Latest / Chatting with The Experts with Paula Okonneh / How to Monetize Your Closet

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How to Monetize Your Closet · Chatting with The Experts with Paula Okonneh

• 0:05
  Welcome everyone to yet another episode of Chatting with the Experts,
• 0:10
  the show where I, Paula Okonneh, speak with women, primarily women.
• 0:15
  I have a few men.
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  And these women are from either Africa, the Caribbean, or in the diaspora.
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  They share my mission, which is to empower, educate, and inspire women
• 0:29
  globally, and we do that every week.
• 0:33
  This week our topic is Monetize Your Wardrobe.
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  And my guest who will be joining us shortly says, we need to learn
• 0:45
  how to make the most out of our current wardrobe investments.
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  I'll tell you a little bit about her and then I'll let us once she joins, fill
• 0:55
  in anything that I may have left out.
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  Yo Taylor or Yolanda Taylor is the CEO and Wardrobe Stylist at the Style
• 1:04
  Table LLC, where she empowers women to rediscover the confidence through fashion.
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  She is a former international flight attendant, and you now
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  blends her expertise in service and style to offer stress free
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  personalized wardrobe experiences.
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  She's a certified life coach practitioner.
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  She's also an international bestselling author, speaker, and podcaster that has
• 1:34
  been featured on NBC's "The Today's Show" and "Great Day Washington" on WUSA9.
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  I could always say so much more about her, but why don't I ask Yo Taylor or
• 1:47
  Yolanda Taylor to join us right now.
• 1:51
  Welcome Yolanda Taylor to Chatting with the Experts.
• 1:58
  Hi Paula.
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  Thank you for having me.
• 2:02
  Oh my gosh.
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  I'm so excited.
• 2:03
  I want to say thank you for having me because this is so neat.
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  Monetize your wardrobe.
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  Wow, that's cool.
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  Most of us, I was talking to you off camera.
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  I don't like to shop, so my wardrobe is filled with things that.
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  I have acquired at the, you know, the spur of the moment maybe.
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  Or I just say, oh, I need a pair of shorts, or I need a pair of
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  pants or a top, and I just go somewhere, see it, I'm in and out.
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  So monetizing it makes that even more exciting to me.
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  So let's talk about that.
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  Well, when I talk about monetizing your wardrobe, it really is going and
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  doing what I like to call and what most stylists call a wardrobe cleanse.
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  And you go into your closet and I say, treat it like it's
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  your own personal boutique.
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  You go into stores like in the US, TJ Maxx or Nordstrom's Rack,
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  you go to these outlet stores where you get discounts on things.
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  Treat your closet the same way.
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  Drop there first because everything you put in there, you picked out.
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  Most of the things fit, they're your size.
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  If they're not, they're close to it.
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  So go in there and shop first there.
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  Why not keep the money for yourself and shop your closet first.
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  So many of the things that you have in there are things that you've
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  picked out, you've grabbed at different, you've gone to conferences
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  you've even shopped in airports.
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  You've...
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  Yes.
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  Gone to festivals, you've gone to women's events, and there's always vendors
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  there with unique, interesting items.
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  And you've probably picked those things for a reason.
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  It ends up going into what I'd like to call the closet graveyard.
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  Go into the closet and start pulling things out and start playing around
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  and creating outfits from what you already have in your closet.
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  You save a lot of money.
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  That is exciting.
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  You know, taking a closer look at your wardrobe, because I know, my house,
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  I have a rack where I just have pants hanging out there, and recently I started,
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  I don't know what I was looking for.
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  And maybe because I knew you were coming on the show, I started pulling out.
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  But wait a minute, I've been looking for this for years.
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  It can still fit, you know, I forgot all about it.
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  Yeah, and sometimes we'll say, oh, well this is this size or that size, or, I
• 4:39
  can't wear that because it's this size.
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  You really don't know because unless you're walking around with a tape
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  measure every time, every day you wake up and you're taking measurements.
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  Our bodies go up and down.
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  My clients are usually in their forties on up.
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  I'm finding I'm getting more women in their forties now because.
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  Those of us over 50, we're like, yeah, menopause.
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  We know what's happening here.
