Strike a Pose: Power, Presence, and Style with Renée Lindo

Speaker A: Hey, everybody. And, uh, welcome back to what's Next Gen X. I'm Nicole.

Speaker B: And I'm Annemarie. And what's Next Gen X is the podcast for Gen X by Gen X, where we bring together the Gen X community so we can provide information and inspiration to help you level up your career, life, and impact so that you can find your next. Okay, Nicole.

Speaker A: All right, so, you know, we love a good song for a guest and. And I don't want to toot my horn, but when I tell you the song that I picked fits this guest so much, you guys are going to be like, nicole, you're a genius. And I will have to agree with you. So I'm going to actually introduce her first and then I'll tell you the song so how it ties in. Okay. Okay. All right. So today's episode is all about power, presence, and that thing we've been told doesn't matter, but totally does. Style. Let's be real. Somewhere between the cargo pants and oversized sweaters of our youth, the. That was me. And the yoga pants and conference calls of today, also me. We started believing that looking good had to be a trade off. But what of your style isn't vanity and it's strategy. Our guest today, Renee Lindo, is an executive image strategist and speaker who's helping women in midlife show up powerfully, love the woman in the mirror, and use their style as to. As a tool to lead, connect, and own the room. If you've ever thought, I don't know what to wear anymore, or felt invisible in your own clothes, this is the show for you. So with that, not only. First, let's welcome Renee Lindo. Hey, Renee.

Speaker C: How are you? Hi, ladies. Thank you. Great to be here. I'm excited to hear this song.

Speaker B: Yes, I know.

Speaker A: Song I picked was Strike a pose by Madonna. Come on now.

Speaker C: Yes, yes.

Speaker A: I mean, the whole time we were putting the show together, that song was in my head. I listened to it this morning. I. I was. I was doing my Vogue, Vogue, Vogue in the mirror. But yes, there you go. Just for you, Renee.

Speaker C: Yes, absolutely. I love it. I love it.

Speaker A: And Renee, I also have to tell you, um, Anne Marie and I always pride ourselves of looking cute for our guests. You know, we always want to look nice because we're video and audio, as people know. But I will tell you, this is the first time we were like, I'm wearing some makeup. I had to pick out my outfit. I reached out to Emery. Emory goes, I'm underdress. She ran and Changed.

Speaker B: I'm not gonna go get my bling.

Speaker A: I was like, I am not gonna do this show with Renee Lindo. And I'm just looking any which way you women look.

Speaker C: You look awesome. You look fantastic.

Speaker A: We had to take it up a notch.

Speaker C: Oh, I love it. I love it. And you know what? That's, that, that makes me happy. I want us to take it up a notch and to show up well for ourselves and to feel great. Because when we do that, the energy shifts. Right? What we make ourselves available for expands. Right. And that's exciting to me. So, yes, I love it.

Speaker B: I love it. So we're going to talk about style, we're going to talk about colors, we're going to talk about our curated closets, which you and I were talking about pre show, like all of these things. But firstly. So, Renee, so many of our listeners, um, come from the corporate world and then find a passion project and start doing that, which is also your story. Do you want to give us a little bit of a background of, um, how you got here today?

Speaker C: Yes, absolutely. So my background is corporate. I was a national sales director in the pharmaceutical industry. Uh, worked my way up, became, uh, a national, as I said, national sales director, led a team of reps, started up, I started in the US country manager in the Caribbean, and then most recently in Canada. So I, uh, was, you know, leather team launch products, was in charge of the coaching, the mentoring, the leadership, the training, all the things. And I just knew that when I showed up, well, for myself, it just, it gave me the confidence to put my hand up for more, to sit at the boardroom tables and say, oh, I have something to say. Nobody looked like me, uh, and just gave me this extra confidence to negotiate better for myself, ask for the bigger, bigger opportunities, uh, ask for more money, close bigger deals, have difficult conversations with my reps and my, my clients. And I said if I could help other women to really tap into the power of their style, that's what I really wanted to do. So I was able to merge my law profession and style with my corporate background and to do this work. So I work one on one with clients to help them to really align their image with their personal brand and also deliver corporate trainings to, um, corporate clients.

Speaker B: That's amazing. And it is, you know, one of the things that we hear, especially with Gen X women, is at this point in their life, they, they don't feel as good as they used to. Right. They don't feel as stylish as perhaps they were in their 20s, right. Their. Their income is probably going to college, right. Or retirement fund versus going to fashion, Right. And their, Their bodies are changing with perimenopause and menopause and everything around there. And they're like, I don't know, like, I can't wear the latest trends and st. And this, this really is something where I think that, you know, as genetics, women are exchanging life shifts they need to address. How do you. How do you help women when they're in that situation of feeling not so good about themselves?

