SPOTLIGHT: Melanie Wolff
There is something to be said about a woman's confidence and how it translate in the clothing she wears. When you walk into a room, sometimes how you carry yourself can be directly reflected in whether or not you feel good in what you are wearing!
This is why I love the work of Melanie Wolff, a personal stylist who owns Your Confident Style.
When Melanie first landed in the LIGHTbeamers Community, she was struggling to find her own confidence with being more visible and sharing her offerings to a larger audience. Putting some of her own advice to work, she started showcasing her style tips and putting on her best outfits to make herself feel more energized about getting Visible!
And she really dove head first into Video -- showing up weekly during our Wednesday Live sessions to get more comfortable on camera!
And it has all paid off!
Today, Melanie has a thriving business and a growing social media presence helping other women dress with confidence.
I'm thrilled to feature her for this months' LIGHTbeamer Spotlight!
APRIL: I know you've worked a lot on your story! Can you give us a little background on how you decided to become a stylist and grow your own brand?
MELANIE: After my daughter was born I stopped looking at myself in the mirror.
I don’t think it was something I did consciously, it just kind of happened. This was so unlike me. I spent my teens and twenties obsessed about how I looked, constantly looking in the mirror, checking to make sure my hair, makeup, and outfit looked great.
Now, I didn’t like what I saw in the mirror anymore.
The exhausted mom who barely had a chance to shower, let alone put on makeup.
The new mom who didn’t immediately drop all the baby weight and was living in sweatpants and her husband’s oversized t-shirts.
This new version of me was so far from the glamorous, put-together mom I envisioned I would be, so I avoided looking at her. I wish I could say weeks later I woke up, the weight was gone, my baby slept through the night, and I lived happily every after.
My daughter did learn to sleep through the night and so did her sister who came along twenty-three months later. In fact, now that they are teenagers they sleep like champs!
Through those early years, I struggled trying to find the work-life-mom-wife balance. And I eventually found, not an equal balance, but I found what worked for me. A big part of finding that balance was feeling good about myself, finding my confidence. And for me that started on the outside.
I noticed that when I put on an outfit that made me look good, I felt more confident. I walked a little taller, smiled a lot more, and didn’t avoid the mirror. I felt more like that stylish, put-together mom I always dreamed I would be.
I had to ditch the oversized t-shirts, sweatpants, and ill-fitting clothing and replace them with the colors and styles that worked best for my body and my lifestyle. It took a lot of trial and error, reading books, blogs, and scouring Pinterest for inspiration.
Luckily I’ve always had a love for fashion and shopping, so finding those pieces that made me feel confident wasn’t a chore, it was an exciting challenge. And I found that I wasn’t only good at styling myself, I have an eye for knowing what looks good on others too. While shopping with friends, I am able to help them find what works best on their body and for their lifestyle.
As my girls grew older and more self-sufficient, I started working as an assistant to my Cabi stylist and was having so much fun helping other women find the pieces that made them feel beautiful and confident that I decided to become a stylist myself.
As a Cabi stylist, I realized that I wanted to help my clients/friends with more than just an amazing collection of clothes. I wanted to show them how to put together outfits from what they already owned, find what colors and styles worked best for them and their lifestyle, and show them how confident and put together they could look on the outside.
APRIL: What have you learned or discovered the most about storytelling and your story?
I am always drawn to people’s stories, often times I will remember a person’s story, and not remember their name. I didn’t want to share my story. I didn’t want to be judged. It was scary putting myself out there. I found that my story isn’t one to be ashamed of. My story is relevant, and there are people that are going through something similar that can benefit from knowing they aren’t alone in their struggles.
APRIL: What's been the hardest part about learning how to share your story?
The hardest part about learning to share my story was becoming confident. I wanted to help other women be/look/feel confident, yet I wasn’t completely confident myself. I needed to do some deep work on myself, start showing up, and start being vulnerable before I could truly step into that confident person that could show up to help others.
APRIL: What is one piece of advice you'd give to another woman about using her voice and sharing her story?
Your story matters, sharing your story can help someone just like you. Be the person you needed when you were younger.
APRIL: What do you love most about your work?
I love the women I meet, the connections I make, and most of all I love being a part of a woman finding her confidence through how she dresses. When one of my clients looks at herself in the mirror and smiles because she loves how she looks, I know that I am a part of something bigger. By giving her the gift of confidence, she is going to do amazing things in the world.
APRIL: What are you busy creating now?
Right now I’m busy creating a group style course where a small group of women will come together and learn their personal style, learn their body shape and how to dress it, clean all the clutter out of their closets, and learn how to style the clothes they already own, so getting dressed in the morning is not only easy, but fun.
APRIL: How do you relax after a busy week?
After a busy week, I love meeting friends for a delicious meal with an even better glass of wine.
APRIL: What kind of things do you like doing outside of work?
Outside of work I love to read, I am learning to crochet, and I love to travel.
APRIL: What does being a LIGHTbeamer mean to you?
Being a LIGHTbeamer means I am shining my light on to others, whether I am helping others look and feel their best through what they wear, or if I am offering words of encouragement or cheering someone on in their newest endeavor. When I shine my light to others, their lights are going to shine brighter, they are going to use their lights to help others shine brighter, and we end up with a world filled with the most amazing beautiful light shining from us all. Being part of this amazing LIGHTbeamers Community has been such a blessing to me. In a world that can be filled with hate, struggle, and meanness; LIGHTbeamers Community is a place where everyone’s goal is to help others, to lift each other up, and to provide support and encouragement so we can all shine brighter.
Be sure to Connect with Melanie and reach out to her for all of your Style needs!!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourconfidentstyle/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourconfidentstyle/
Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/202806250345099/?ref=share
Websites: https://yourconfidentstyle.com
https://melaniewolff.cabionline.com