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  We, you know, it's just what it is.
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  And we're just gonna have the wine, cheese, and bread and keep it moving.
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  But women in their forties can be quite shocking.
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  So there's an adjustment.
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  So you think, oh, I can't wear this.
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  I'm not this size.
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  Put it on first.
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  See if you can get it on.
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  There are things that you forgot about that you can actually wear.
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  We're only wearing 20% of what's in our closet.
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  When you go in and you do a closet edit, you will find that you will
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  regain probably maybe 50 to 70% of what you had in your closet.
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  So that's a lot.
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  That can be up to 200% ROI on what you already have in your closet.
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  Don't spend money before you shop your closet first.
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  Wow.
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  That is so neat.
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  You know, don't spend money first.
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  First, go check out what you have in your closet or maybe
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  even your sister's closets.
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  Exactly.
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  Exactly.
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  And if you're gonna shop your friend's closet, have a sip swap.
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  I call it sip, swap and sell party where you guys get together and you take things
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  from your closet, you meet up at someone's house and you guys trade clothes or sell
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  'em to each other and have fun with it.
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  And what did you call it?
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  A sip, swap.
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  I call it.
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  I, when I host them, I call 'em sip, swap or sell party.
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  And some people trade clothes barter some people sell and you can use your app.
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  I always recommend use the apps.
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  All sales are final, so there's no there's no drama behind it.
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  And usually you can find some great things.
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  I personally have found great things that will compliment my wardrobe.
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  And I've gotten some great deals.
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  And you know your friends, you know their taste, you know they're gonna
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  have great taste and it's a lot of fun.
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  And it's a great way to also monetize some of your pieces by selling them.
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  Great idea.
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  Because initially when you said monetize, I thought you meant look in your closet,
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  see things that you can sell and sell 'em.
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  And then you mentioned, well.
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  Actually shop first in your closet before you spend any money.
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  So you are saying you can do both.
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  You can look for pieces that you're not using and sell 'em.
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  But before you do that, go look and see what you can, you know, retrieve
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  and make come alive again before you go out and spend money buying
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  something that may be very similar.
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  Oh, absolutely.
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  Things can be tailored, things can be taken in let out, especially if you have.
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  If you have some pieces, you have a beautiful suit that you used to have and
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  you want, you feel like it's a little dated, well, you can take it to a tailor.
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  They can do some nips and tucks and do different things with
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  collars to reimagine that.
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  But don't let a perfectly, beautifully, well-crafted suit go to waste because you
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  feel like it might be a little outdated.
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  It can be updated, and another reason why you wanna do this,
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  this also protects the planet.
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  Unnecessary buying, unnecessary clothes that end up in a landfill.
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  You're re-loving your own wardrobe.
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  And by doing this you'll find that you will fall in love with your closet again.
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  You will fall in love with the clothes that you already have again, when you
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  start taking pieces and putting, maybe I can put the skirt with this blouse.
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  That's why I bought that blouse.
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  You know, it's because, okay, I have this magenta skirt.
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  Why did I buy this magenta skirt?
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  And you'll find somewhere along the line, it's a color that you're
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  attracted to, and there's maybe a print blouse that you can coordinate
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  with it that you forgot that you have.
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  It could be sitting there with the tags on it, along with jewelry and a handbag.
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  You have a whole new look that you forgot about that you didn't think would work.
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  Yes.
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  And what I have also noticed is that fashion is cyclical.
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  You know what may go outta fashion, go in quotes outta fashion comes back in.
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  Maybe just a little bit.
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  Something changed in it or on it.
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  Yeah.
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  But it's still, if you look closely, it's still very similar to what you had before
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  five years ago, 10 years ago you know.
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  I have a couple pieces that I've had for over 30 years.
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  And they're classic pieces and people say, oh, I love that.
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  I'm like, okay, that's great.
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  It's, you know, it's a very old piece, but I've taken good care of it.
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  That's why you take really good care of your clothes even when you
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  don't leave them in plastic bags for too long, because it will not
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  support the material very well.
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  So make sure you remove them from the plastic bags.
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  Don't leave them in the dry cleaning bags too long.