Speaker C: Yes. And for sure, right? Perimenopause, menopause is real. And bodies have changed. There's weight gain. If there's not weight gain, there's definitely weight redistribution as to where we carry our weight. So nothing fits as it used to. We don't look the same. We don't shop at the same places. And we have changed. And we don't want to look like our daughters. We don't want to look like our mothers either, necessarily, for the most part, right? So we're in this little. This section right here that I think sometimes we're kind of forgotten. Like, they don't market to us. Well, I think they're starting to know. But I think a big thing is for us to really honest. Let's honor who we were in our 20s. We were fabulous, right? We were fabulous. We wore the short shorts, all of that. And we can still be fabulous. 40 and older. We just have to understand how we do that, understand how to dress this changing body. Uh, you know, there are things I think we don't. Many of us don't understand. Like, hey, if I wear this, that is actually going to make my tummy look bigger if I wear. If I try to hide my tummy and I wear big oversized clothes, I actually look bigger. So there are ways that I use. Or we can use our clothing to accentuate our assets, to balance our proportions, to camouflage those areas without feeling frumpy, without feeling like. Or just give up. Because so many times clients say, you know what? I can't be, but I'm in menopause. This is it. Right? And I don't subscribe to that. There are things that we can do. Um, that's how I help clients, right? And, um, to just, uh. A lot of it is intention, right? Be intentional about our message. I always say that what we wear is our conversation. It is communication. It's what we want to say to the world, how we want to meet the world, how we want to introduce ourselves. And so I want women to Own m that narrative. Say, hey, think about what's the message I want to send? How do I want. Whether you're giving a talk, you're on zoom, wherever it is, what's the story that I want them to tell about me? Because for sure there's a story. Within a few seconds, people start to make decisions about you. Yeah, we all do. Right? Part of human.

Speaker B: True.

Speaker A: Yeah. Right.

Speaker C: Part of human nature. So let's own that story and you know and, and determine and be intentional with. Hey, I want to show up well for myself. I want to be approachable. I want whatever that is and use your clothing to do that for you.

Speaker A: I'm so glad you said that because I feel like as a Gen X woman, we're caught between Forever 21 and the Golden Girls. You know what I mean? Because it's like we don't want to be 21 anymore. I don't want to dress like that. But then at the same token, I don't want to dress like the Golden Girls either. And there's no in between. And what's interesting is all of our styles are coming back though. When I look at the way niece dresses or some of my, or, uh, some of my, you know, younger nieces in college, they're dressing like how I used to dress and they're like, oh my God, you love this outfit. I'm like, yeah. Ah. Because I wore that back in the day.

Speaker C: Right? Yes. And I, I agree. I think. And um, I think this another thing to think about is the trends. Right. So, yes, the younger, the 20 year olds will, will wear an outfit or wear a piece. We can also wear that piece. We're just going to style it differently.

Speaker A: Yes.

Speaker B: Oh, that's interesting.

Speaker C: We're going to style it so they may wear. What are they wearing now? Like mini, mini skirts with those kind of pleats. Like think of like prep school that, you know, the uniform look.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker C: So. But they're going to wear it with a crop top. We may not do that. If we're doing the mini skirt, we're going to wear, uh, you know, I'd say we're up something bigger on the top. Oversized blouse, jacket. A longer, a longer top. We're going to probably wear some higher boots so that so much skin isn't exposed. Exposed. So we can wear similar pieces. It's in the styling that takes it from 20 to somebody more mature or, you know, a little bit older. Yeah, yeah. Shopping. I think we can shop at the same places. Similar.

Speaker A: I, I will tell you, ladies, I'm Okay. That. That I can no longer wear my Daisy Dukes and crop top.

Speaker C: So, yes, you're welcome. Absolutely.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: And that's it also. Right. We don't. We don't. We no longer resonate with that style.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker C: That's not who we are. That's not right. We have grown. We matured. And our style can also mature and grow. What I find sometimes women feel stuck because they feel like they have to, if they're not wearing what they used to wear, that something is wrong with them. Or the goal is always to get back into what I wore 10 or 20 pounds ago. When really the goal is to dress the woman who you are now, to dress her well so that she shows up well, so that you feel confident, so that you feel amazing, so that you know you're, you're, you're out there. It's not about dressing her. I put. I did a LinkedIn post today and I said. I said it was two lines. The reason you. You're having trouble getting dressed is because you're dressing a woman who is no longer there.

Speaker A: Oh, yeah, that's it.

