[00:00:00] One of the most important pieces that I do every year, is actually sit down and re-look at my wardrobe.
I actually do it a couple of times a year, and if you're a regular listener, or watcher, youwould know that like to audit my wardrobe to make sure that it's actually in check with.
Where I'm going, my lifestyle, how I really wanna show up as well. Welcome to the Style and Strategy Podcast, where personal brand meets leadership and style. I'm Sonya, a personal brand and style coach who's been exactly where you are juggling career and business success. Personal growth and finding a style that truly fits. After decades in corporate leadership, I've learned that showing up isn't just about what you do, it's about how you align who you are and how the world sees you.[00:01:00]
This season, I'm bringing you practical strategies, bold insights, and honest conversations to help you amplify your presence, unlock your next level, and lead with clarity and confidence. Let's dive in.
Welcome back to another episode of the Style and Strategy Podcast. So this is my first episode back for 2026 after having a really nice break. I'm sure many of you are thinking. I've been back for ages and, or some of you, especially those internationally, Christmas feels like a lifetime ago.
So today's episode is me really just spending a little bit of time kind of recapping, what I did. Over the holidays and in preparation for coming back, and it's something that I do on a regular basis, so I'm gonna [00:02:00] get into it. One of the most important pieces that I do every year, is actually sit down and re-look at my wardrobe.
I actually do it a couple of times a year, and if you're a regular listener, or watcher, youwould know that like to audit my wardrobe to make sure that it's actually in check with. Where I'm going, my lifestyle, how I really wanna show up as well. And so this year no different. But what I really wanted to call out this time around is the fact that as I was going through it always gets easier because I know my brand, my style, the leadership identity that I really wanna walk into.
I did do a bit of a recheck, and if you caught the episode. On setting up your leadership for 2026, I've got some pointers in there, so I'll [00:03:00] drop that reminder down in the show notes just in case you wanna revisit it or you haven't had a chance. So when I've sat down and gone through the wardrobe, this is
the process that I'll actually take my clients through. And it's the same one that I do. It just happens to be that muscle exercises a lot, faster. So once I've got that real clear leadership identity, where's my brand and style going to? Is there going to be any shifts, changes? What does my day-to-day kinda lifestyle look like?
It's with those elements in mind that I'm actually going into the wardrobe. Now, critical piece here to note. Is my intention here is not necessarily to go out and go buy a whole lot of new things. It is actually about maintenance. like with anything, the maintenance is critical because the more you can just stay on top of this, the less likely you go back to that place in time where things didn't [00:04:00] work anymore.
And then you have to go through that whole kind of exercise again. And that's why I feel like it's this muscle that you build to just do this on a a regular basis. so the first thing that I would do is I've got those elements in mind, and I'm actually doing two things. One, I'm reorganising, as I go through my wardrobe.
the way I love to think about it is I love it when you walk into a store and it feels, clean, crisp, and you are kind of going through those racks and everything's really easy to find. and it's just got this element of, calmness to it. Instead, when you think about, you walk into, store where it's just got everything, sort of thrown out and the racks are overflowing, all of that, who knows what that feels like When you look around, you kind of just go.
Oh my God, I don't even know where to start. And so you head out the, the door. Well, that, that's me. [00:05:00] So, that's the kind of feeling that I am trying to achieve. I want my wardrobe to actually feel that simple and considered like I'm going to shop in a boutique. Right. because then when I've got a whole lot of other decisions to do, life is throwing everything else in the way that at least this piece.
Feels right and no matter what I go and pull out from there, it's going to work and it's gonna be simple, and it's taking those decisions off the table for me. So I'm walking through that wardrobe. I'm considering my brand, my style, my identity, you know, what's working, my colors. Is there something that, you know, I'm a bit tired of now and I'm actually running through each one of those pieces and then reorganising.
So I'm hanging things. I'm, coordinating by color. [00:06:00] by, you know, sleeve length pants, like that type of thing, and just reorganising everything. And yes, for those who are wondering, I will also go through that draw that I know we all have, which is, usually your gym draw, your PJ draw, and of course your undergarments draw as well because.
All of that, usually ends up in a little bit of a mess, right? So once I've gone through all of that, as I'm eyeing through, I will find those pieces that I actually think these are still amazing, but they just don't match that lifestyle I'm in at the moment. and the direction that I kind of wanna head, or most importantly, which, you know, happens to all of us and is happening to me right now, is that your weight.
Fluctuates, right? And sometimes that piece that was good before isn't so good anymore. So I make that decision around, okay, am I gonna hold onto [00:07:00] this for a little bit longer and see is things gonna change or am I actually gonna try to on part it? Now, if I'm gonna hold onto it, I am pulling it right out of that wardrobe.
And it's going to the side. 'cause I just don't need that mental clutter. Right? And neither do you. And so, if I've decided, you know what, I'm gonna pass it on and usually if it's a really nice piece, I will then move to two options. One will be listing it on a online, store where you can buy consignment items, that type of thing.
Or what I did these holidays is I went and tested out, and hired a rack at what's known here as Venla. And I'm sure there's many other places, around the place that also have something similar. So effectively it's an area where you can hire a rack, put your pieces on there. And, they will sell them for you.
