At a recent Network Central event I won a prize of a Style Workout with Robin Powis of Defining Style. This consists of a wardrobe overhaul and an accompanied shopping expedition.
My first reaction was that I’d pass it on to Danita and a couple of things made me change my mind.
The first thing was that when Kim McGuinness was drawing the prize she said how much she’d laugh if a man won it – and she did!
Also, I felt that since I’d won it so publicly that people would be looking at me at future events to see what impact Robin had had on me. She did admit that she saw me as a bit of a personal project.
The thing that really convinced me to utilise Robin’s services myself was the number of people who came up to me, congratulated me on winning the prize and telling me I didn’t need it – that was very gratifying and quite a surprise.
And so, all things considered, I entrusted myself into Robin’s hands. There was considerable apprehension as my expectation was that it was going to cost me a heap. The other thing that worried me was having someone else go through my wardrobe.
One thing did reassure me – a description I’d heard of someone else’s experience.
In preparation for Robin’s visit she’d cleaned out her wardrobe leaving only the expensive items and putting the rest in a bag. When Robin had gone through the “good” things she asked to see the bag. After being told a number of times that there was no bag, Robin won out, and the bag was presented.
As it worked out a lot of the items in the bag were kept and much of the more expensive items were discarded. Hopefully, that meant I wouldn’t have to completely restock my wardrobe with designer label clothes.
Came the big day and Robin turned up. We had an interesting discussion around how I wanted and needed to be perceived by others and what that meant for my wardrobe.
I spent hours doing a fashion show, getting in and out of different clothes and checking different combinations.
By the end of that day I was exhausted but had a new set of outfits – made of items which I wouldn’t have thought to wear together.
Then the tricky bit – going shopping.
Robin had identified the things I needed to start with – new glasses and shoes. That sounded a lot like dollar signs with fairly big numbers.
The big day came and we went shopping together.
After a rather inauspicious start – being on the wrong side of the city and the shop we intended to start with was closed – we settled in to checking out glasses. What amazed me was how quickly Robin was able to pick out what worked and what didn’t – it was a delight.
After picking out a couple of pairs of glasses it was off to DJs for shoes and a belt. Again, having Robin there made the process so easy. We started with what I wanted or thought would work and she very gently (well maybe not so gently) got me to see things from a different perspective.
When I walked in to the Network Central event this week Kim saw and said “You’ve been Robinned!”
I’ve included before and after photos, so see what you think. BTW, the glasses are still to come.