A photo of guest Luisa Giannini sitting at a desk smiling into camera
Episode 342 – Lesley takes her wardrobe to the next level with Luisa Giannini

One of the things Ingrid and I love about successful decluttering often leads on to other things in your life that enhance your wellbeing. It’s no secret here at the Declutter Hub that I love clothes and have plenty of them but I made the decision to take my wardrobe to the next level and worked with a personal stylist. Want to know what I learnt about myself and the process? In this podcast I talk to Luisa Giannini about her work and how it can help take a wardrobe to the next level.
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Transcript of this podcast episode
00:00
One of the things Ingrid and I love about successful decluttering is that it often leads on to other things in your life that enhance your well being. It's no secret here at the declutter hub that I love my clothes, and I've got plenty of them, but I made the decision to take my wardrobe to the next level, and worked with a personal stylist a few weeks ago. Do you want to know what I learned about myself and the process. Well, today, I'm going to be talking to Luisa Giannini about her work and how it can help you take your wardrobe to the next level.

00:37
You're listening to the declutter hub podcast, bringing you tried and tested no nonsense tips and advice from the leading experts in decluttering and organizing your home. Now here's your host, Lesley Spellman,

01:00
hello and welcome listeners. I'm Lesley. We're delighted you're here to join us as part of your decluttering journey. So whether you're brand new today or have been listening for ages, we want to say thank you so much for being here. It means so much to Ingrid and I that you turn up every week to listen to and support us while we talk all things decluttering and organizing. We'd love to help more people with their quest for a clutter free home. And our podcast is a fantastic way for people to be inspired to take action. We have a favor to ask. If you like what you hear, be sure to hit the follow, subscribe or like button on your podcast player. Share us with your friends, or share your thoughts on the podcast by leaving a review. Well, hello, Luisa.

01:43
Hi. How are you? I'm fine. Well, look, we've all coordinated in pink. I've got your pink walls, yeah, pink explosion today, which we absolutely love, because that's the declare. So we're all good. So it's so lovely, Luisa, to welcome you on the podcast. How are you feeling? Happy to be here, very happy to be here and the sun is shining. So, you know, it is for a change. It's a beautiful, beautiful day here in Manchester, for a change, no rain, only sun in the sky. So let's, let's take it back to when we first sort of met Luisa. So I was randomly scrolling Instagram one, I think, a Sunday morning, and I just was a little bit down in the doldrums, you know? I was a little bit like, fed up, and I was like, What am I going to do? I need to sort of cheer myself up a little bit. And then I also had the impending book launch, where I knew that I wanted to wear something nice, and I thought, You know what, I'm going to go back and do something which I've done before, and this is something that I've spoken about on the podcast a few years ago. Few years ago, where I've worked with a personal stylist. And so Googled around, because the personal stylist that I used to work with don't do that anymore, and found you, you live right around the corner, and so I looked at you, I thought, yeah, I was like, she looks like something, somebody that I'm going to get along with. And true to Lesley Spellman fashion, straight away, Instagram, DM, what are we going to do and when we're going to do it? So Luisa, tell me a little bit about your work, what you do, and your background, a little bit can I'm really interested in that? Yeah. So I am, first and foremost. I'm a mum of two kids and one dog and a wife. Um, I have always worked in fashion, literally. From the age of 16, I worked right on the shop floor. And then when I was going to university, I did a fashion degree, and then I moved to London, pretty much straight away, to work in buying. And I was a buyer for about 17 years, to be precise. And then travel was sort of taking me away from home. Used to have to go to China and India a fair bit. And I'd always sort of styled my friends, you always sort of messaged me about, what have you seen, or can you recommend this? Or sometimes they'd panic and say, Well, what should I wear for a night out? And I decided to quit my career as a buyer, even though it was my dream job, and try and focus on that and see if it would go anywhere. And it's it's taken off personally. I think it's the future of shopping. It's no different than having a decorator, an interior designer, hairdresser, someone to paint your nails. These are all things that we could do ourselves, but we don't, because we kind of trust the expert. So I like to sort of

