← Her Style Podcast | Shopping, Color Palettes, Fashion, Wardrobe, Outfits, Clothing
Her Style Podcast | Shopping, Color Palettes, Fashion, Wardrobe, Outfits, Clothing
288 | November Q&A: Dress Your Best Consistently, Affordable Comfort Heels, and Adapting Classic Outfits for Every Body Type
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Welcome back to another monthly Q and A episode of Her Style Podcast. How is it November already? I don't even know. But these episodes are some of my favorites because I get to hear directly from you your questions, your challenges and your real life style needs. Today we're covering an exciting variety of topics including how to stay motivated to dress your best consistently. This is the perfect continuation to our last episode, how to track down low heels that are comfortable, affordable and stylish enough to wear to work, especially for teachers who are on their feet all day long. And how to make a classic style vision work for a body type that doesn't fit the tall, slim mold we often see on Pinterest and social media. As always, my goal is to give you practical, actionable advice that you can use right away. So let's go ahead and dive right into our November Q and A. Welcome to Her Style Podcast where we're all about empowering you to show up and get dressed every day with confidence. I'm your host, Heather Riggs, a 15 year and counting certified image consultant and color specialist ready to build a wardrobe and a personal style you love. Let's get started. All right, friend. You know I love getting to hear your voice through the audio Q and A feature that we have@herstylellc.com podcast. But this month we got all written submissions, which I will also happily accept. I just love to hear from you however you feel most comfortable connecting with us submitting your questions for the podcast. So we are going to kick things off with a question that came in via email from Adrian. She wrote to me after recently completing our Wardrobe Revamp bootcamp, which we held back in September. And Adrienne said, I recently took your bootcamp and I loved it. The advice and resources are invaluable. I felt motivated and inspired to dress so that I felt confident. I then two weeks later I didn't feel as inspired and fell back into a pattern of lazily selecting my outfits. Then I listened to your Q and A podcast. She's referencing the last one that we had in October and she said she felt inspired again. I guess I have a question and a comment. Thank you for doing a wonderful job of supporting all of us through your podcast. My question is how can I stay motivated to, quote unquote, dress my best consistently? So first of all Adriene, thank you so much for your honesty, for your sweet compliments about the bootcamp and the podcast. I'm so glad that you are part of this community and we are learning together along the way. This is something that so many of us experience. We have a burst of motivation and then just as quickly it can fade. And that doesn't mean that you're doing anything wrong, it just means that you're human. Motivation is fleeting. It comes in waves. We just talked about this in our last podcast episode, in fact. So instead of asking how do I stay motivated to dress my best consistently, I would love for you to shift that question to how do I create systems and habits that carry me through even when motivation isn't there? Let's talk about a few ways that I think you can do that. I just want to start to set you up for success. Of course you can take this and run, make it your own. But the first thing I would recommend that you do is start building in some microhabits. We talked about this a little bit in the last episode as well. But these are going to be tiny, sustainable actions that will compound and become habitual for you over time. As a quick example, when you check your calendar at night to see what you have going on the next day, I want you to build it into your practice to also glance at your outfit library or into your closet and pull something for the next day. As you are planning things the night before, go ahead and set up that outfit in advance. Take two minutes before bed to hang or steam one piece of clothing if it needs it so you know it's ready to go for tomorrow and you have no excuses not to put it on. And over time, these little microhabits are gonna help to stack up and make that consistency feel effortless. The second thing that you can do is then anchor your routines. I want you to think of alpha planning like brushing your teeth right? Make it an essential part of your day. You don't do it because you're motivated, you do it because it's part of your daily rhythm. You know it's a good thing for you to do, you know it's an important thing and how much better and more confident you feel when you take time to do it. You can also create a default elevated look. Maybe come up with one. Go to formula that you love and can fall back on any day. I don't want this to become your daily default, but if you need something in a pinch, maybe it's jeans, a blazer and flats, or a knit dress and knee high boots. Just having that go to fallback uniform is going to take the pressure off when you are not feeling creative and you don't have a lot of time to put something together and Then also make sure that you're adding some layer of accountability. Sometimes consistency comes from knowing that someone else is watching. Now, you can keep yourself accountable by snapping a daily Mirror selfie. You don't have to post it anywhere, but this will just help you track your own growth and stay honest with yourself about how you're showing up. Or you might want to set a personal challenge, like trying five different outfit combinations during the work week just to challenge yourself and keep you feeling inspired and creative. And of course, having some community support will make this even stronger. So you can tap into a best friend or a family member to play along with you. Maybe have a message thread going with some of your girlfriends where you share your outfits for the day and just keep each other accountable to dressing your best so that you feel your