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  But if you take care of your things, keep them, keep them
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  tidy like especially shoes.
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  Shoes are the biggest thing you wanna invest in.
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  Buy great shoes, and this is someone who has flight attendant feet.
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  Take care of your feet.
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  That's a good investment.
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  So when you're investing your money in these expensive designer shoes.
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  Take good care of them and get them regularly, , repaired.
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  And you would be surprised what these cobblers can do to revitalize that shoe.
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  So don't necessarily write them off.
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  Now if the heels are too high, I get it.
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  I get it right.
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  Ladies in my age group, I get it.
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  Oh, now you want to start thinking about creating that Poshmark.
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  Or that online, consignment store, eBay, , Amazon, whatever store
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  you wanna use, now's the time.
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  , Then you start to sell those things and make sure you take very good photos of
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  them, but you can sell them right from these stores , and make your money back
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  to reinvest in things with lower heels that are stylish but more comfortable.
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  And, you know, you, you said something and it reminded me like,
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  I think it was probably a year ago, I was in Charlotte , at the
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  Nordstrom, it must have been Macy's.
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  And they had, I was looking for a handbag and the salesperson showed me
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  a section where they had gently-used designer purses.
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  And I was surprised.
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  I'd never seen that before.
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  As I'd mentioned offline, I'm not really into designers.
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  I'm into what looks nice on me, what I feel comfortable with, but
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  when she showed me that, I was like, woo, there's a market for this.
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  A multi billion dollar market for it.
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  You can go on designer's websites and you'll see their outlet store, their
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  regular mall stores, their runway lines, and then you'll see in the corner after
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  the sales and clearance, re-love side.
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  So it's keeping the clothes, it's what we call circular fashion.
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  And the designers know that there's money in that people will want that.
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  You coach handbags, you know, back in the day, COACH makes excellent handbags.
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  The quality, is it, you know, thousands of dollars?
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  No, but the quality is impeccable.
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  The leather is impeccable.
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  You wanna keep those things because the craftsmanship is so well done.
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  I have at least four of my COACH bags that I would carry today.
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  'cause they're just, they're sturdy, they're durable, they're beautiful.
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  They're classic pieces.
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  They ask for you to send them to them because they repurpose 'em,
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  redesign them, and recycle them.
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  Oh, but can you get them to actually like refurbish your own, because I'm thinking
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  I have a COACH purse that I bought 2008.
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  And how many years ago?
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  Was 2008?
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  Almost 20 years ago.
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  2020. Yeah, because it was 2025.
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  And I don't wanna get rid of it because I don't like to shop.
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  I tend to keep my stuff, but I've been looking at the leather
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  leads a little bit of some help.
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  So are you saying I can take it to a COACH store?
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  Any cobbler or so
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  If you've registered the bag?
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  I didn't.
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  Okay.
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  So I would just take it to a shoe cobbler because they deal with leather products.
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  All right.
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  They can refurbish those things.
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  I've taken my handbags like that to shoe cobblers and they shine
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  them up and they can stitch 'em because they work with shoes.
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  All right.
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  And I have another one as I'm saying that.
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  I got this Whoa.
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  1994. And the handle broke.
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  No, it's not the handle, it's the yeah, it is the handle.
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  And I've kept it for years.
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  I know my kids have looked at it.
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  Mom, this is so old fashion.
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  I'm like, but the leather is
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  so good.
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  Impeccable.
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  I don't wanna get rid of it.
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  So the shoe cobbler See why I...
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  Yeah.
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  The shoe cobbler.
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  Yeah.
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  I'm all about saving money and also saving the planet.
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  Those are my things.
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  And I also feel like that it's important to preserve things
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  and keep them, pass them down.
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  I had a client that had , some beautiful pieces, St. John pieces that
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  she inherited from her grandmother.
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  Well, we reimagined those, restyle those pieces, and they're part of her wardrobe.
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  In fact, when I did her closet, we came out, she had three weeks worth of clothes.
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  She went into the office three days a week, and she had three
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  weeks worth of new outfits.
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  Wow.
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  So that's...
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  Without changing.
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  From what she already had in her closet.
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  Wow.
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  And one of the outfits we created was a vintage piece from her grandmother.