04:18
treat my clients like a friend. And I focus on color analysis, wardrobe detox, personal shopping, style parties. I do a bit of corporate work as well, and my aim, really is just to make fashion and style just a little bit less overwhelming, a bit more accessible, especially for the younger generation. I have a mix of clients ranging from early 20s right up to the late 70s. Because, I mean, I'm early 40s now, and, you know, I'm made as we ordered, a lot of mistakes growing up in terms of trying to chase fashion and trends. And I think it's really important that the younger generation sort of a bit more mindful with their shopping than.

05:00
You were. So that's sort of where I am and who I am. Well, you know, I want to talk about the fact that you trip, you treat your clients as friends. And I think we hit it off immediately, don't we? Australia, like, five minutes, and we're like, okay, we feel like we've known each other for you. And I think so let me, let me explain a little bit to our listeners about, you know, I said I was a little bit in the doldrums. Wanted a bit of a treat. I had an impending kind of event that I wanted to have some advice on in terms of dressing. But really, it started before that, because, you know, you've talked about the fact that you obviously go out and do shopping with people and style people and give that advice. But there's a, there's a bit before that, which was what I was really interested in, and what I want to talk about a little bit now, really, Luisa, which is you offer something called a wardrobe detox. Now, a lot of people would look at me as a declutter and go, Why on earth Lesley, do you need a wardrobe detox? And that's a very, very good question. So I went into it, didn't I, Luisa, with my eyes open, I'm like, you don't need to talk to talk to me about all the emotional stuff we don't because I kind of know all that. I talk about it, I know it, so don't worry about it. But I'm going to say right off the bat here, once we started going through my clothes with you, which I absolutely love, five bin bags of stuff went out, and so there's always more to do. But I feel that it was different to what a standard declutterer does, because I think it takes things to the next level. I think that's what it's all about. So what, what do you aim for in a wardrobe detox? And how was the detox that you did with me any different to other ones that you've done? Well, the first thing that was different about your wardrobe was it was the most organized wardrobe I've ever seen. I didn't need to bring all of my hangers and all that kind of thing. It was very, very very organized. But I think for me, the main thing about my sessions in a wardrobe detox, it's about a understanding your body shape. So the first thing we will do is talk about your body shape, you know. And we'll, we'll do that in a really relaxed, comfortable way. Some girls try the clothes on. Some girls don't feel comfortable. You know, it depends how you feel. But what's important before you do any shopping is understand your proportions. This isn't about size. It's not about weight. It's not about the size or weight that you used to be in particular. It's about how you dress for your shape as it is now, where the seam will hit your shoulders, where your waist is in proportion to your hips, all that kind of thing, because there's no point buying clothes if they're not going to suit your frame. So that's the number one thing that I like to make at the start of the wardrobe detox is and then for me, it's about literally looking at every item individually and understanding why it's in your wardrobe. Are you holding onto it for sentimental reasons. Are you? And you know, a lot of us are given clothes from people because they say, Oh, I think you'd really like this. It doesn't fit me anymore. And then we feel bad to get rid of it because somebody gave it to us or a gift. And then, obviously there's the other side of shopping. So that's the other element, which I'm sure we'll come to. But really the main detox that I offer is shopping your wardrobe. So we all open our wardrobe, me included, I'm just as guilty as anyone, and go, Oh, I've got nothing to wear. And actually, we're cramming it in. We can't shut the wardrobe door. We do have stuff to wear, but it's about understanding how to put things together. So sometimes we'll buy clothes in isolation, put it in the wardrobe and not create enough out of it. So the wardrobe detox with you was about getting everything out. We didn't necessarily need to reorganize it because you've done that work, and we didn't need to have the whole chat about why you've bought things and all that kind of things. But it was about why have you fallen out of love with it? Is it time to move it on? Because sometimes clothes are ready to be passed on or resold or reloved by someone else. But would you, would you re buy it? Would you, would you be excited to open this wardrobe again and wear these clothes again? So that, I think for us, was the starting point, like, get it all out. Do you wear it? If not, why not? And then I would sort of give my opinion as to, you know, there were some things in there that you like, I don't know, it's a bit old fashioned. And I was like, actually, no, like, let's team it with we'll take this cream top and do all cream. So we'll go with beige trousers, cream top, cream jacket, new shoes, and do a really nice toner look, and then update it with some accessories. So it's about having sort of an outside perspective, really. And somebody who you know I work with, have worked with women my entire life, and I know women's body shapes inside and out. I know women's lifestyles, you know, life changes, menopause, divorce, babies, all that kind of thing. So it's about not just the clothes and the fashion. It's about getting to the root of how it fits into your lifestyle. Yeah. And I think, I think that's it. I think it's