Speaker C: That's. And then I said, that's it. That's the post. Right. You're in this closet. First of all, our closet is filled with pieces that, ah. We've had long. 10 long time. 10 years ago. Long time. We've had these pieces five years ago. Whatever it is. We've had these pieces. Um, actually, I have things that are 10 years ago. I mean, but there may be more classic. It's still my vibe. What have you. I'm talking about pieces that we've held on to because we've spent a lot of money on it. Or I may wear it again, or I may need it. Right. These maybe lives when really we need to concentrate on dressing the life that we are living now.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker C: Right.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker C: So a lot of the problem is that we. Yeah. We have these closets that. Filled with pieces that really don't support how we live. And so when we try to get dressed, we're stuck because nothing fits us physically or emotionally.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Yeah. And it's both. M. And I keep hearing about this idea of capsule wardrobes, but I'm m. Like, before we start thinking about what our new wardrobe is, I feel like you have to literally go through and curate your closet and get rid of the things that are the woman that you used to be. Right. And step into the one that you are.

Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. And that's a part of my process. You know, when people work with me, people Assume that, okay, we start working anyway. We're going to go shop. The shop. Like, uh, my style story framework. The first. The first letter S is about style, clarity. We're going to understand who are you? What's your style? What words resonate with you? What's the message you want to send? You know, I do a mood, a style board, and we vision, and we talk about that. Who. How do you want to move through the world? Who is this woman? Right? So we really spend some time getting clear. Clarity is key, right? Because what's the point of going to shop? And you're not really sure, who is she? Who are you? How do you want to show up? Right? So the shopping is a few steps removed from when we start working together.

Speaker A: So. So, Renee, many of our listeners feel invisible, overlooked at work. And I remember having that feeling. How do. How does what you wear help communicate? Like, you had talked about authority, confidence, and presence in those rooms. I. I do feel like, as women at all ages, um, we have the ability to be in a meeting and shrink, right? We just. We just feel small. But then sometimes you'll see that woman where she, like, just cut her hair or just put on something new, and she, like, lights up. What. What's that? Magic? Like, what is that?

Speaker C: I think that magic is tapping into you and who you are. What. What clothing makes you feel amazing? What pieces, what colors do you like wearing? What outfit, um, feels like you. What's your jam? Uh, can you bring a new trend piece in? Maybe not your entire wardrobe. Can you bring a new trend piece in so that you're excited about getting dressed? Um, color is a big piece, is a big thing as well. A nice color that lights your face up, that you look approachable. So I think there are all these little things that we can. We can do. And that invisibility in being, feeling invisible is so true. Right? Sometimes we wear black, grays, dark colors that we can just blend in. Like, we don't want to be seen, Right? Just under the radar. Let me just keep my head down and keep working. My work will speak for itself. That's another one. I'm like, um, work cannot speak. No, no. You have to speak. You have to be visible. People have to see you. They have to know what you're working on, how are you contributing to the bottom line? Why? Right? All of those things are important. And visibility, when you're looking, when you look good, when you feel good, you speak up more, you go. You make more better relationships. People remember you, right? That's the Other thing is being memorable.

Speaker B: Mhm.

Speaker C: Another big piece of it. So how do we not be invisible? I think even adding some pieces that allow your personality to shine, that's another piece of my framework. And bring in your sauce. You may have been a conservative and you have to think about the environments that you work in. Right. Business. A lot of business casual tends to be what we think regard as workwear. But depending on your industry that can lean from very businessy. Think of more formal um, industries. Maybe law.

Speaker B: Law. Yeah.

Speaker A: Like finance or bank.

Speaker C: Right. And then it also to social media marketing. That's going to be a little bit more relaxed and or advertising and colorful and more of your personality. So it's really important that you understand your industry, understand um, the vibe, the culture I should say. And, and m. And figure out how to work within that. You can bring your personality in so many different ways. Maybe in a big way depending on. I said in your industry or a small way. Maybe it's. Maybe it's glasses that are um, a color that, that love and that helps you stand out. Maybe it's. Maybe you can wear animal print shoes. Just the shoe or just a belt, but just some pieces that you can incorporate into whatever the corporate uh, requirement is or expectation is that allows you and your personality to shine.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker C: Because you want to be comfortable. Right. When we and not wear a costume, that's the other thing we're not. The costume thing is not the way. Because when you're comfortable that allows you to do your best work. That allows you to really feel like yourself and to be authentic and that's when you really shine.

Speaker B: I love this because everything you're saying is aligns with what Nicole and I are talking about. It's like almost you need to come back to the person that you know is inside. And for so many of us they grew up in corporate and had to wear the black or gray suit or black and gray like every day. Right. And you're sort of like, like hold on, can I actually wear this color? Like we're starting to explore who we are now. Like Nicole, you mentioned Golden Girls. We're not there yet. But it's the idea of again of owning that person of who we are. And to some extent style is a form of self care. In the same way that at this point in our life like it's all about moisturizer. Right. Like whatever it is.

Speaker C: That's right. That is so. That is so true. You made a, you made a point there and me that we're not there yet. With Golden Girls. Actually, I heard that Blanche, there were 50. 51. Yeah, we, that, that's. We just don't look like that anymore. Right.

