Stepping Out in Red Hot Style
I love the color red. My Mom always told me it was my color-she loved me in red. It gets you noticed! It’s a power color, a passion color, a pay attention, I am here color. It’s the color of love, it’s sexy, it’s bold and beautiful!! There is something regal and queen-like about red. Maybe it’s the “red carpet” feeling too. There is just something about a woman in red!!
I have been coaching a woman and over the last year, we have focused on her limiting fears around body image. She is an attractive woman who is always well dressed. She has style. She is beginning to open herself to dressing the way she desires. We have talked in the past about what her true style is and I actually assigned her to shop to her desires, buy clothes she likes, and start wearing them. She did it. She had fun despite her hesitations. We made lots of progress challenging and releasing her fears of being noticed in her new clothes. She has continued to dress for herself and she is rocking it. She, like so many of us, had been in that “rut” of believing that her voluptuous body belonged in the loose fitting, neutral colors and black that hide her curves. Don’t get me wrong, as I said earlier, she always looked nice. “Nice” in that blend in to the background, don’t look twice, don’t notice me way.
She has worked very hard to overcome her body image fears and her wardrobe now shows it. She wears more form fitting, splashes of color, floral patterns, jeans that hug her just right now. She fights the old limiting beliefs about what a full figured woman should wear. She looks great and feels oh so much better in clothes that are more her own style. Her outfits tell a story of a woman opening herself to her Body Beautiful.
There are still tough moments for her. Like all of us, she is a work in progress. At a recent coaching session, I complimented her on a particularly stunning ensemble. She had an Asian inspired top in black with big abstract red flowers and vivid green leaves paired with simple dark denim jeans, playful wedge sandals and big bold jewelry that just set it all in motion. This is certainly not something she would have worn even a year ago. She thanked me and then a look came over her face. She cringed a bit and pursed her lips. “What just happened?” I asked. She hesitated and then spilled it. “I have a brand new pair of the perfect RED patent leather strappy sandals and I almost wore them.” She sighed heavily. “Why didn’t you?” She explains that they caught her eye and she was immediately drawn to them but after she had them home the old limiting fears kicked in.
*Who am I to be wearing these? *They are just too much. *They will draw attention. *What will people think? *I can’t pull those off. To top it off, someone close to her upon seeing the shoes made a comment something like, “Wow, those are quite the shoes!” said with a sarcastic tone. That comment sealed her negative thinking and despite how much she loved them she allowed her desire to be shut down. So, the shoes went into her closet and had yet to be worn. She actually had a picture of the shoes. I asked to see it. They were kick a** and I could see her in them. They were totally “her”. They were hot, classy, sexy, fun. They were the shoe version of the perfect little black dress. They were sparkly and would be the icing on the cake of any outfit. They were attention getters. She loved these shoes and I knew she would rock them. Of course, I gave her the assignment to wear them to our next meeting. She did. She was glowing. The shoes were all that and oh so much more!!!
What is in your literal or figurative closet that you love, that you desire, that you long to wear but haven’t been able to bring yourself to actually put on and go out into the world adorned like the Queen you are? What is your version of those red shoes?
If it’s in your closet now, get it out, put it on and share your radiant self with the world. Let others take notice. Let other women see you shining brightly-you can and will spark others! If it is something you have always wanted but never brought yourself to actually buy it, hit the store and get it, put it on and take your sexy, adorned self out on the town.
You should have seen her smile and how she glowed when she walked in to our meeting in those red shoes! She was in her power and on fire! It’s your turn, your time…Get your “red shoes” out, wear them loud and proud! ☺
Ann Murgatroyd-Soe, CEO of Hot Pink YOUniversity. www.hotpinkyou.com, Author of Ignite Your Life: Live Life with Passion, Purpose and Play