09:40
important for us here at the declutter hub, really, to to take declutter, decluttering of any area of your home, and not just think of it as letting stuff go, thinking about it, thinking about it as reconnecting that with the stuff that you had. And that was definitely part of what happened, because there were things that I had, one.

10:00
With something else never been that happy with. You know, that's a great example, right? So there was a cream I've got a cream jumper in the wardrobe. Got cream trousers. I would always put a black top on with those cream trousers, always. And Luisa was like, wear those together. And I wore that the night after I'd seen you. I went out, and I'm felt amazing in it. And it was just that I would never have thought about that, because you get stuck in your own head about what suits you, how you should put things together. You've always done it that way. And so it's just, you know, as well as you know, yes, of course, we went out shopping, and we're going to talk about that later, but I think it was, it was just about that reconnection and about

10:37
demonstrating possibility. You know, we talk a lot about and talk about that in the book as well. See possibility rather than impossibility in your wardrobe. Really, really important. So I love that part of it. And you know, even I, even though I understand the emotional connection to clothes, there were things that I still had. I knew that they weren't quite right. I wasn't choosing them. I was leaving them there. There's definitely this 8020 rule situation was going on in there. Maybe it wasn't 8020, maybe it was more 5050, but there were definitely things that I'm like, why am I keeping that? You know, that the barriers were standing in the way. And I think for me, without getting too deep on it, I think that our bodies change over time, and certainly in the last sort of 567, years, you know, menopause has hit me, you know, my kind of belly has grown, you know, without getting too gross about the whole thing. And so my shape is very different. Because whilst I always used to think in my 20s and 30s and 40s, I was carrying weight, all of a sudden, you're like, wow, literally, I wish that I was that. Now, do you know what I mean? And so it's kind of crazy. And so I think that you you struggle, you struggle to make that leap into, into dressing a body that's a slightly different shape to what you used to. So I think some of it was about that as well, and about, you know, definitely was a real confidence boost for me to go, this is okay. Do you know what I mean? And this is still looking good, you know, despite you thinking that you've got, you know, a belly that's protruded. I think you you see that. You see that flaw so much. Yeah, and the thing is about that. It's, you know, if we, if only we knew when we were 20 that our bodies would change, I think we all thought that we would stay that that size or that shape. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with our bodies changing it. I've got two daughters, and it's the one thing I say to them all the time, like you need to be confident in your own skin and and what's going on in your brain. Because even if you did lose the way, not that you need to. But you know, in general, I have a lot of clients who are holding on to genes that they fit in 20 years ago, if they then lost the weight and got back into those gene sizes that are two, three sizes, two, smaller, half the hang ups. Most the hang ups will still be there, because a lot of it isn't about our physical appearance. There's loads more that goes into it. And, you know, on the days now, and I'm like, Oh, don't have a picture taken, and I do have it, and I look at it and go, oh, gotta look awful in a year's time, I think gotta look great that day. What? What was I upset about while? So there's, it's, it's not just about the clothes. It's not just about the the weight, whether we put weight on or lose weight. You know, as we get older, some women lose weight, and, you know, they find, for example, the bum gets flatter, or their arms go sagger. And I say to everybody, everyone is so worried about their own tummy, their own bum, their own wobbly arms, that they'll be too concerned about yours. I think we all think we've got this big ego everybody that we walk into a room and we think everybody's looking at us and going, God, did you see the state of her in that no one is thinking that because we're all so critical of ourselves that that's all we're doing. And I have to say, the one thing that comes out of the wardrobe detox sessions that I do with women is afterwards, they just feel a lot more confident. And it's not because they've lost weight on their and they've not had a complete transformation. They've just had someone to say, You're absolutely fine the way you are. And I like to think I'm really honest, and I will always be tactful, as you know, of course, but if I think something doesn't serve you anymore, I will tell you, because there's no point me saying everything looks fabulous and suits your shape, if actually you're not going to feel comfortable in it. So I think that's the one thing that comes out of it. Everybody sort of feels like a little bit like themselves again, and not necessarily themselves they were 20 years ago. Or, you know, I like, I say, I work with clients who are who are younger, not necessarily like other people they see on social media, but just like themselves, whatever that may be

