasn't like oh, I just got tired of all my clothes
55:08
one day so I went to you know, Banana Republic and bought a
55:13
new wardrobe. There's something to mindfully collecting
55:13
pieces and making that a part of your journey. I love to go
55:21
to antique stores with no purpose in mind like just let's
55:21
just go see what we find. You pick up a nice little you
55:28
know, brass dish to put on your coffee table or a lamp or
55:28
maybe nothing at all. Maybe nothing speaks to you at all.
55:34
But there is this like this collecting that happens and even
55:34
if things don't all necessarily go together they do because
55:42
you are the common thread. And so it all starts to make
55:42
sense. So I love to mix, I love to mix things like like, mix
55:49
some really old antique stuff with something that's a little
55:49
more modern, something that's like incredibly functional. I
55:54
mean, it has no function literally at all, it just looks
55:54
cool. I really do love to pair nice expensive things with my
56:01
Old Navy basics, or whatever it may be. And that creates a
56:01
style that is uniquely yours. And is part of an ongoing
56:12
journey, not just something you decide to do one day.
56:15
Absolutely. This actually makes me think
56:15
about how I'm also highly inspired by streetwear. I think
56:22
earlier you were talking about street style, like kind of
56:22
like off duty celebrity style. So streetwear there's this
56:29
show on HBO Max called the hype. And Offset is one of the
56:29
judges a woman named Betty and then Marnie, who is Beyonce
56:40
stylist. And it's a competition show where a lot of young
56:40
designers are sewing and creating specifically streetwear
56:48
style. So it's a lot of T shirts, hoodies sneakers, like
56:48
cool jeans and slacks and things like that, right. So truly
56:59
streetwear inspired by, you know, a lot of hip hop, and I
56:59
can't help it but like, I love that too, even though it
57:07
doesn't necessarily fit in with the zombie killing aesthetic
57:07
that's kind of rooted in kind of like military inspired. Or,
57:17
you know, like a little bit more like Lara Croft vibes,
57:17
right. So whenever it comes to that, I will buy some Air
57:25
Force ones and mix them into what I've got going on or buy
57:25
some hoodies. And so I really am finding inspiration from a
57:33
bunch of different places. And it's not always even
57:33
necessarily fashion. You know, like, I'm not opening a
57:39
fashion magazine, or, like you said, going to a store and
57:39
buying everything off the rack. I'm sorry, I'm going on
57:46
tangents. Well, welcome me back to the show where I go off
57:46
on all sorts of tangents.
57:52
Just talking.
57:53
Recently, I was in this neighborhood,
57:53
that's like a new build neighborhood, I actually do a lot of
57:59
branding for them. And I really love like this neighborhood
57:59
is so cool and polished. And all the houses are brand new,
58:06
but designed to look very different. And I was walking
58:06
through this neighborhood and noticed, you know, kind of
58:12
peeking inside the houses, every single house was furnished
58:12
with like the same West Elm furniture, and the same West Elm
58:22
art and it, they were beautiful, and they probably look
58:22
really great on Instagram, but it lacked a certain amount of
58:30
soul, you know, and I even fall victim to this, like I'm
58:30
watching Leanne Ford and then want to paint my whole house
58:37
white and become a minimalist. And that's just not, that's
58:37
not what the soul of my house wants, you know, and then
58:44
seeing what style to I'm really sometimes tempted. And this
58:44
is where I try things that might be a little bit more fast
58:50
fashion, and see how I'm able to integrate them into my
58:50
wardrobe in a more permanent way or into my style in a more
58:57
permanent way. And it can be really tricky, and I sometimes
58:57
feel a little discombobulated or scattered. But over time,
59:08
there's constantly this like curating and editing that
59:08
happens. And that's the beautiful thing with age is now
59:16
we've collected some things, we've gotten rid of some things
59:16
and through the decades through the years, we've been able
59:23
Yeah, yeah, right. Oh, I love that through
59:23
the collecting you discover who you are more so than, you
59:23
to figure out who we are. know, you. You use who you are to collect things?
59:38
Or like just pinning things, you know,
59:38
like, gonna get off the internet and get into the real
59:44
world. You know, even. Okay, so talking about Pinterest. So
59:44
you remember a while back, I told you that I was cutting
59:50
things out of magazines, and then like pasting them in a
59:50
notebook.
