ask for what you want (is it an online personal styling session 🤔?)

Gifts are my love language. Even still, as much as I love surprises, I ask for what I want. Expecting someone else (namely my husband) to read my mind and choose the perfect item for me is setting both of us up for disappointment. He’d rather get me something he knows I’ll love and I’d rather receive something I will use. Holiday gifts are a big part of how I plan additions to my wardrobe. I save special items I might not normally allow myself to buy for those occasions and ask for them then (this year it’s a piece of jewelry from Tiro Tiro).

As a personal stylist, offering gift certificates just seems like something you should do. But because the work I do is so personal, I have lots of horror stories from the times when I used to offer them. When I would show up to a session for someone who was redeeming a gift certificate, they’d often be confused about who I was, why I was there, and what we were going to do. Often, they’d actually have been offended by the gift (remember back on What Not to Wear when people had that look of horror because they realized everyone around them hated their style?) And then there’d be the people who’d call me out of the blue three years after their gift certificate expired. 🙄 So I stopped offering gift certificates.

It’s not for me or anyone else to tell someone their style is wrong. I don’t care if your husband or your mother thinks you need to change your style, I only care what *you* think. If you’re happy with your style, who am I to come in and tell you to change it?

BUT. I also don’t think people should have to be mind readers to give someone a useful gift. People should be able to ask for things that they want as a gift. It’s not rude, it’s using resources in a way that are certain to be appreciated.

So if this is you, and you actually do want to work with a personal stylist and think it would be a great gift to receive from someone else, I decided to offer gift certificates for my mini-sessions this year. The mini-sessions are online personal styling sessions where we tackle one style issue head on. We can define your style, untangle your shopping habits, or create a capsule wardrobe. After the mini-session, we can continue on with a closet cleanse, I can act as your personal shopper, or you can just run with the guidance I’ve given you.

Share this link with your gift-giver and make it known that you’d appreciate this - I even put a little check box in the terms and conditions that says “This gift certificate has been requested by the recipient” just to make sure there are no hurt feelings 😍 (other fine print: **Gift certificates expire 6 months after purchase and are non-refundable.)

You can read about how mini-sessions work and buy a gift certificate here.

Do you ask for specific gifts or leave it up to the gift giver?

P.S. The cost of the mini-sessions will probably be going up in 2021, so buy one for yourself if you want to get in on the current price! Above is a short video testimonial from Emma’s “Define Your Style” mini personal styling session.

clothes are hard

Last summer I became a member of a Mastermind group. If you're wondering what the hell a Mastermind group is, it's a group of people who get together regularly to support each other in achieving their goals, be they business or personal. The idea is to put our heads together instead of spinning our wheels on our problems alone. It's totally not the kind of thing that I'd normally gravitate towards, a little too pep-rally-ish for me, but it's turned out to be one of the best things in my life. We meet every week and hold each other accountable for making progress. We act as each other's sounding boards. We give each other advice from our very different perspectives. As someone working alone most of the time, this has filled the void left by my former office full of colleagues.

Sometimes, my concerns are about clothes. At first, I was hesitant to voice them because, really, what serious person talks about clothes? Especially when there are such important things, good and bad, happening in the world. But the members of my group, while at first unfamiliar even just with the concept of a personal stylist, have become my biggest fans. They remind me that "clothes are hard". After hearing about my work for six months, they know that I'm not concerned about superficial things like brands and labels and the latest whatever. They know that I'm more concerned with making sure that clients' wardrobes are easy to manage and that they don't spend money on things they don't need. They know that my clients come to me for reassurance that it's ok to let some things go and for help on making the most of every item in their closets. They know that clothing can affect whether you have a good day or a bad day and that acknowledging this doesn't make you a bad person.

All this is to say that it's ok to think about clothes, and it's ok to need help with them. If you would hire a personal trainer to help you with fitness or take a cooking class to help with food, why not get help with what you cover your body with every day? 

a gift that creates space

If you or someone you know would like help with developing your personal style, weeding out the items you no longer need, or shopping mindfully, please consider a mindful closet gift certificate as a holiday gift. Email me at mindfulcloset@gmail.com to make arrangements!

And remember, in the face of the next few weeks of shopping temptation:

(quote via nonconsumeradvocate.com, image via)

mindful closet gift certificates

Dear readers, I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving and I'm grateful that all of you take the time out of your busy lives to stop by this site! I'm also grateful for the clients I've been lucky enough to work with this fall, from lawyers to teachers to spa owners to grad students.  It's been really gratifying to help them clear clutter from their closets, find them the perfect pieces, and refine their sense of style.

Some of you may be heading out today to brave the crowds and some of you would like to avoid Black Friday, but you all might still need gift ideas. If you know someone who could use help cleaning out instead of adding to, someone who is overwhelmed by shopping, or someone who'd just like to discover new possibilities in their closet, consider a mindful closet gift certificate.

You can read more about the services I offer here. If you're interested, just email me at dacy@mindfulcloset.com!

(Holiday rate only on gift certificate purchases made on or before December 24th, 2013. Gift certificates must be used within one year.)