14:29
exactly. And I think, I think you know what we're talking about here is in this podcast, really, you know, this is a decluttering podcast. And so what I want to try and get across is where the role of a declutterer or or even you doing your own decluttering finishes, and where a stylist starts. Because, you know, it's that ability to be objective about your own body, really, I think, isn't it? And I think that there's always things to learn. And so I think for me, you know, I understood what the barrier was. I saw that there was a barrier in place for me, choosing something to.

15:00
Aware that wasn't quite getting it right, but I wasn't ready to take that final mental leap to go actually, it's not serving me. I need something different. So I think the kind of the beauty of that wardrobe detox is taking it to that next level, and is looking at, you know, hem lengths and, you know, I put things on, you know, you can't have a pair of trousers. It's going to suit when I've got my three inch heels on and when I've got my flat trainers on, you know, it's got to be something different. And you've got to buy a pair of jeans or a pair of trousers to suit one or the other, if you're like me and I flip, you know, some people's heels are kind of more or less the same all the time, but I do go into higher shoes quite regularly, and understanding that. And I think the jeans one was really interesting to me, Luisa as well, because we got rid of every single pair of jeans in my water just quiet half like,

15:47
Am I ready for this? But I went with it. You know, there's no point. You know, I expect my clients will not expect, I hope that my clients are open enough, when I'm working with them, to kind of to go with it, to kind of speed themselves up and to trust. And it's the same thing. There's no point in asking for an expert to help you and then ignoring their advice. And so you were like, the jeans need to go. And I think that one of the mistakes that I've been making certainly with the jeans. And, you know, because, again, this is all about your own idea about your shape and what you need to do. I would always kind of wear stretchy jeans, because I feel like, you know, because as my legs have got bigger, I need to have a little bit of stretch in there. And you're like, Absolutely not. You need to have, you know, I don't know what you would call that, but not more structured, more of a Yeah, you know, to me so things like that. And as soon as you say it, the light bulb goes, Oh, yeah, of course, of course. And so I think, you know, even if, if, if anybody has got, you know, wants to take that I know. So I know it's, it's, it's not affordable for a lot of people. But you know, there's things out there that you can read and all that kind of stuff about body shape and color and all that on the on the internet. Of course there are, but it's just to open your mind up to something slightly different as well, and to take that decluttering to the next level, and to allow yourself to take your wardrobe and fall back in love with it again, as in. And so I now, when I look at my wardrobe and get dressed in a day, even though a lot of the things are the same, you know, I'm going to talk later about the kind of things that I bought and the gaps that we filled. You know, it's just a more pleasurable experience getting dressed. Yeah, and it's the one thing we all have to do every day. You know, we can't wonder our naked. We have to get dressed. For some people, it's really easy. Fashion isn't just my career. It's my hobby. I've always read fashion magazines. I travel. When I travel, the first place I go for is the little boutiques to see what else is there. You know, it's an interest for me. It's not for everybody else. They get really overwhelmed by it. They can walk into a store or a shopping center and be completely bamboozled by how much choice there is. I am laser focused, but that's because I've done it my entire life, and it's also a passion of mine. It's not for everybody and it can be really overwhelming, but it's the one thing we have to do so trying to get and you know, when we say it's not affordable for everybody. Totally understand that. However, if you look at what you're spending in your wardrobe, are you wasting money on things that are cheap? Because, you know, I was sort in a charity shop and it was 10 pound, or is it was in on the discount retails, and it should have been 100 quid, but it was 30 if you don't wear that, that's not cheap. If you wear, if you buy something that's 100 pound and you wear 100 times, that's cheap. So the same as you know, investing in a personal stylist to take your shopping or give you a wardrobe detox, that small investment upfront will last you an entire lifetime, because everything I have learned, you know, going to factories and seeing how clothes are made or or where the zip should be, or where the seam should be. It's all the information I will give to you is tailored for you personally, so you can then take that with you for the rest of your life and cut out those purchases that are, you know, a waste of money, because we're just sort of seeing what other people are wearing, which is right for them, then we buy it. We don't look the same in it, and we question, are we too old, too young, too fat, too thin, and it's just not right for us? So that small investment at the start will last you forever, and you'll, you'll gain that back, you know, tenfold. So it's, it's and we don't, you know, especially as women, as we get older, if you've got kids or a job, or whatever it may be, or parents that we're looking after, we then become bottom of the list. And if you can do that one small thing in the morning and just get yourself ready quickly, easily, without stressing and without questioning whether you don't look right or, you know, just giving yourself a bit of a boost in the morning, the rest of your day will go much more smoothly. I promise. I could not agree more Luisa, and it's exactly the same as investing in in decluttering, in terms of the way that you've used stuff, and it may change as a whole mindset to things, and means that you're not spending, you're not frittering away money, because your mindset has changed. And so for for us, it's not buying the stuff or only.