You hold them for around two weeks, [00:08:00] and so you're getting a bit more foot traffic. so I actually did a dual pronged strategy around this because, you know, with me, everything, there's a bit of strategy behind everything and, you know, certain pieces are gonna work in certain environments. So here are my top tips, and what I learned through that exercise.
So, firstly, if you're wondering where I actually sold a lot of the pieces, it was, online, it was actually a group called Airrobe. and I enjoy, I've actually sold a fair amount, on that particular site. Really, really easy to use, and the pieces can just really. J there, and then, you suddenly get a notification that something's been sold and you just have to send it out.
So it's actually quite an easy, light process. with the Venla exercise. Again, for me it was very, it's. Straightforward. So effectively I booked the time and day. You did that online. you are able to go through then and [00:09:00] list what are the items that you're gonna be, selling. You list a price point for those, and then you head in on your dedicated day and, carry in.
I carried it all in a, a suitcase and people do bags, et cetera. I used the wheels to make it easier, and then I opted for the, the. Session whereby I effectively hung the tags, hung the pieces, and then put the little, tags on it, the security tags.
as well. So you've got the option of 40 pieces. they don't take any accessories, so a couple of pairs of shoes and, and then 40 pieces. Now the strategy though, around picking those 40 pieces was actually thinking about which store I went into and. What is the demographic of that store? So it's always good if you're doing it to go, if you've got time to go in, have a look and really suss out some of the pieces that they've got in there.
Have a chat with the team, what's, what is, what sells sort of the most, what's, [00:10:00] what's quite popular as well. 'cause then you're thinking back to what are those pieces that I've actually. taken and, you know, will they actually sell well because your number one objective is you need to get return on investment for the amount that it's costing you to, to actually rent the rack.
And so in, Australian dollars, the renting the rack was about 200 and, $80. there. So the pieces that I was. Pulling, we, we are not gonna be, pieces that I knew that I was gonna have to sell a lot of, it's not a volume-based game, it's actually the strategy of I need pieces in there that we're gonna sell the envi sell within that environment, as well as, help me get as fast as possible to break even.
So then for the rest of the time. you've actually, been able to, to make a greater profit, [00:11:00] or I guess profit technically, but a return on investment that you've, those beautiful pieces that can be then on loved. And so that exercise was really interesting for me. I had a couple of extra spots in there, so I actually grabbed, a couple of, men's pieces from the rest of my family here.
And again, it was all like a test and learn for me, which I've taken very much from my corporate days. It's like testing and seeing what works, what doesn't. So the next time I go to do this, it becomes much clearer. and so what happened in the end? I'd say I probably, I ended up selling something around about 70% of the pieces, that I put in.
And, it was. It was really good actually from a, excitement perspective. It reminded me back in the days when I used to run an econ business, 'cause every time something would sell, you would get notified on an app that your piece had sold. And I think the real benefit here as well is [00:12:00] that when a piece sells, you are actually able to bring another piece.
In. So, that helped me to be able to go, okay, well since I've already rented the rack, there's no point getting it down to nothing. every time something sells, I'll bring something else in. So maybe those backup pieces when I'd selected the 40. So in doing that, it enabled me to go, okay, well, what else can I put on there?
And then some of those other pieces rotated as well, and it helped with the whole test and learn exercise. So I know some of you might be thinking, oh my God, that's my worst nightmare. I do not wanna have to do that. And a lot of these places will have what you call a concierge service as well. So all in all, by the end of that two week process or midway through, you get the opportunity to do a bit of a discount as well.
So you can do like 25% off the rack or 30% off the rack, or 50% whatever really works for you. And a lot of the locals around this. Stores. after having conversation with the team there, [00:13:00] do say that, you know, a lot of people take note of those sales and so they'll pop back in. And definitely when I took down some of the sales, I saw a lot more pieces, you know, go, go as well in those final hours.
But again, it's something, to really consider. In terms of, what it is that you're putting there and the price points you are putting there. Because if you are planning to discount at 50%, let's say in those last final hours, you wanna make sure that, again, you are really comfortable with the rate that you've actually got on there.
normally the pieces that I'll be putting on there will be things of really good quality, potentially, names and brands that people will. Be aware of within, that neighborhood, as well as I'll throw in some more interesting pieces, as well. So all in all, I thought it was a great exercise and yes, I hit my bar probably within the first two days, which was fantastic.[00:14:00]
and then actually be feeling really good at the end of it, that. I've got some money back there and, go picked up the remaining pieces and somebody else is really enjoying, those pieces that I had that we're not getting much love before. So I hope you've enjoyed that little breakdown. Let me know in the comments, have you done it before, what was your experience? you know, would you do it, wouldn't you? And any questions you've got, really what I wanna try to do, this year on the Podcast is. Hear more from you, right? So I wanna know what questions do you have?
So if you are listening, via the app and you've got a question, drop it in, send me a dm, let me know, and I'm more than happy to put it on the podcast and, and have a dedicated episode to every now and again to really answer your q and a. the same thing goes. If you're on YouTube, drop me a comment below.
I'm gonna be [00:15:00] taking those through and then collating them and then being able to answer them for you. So whether that's on your leadership identity, your brand, your style or your leadership presence in as a whole, please let me know and I'd love to hear more from you because yes, this is the real me and I'm not an AI Clone.
So I will speak to you all soon and, I hope you enjoyed this episode. [00:16:00]