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  St. John Collection that she gave her.
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  That she probably had just put to the side and say thank you grandma.
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  One day I'll get around to using this or pass this on, or...
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  Yeah.
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  And you made it come alive again for her.
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  Yeah.
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  Yeah.
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  So she was able to get excited about it and she gets
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  envision it in different ways.
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  And so we created a different look with them.
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  Wow.
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  Yeah, so it's exciting and it's fun.
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  And the confidence that you get after you've gone through your
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  closet and you're feeling free of all of the clutter, and you can see
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  what you have, you can organize.
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  I would always say don't just colorize your closet like the blues over here,
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  the reds over here, the whatever.
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  Organize it according to your lifestyle.
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  Set that closet up.
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  So the section of the clothes that you've put on most often are right
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  there, handy and things, and create.
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  I'm all about a glam space.
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  Create that glam space.
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  All those beautiful shoes and handbags and gowns and things that you go to.
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  Tees and luncheons.
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  Keep that all in one section.
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  Part of monetizing your closet.
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  It's not just the money part of it, but time is money.
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  Yes.
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  Time is money.
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  So when that client calls you and said, Hey, can you meet me?
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  I think I want your service.
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  Can you meet me for lunch?
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  Let's talk about it.
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  Well, yes I can.
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  And you go right to your section.
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  I call, get your money-clothes.
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  I like it.
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  Get your money-clothes.
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  I love it.
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  These are the clothes that you wear.
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  They're your conference, things that you would meet clients
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  for or customers, et cetera.
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  You go and you put on, you know, in that section, after your closet is
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  organized, you know that everything fits.
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  You know that you're gonna feel confident in whatever you have in
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  that section, and you're ready to go.
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  So not only are you feeling confident that, you know, you
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  feel like, okay, I look good.
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  Yeah.
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  That energy is gonna radiate and you're gonna upsell that client.
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  You're gonna radiate and you're going to close that deal 'cause
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  you feel good, you look good.
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  When I got a call, when I got offered the opportunity with the
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  Today Show, I had to be ready.
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  Not a makeup artist.
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  I'm not a hairstylist.
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  I have none of those things, but I had to be ready and my clothes were ready.
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  My clothes were ready and I was able to put something together that fit
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  my personality and I was ready to go.
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  It makes a difference.
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  This is my closet, by the way, you guys.
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  Yep.
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  I've been checking it out.
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  I love how neat it is, how well organized.
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  I see you have all your shoes on one side.
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  Your jacket seem to be all to my left.
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  Your right.
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  I can't see exactly what's behind.
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  I have everything organized in a way that works for me to grab and go.
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  I keep the shoes right by the door so I can grab and go and get out the door.
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  I have my jackets as the last thing I put on, so I'm organized
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  based on how I'm getting dressed.
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  So you can get out the door efficiently and get your money and
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  not worry about not being stressed out about, what am I gonna wear?
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  Am I, is my closet like this all the time?
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  No.
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  When I'm traveling, you're pulling out stuff and it gets hairy carey,
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  but at least you have a system.
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  Yes.
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  That you created for yourself that when you put everything
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  back, you're ready to go.
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  I love it.
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  Well, you know, off camera told you, you're gonna have to come
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  visit my closet and as it works out, we are both in Maryland, so
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  that's not too difficult to do.
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  So yes, I'm excited.
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  I'm excited about that because I have stuff there that.
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  I don't like to shop, so I just have them and, it'll be good to see how, you
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  know, I can pair some things with things that I have never thought about pairing
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  and make some things come alive again.
• 19:42
  Exactly.
• 19:43
  Exactly.
• 19:45
  There's so many things that we have in our closet that we've forgotten about.
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  Yes.
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  There are things that once you do the closet cleanse, this is the other part of
• 19:56
  monetizing what you have in your closet.
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  You'll then know what you need because you will have sent other things to donate,
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  bless other people with those clothes.
• 20:08
  There's like so many people that could use and be blessed
• 20:13
  by the things that you have.
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  Yeah.
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  So you are a blessing to others, so donate those clothes.
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  Then have a section that you're going to have repaired and
• 20:25
  updated that you can put back.