20:00
That or intentional shopping exactly the same with you. You know, the shopping that you're doing for clothes is going to be intentional. It's going to be the right kind of things that you're going to buy, and you're not going to buy things that you don't actually need, and duplicates and things are not going to suit you, and things because they're cheap, and so exactly, and it's more affordable than you, than you think. And so I think, you know, it is. You have to kind of re flip your focus away from, you know, is a declutter really expensive. It's, you know, it's too expensive for me. Or same with a personal stylist, and go, actually, I'm investing in the future. And we could, you know, honestly, people in our membership save money 10 fold over, by the way, that their attitude changes, and it's exactly the same for you. So, yeah, that was the wardrobe detox side of it. But of course, I had an impending book launch party, which I wanted to kind of, you know, look good for, and so I asked you to take me shopping for that. And so after the break, we're going to come back. We're going to talk about how that went. Hi everybody, welcome back. I'm here with the gorgeous Luisa and who is a personal stylist who took me shopping for my book launch party outfit. Now, to put this in perspective, Ingrid had already told me she was wearing a red suit, and so I had a bit of a kind of helping hand with that. And I was like, We really need to kind of look kind of together, because we're going to have, we had a professional photographer on the day, we had a videographer as well. So it needed to kind of look seamless, I kind of happily say. Now it absolutely did, with the help of Luisa. So talk to so we that's the wardrobe detox that was in my house. So about a week later, you and I met up in Manchester and we went shopping, and it was like, the best day. It's like, what a treat. It was so much fun, wasn't it? But tell me a little bit about how that works and what you do if you take a client out shopping. So for us, it was perfect, because I knew what was in your wardrobe already. The purpose of a wardrobe detox really isn't to chuck it all away and buy loads of new clothes. It's to figure out if there's been any gaps left from what you've passed on or sold on. So I had that list in my head. I do the prep work ahead, so I'll get things ordered into some of the stores so that we can just hit the ground running. You're welcome on the on the shops to look around. But for you, I knew what you needed, so I had it already in the in the fitting room. I kind of knew what the plan was for your book launch. You know, you kind of wanted to look put together glamorous. I knew that heels were a definite, which is great, because not everybody you know, goes for heels these days, especially since COVID, working from home. I knew what Ingrid was wearing, so I had that plan. So I kind of knew I wanted to sort of coordinate the two of you, and then for me, a really interesting starting point for you, and the shop was a bra fit. So when we did your wardrobe, you know, when we got to the underworld section, I kind of leave that to you guys. You don't want us to eat into too much