best. That is honestly one of the biggest reasons that women love coming into her style collective, because you get that built in accountability and camaraderie to really keep your momentum going. And then the fourth tip that I have for you is to anchor your mindset. So again, instead of waking up and saying, do I feel inspired today? Which a lot of days is probably going to be, no, maybe you're a little tired, maybe you're just feeling off. Maybe you have more important things to worry about. Instead, I want you to try asking, what kind of woman am I practicing being today? That shift is going to move you. It sounds like it's very judgmental, but it's actually going to move you from chasing a feeling to reinforcing your identity, to remembering that dressing your best becomes a practice of embodying the woman you want to show up as. Whether or not you're feeling inspired at all. It's thinking about your style goals, the vision that you're working towards with your wardrobe, with the way in which you show up and making sure that you are checking in and being consistent in that. Even more so than the simple art of getting dressed, it is about that bigger picture of how you're showing up and the story that you're communicating through your personal style. So, Adrienne, my encouragement is to stop relying on motivation altogether. I think it's so smart to build some stuff sustainable habits to give yourself fallbacks. If you want to create a couple of go to outfits that you know you can grab in a pinch, add some accountability, whether it's with a friend group or if you are ready to step into her style collective, we would love to come alongside you and support you and always anchor back into the woman that you're becoming. What is that vision that you have for your style? And let's make sure that you're continuing to take those baby steps towards that. That is how your consistency is going to be created. And keep listening to the podcast for ongoing weekly inspiration. I cheering you on and encouraging you every step of the way. And it makes me so happy to hear the motivation that comes through joining us for the live events like the Bootcamp and just tuning into our Q and A episodes like this one. So thanks for being part of it. Okay, our next question came in from Janet and she also wrote in and she said, I would love to find low heels that are walkable and comfortable and not hundreds of dollars specifically for school teachers. Thank you for all of your insight. I appreciate it all. And I love this question because I know that school teacher or not, this is something that a lot of women struggle with. We all want to have shoes that are functional, comfortable, don't kill our feet, and look incredibly stylish, especially when you are required to do a lot of standing or walking throughout the day. I've shared many stories about how I used to sacrifice my own comfort for the sake of fashion. I shared a story about how I wore these incredibly impractical stilettos walking around in Cancun. I believe it was with my husband back in the early years of our marriage and I was falling over not from having too many drinks. I don't even know if I had had any drinks that night, but just because I couldn't walk on the cobblestone streets in those ridiculous heels. So I have since learned that fashion doesn't have to mean sacrificing our comfort. We really can have both. And I want to encourage you in that today, Janet especially. So I think the most important thing that you can do when you are shoe shopping and you have specific goals around any item that you want to purchase is to instead of browsing aimlessly, think of your shoe shopping as a hunt for a very specific checklist. So here are a couple things I think you should. Sorry, I hate to say should. Here are a couple of things that you can do to approach this from a more empowered place. The first thing is to define your non negotiables. I'm just going to toss out a couple of examples that might work for you, but remember, they are just examples. You can also make this your own. So it could be something like having a heel height under 2 inches, requiring cushioned insoles, making sure the budget is under $150, or that it's something versatile that can pair with both pants and skirts or dresses, whatever feels most important for you. You can also include all of those things and narrow your search even further. But you've got to get really clear on what is a non negotiable for you. So you're not ever going to settle for anything that doesn't hit on all of those important points. The second thing is to then use targeted filters and keywords. So when you're shopping online again, we don't want to just aimlessly browse, we want to hunt for what you want. So don't just type in heels. You might want to try search terms like block heel comfort shoes or kitten heel work shoes or low heel dress shoes for teachers or wide fit cushion block heels. Any combination of words. I would try a whole bunch of different things that fit within those non negotiables you came up with and see what comes up. You are going to get much more useful results. They are going to be way more on target. You can also add terms like stylish or classic or elegant or feminine. Again, whatever best fits with your personal style and the preferences that you want in these shoes. Also, if you're searching on a site like Nordstrom, which I will just say is one of my personal favorite places to look for shoes, or Nordstrom Rack is also great. You can also filter your search by price range, heel height, shoe style, all of those good things. So you can get really nitty gritty with your search filters to make sure that you are looking for things that are going to work for your needs. And then the final step is to test them out in real life before you buy them. If you're planning to go shop in stores, that's completely fine. It might be smart for you to bring along the type of pants or skirts that you'll typically wear with those shoes just to make sure everything looks good, that the height is correct. If you can then spend some time, walk around for a little bit with the shoes on, they will let you do