Ep 100 - Audio
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Sonya Choi La Rosa-1: [00:00:00] my objective and what I like to try to make allow my clients to do is create a wardrobe that feels like a boutique, right? And not a sale rack. Because when it does, it always feels like you're going in and picking something new. And that simplest activity to be able to do that allows you to really pick and choose, mix and match in your wardrobe.
Welcome to the Style and Strategy Podcast, where leadership meets personal brand and style. I'm Sonya, 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.
Sonya Choi La Rosa-1: Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Style and Strategy podcast. Today I wanna take you back a little bit because I wanna talk a little bit around style. So back to the beginning and specifically because we are... I guess I'm recording this and we've just headed [00:01:00] into spring. And with spring there's a number of activities that I always do and I tell my clients to do.
You know, ideally you would do it quarterly, but most people don't always have time, uh, to do this. So I wanna talk a little bit about prepping for spring and the seasons. Um, so again, an activity that I would recommend doing at least, uh, two times a year at a minimum. And 'cause when you start to do this, um, and really have it diarized or make sure that you lock it in to do this, you'll find over the years it becomes, uh, much, much easier.
So let's get into it. So today I'm gonna talk you through a little bit of the activities that I would do as I come into a new season And for me this year, it was looking into spring/summer. I was pretty excited about that. And it's the, I'm gonna say dreaded for some of you, closet clear [00:02:00] out, review versus those of you who always love to get that tidy part up.
There's a couple of key elements, and I'm gonna do a cut-down version today, but I have done more detailed versions in the past. But effectively, I took a little bit of time out over the weekend, and there's probably three key objectives of what we're trying to do here. One is get a little bit more organised, around the wardrobe, 'cause it's got a little bit out of control of late, as it does as life gets busy.
Two, time to get ready and sort of pack some of the knitwear that I've got hanging at the moment and get it ready for going away. And then third is doing a little bit of an assessment around what is there, what I might need to reinvest in or look at alternatives for.
And then finally, um, looking at what sort of colors are coming in for spring/summer '26/27, and is there [00:03:00] something I really wanna inject into the wardrobe? So if I really start off with the first part of it was a pure organisation exercise. And sometimes even just the simplest activity of moving where things are in your wardrobe can make it feel refreshed.
So the first thing that I did normally I really like to hang things, um, because I l- I'm quite a visual person, and I like to be able to see what I've got. And, um, I just find it, it's easier to maintain. But this time I knew, look, there's a whole lot of, uh, knits I've got hanging at the moment, so I'm gonna fold those and color coordinate them and, get them sort of parked away and folded on some shelves that I've actually got So part two of that was then coordinating.
So I normally coordinate by color across all of, my items. So I would normally go from short sleeves or sleeveless [00:04:00] to short sleeve to sleeved, et cetera, and do that color-coordinated. But I decided to mix it up. And as I always say to my clients, there's a few ways of doing things. And so you've got to find or pick the option that starts to work for you.
And for me, sometimes it's just mixing it up and using the different skills and techniques, uh, just to give that refresh. And so this time round, I've actually grouped all my shirts together in color-coordinated order. All the tops are the same. I've gone through all the pants and skirts and made sure they're in categories.
but this time I've moved a whole lot of dresses that were hanging, pushed them to one side, and actually just coordinated a whole bunch of suits so they... it just organised the wardrobe a little bit better And in doing that exercise, I'm going through making sure the hangers are all the same, the, uh, hangers are turned inwards facing the right direction.
Because my objective and what I like to try to make allow my clients to do is [00:05:00] create a wardrobe that feels like a boutique, right? And not a sale rack. Because when it does, it always feels like you're going in and picking something new. And that simplest activity to be able to do that allows you to really pick and choose, mix and match in your wardrobe.
Again, the same way you would feel if you walked in, uh, into a store and a shop assistant come and help you and try to coordinate those pieces. The, um, second thing in relation to what I did over the weekend with this, was once I'd organised everything, was I'd gone through and had a look at some of the tops I wasn't wearing.
Anything that was potentially stained or needed to be replaced or repaired, and spent a little bit of time working through those. And as I've said at the intro, once you start doing this on an ongoing basis, it's just like with anything it starts to become a lot quicker. There are actually less [00:06:00] things you are getting rid of or moving out.
And I was actually probably pleasantly surprised that, you know, I've got a lot of things in there that I've had for years and years. I've also recently, you know, grabbed a few things from, uh, my dad's old wardrobe as well. So, you know, vintage olive green velvet jacket and things like that, I've popped in the, my wardrobe.