time. But for you, when I saw your bras, there was a variety of different sizes. And you know, I can bra fit as well. So I just knew straight off the bat that that's a really good starting point for us, because in the same way, you wouldn't build a house without foundations, you wouldn't build an outfit without getting a good bra. So we went and got a proper fitting. We got a black, a nude and a white, and I said to that's all you need. Is don't be tempted by the pretty lace ones that you're not going to wear. Just go for that. And then we sort of built on from the rest of that. So we kind of had in line what we'd want to fill in, any gaps, the must have item, which for you was the book launch, and then any sort of newness that, you know, was it within your budget that I think will, will kind of express your personality, suit your colorings, you know, if, if you've got that little bit of extra, why not have something that's not just a necessity, but that is something that's a little bit of a treat that will kind of refresh your wardrobe. Because, you know, as sustainable as we all want to be these days, and that's number one priority for me, that we're not wasting money. There are times when your wardrobe does come to a point where you kind of need to move it on, either because your body shape has changed, like we've discussed, or the trends kind of have evolved a little bit, and they weren't, you know that they weren't serving you anymore. So we kind of, you always kind of want a little bit of newness in there. So that was the sort of focus for the day, for us,

24:12
absolutely. So the bra was an interesting one, actually. And so we want to talk about what, where we went, and stuff. But I think the interesting thing for me was, you know, as you, as you, as you get older, your breast tissue kind of spreads out a little bit more to the side when it kind of goes down as well, it goes off to the side. And it was getting that structure into the side of the bra to kind of like, almost like, pushes it in a bit, rather than up, if that makes sense. And I think that was, it was a real game changer. And it's only when you put on a different bra that you can really see what a difference that makes. And so that was super helpful. I think you'd already worked out when you did my wardrobe detox about color. So you know, I was kind of getting the color bit of it right, because I do love color. You'll mostly see me in color. And so you went down that route. And so we went into the first shop, didn't we?

25:00
And you said, I think this will be a great outfit for your book launch. Put it on, and it was like, That's it, straight away. It was actually first dress. It was first thing, right? Let's go home. Yeah, exactly. And I think that, um, jeans. And so that was interesting, because, I think, because I clearly you would, you would said, no, no, no, none of those jeans could feel Lesley, you try. It was one pair, to be fair, that left when I'm clinging on to for dear life, and one pair that was in London. I'm like, I'm sure I've got some good jeans. Steve's just found them in London. I'm like, because I went down at the weekend, I'm like, where's those jeans?