that if you stay in the store. You could try walking on different surfaces. For example, if they have carpet and then like a tile or linoleum or what have you, you can sit and stand. Don't just plant yourself in front of a mirror, give them a quick walk. I just picked up a pair of flats, ballet flats. Love them. I'm keeping them anyway, but they're not super comfortable. I wore them once for I want to say maybe two hours and I had blisters on the backs of my heels. So I think it's going to just take some time to break them in. My plan is to put band aids on the back of my heels. I think there's also like little stickers that you can buy to put on the inside of your shoes if there's something like that that rubs against your feet. I know you're more concerned with the arch support and that kind of thing for standing all day, but either which way, if you grab a pair of shoes that are not comfortable sometimes you will figure that out very quickly. So make sure that you are walking around a little bit and just see how they feel. And then if you prefer to shop online, if possible, order a few pairs from retailers that have free returns and do an at home try on test drive. Wear them around the house for a few hours and see how they feel before committing. As long as you don't take them outside so the soles don't get scuffed up, they should remain in good shape and be eligible for a return. But the more time you can test drive them, I think the better in the long run. Now let's talk about a few specific brands just to help you get started on your search. I'm going to give you some fashion forward mid range options that often balance style and comfort really beautifully. These are some of my clients and my favorite shoes that are generally under about $150, so a couple of them are going to be Sam Edelman. Love them. Franco Sardo, Mark Fisher's Limited Collection, Cole Hahn, Aldo, Vince Camuto and Nine West. Especially their workwear collections I think could be really nice for you. And then if you want to lean more comfort first without sacrificing style, you can also look at Clark's Naturalizer Bionic Aerosols, Rockport. Again, this isn't an exhaustive list, but I think all of those have some hidden and not so hidden gems, so they are definitely worth exploring as well. And the most important thing is not to settle. You don't have to sacrifice comfort for style or vice versa. And as a final tip, especially when it comes to shoe shopping, I always recommend that you read the reviews even if you're shopping in stores. Take just a minute. Grab the pair of shoes that you're considering, type in the search on your phone and don't just check for the sizing. I want you to look through the reviews and specifically notice whether people are commenting about the comfort, walkability and how the shoes hold up after a full day. If something is not comfortable, people are going to be very quick to leave a negative review about that. So I think the reviews are so worthwhile. Just take an extra minute to double check, see what people are saying about those shoes before you bring them home. And that feedback is worth its weight in gold, so don't neglect it. And of course, inside her Style Collective, this is the kind of thing that we would refine together even more, taking into account your personal style type, your best colors, and of course even more of your lifestyle needs and what's in your existing wardrobe so we can pinpoint the exact pairs that will be both functional and fabulous for you and work with tons of things that you already own. But Jana, either way, I hope that these tips help get you started on your search for the perfect stylish yet comfy, cozy shoes. Now our last question came from robin and she DM'd me over on Instagram, which you are always welcome to do. You can find me at heatherriggsstyle and her comment said hi there. I've been listening to your podcast and taking a lot of your tips in trying to do a major closet purge and update my style, but I've run into a bit of a snag. I love the classic put together look, but when I try to make a mood board, all I'm finding are looks on women who aren't even close to my body type. It's as if class, for example trousers, et cetera, only fit tall, skinny women. I'm 5 foot 2 with a somewhat muscular build. I'm not overweight by any stretch, but I wouldn't consider myself petite either, as in my body itself isn't small boned or super slender. How can I manage this look while still feeling good when it seems like I don't fit in? So Robin, first of all, I feel you and it's a limitation. I think Pinterest does tend to showcase a very narrow body type, but it also depends on what you've been searching and it will start to get to know your preferences differences over time and cater your search results to you. So we just need to teach it a little bit better what kinds of things you want to see. And that does not mean classic style is off limits to you. It's all about timeless silhouettes, clean lines and polished pieces, and I think that those elements can be adapted beautifully to any body type when you focus on the right details. So first let's zoom out a little bit and help you find some ways to make things work better for you. If you've already found outfits that you love, let's just talk about how you can make a few little adjustments so that they fit you perfectly. The first thing is prioritizing fit. Of course, tailoring is going to be your best friend, and I think this is one of the easiest ways to give your pieces a cleaner, more polished look. I'm talking about hemming your pants to the right length, maybe nipping in the waist of your blazers to give you a nice, clean fit, or adjusting your sleeve lengths if you need to. That can make timeless pieces look really intentional and and made for you instead of meant for someone else. So it's all about making sure that you're getting the best possible fit and not neglecting tailoring if that's something that will take everything up to the next notch. The second thing is to always play with your proportions. So think about your body's shape and proportions, which kind of go hand in hand. Straight leg silhouettes