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  That's another way to to save as well.
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  But also you want to
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  shop with intention.
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  Look for what's missing.
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  If what I have left in my closet, does it align with my
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  current and future lifestyle?
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  Is it going where I'm going?
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  So when you purchase things, maybe everything that's in there now
• 20:55
  aligns with what you're doing now.
• 20:57
  But you know, in the future you're gonna start a business, you're
• 21:00
  gonna make a career change, you're gonna decide, you know what?
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  I don't wanna wear suits every day.
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  I'm gonna, you know, buy a nursery and become a gardener.
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  You know, whatever it is that you feel like you wanna do, make sure
• 21:14
  that the things that you purchase will align with that future lifestyle.
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  That's what you want.
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  That's what you want.
• 21:23
  So that's what you call intentional shopping.
• 21:26
  That's right.
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  So you're not buying things that you don't need.
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  That's why you do the closet cleanse in the first place.
• 21:32
  First place, yes.
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  That's a closet cleanse.
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  Closet cleanse so that you can give away, you can organize and you can, because you
• 21:41
  also said we should shop in our closet.
• 21:43
  We can be intentional about what we are shopping for.
• 21:46
  Excuse me, in our own closet as well.
• 21:49
  Exactly.
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  ' cause when we are shopping, you know, in the department stores.
• 21:53
  Right.
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  So you add, you know, for me, as you can see, my closet had
• 21:56
  a lot of tan, gray, black.
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  I needed color.
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  I needed color, so when I went shopping after I did this closet,
• 22:07
  re-did my closet, I had to add color.
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  I knew that's where I needed the plug in the holes
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  because we're creatures of habit.
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  Yes.
• 22:19
  Yes, left to me, I would buy, I love black.
• 22:22
  I do too.
• 22:23
  Somebody asked me what was my favorite color?
• 22:25
  Black is my favorite color, followed by green.
• 22:29
  I love black.
• 22:31
  I do too.
• 22:31
  And I'm finding that I'm falling in love with red.
• 22:34
  So I'm adding red.
• 22:35
  But and you know, don't get hung up on when you're in the store shopping.
• 22:41
  If you see something that you like, buy it.
• 22:44
  If it fits close.
• 22:45
  What I mean that if you see something you like buy it.
• 22:48
  I mean, if you see something and you try it on and it's like you
• 22:52
  have to go up a size, maybe even two sizes, maybe even three sizes.
• 22:58
  Just get the dag on thing.
• 22:59
  If it's just, don't worry about the size.
• 23:02
  Don't get caught up in that number.
• 23:03
  It's a number that the designers make up.
• 23:06
  Really?
• 23:07
  Yeah.
• 23:08
  That's their, you know, some designers have patents on their sizing, so don't
• 23:13
  get yourself all entangled in the number.
• 23:17
  It's just a number.
• 23:19
  Many of us might have.... we're heavier in the hips and we're smaller in the waist.
• 23:27
  Those things can be altered.
• 23:29
  Those things can be tailored and taken in.
• 23:33
  So if you like the dress or you like that piece overall and you're getting a
• 23:40
  good deal on it, get it tailored to fit.
• 23:43
  And it'll fit and it'll look like a million bucks.
• 23:45
  It'll look like it was custom made just for you.
• 23:48
  That's such a good tip.
• 23:52
  Things that were three sizes, you know?
• 23:55
  I'm like, oh my God.
• 23:55
  I kept, I'm like, oh my God.
• 23:57
  But then I realized it's fitting everywhere else because our bodies are
• 24:02
  not, you know, our bodies are perfect.
• 24:07
  But their clothes aren't perfect for our bodies all the time.
• 24:09
  Say that again.
• 24:10
  Our bodies are perfect.
• 24:12
  Perfect.
• 24:12
  Their clothes?
• 24:13
  Their clothes aren't necessarily perfect for our bodies, but we can
• 24:17
  make them perfect for our bodies.
• 24:21
  We can.
• 24:23
  Take it to a tailor, get 'em, get it fitted for you.
• 24:27
  I would always leave if, especially if you're over 40,
• 24:30
  leave a little bit of space.
• 24:32
  Don't get it like too exact.