25:32
I had one pair of jeans that she would have, she would have liked, and so have found them. So I have got a couple. But so I think it was important. And I would never have picked up the jeans that you I would I wouldn't have done them, but as soon as they went on my body, I was like, I see that that's the right shape gene, but if I had seen that on a hanger, I wouldn't have chosen it. And jeans is a really, really tricky area, and it's in my body shape analysis sessions that I do. I always have we talk about bras. I have two examples of bras with me, and I bring about eight jeans with me because there's a lot of chatter about skinny jeans. They're out of fashion. And then you'll read Vogue in the back in fashion. And then, if it's not a skinny jean, it's a wide leg Jean. But actually, there's loads of jeans that goes in between those. You don't need to go from one extreme to the next. But if you go into you know, any store, there'll be five, six different types of jeans in different lens with different waists and high waist at a mid rise and all these kind of information. Some have got stretch like you say, Some haven't, and it's really, really tricky. If you do buy jeans online, that's a whole other conversation, because in one store you can be a size eight, and the other store you can be a size 14, and more often than not, in the same store, you can be a random selection of sizes. So my advice with the jeans, like we did, go to a shop and try them on, because if you're anything like the rest of my clients, and you're buying them online, you'll just be sending them back. So you kind of, you need to, kind of, when it comes to jeans, sort of drown out the noise of what's on trend. Because, you know, if we were to follow the trends of the genes, we'd be buying new jeans every three to six months. Really, you don't need more than five pairs of jeans maximum. I mean, I've had clients before who've got rid of over 60 pairs of jeans in one session, because we're all trying to find that elusive gene. So for me, that was and is for all my sessions. You know, not everybody is a jean wearer, but most of, most of my clients, want to, you know, get a good fitting pair of jeans that they feel good in, that are on trend. But, you know, I always put that to the side and say, What if you like skinny jeans? Let's wear them. Let's figure out how it works for you. If you like a wide leg Jean, but you're petite like me. I'm only five foot two. There's definitely a wide leg Jean out there for you. It's kind of one of the only shapes that I wear. But we kind of hear if you're short, you can't wear long, baggy clothes. If you're curvy, you can't wear horizontal stripes. You know, there's all these kind of fashion rules that have been told to us over the years that you kind of just have to dismiss and you just need to go out there and try it on. And you know, when you've got two people doing it, you've got an outside perspective, and you can get a real, honest view when you do any personal, sharp session, yeah, and I think I wanted to, I think I want to talk a little bit now Luisa about confidence. I mean, I don't necessarily lack confidence, but I've still had those experiences in changing rooms, depending on what store you go in, where you feel as if you shouldn't be there. There's also the mirror situation. Some mirrors are quite flattering in some stores, and in other stores, they're like, make you look horrendous. I just want to run for the hills from here. And so I think as well, we've got, I know we've got a lot of people in our communities who are very nervous about and that's why they will buy online. Do you know what I mean? For whatever reason that is, you know, we've had bad experiences. We feel embarrassed about our body, or whatever that is, and so I think to have somebody, you know, kind of safeguarding you, almost in the shops and stuff, and with as a personal stylist, I think that can be a boost as well, because you feel like someone's got your back. And it's, you know, there's kind of almost a thing between you and the rest of the world, almost. And so I think that's important. If that's something that you're struggling with, with the confidence, I think it's a real confidence boost. I mean, I'm, you know, I'm relatively confident. I have my moments, but, you know, it took me to the next level. And I think that's what this is all about, really, whether it's that wardrobe detox thing, and looking at what you already have, or whether it's going out there and buying new and filling gaps. And we were very, you know, and it was, it wasn't a frivolous shopping trip, it was an absolutely filling gaps shopping trip. Yes, I went for the book launch outfit. And there might have been one more thing that I bought, because I loved it, but generally, it was stuff that I'll wear over and over and over, you know, some of it, I've not got to, yeah, and, you know, I'm going out tonight, and it's like, I know already, like, before I'd be like, oh, there must be something in the wardrobe, but, but now I'm like, I'm going to wear that thing that I bought with Luisa, because that'll look, that'll look great. And so, you know, and I think it's also, you know, talking to my friends when we're on holiday after it, and it's also about buying for your lifestyle, because.