can really help you elongate your legs, especially if you're on the shorter side, if that's something you would like to accomplish. High rise fits can highlight your waist. Structured tops or blazers are going to help balance a more muscular build while still keeping things really neat and classic. Also choose fabrics and your details wisely. Look for medium top fabrics that are also going to move with your body. I think subtle shaping darts or waist ties can give you some great definition without losing that finished feel. And then you always want to train your eye with the right inspiration. And this is a big one. So it's probably the most important thing that's going to help to counteract the big challenge that you've been having. And if your feeds are full of women who don't look like you, and you did send me pictures of Robin, so I will say you are very slim. But of course you're going to start to feel defeated if you're constantly comparing yourself to other women that you're seeing that don't line up, even if it's just within your own mind. So I think it's going to be smart for you to start following or seeking out influencers who have a build close to yours, who style classic pieces in really wearable ways. I'm going to give you a couple of names to help you start out again. These are a mix of body types still, but I just want to help you start diversifying what you're seeing on your Pinterest boards. I know you already said that petites don't always resonate with you if they are on the slim side, but I really think that these will work for you. So I Do recommend that you check out Jean@extrapetite.com she is petite and she is on the smaller side, but she's a master at tailoring classic pieces to fit a smaller frame. Also, Kristalyn Marie has a really cool, effortlessly classic style. She's another petite, but she often styles up blazers, jeans and timeless basics and I feel like her looks and her outfits as a whole are really approachable. I would also recommend that you look at the Anna Edit. She's not a petite, but her approach to timeless wardrobe staples is really clean, wearable and very relatable. Again, I think your body type might be fairly similar, so you'll probably feel good looking at some of the way she's styling her pieces. And then Kendi everyday. That's K E N D. I should probably have spelled all of those for you. I'll drop them in the show notes just so you can find them more easily. But Kendi is one of my favorite style bloggers. She does not look like me at all. She's quite tall, she has really dark hair and features so her coloring is completely differently. But I'm always inspired by her style and she is a mid size influencer so I feel like her styling is more easily adaptable to the average body type and her style fits really well with the classic, elegant vibe that you're going for. So again, this is just a starting point. I know I only tossed out a couple of names, there are so many more that you can find, so I would continue to expand your search from there. And even if they're not identical to your exact shape, filling up your Pinterest feed with women outside of that tall, slim, slender, supermodel looking mold will help normalize seeing classic style outfits on different bodies. It'll teach Pinterest what you're actually looking for and it'll inspire you to adapt your outfits and to make them your own. I would also recommend that you go back and listen to episode number 30. I talked about why you struggle to pull off Pinterest outfit inspo and what to do about it. And we go in depth on some tips to help you adapt the looks that you love to work better for you on an individual level. And of course I have to just mention one more time that inside her style collective we go step by step through the whole process of understanding what flatters your unique body. It is not about copying someone else. It's definitely not about copying me. It's about making the vision that you love truly wearable for you. I would love to support you with this if you're feeling really stuck. And sometimes it just takes that second set of eyes to help you style your outfits to a T. And when you couple that with this timeless style training that you can use for years and years, you will truly become an unstoppable stylist for yourself. So there you have it, friends. We just talked about three incredible questions from within our community. We talked about how to stay consistent and dressing your best by building sustainable systems and habits instead of relying on motivation. We talked at how to hunt, not browse for stylish, comfortable, affordable heels that you can wear all day without regret. And we dug into how to bring a classic style vision to life on a body type that doesn't match the narrow images we often see online. I want to thank Adrienne, Janet and Robin for your thoughtful questions. If you have one that you'd like to submit for our next question Q and A episode, head to herstyle llc.com podcast scroll down so you see the little orange button that's going to give you the Speak Pipe plugin where you can record a quick voice memo for me. I'd love to air them on the show. Or you're also welcome to DM me your question on Instagram @Heatherrigstyle. And remember, whether you are building consistency, looking for the right pieces to add to your collection, or adapting your style goals to work for you, every single step you take toward being intentional is worth celebrating. You're doing amazing work. I'm so proud of you and I'll meet you right back here again soon. Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you want to stop copying everyone else's style and start dialing in your own swoon worthy signature look, head over to take my free 5 minute personal style quiz which you can find at the link in the show notes. If you've enjoyed our time together, please be sure to rate, review and subscribe to her style podcast so you never miss an episode. Finally, I invite you to make this a two way conversation and send me a DM over on Instagram eatherigstyle to let me know how I can best support you on your style journey. I'm always here for you in style and service. Until next time.