• 24:34
  Give yourself some breathing room so you can continue to enjoy that item
• 24:39
  because on average, the woman over 40, starting perimenopause to men through
• 24:44
  menopause, your weight fluctuates up and down anywhere from five to 20 pounds.
• 24:50
  So give yourself some grace and leave a little space for it, but you have things,
• 24:55
  if you have, my rule of thumb is if you know, if you've got, only if you have 30
• 25:00
  pounds to lose, that's not unreasonable.
• 25:03
  That's a realistic, comfortable goal.
• 25:06
  You can do that and still enjoy the cheese and wine.
• 25:10
  Occasionally.
• 25:11
  Occasionally, yes.
• 25:12
  So, you know, if you can get it on with a Spanx.
• 25:16
  And you still have, yeah, a few little inches.
• 25:20
  Keep it, if you really love it, let that be something that you reach for,
• 25:27
  you know, if you have those goals.
• 25:30
  That's a great tip.
• 25:31
  That's a great tip.
• 25:32
  Yeah.
• 25:32
  So, now talking about, you know, when you see something that you like.
• 25:39
  You know, don't look at the size like, oh my gosh, I used to
• 25:42
  be a size 10 and this is a 12.
• 25:44
  What's going on here?
• 25:45
  Right.
• 25:46
  But just buy it and then as you say, you can get it altered so
• 25:49
  what are some good investments and clothes that we should look for?
• 25:54
  Material.
• 25:55
  Fabric.
• 25:56
  The fabric.
• 25:57
  Okay.
• 25:58
  Fabric, right.
• 26:00
  I will always preach natural fabrics.
• 26:03
  Wools, cashmere, linen blend, visco, and linen blends.
• 26:08
  Those are nice too.
• 26:09
  I mean, you don't have to break the bank.
• 26:11
  , There are different quality levels of cashmere, but you can still enjoy
• 26:16
  natural fabric things that feel nice and are high quality and breathable.
• 26:23
  Breathable.
• 26:24
  Right.
• 26:26
  Okay.
• 26:27
  You know, because off camera we did a lot of talking off camera.
• 26:30
  For those of you listening, you can hear me referencing off camera.
• 26:33
  Off camera, we are talking about how many times you don't even think about the
• 26:37
  fabrics that we are putting on our body.
• 26:40
  We forget that our skin is the largest organ in our body and
• 26:44
  we are putting things like.
• 26:46
  I think you mentioned, some which are not actually good for us, and
• 26:50
  then we're wondering sometimes why we get all these skin diseases, or
• 26:54
  even worse, some people get cancer.
• 26:57
  Yeah.
• 26:57
  There's some that, you know, there's things you know.
• 27:00
  All I know is that we have to shop with intention about what we put on our bodies.
• 27:08
  Yeah.
• 27:08
  I personally had an issue with an item that I was wearing regularly, and when I
• 27:15
  stopped wearing it, six months later, the rash on my face and on my arms went away.
• 27:25
  So I'm saying think about your purchase.
• 27:30
  Think about the manufacturer who's making these things.
• 27:35
  They're recommending that, and I'm doing this now, I'm just now doing this.
• 27:39
  I would go buy workout gear and athletic gear, things that, you know, help you
• 27:45
  to keep the sweat away from your body.
• 27:48
  So there's all kinds of things.
• 27:50
  I now make sure that you launder those things first.
• 27:53
  Yes.
• 27:55
  It's just like washing pesticides off of fruit, you know, if
• 27:58
  you think about it like that.
• 27:59
  That's how it was kind of explained to me.
• 28:01
  I'm personally being more diligent about making sure that I wash those things.
• 28:06
  Your underwear, your bra, all those things, or sports bras.
• 28:09
  I mean, I'll rip the tag off and put it on.
• 28:12
  There are certain things we have to think about.
• 28:19
  Look at companies who care about sustainability.
• 28:25
  Look at companies that care about where they get their products from.
• 28:30
  Yes.
• 28:30
  Yes.
• 28:31
  And the humanity of it all.
• 28:33
  You know, it's a little bit of, I know people are busy, they don't have time
• 28:36
  for this higher level of thinking about whether they get their clothes, but if
• 28:42
  you have the time, think about these things because less is not always more.