30:00
Sometimes, you know, one of my close friends said I always buy for a life that I don't have, like, I see a beautiful dress, you know what I mean, like an evening gown, or whatever, that looks gorgeous, and I'll buy it, even though I know that I'm unlikely to go to something like that. So we can, we can get taken in by things like that. And so I think it's all about refocusing a lot more, isn't it? That's what it's all about. And so I thought it was a fantastic day. You know, as with everything, the way you get an expert in it's all about your connection with the person that you're working with. You have to trust them. You have to like them. It's so important. Same with a professional Declutter. Same when people are working with Ingrid and I you have to like the people that are advising you, otherwise you're on a height to nothing. So for me, Luisa, it was absolutely a fantastic couple of days. I absolutely loved it. It's giving me a spring in my step. I felt amazing on the book launch day the I'm sure the pictures will be out and about. There a little bit more. We had a professional photographer, meaning we'd look to as if we were together. It was great. I just want to say thank you so so much for everything that you did for me. I'll wholeheartedly recommend, obviously, if you're in Manchester, Luisa is around here, so you know you can, and Luisa will tell you in a moment where, where you can find out about her. And there are stylists, obviously, across the country, across the world, that you can reach out to to help you if you are not in the Manchester area. So Luisa anything else that you wanted to talk about,

31:25
I think, you know, we've kind of covered it. I think that the one thing I just want people to really, you know, if you're looking at your wardrobe, don't worry about what's on trend, or what or what the fashions are or what other people are wearing, because if we do that, we'll constantly be chasing our tails. And as I say, I was a buyer and a little inside info, it's the same trends year on year out. They might put a little twist in it, and they the buyers and designers will talk about it like it's revolutionary, but each season, you'll find a stripe, or you'll find a floral, or you'll find a pastel color, or you'll find a bright color. So it's about finding what is right for you, and just try and focus on

32:05
worrying less about what other people think about us. And you know that we could that's really easy to say, but I think the main thing that I say to all my my clients, is start speaking to yourself like you would speak to other people. You know you wouldn't tell your friend, your daughter, your mum, your sister, you've got a really fat stomach. God, look at your bingo wings. God, my toes are awful. The tiniest things that we say to ourselves that stop us from wearing a strappy shoe in the in the summer or I have clients who you know on really hot days will still cover their arms because they're worried about what people think about them. You know, we're really cruel to ourselves, and we wouldn't do that to anyone else. So first of all, as soon as you start to be kinder to yourself that bit by bit, it'll take, takes a while, but by you know all these little messages that we say to ourselves day in, day out, by the end of the day, we believe them. It becomes true. If you just change that narrative and start saying nice things to yourself, like you would do to your family and friends, you will start to believe it, and no one will start to question, you know, gosh, why is Lesley wearing a red dress? Who does she think she is? No one will and if they do, you don't want them in your life. What they will say is, she looks fabulous. I wish I could do that, and we can, you know, it, I don't want people to be overwhelmed by fashion and style. I don't take it seriously. You know, in terms of being Uber trendy, for me, it's about making it more accessible for everybody, and that's what it should be. Yes, we want fun with our clothes, but it also has to be functional. So just don't worry, take the pressure off and just try and be nicer to yourself, and that confidence in time will come very well. Said, I could not agree more. So Luisa, where can we find out more about you? So my website, www, Luisa stylist, or I'm on Instagram, Luisa G stylist, and just drop me a message and your questions. I always give tips. You know, Facebook. Luisa Giannini, personal styling. I've got an app coming soon, which is going to be super easy for you to sort of access your wardrobe, and I can give you hints and tips there and just get in touch with me. Yeah, definitely. Well, thank you so much. You definitely put a spring in my step over the last few weeks, a long may it continue, and summer's coming up soon, so who knows where we're going to be? Yeah, we might go out on one of those other shopping trips,

34:22
maybe not quite yet. So thank you so so much for being on the podcast, and we will see everybody next week.

34:34
Thanks so much for listening to the declutter hub podcast. Don't forget to subscribe to us in your podcast player so you don't miss an episode and we'll see you next week.
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Episode 342 – Lesley takes her wardrobe to the next level with Luisa Giannini

Episode 346 – Pros and cons of decluttering one item a day

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Episode 344 – Helen Flanagan talks clutter, ADHD and managing a home with a young family

Episode 343 – Dealing with the passage of time when decluttering

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