59:53
Yep.
59:54
And it felt very creative and artsy to me
59:54
to be just kind of creating like these little mini mood
1:00:00
boards in a notebook. And what it really was doing is like a
1:00:00
physical hands on Pinterest, because I was having to really
1:00:10
choose Okay, what am I going to take the physical energy of
1:00:10
cutting out and pasting and time, it's just not as fast you
1:00:18
know, and really developing style. It's not going to be fast
1:00:18
and you're going to make some mistakes, some expensive
1:00:24
mistakes along the way. Lord knows I have, but that's how
1:00:24
you start to learn truly who it is that you are and what it
1:00:31
is that you want to project into the world and what you want
1:00:31
to bring into your home.
1:00:33
Yeah, yeah, I think when it comes to
1:00:33
collecting things too, I think having a couple of boundaries
1:00:40
in place, but also knowing when to bend your boundaries.
1:00:40
Like I will not splurge on anything white. Like, not a white
1:00:51
shirt, not a pair of white pants, not a not a white set of
1:00:51
sheets, like they're going to be cheap. I'll have them but
1:00:56
they had their cheap. Because it will, the last white shirt
1:00:56
that I bought. I wore it for four hours, and I got
1:01:05
splattered paint on it. I don't even know how it happened.
1:01:05
And so, like, I just know, for myself, I'm never going to
1:01:11
splurge on anything white.
1:01:13
I'm never going to splurge on a shirt,
1:01:13
because like my armpits will devastate a shirt. Especially
1:01:19
an expensive shirt. I feel like I sweat twice as much in an
1:01:19
expensive shirt.
1:01:24
Yeah, yeah, you're right, because you're
1:01:24
nervous about it, you're just nervous about it. But I also
1:01:29
think knowing when to bend your rule. So for a really long
1:01:29
time, I would not spend a lot of money on a pair of
1:01:36
sunglasses, I wouldn't do it because I broke them all the
1:01:36
time, constantly breaking sunglasses. Until one day I was
1:01:44
like no I'm doing I really wanted a pair of Krewe
1:01:44
sunglasses, and I bought them in like expensive sunglasses.
1:01:51
At that point, like I paid 100 bucks for them. That was
1:01:51
wild, because I go through sunglasses, like candy. I those I
1:02:01
don't have any more because I broke them. But I have since
1:02:01
bought another I had them for a really long time, a really,
1:02:07
really long time. And then I replaced them and I've had this
1:02:07
pair for even longer. And I've definitely learned the power
1:02:15
of investing in pieces and how that can literally help you
1:02:15
take better care of things. So if you're weary about
1:02:22
spending money on things, because you know, you're not cool
1:02:22
enough to in whatever way you want to define that because me
1:02:30
and white shirts. Sometimes you need to break the rule to
1:02:30
prove to yourself that you can you can invest in pieces. I
1:02:39
also want to talk about investing in pieces for the house
1:02:39
really quickly. Art is something that I will spend some
1:02:44
money on for sure, like a really great piece of art that,
1:02:44
again, I think of it as an heirloom piece, this is not just
1:02:51
something that's going to be in my house. Now, I would love
1:02:51
to be able to decorate my kid's house with this piece, you
1:02:56
know, in a couple of years, and I'm supporting an artist and
1:02:56
doing all those things. And then also any piece of furniture
1:03:02
that's going to be used a ton. Like if you buy a cheap piece
1:03:02
of furniture, it's not going to last very long if it's being
1:03:09
used consistently. So that's also something that I will do a
1:03:09
bit of a splurge on.
1:03:16
I have an Ikea couch that I love so much.
1:03:16
It's an Ikea sectional. And the cool thing about IKEA
1:03:23
couches is that there's a couple of companies that make
1:03:23
custom covers for IKEA couches. And so you could just change
1:03:29
out the cover every, you know couple of years. And that's an
1:03:29
investment too like, I think that the cover for my couch
1:03:36
total ended up costing around six or $700. Which seems like
1:03:36
a lot for a fabric cover. But thinking about this couch
1:03:44
lasting I think I'll probably have this couch forever,
1:03:44
honestly. And then there's another couch that I bought
1:03:50
downstairs that is literally from Wayfair. And it is a cheap
1:03:50
piece of garbage. But I don't have the funds or the patience
1:03:59
to buy the couch that I want to buy. So I just covered it
1:03:59
with like a bunch of textiles that feel very eclectic, and
1:04:08
bohemian. And now you don't see the couch. So there are
1:04:08
things that you can do that are cheap, to you know, elevate
1:04:16
what you've got.
