Questions, questions… we get them all of the time.  Here’s an interview with LifeStyled Founder, Darcey Howard that will hopefully answer a few of yours.  Read through the whole thing or use the handy key word search to find a specific topic.

What is a style consultant?

Short answer? I am. Long answer? A style consultant is a professional dedicated to making sure the clothes you wear fit a certain image or ideal – or, as I tend to say – a certain brand. Your brand.

But isn’t style consulting for actors and rich women with too many poodles?

I hope not, I’d be out of a job. Seriously, there’s a far cry between the overly glitzy, wholly impractical approach to style you see on the E! channel, and the brand-focused approach I take. My goal is to help get you into clothes that are comfortable and affordable--and that help you advance your career or meet other life goals. Plain and simple.

You keep talking about branding. What does it mean when you brand a person?

The fact is that everyone, from Oprah to Bill Gates to the CPA down the street, already has a personal brand. We live in a very image conscious culture and the impression you give when you shake hands with someone for the first time can have a huge effect on how they respond to you down the line.

LifeStyled personal branding is all about finding the best things about your personality and using clothes and style to bring them to the fore.

Does it really work? Can changing my wardrobe really have that kind of effect on my life and on my career?

You can answer this one for yourself. Next time you’re walking down the street, really look at the people around you. What do you see? What kind of opinions do you form about the man in the power tie? The woman in the outdated jeans? The teenager with the backwards turned baseball cap? I bet you could form little stories about everyone you meet, based on appearance alone.

Now go to a mirror, look at yourself. What do you see? Are you wearing your clothes? Or are they wearing you? When you dress more like yourself – more like your idealized self – your improved image and self-confidence will have huge results.

I buy new clothes all the time, but nothing I get feels right . . .

I was looking at a friend’s closet recently. It was packed with stuff. Filled to the brim. The door practically wouldn’t close. “Darcey,” she said, “I don’t have anything to wear.”

Too many clothes are worse than none at all. The reason so many folks have such full closets is because they buy things without purpose – without a plan as to how each piece will fit into the greater style puzzle. When you find the right clothes – and get rid of the purposeless, wrong ones – you‘ll have a leaner, meaner, more effective closet. And you’ll never stand there trying to figure out what to wear again.

Did I miss something? Ask Frequently enough and I’ll be sure to add it. darcey@getlifestyled.com