• 28:49
  I bought a cute dress off online.
• 28:53
  I think I paid $10 for it.
• 28:54
  The color was amazing.
• 28:56
  It looked pretty, that thing felt like a plastic bag.
• 28:59
  My husband's like, why are you changing your clothes?
• 29:01
  You look great.
• 29:02
  I said, I'm sweating.
• 29:04
  It was not breathing.
• 29:05
  It was just a pretty dress.
• 29:07
  So that's what happens when you spend $10 on a dress online.
• 29:13
  And you are right?
• 29:14
  I'm becoming a lot more conscious of that.
• 29:17
  And even as you say that, you know, my detergents, you know, what do I what am
• 29:21
  I putting on my body in general because.
• 29:24
  I used to my daughter had very sensitive skin and for years I always had the ones
• 29:30
  I buy detergent for her that had no scent.
• 29:34
  But I'd always say I love the scent, so I need to, you know, have detergent that
• 29:39
  has scent, but of late I'm realizing that there's so many more things that
• 29:43
  I'm finding myself becoming reactive to, you know, like allergic to.
• 29:48
  And so you are right.
• 29:49
  It doesn't mean, I mean, we need to save money, but at what expense?
• 29:54
  Exactly.
• 29:55
  And what expense to the environment.
• 29:57
  To the environment too.
• 29:59
  Yes.
• 29:59
  Because those are forever things.
• 30:03
  I mean, they're just cluttering up, you know, beaches and different dump sites.
• 30:09
  It's adding to the waste and that's why I love circular fashion.
• 30:14
  Share and swap with your friends.
• 30:16
  You can save money.
• 30:18
  Make little money and have some fun with friends.
• 30:20
  But it keeps that item.
• 30:21
  I'm not gonna say these items aren't gonna someday end up in a landfill, but the
• 30:26
  longer we extend that piece of clothing's lifespan is also extending our lifespan.
• 30:36
  Very valid point.
• 30:38
  Very valid point.
• 30:42
  Very valid point.
• 30:43
  You know, Yo, you and I can speak forever.
• 30:46
  Last time that we got on a 30 minute call, an hour and a half later, we said goodbye.
• 30:52
  Yeah.
• 30:53
  But I know one thing that stood out for me in your bio, I didn't read it and
• 30:56
  I didn't even ask you to expand on it because I so excited to talk about what
• 31:00
  we were gonna talk of was you said you help women, particularly women over 40.
• 31:07
  Get more comfortable, you know, you introduce ethical and comfortable fashion
• 31:12
  to them, and you make style a powerful form of self-care and transformation.
• 31:20
  Let's talk a little bit about that before we jump, we open up the
• 31:25
  floor to those who have joined us.
• 31:27
  What do you mean by making style a powerful form of
• 31:30
  self-care and transformation?
• 31:32
  When you
• 31:36
  do say a closet cleanse, it gives you time back in your day to
• 31:46
  take care of your family.
• 31:49
  It relieves the stress from you because you don't have to worry
• 31:55
  about what am I gonna wear?
• 31:58
  You are saving money, so you're not stretching your budget unnecessarily.
• 32:05
  When you're organized, you can get out the door, you just feel
• 32:07
  confident on so many different levels.
• 32:12
  That's the thing.
• 32:13
  It's just like anything.
• 32:15
  You go get your hair done.
• 32:18
  You know that high, call it that high.
• 32:20
  When you get your hair and your nails done, you're having that day
• 32:23
  of beauty and you're just like, yes.
• 32:26
  You feel good.
• 32:26
  You feel good.
• 32:27
  And once your closet is organized and ready to go, you do you feel this sense of
• 32:32
  euphoria, it makes shopping more pleasant because you know you're buying what you
• 32:38
  need and it doesn't take as much time.
• 32:44
  You have goals.
• 32:45
  You have style goals, and you have a focus of how you wanna show up, and when
• 32:53
  I work with people, it's also to remind them you can look good at any size.
• 32:58
  Nobody you don't have time to worry about being perfect.