But there wasn't as much that I needed to remove out of it. Um, and again, I think that if you are really clear on your colors, building that out and knowing that they already mix and match together makes this process so much easier.
And so going through that exercise, you know, it was really clear to see that, okay, there's a couple of T-shirts I really wanna replace in a particular color, in a particular shapeas I went through there. So I'm really clear that when I see it or when it goes on sale or if I see something, [00:07:00] I will know, yep, that's the thing I wanna replace.
It's never about going out and having this massive list to go, "I need to go get all these things in one go." Again, some clients love to be able to do that and some clients would prefer to go, "You know what? I'm just gonna build out those over the coming months as the stock starts to come in."
But really having that list and, and ready to go becomes really important. And thinking about ahead, well, what are some of the activities that I know is gonna happen over the next few months, and where might I need to replace a few things or, um, target purchasing a, a few items that maybe I don't have right now?
And then that final element is really looking at, well, what are some of the spring/summer trends that I know are gonna be coming in? And I've always been always interested in what those trends are, 'cause they can help to refresh a wardrobe. It can also help to understand, you know, what are we gonna start to see in stores?
[00:08:00] But it's never about buying a trend for trend's sake. So, um, I'm very anti those kind of posts where it talks about, "You must have these things in your wardrobe now." I honestly don't believe it's about that. I think, you know, you have an eye to the trends to understand what is going to be in store right now.
So I know will I get longevity out of this? Is this something that I actually like, and is this something I wouldn't mind wearing? And so the first part I always like to start with is what are the colors we're gonna be seeing coming into, store over these next few months?
And, um, looking at that, a lot of these colors for, uh, Australia specifically are coming from what was showcased back in, sort of October last year. We're gonna see those kind of filter through. But then we do get influenced as we come into the you know, summer [00:09:00] season, high summer here in AU, through the showcases that will start to happen now.
Um, you know, we've obviously had Copenhagen, and then we will move into,New York and, London Fashion weeks as well. So we'll see, a lot of influences pop through as well, through there. But what we're seeing from a colors perspective, and you would already start to see that in store right now, is a lot of really soft pinks coming through.
A few years ago, we had, the Barbiecore or Barbie era, which was that hot pink. What we're seeing is a lot of that blush pink coming through stores everywhere right now, right through to even activewear. And so if your color palette really suits a blush pink, then, you know, get out into store now and have a look.
You will be able to see a lot of that coming through. Also with our neutrals, we are seeing that chocolate brown is not going anywhere. Um, it's come again [00:10:00] right through as a, a staple through that spring/summer seasons. The neutrals, aren't going anywhere as well. as well as some aubergine, that deeper aubergine as well as, as what we're describing as, uh, really a neutral base.
Outside of that, there are really a lot of,amazing colors that are coming through, such as, we're calling it acacia. I'm gonna try to put them up here so you can see a bit of a, a snapshot as well. Other things that we are seeing are things like the statement midi skirt.
So a lot more texture, a lot more fun with the midi skirt. We're seeing more, um, relaxed suiting still come in. Colorless blazers. We're still having a lot of fun with the neckline at the moment, which is fantastic to see, just giving that interest, especially on these Zoom calls. We are seeing the, the tonal is still not going anywhere at all.
And so we're seeing lots of co-ords come through as [00:11:00] well. I think on the fringe sort of side of things, we're seeing the fringing still. we're seeing lace, silk. So when you think of textures, we're seeing a lot of that. But a really good... Um, so keep an eye out for lots of plays on color when it comes to that sheer and then that lace elements as well
when it comes to accessories, I'm so excited to see some of the statement jewelry come back. it hasn't really gone away, but, you know, there was a big push on the thinner statement jewelry, the thinner, uh, chain necklaces and so forth. We're seeing the return of, much more statement neck pieces, and earrings, brooches continue to be popular as well.
So I think some of the benefit around this is if you like these sort of things, and these form part of your personal brand and your leadership style, you know, and bring out your personality, it means it's gonna be easier to find, these elements as you look around. So [00:12:00] if you wanna see a little bit more around this, I have put together a bit of a free guide, and so I will put thatat the end of this podcast, in the show notes so you can grab, some more links on that and take a quick look.
So I hope you've enjoyed this episode. Let me know. always keen to hear more around what you'd love to see, and hear more about, and I will speak to you all soon.
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