1:04:18
Yeah, I think the point here is there are no
1:04:18
rules. And maybe that's even where it becomes really
1:04:25
difficult with for people is we want rules. We want to be
1:04:25
able or we want someone to say like to make a great outfit,
1:04:32
you need these four pieces. There you go, right like in this
1:04:32
color palette, or you know, whatever, here you go. Or to
1:04:38
make a house cozy you need these things in this sort of
1:04:38
configuration. There you go. And what we've sort of I think
1:04:46
shared here is that kind of like we navigate these creative
1:04:46
journeys, were just sort of like picking up skill sets and
1:04:55
taking the opportunities and just like enjoying the ride. I
1:04:55
think cultivating and, and building your personal style is
1:05:03
really similar. I think you can be very goal oriented like
1:05:03
you are right really think about your heritage as you go
1:05:10
into it. Or are you gonna just like figure it out on the fly
1:05:10
like I do. Whatever it may be but it is something that you
1:05:19
and I put a lot of like intentionality into. And not to say
1:05:19
we're cute every day. I'm not cute every day I will speak
1:05:27
for myself. And not to say every corner.
1:05:29
You're cute all the time.
1:05:35
Thanks. I'm not to say every corner of my
1:05:35
house is a beautiful vignette because my guestrooms still
1:05:43
need some work. But it is a journey that we're on to create
1:05:43
wardrobes and spaces that feel good to us. And it's
1:05:53
collecting pieces that mean something to us along the way.
1:05:53
Or even if they don't mean something to us, as we're
1:06:02
collecting them, we add meaning to them as we go.
1:06:05
Yeah, you know, here's the deal that I've
1:06:05
had to learn the hard way is that everything that you see in
1:06:07
Yeah, for sure. Oh, I love that. And that's
1:06:07
what people do read. That is what they read off of you off
1:06:14
Architectural Digest, or on those Instagram feeds, or, you
1:06:14
know, even street style for New York Fashion Week, those
1:06:24
people are putting a lot of effort into making their home or
1:06:24
their outfit look that way, in that moment. It does not
1:06:34
always look that way. There are professional prop stylists
1:06:34
who are coming in and styling these amazing, beautiful homes
1:06:41
even more before it's shot for a magazine. It's lit really
1:06:41
well. You know, you're you're not seeing the armpit stains,
1:06:49
or the coffee stain or the paint splatter. It's been
1:06:49
photoshopped out, or it's a brand new piece that hasn't been
1:06:56
lived in yet. You know, so real life does not look like
1:06:56
Instagram. And I'm saying this for myself more than anyone
1:07:05
because I so badly want my wardrobe and my closet and
1:07:05
whenever I'm wearing my clothes and my home to look like
1:07:12
that, and it just doesn't. And that's a good thing. So you
1:07:12
talked about your guest room meeting a little bit of work.
1:07:19
Well, I've stayed in that guest room multiple times. And not
1:07:19
a once was I thinking this could use a little work. You
1:07:27
know, what I remember from our time together is the meals
1:07:27
that we shared around your kitchen island and the hikes that
1:07:34
we went on. It's not really about what it all looks like.
1:07:34
It's about how it makes you feel. So just keep that in mind
1:07:42
too. Your home, it's about how it makes you feel. Your
1:07:42
clothes, it's about how it makes you feel.
1:07:53
of the space that you're in whatever they can tell if you
1:07:53
love it or not. If you feel great in it or not. They can
1:08:01
feel that the presence have those feelings as you've
1:08:01
collected and put things together. That's beautiful,
1:08:09
Kathleen, well this has been a treat.
1:08:12
Can we end this episode by telling people
1:08:12
what we're wearing right now?
1:08:17
Oh yes. Let's do it. You go first.