• 33:04
  Don't let the perfect impede your progress of getting out the door and
• 33:08
  getting the client and getting the job or getting what you need done.
• 33:14
  That's what I'm talking about, giving time back to yourself and you can
• 33:19
  use the time and if you do your closet yourself, take that time and
• 33:25
  let it be your own shopping day.
• 33:26
  Put the do not disturb, sign on the door and say, kids, don't come back here.
• 33:31
  Put, fix yourself a nice little snack tray.
• 33:33
  Get a glass of wine, tea, whatever it is, and make your time, your own.
• 33:38
  You bought all that stuff, you know.
• 33:42
  Just enjoy it.
• 33:43
  You took the time and investment to do it.
• 33:46
  Give that time back to yourself.
• 33:49
  That's what I mean by self-care.
• 33:52
  You know, also, there's things that you were letting go.
• 33:56
  I remember, oh my gosh, it was my old wedding dress.
• 34:02
  I kept my wedding dress and I got married young and we, it wasn't the right
• 34:08
  thing to do and I kept holding onto it.
• 34:10
  My mother said, that dress has bad mojo on it.
• 34:14
  Let it go.
• 34:15
  Get it out of there.
• 34:17
  It's bad energy.
• 34:20
  And when I let it go, I realized it was bad energy.
• 34:25
  Because it was a reminder of a mistake.
• 34:28
  And get rid of some of that energy out of your closet.
• 34:31
  That things that remind you of things that wasn't positive for you in your life.
• 34:37
  Let those things go.
• 34:39
  Like let those things go.
• 34:41
  I don't mean to get all, but there's a lot of things in closets.
• 34:46
  I've had women cry in their closet.
• 34:49
  I'm your girlfriend in the closet.
• 34:50
  We cry together.
• 34:52
  Because, there are things in there that remind you of things
• 34:56
  that are good, bad, and ugly.
• 35:01
  Yeah.
• 35:01
  They're happy things.
• 35:02
  They're sad things.
• 35:04
  Move that negative energy out of there and make space for something new and that
• 35:10
  aligns with your new life's adventure.
• 35:14
  Yes.
• 35:15
  Yeah, that makes sense.
• 35:16
  That makes sense.
• 35:18
  So, all right, now we are gonna wrap up.
• 35:20
  Where can people find you online?
• 35:21
  Because as I said, you and I could speak for the next one hour, right?
• 35:25
  So I'm on LinkedIn under Yolanda Taylor.
• 35:29
  I am on Instagram under atthestyletable and at the Style Table on Facebook.
• 35:35
  And I am Yo Taylor on TikTok.
• 35:40
  And I think those are the main ones.
• 35:43
  You can go to atthestyletable.com and reach out to me and I will
• 35:49
  be happy to speak with anyone.
• 35:51
  I have, I give out a lot of content to help you jumpstart your wardrobe goals and
• 35:59
  your journeys and how you want to think about things that make it easier for you.
• 36:04
  But if you'd like to work with me, I'm always here for you.
• 36:08
  Thank you so much, Yolanda, and for those of you who are either in the audience
• 36:13
  or are watching this afterwards, just as Yolanda was a guest on my show, if you'd
• 36:18
  like to be a guest, I'm chatting with the experts, reach out to me on my website,
• 36:23
  which is chattingwiththeexperts.com or on Instagram, my handle there
• 36:28
  is at chat_experts_podcast.
• 36:33
  I'm also on LinkedIn as Paula Okonneh and I'm on Facebook also as Paula Okonneh.
• 36:40
  We also have a YouTube channel that you can subscribe to.
• 36:43
  You've got so much content, like Yo says.
• 36:46
  She's got a lot of content, so do I to please subscribe.
• 36:50
  And last but not least, if you two would like to have a show like this, reach
• 36:55
  out with to me so that you and I could do a discovery call so you can find
• 37:01
  out what it is you're passionate about, that you in turn can impact the world
• 37:07
  with your voice and make a difference.
• 37:10
  Thank you Yo, for being such an amazing guest.
• 37:13
  And now we'll open up the floor to those who have joined us so they can
• 37:17
  ask you even more questions than I have.
• 37:21
  Thank you again.
• 37:22
  Thank you.