Styling and Profiling at The Flourish Market
This year was all about creating new opportunities and learning and doing new things. In the spirit of that, I did something this past summer that I have never done before. What is it, you ask? Just keep reading, and you will find out. You may remember a few years ago, I wrote about The Flourish Market opening as a fashion truck. I was their very first customer. Since then, they have moved into being a brick and mortar store. You might remember that I have attended many events such as this one at their store, but since then, they have moved into the warehouse district in Raleigh. With a bigger space, there is more space to shop, which gave me the confidence to step out and do that one thing that I have never done before- book a personal styling appointment. Sure, I know what you are thinking, don’t I already get Stitch Fix and yes they are personal stylists. Still, there is something to be said about getting your personal styling done in person. I booked my appointment online and anxiously awaited for the day of the appointment to roll around. I am not going to lie, I actually thought about canceling it a dozen times or more,
Why because that anxiety that used to control me tried to assert its control over me again. I was 20 pounds down, but I still had that mindset that I was still just a blob. But I held firm. I kept thinking – I am creating opportunities for myself that I needed new clothes to present my best self to others. I arrived a few minutes early and was greeted by Katy, who my appointment was with. Before the appointment, Katy sent me a questionnaire to fill out about my preferences and my sizes. Sidenote: I had initially wanted to find the mother of the bride dress there, but the dress I had wanted to get one that I saw them purchase for the store at the market, but it wasn’t in yet.
So instead I went there looking for some new work casual clothes for me. I was really impressed with the work that Katie put into my appointment. Before I arrived, she had me fill out a questionnaire about my preferences. She had a dressing room set up when I arrived filled with items she had pulled for me to try in based on my preference sheet.
I will admit there were some items that I was like okay – I will try it, but I am not going to like it. But you know what 99% of those items I actually fell in love with, and I bought a few of those pieces home with me. Who knew I would become an animal print girl?
Just having someone else telling me what looks good on me, just helped boost my confidence so much. I have several pieces from The Flourish Market, but I will say that not all of them are my favorite pieces to wear because once I see pictures of myself in them, I think what was I thinking.
But it was also fun to play dress up for the day. Trying on multiple styles and getting out of my comfort zone are things that I struggle with a lot, so this was big for me. I also discovered that I went from an x-large to a medium shirt. Yea me. And my pants are now 2 sizes less than what I had worn before 14-10, but I also noticed when I was looking at myself in the mirror, I wasn’t just gaining new clothes to add to my wardrobe. I was gaining myself back, the self I had lost since 2014, the year that could have and definitely did it’s best to break me. That was so refreshing. And do you know what the self I didn’t realize I had lost in the first place?
I brought my in house fashionista, Gracie, with me to the appointment. She is always my go-to when it comes to getting ready for events. I always ask her for advice about my outfit. She was helpful in the decision making on what items to purchase. I really wanted to buy like 10 things, but I only had a budget for a few of them. Luckily I am part of The Flourish Market’s rewards program. So I was able to redeem my points for a coupon that I could use when I made my purchases. So this enabled me to buy one or two more items.
Here are my final pics from my styling with Katie. This floral dress that I absolutely love. It was my staple during the summer. I wore it to so many events and when we went and visited the Greensboro Science Center over the summer. It is so comfortable and a definite must for hot North Carolina summers.
I also got two animal print tops. I wore these a lot with skirts and capris during the summer. My favorite go-to of the two was this snakeskin print one that I wore to a Dunkin Donut tasting event this past summer.
I also got a dress. This was probably my least favorite of all the items, not because it is not comfortable because it is, but because stripes in mind make me look huge. But I was looking for things that I could wear working in the Blog cabin, and this one fit the bill.
I would have bought a pair of jeans, but they didn’t have them in my size, and they were on backorder forever. I was finally able to purchase them during the fall season, so I have been wearing them to a lot to all of my winter events.
So tell me, have you ever worked with a personal stylist when you buy clothes? It is an experience for sure, and I am happy that I didn’t cancel the appointment because I wouldn’t know what size I actually am.
