According to a new report commissioned by Dove, a staggering 89 per cent of Australian women are opting to cancel plans, job interviews or other important engagements simply because of how they look.
I don’t know about you, but I am alarmed by this statistic. We are surrounded by who we consider to be strong, amazing women, yet nearly 9 out of 10 of the women lack confidence because of how they look.
My thoughts are that perhaps it is not so much as to how the LOOK, but how the FEEL. We cannot afford to have women lack the confidence within themselves to miss out on opportunities, events and life.
If you haven’t heard of Iris Apfel, a 96-year-old style icon, then you are seriously missing out!
The thing is though, Iris isn’t just about style, she has created a story of what branding is all about. A story of standing out and standing up for whatever the heck she wants. As Oprah Winfrey says, ““With every experience, you alone are painting your own canvas, thought by thought, choice by choice.”
Feel Empowered and Inspired
to Make Your Mark in the
World and Reach Your
Full Potential…
Iris was told numerous times that she was not pretty, but she had style. She is not one to care for rules. People often ask her what her rules are and she replies “I don’t have any rules because I would be forever breaking them!”
So how do we get the confidence that Iris has so that women can feel comfortable in who they are?
As one of the first women to wear jeans, and an interior designer at the White House for nine presidents, she went from New York style icon to worldwide fame after a 2005 exhibit of her accessories at The Met.
Iris likes to improvise with her outfits – she thinks of it like playing some jazz, just seeing what works. To me, this indicates that she keeps things ‘light’ and doesn’t take herself or life too seriously which is perhaps why when she was in her mid-80’s she became known world-wide, not just in her given industry of textiles and design.
Each item that she wears tells a story. It could be about the person that made it, the country she purchased it in, or a situation she found herself in when wearing the item. So not only does she have such a bold story of her own, she wears the stories of others to give them a voice.
She likes to put new pieces with old – a blend and a mix of low-end and high-end fashion. Iris believes “that individuality is so lost these days – there’s so much sameness. Everything is so homogenised, I hate it. But, whatever.”
So what is that you can you do to stand out from the crowd to be confident in your individuality and brand, in business, career and life?
I reckon the top 3 things are:
1. Be Connected to Yourself : Are you connected to your inner being? Do you truly know who you are? Amongst the busyness and noise of life and interchangeably playing different roles such as Mother, Partner, Employee, Business Owner, Entrepreneur, Carer, Volunteer, Friend, Daughter, Sister… we forget who we are. What our essence is and what gives us energy.
It’s important to stop and take some time to reflect and ask yourself:
- What excites me? That lights me up so much that it can keep me awake at night?
- What is it that I really enjoy?
- Am I taking time out for me? Do I put my own oxygen mask on first before assisting others? To care for myself so that I can also care for others?
- Am I being present?
- What is it that I am fearful of? Why am I fearful of them and what is the likelihood of these fears being actualised?
- If I could do anything in the world with no limitations, what would it be?
- How do I wish for my story and the picture of my life to unfold and look from here on in?
2. Keep Things ‘Light’ and Create Your Own Rules : We take ourselves so seriously that it’s about time we inject some lightness back into our daily routine! We so often live in the future and worrying about things that never eventuate that often, we are never fully present. Do things that make you happy, not what make others happy or what it is that you think will make them happy. Practice gratefulness so that you always keep that lightness with you no matter what may be occurring in your life.
3. Be You : As they say, everyone else is already taken. I reckon we can all be considered to be a mix of low-end and high-end fashion – for example – the highs and lows of life are what shape us and make us who we are. What’s unique about you that sets you a part from everyone else? By knowing and connecting with yourself, by keeping things ‘light’ you have the confidence to emanate your individuality so that you’re not amongst the sameness that Iris describes. By truly being yourself and having the confidence to step out into your light encourages others to do so too whilst remaining true to yourself.
I’d love to know how Iris inspires you to go forth and embrace your uniqueness and to leverage it for your own good and the good of others.
