Personal Style is Ageless!

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of working with pre-teen Ava. Her mom had me out to the house for an Innovative Outfit Creation session (how smart!).

Mom was looking for me to help Ava expand her outfit selections and further explore her personal style.

Ava has it in spades! From the moment we stepped into her perfectly organized closet – complete with an expandable outfit creation bar – I knew this girl had an eye for fashion.

We started by going through her hanging clothes to eliminate pieces that she had outgrown or now disliked. Then we started playing with outfit pairings.

Nearly every outfit I pulled together, Ava remarked that she had already worn it at least once! This was fun and challenging. She’s unafraid to pair differing patterns and colors with fun bright shoes together all at once.

I was so proud and impressed. I couldn’t help repeatedly complimenting her on these chic looks!

It was time to help her push her fashion boundaries and have even more fun. We paired bright colors, layered patterns over patterns and talked fall fashion trends. (She’d prepared by copying her favorite looks from Delia’s catalog – remember ordering from there as a kid?)

Then we tackled the difficult conundrum of daily dressing. She was distressed that even her best choices from the night before had bored her the following morning. “I feel the same way!” I lamented. We then chatted about how good style takes work and that she should dress in a way that makes her feel good that day, and not get frustrated with multiple outfit changes. “It’s all part of the process,” I explained.

My favorite part of the session was when she explained that she’d never wear flip-flops to school. Only her Tom’s or gray and white polka-dot Converse sneakers.

Ava reminded me that chic personal style has no age. Even at 12, we can explore our creative sides and begin to challenge ourselves to be chic dressers.

Ah the days of dressing with the carefree exuberance of youth!

The following day, Mom shared that Ava was happy with our session and had remarked, “Donna gets me.”

Mission complete!