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For when you need to find a present for someone who maybe is a little extra…
Happy gifting!
Steven and I moved into our home in Bronte in August, so our housewarming was way overdue by the time we had it this past weekend. We were not expecting gifts so when our friends walked in with boxes full of fun things for us - in addition to bottles of sparkling fun! - we were utterly delighted.
Here are some ideas for the next time you are in a bind about what to get newly-moved friends. They are as fun to shop for as they are to get!
xClaudia
The first exercise in "The Curated Closet" involves detailed observation, behavioural patterns and making lists. The tiny control freak data nerd in my could not have been happier. For two whole weeks I was to live my life as is and make detailed lists of what I did and wore each day. The idea here is to establish the patterns of activities you actually partake in - as opposed to the wishlist of things you wished you were doing instead.
For example, I was under the illusion (delusion?!) that I still attended client meetings and therefore needed to look put together. Part of that is that back when I did have client meetings to go to - namely when I was at the ABC - I was often the youngest and one of two women in the the room. Instead of feeling empowered by the distinction, I decided to hide away behind shoulder pads and all-black getups. I was a serious creative, damn it!
Regardless of how i felt in those scenarios, my current reality could not be farther from that. BlueChilli has a very casual environment - too casual, some might insist! People rock up in t shirts and sneakers. Shorts and flip flops are the norm whenever the weather is over 18 degrees.
I have to admit that I often find the Australian laid-backness a bit oppressive. It's ok to be relaxed and everything, but I like a sense of occasion, of time and place. As much as I want people to feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work, I also want to feel that i'm at work when I'm at the office. It's strange that I often feel pressure to dress down or "relax" when I'm in social or work events. "Why are you so dressed up?" "Are you going somewhere fancy after this?" It makes me feel uncomfortable to field questions that make me feel like I don't belong. I'm sure they are not meant to make me feel like that - but they do. The idea that someone should or should not be dressed a certain way is very antiquated. It is also the opposite of laid back, which is the ultimate irony. Why are Australians so obsessed with appearing more relaxed than we are?!
I'm getting off topic here.... The list-making was proving to be quite a revelatory exercise when it came to my current reality. Sure, I didn't have to go to "client" meetings - but being Head of People at BlueChilli is a leadership position, but internally and externally. I am the face of the company at events and meetups, and I am a proxy to my boss and the strategic business goals when we meet with founders and other partners. I still had a responsibility to be seen with authority, togetherness and care.
And look, maybe this "laid-backness" was contagious after all, but lately I have noticed that I have been dropping my game quite a bit. Seeing my day in lists revealed that I had the same old predictable things on rotation: black-on-black, jeans and a sweater, heels and leather pants. For something that would normally bring me so much a creative outlet and joy, getting dressed in the morning was no longer fun. It had become a utilitarian chore - something that I had to do in the morning.
Even worse, I had a closet full of things that I didn't use anymore - and I was still accumulating things. In the course of my 2 weeks of observation, I had 3 different online parcels arrive - all of which I had forgotten about by the time I got them. None of this was a good sign.
After the 2 weeks were over I took a good look at the list, determined to harvest some insightful learnings from it. And boy, did I ever! I was stuck in a rut - and it was a clutter rut of my own making....
Lessons from the list:
So now I have something to work with.... But I was starting to feel defeated. I had been at this for two weeks and all I had was the discovery that I sucked at something that used to bring me joy and that I had apparently made a lot of really bad - not to mention expense - purchasing choices. Was this every going to start being fun?
I really hope so.
xClaudia
There was a 4 week period about 2 years ago where all I did was get my picture taken. I had taken up a bunch of new projects - including my first venture as a featured speaker with Supernova Tribe . It seemed that every project needed a headshot so I had about 6 photos shoots in just under a month. It was pretty crazy when I think about it now.
IT's weird. I really hate the way I look in photos, but I sure do love the process of getting my photo taken. I have never been in a photo session I haven't liked. There are almost no candid picture of me as a kid - I was too quick to cock my head to the side and smile or make a face. Since I could remember, that has been my go-to picture pose. Head to the side, big smile! I like the sounds of the shutter on the camera clicking. I am equal parts vain and obedient, so a photographer giving me instructions is a dream scenario for me.The pageantry of getting my makeup done and picking out what to wear left me tingled with joy for days.
Actual supermodels being super at the 2017 Versace show.
I was getting ready to leave for one of these photo shoot days when Steven caught me looking in the mirror a little too long. "Are you getting your picture taken today?", he asked. "Yep!" , I said (probably beaming). "You're turning into quite the supermodel!" "Startup supermodel, maybe." And #startupsupermodel was born.