1:08:19
Okay, I am wearing an ALF shirt. And it
1:08:19
says no problem. Exclamation mark. So an Alf shirt. And then
1:08:29
a really cozy sweater that I got from the gap. It's kind of
1:08:29
like a brown camel color sweater. My Alf shirt is yellow
1:08:37
with like a picture of Alf on it. I actually had this shirt
1:08:37
whenever I was about eight or nine and I was telling Jeremy
1:08:42
how much I love this shirt. And he found it for me and got
1:08:42
it for me. And then I'm wearing some Madewell jeans which is
1:08:49
one of the few brands that fits my booty. And they're like
1:08:49
high waisted black skinny jeans that flare out at the bottom
1:08:59
with a slit up the side and then I'm wearing my house shoes
1:08:59
because I'm working from my house and then a couple of gold
1:09:06
necklaces. Always got some gold on.
1:09:08
Love it, you do it it's such a vibe we've
1:09:08
it's such a like It's like cozy vibe but there's like a hint
1:09:16
of Mr. Rogers with that cardigan. I love it
1:09:22
And I currently have like a shaggy mullety
1:09:22
haircut. I should mention that as well.
1:09:27
Oh yeah. Yeah. I am wearing, I have all
1:09:27
started my hat I have a black like wide brim hat on. It's a
1:09:35
Gordon brothers got it from New Orleans last year. I wear it
1:09:35
so much. And today not because my hair is dirty. I'm
1:09:42
actually like I'm in that weird in between place growing out
1:09:42
my hair because it's been like chin length for the past year
1:09:47
and a half. I'm growing it out. So now it's just like that
1:09:47
weird like brushing my shoulders length that just does not
1:09:53
look great on me. So my hair is usually in a ponytail have a
1:09:53
hat on black hat. I'm wearing a record label t shirt. It's
1:10:01
actually white. It's a white t shirt. Black Letter says
1:10:01
single lock records has Alabama and a heart on it. It's a
1:10:10
whole thing also gold chain. I have on a linen blazer like a
1:10:10
natural colored linen and blazer. A pair of these are brown
1:10:22
Old Navy pants like almost Chino style, but like a little
1:10:22
stretchier and I think they're probably two or three sizes
1:10:30
too big. Like I put them on this morning and held out the
1:10:30
waist and there's like inches of space. And so they're high
1:10:38
waisted pulled up very baggy I have on a pair of Halloween
1:10:38
socks that are hocus pocus and a pair of lug soul Doc
1:10:50
Martens.
1:10:52
Love it.
1:10:54
So like for me, it's like I'm actually
1:10:54
combining black and brown real hardcore today.
1:11:00
Oh, that's my favorite color combo is
1:11:00
black and brown. I forgot to mention this. I'm always
1:11:05
usually wearing black jeans with a brown belt. And then I've
1:11:05
got some like black boots that have a brown soul on them. I
1:11:11
love breaking some old school rules like you can't mix black
1:11:11
and brown. That's some bullshit.
1:11:17
Yeah, I love doing too. And mine is very
1:11:17
color blocky too. So I'm very much so mixing black and brown
1:11:22
today is is one of my favorite outfits. It's super comfy.
1:11:22
Looks pretty professional, but I'm just like, incredibly
1:11:30
comfortable. That's the vibe.
1:11:35
Settling yourself into the flow of your business from
1:11:35
navigating a whole year of ebbs and flows to embracing the
1:11:41
energy of each and every day, you're bound to have some ups
1:11:41
and downs along the way. For me, this journey of
1:11:47
entrepreneurship is made better when my space keeps me
1:11:47
focused and inspired. As an example, my favorite way to mark
1:11:54
the beginning and ending of the work day is to light a
1:11:54
candle when I sit down at my desk and then blow it out when
1:12:00
I'm done for the day. It's a little ritual that creates
1:12:00
boundaries and a vibe that keeps me focused and feeling
1:12:06
cozy, and the ritual candle that we make it Almanac Supply
1:12:06
Co. is my favorite for this. In fact, my whole shop is
1:12:12
filled with items that I've curated to create the vibe for
1:12:12
feeling connected and flow and inspired with candles,
1:12:20
crystals and other goodies to help you create a dreamy
1:12:20
workspace bedside table or bookshelf. Come gather
1:12:26
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beingboss at checkout. That's almanacsupplyco.com/beingboss
1:12:35
now. Until next time, do the work. Be boss.
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