Let's be clear - i obviously don't think I'm a supermodel, or even photogenic for that matter. But I do enjoy the process - and I don't only mean the process of getting my picture taken. I enjoy the process of vanity - makeup and clothes and fussing over what lipstick goes with what bag is fun. I understand that it's not fun for everybody and that some people even find it silly. But it's fun for me. I have taken to hashtagging posts on social media with #startupsupermodel whenever I upload a picture about fashion, or makeup or something fun I'm wearing that day. I'm not bragging or boasting or making a point. I'm just having fun with things that are fun to me.
Most of my #startupsupermodel stuff lives on Instagram. I have shared in on the sidebar here in case anyone wants to follow along. I have decided to use #startupsupermodel as the tag for my Curated Closet journey simply because it was a hashtag I was already using - but also because it will allow me to visually track my progress.
So now that we have more clarity on what #startupsupermodel is - let's get started....
xClaudia
2017 has been the year of hard work. When I see the tally of goals and milestones, I find it incredible that they all somehow seem to be stacking up. It certainly seems that these shiny accomplishments can get blurry through the slog and sweat of the every day grind. As I examined the past 9 months in my head, I could not help but make a little list to remind myself of the things this year has brought my way:
And yet, after looking over this list I could not help but find myself fidgety and uneasy. It felt that I had lost something along the way.
After many weeks of reluctant introspection, I decided to stop thinking about it altogether and give into more mundane pleasures - dining out with friends, an indulgent burger for lunch, a glass of rosé at dinner, online shopping....Whatever it took to get my mind out of my mind. Self-actualisation was going to have to wait.
And it was in one of those mindless YouTube scrolling Sunday afternoons that I landed on The Anna Edit - a wonderful lifestyle blog by Anna Newton fro Brighton. Her accent is delightful, and so was her personality. All of a sudden I felt myself thinking "See? Life doesn't have to be so serious! Look at this nice lady talking about lipsticks to strangers for 25 minutes. Let's watch her organise her closet...."
And right then, out of seemingly nowhere, Anna pulled out the book that inspired this post: "The Curated Closet" by Anushka Rees. I had heard - and even explored the idea - of a capsule wardrobe before. I half-assedly experimented with one last year, which pretty much involved me stuffing most of my closet overflow into suitcases and hoping that I would not need anything inside them enough to have to brave dragging them from under my bed. Alas, an uncommitted experiment was doom to fail.
Why would "The Curated Closet" by any different? - you might ask. Well, because the book is beautiful! But also, because it is data driven. Let me say that again - in case you, like me, are a startup data nerd. "The Curated Closet" is data driven. You get to make charts. And you get to have a whole 2 weeks of observing behaviour and hunting for patters - which is literally my job. I couldn't wait. I got to reinvent my closet AND make charts?! Sold.
But what does this have to do with the aforementioned milestones of 2017 and my weariness at the tail end of this year... ? I'm glad you asked. Nothing. Or at least it was nothing at the beginning. When I picked up a copy of "The Curated Closet" at Dymocks the next day, I was hoping this new shiny project would prove to be a great distraction from what was happening or that it would at least buy me some time before I had to really examine what was making me uneasy.
I was a little sceptical going in - capsule wardrobes seemed formulaic and simplistic to me. Does everyone really need the same striped shirt and black blazer in their closets? How often do you actually see people wearing their LBD out and about? Reading the book was really easy. It's a joy of a read! Anushka Rees has a lovely turn of phrase and as a trained psychologist, she really digs into the psyche of shopping. The book is insightful and very complete. It doesn't rely on cliches and prescriptive advice. Instead, it gives you a methodology to examine your own behaviour and allows you to discover what your really need as opposed to what you want.
The want and the need separation was key for me. My closet was full of wants - the perfect loral dress when I moved to Bondi a few years ago, rails of coats fit for European winters, a thousand pairs of strappy sandals I was going to just "throw on" with a pair of jeans, leather jackets that "went with everything" but I never actually used, a dozens blazers for those client meetings I never go to. It was lunacy. Who was this person?!
It was then that I realised that it was going to be really hard to make room for these new wonderful things in my life when I had so much to let go of -both metaphorically and literally. I had been busy trailing ahead with goals and milestones and weekly To-dos that I had forgotten to let go of old ghosts and baggage along the way. It was time to clean it up, let go of the clutter that is in the way of my joy.
So this is my next experiment: Wardrobe modification therapy. Can I align a closet intervention with a personal cleanse? Am I ready to examine myself from the outside in? I'm not sure - this might just be my latest indulgence and an excuse to buy another leather jacket. But, if nothing else, I'll at least have a cleaner closet at the end of it.....
xClaudia
#startupsupermodel