Speaker A: I know.

Speaker C: We're not, we're not doing the Blanche. We. Most of us.

Speaker B: Or not.

Speaker C: Yeah, no. Uh, so I thought that, that was really funny when I thought I'm like, oh, Blanche 51. Oh my God. I know, I know we've come a long way. Um, and you made another something else that you were saying. Oh, yes. Um, you know, years ago or whenever in corporate, it was very stuffy and we had to wear this. So much has changed now. Right. What we wear to work is different. Um, we are redefining what quote unquote professional looks like. Yeah, right. Many industries are much more laid back. Many others are much more laid back. And I always say this laid back doesn't mean sloppy.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker C: You still have your personal brand that you need to be curating and putting out there and developing. So you still laid back. Um, or I should say relaxed. You can be comfortable, but you're still put together. Right. You're still. Maybe you could, maybe your office allows denim. So you're not going to wear ripped and distressed denim. You're going to wear dark denim, maybe in a wide leg or a more trouser looking silhouette with a blazer or with a nice blouse. Right. So you're still relaxed. You're still relaxed but you still put together. So there's a spectrum. So I think it's really important that we understand that and not feel that. And then sometimes companies, so companies now won't have a dress code or I work with clients, they'll say, oh, we don't really have a dress code. But I always encourage clients to say they may not have a dress code, but think about you and your image and what you want to be said about you. Because you better believe they're talking about you. Right. When they're, when they're coming together at the end and having calibration meetings, they're talking about bonus or whatever they're talking about or progression or people are talking about. You just have to think about your brand and your style is the packaging of your personal brand. It's the first thing they see. Uh, and people make decisions. So.

Speaker B: So I love this. I'm actually going to um, sort of like as you're saying all of this, I keep thinking about one of my friends who has a 24 year old and that she's just starting her corporate career, right. So just starting. And she's been having These conversations with her. She doesn't. The 24 year old doesn't know where to even start, what to wear, because it's not like, uh, this is going to date me. But when I first started in financial services, they sat me down in a, in a training course and they gave me a dress code, including hose heels. Right. Like everything like hoes. Right. Like we call it a hose. Let me just explain this. Right. But they don't have that now. And it's just, just what you wear. Right. And it's almost as if we've gone from one extreme to the uh.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker B: And uh, like this style conversation is so, is so critical because at the end of the day, people do judge you on how you look.

Speaker C: They do, they do. And so I go into some. So I have clients who especially, um, I think this client had a salesforce and they were younger, like just coming up. But then the client realized that, ooh, that's not the image that we want. And just remember these kids. No, not kids. Right. 20 year olds, they grew up. Right, Kovid. Right. People weren't. Yeah, right. And so you really don't know. And then you, you know, my suggestion is usually, you know, look at what people are wearing in your organization. Your. The higher ups, I should say. Uh, but sometimes you even can't gauge that because they're higher up. So maybe there's more lacks or, or leeway with what they wear, but somebody's just starting out their career. You really want to make a great impression. You really want to show up well for yourself. Maybe you don't have to wear a, a buttoned up suit like we used to, but certainly you need to put yourself together. And then also in corporate now, this is the first time we've had. It's multi generational. Right. So many different generations working together. And then you have the older generations kind of looking at the younger ones and you know, there's some kind. Because the dress. Dress coded, not dress code, but how we shot for work.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: Still is important, right?

Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely important. Absolutely. And it's something where, um. Hold on, I'm gonna pause because it looks like Nicole is frozen.

Speaker C: Oh, yes.

Speaker B: Let me just text her quickly. This is such important. I want to talk about you because one of your things you say is you're not an influencer or she just dropped. Um. Yeah, like when you come back. Because I want to talk about that. Because the, the volume of influencing that, like I get right for like, you know, dress over 40 and Amazon. And it creates this environment of I don't mean this in a bad way. Like, I like nice stuff, but consumerism. And I'm like, I don't need to have a haul. I don't need to have an Amazon haul every month. You're back.

Speaker A: Yeah. I don't know what happened. I'm sorry, ladies.

Speaker B: No worries. You just froze. We pause. So we'll have to. We'll piece it together, but.

Speaker A: Okay. All right.

Speaker B: Um.

Speaker A: Yeah, we'll make sure.

Speaker C: Yeah, yeah.

Speaker B: Are we recording?

Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah, we're back.

Speaker B: Okay. Okay, good. All right. Um, so. So we were talking about, like, what to wear in corporate. And so my next leading question was gonna be on Renee on your. Your website, which is remembering let'sgetdressnow.com and we'll give everybody that later. But you talk about you're not an influence. Wait, say this again. You're not an influencer.

Speaker C: Uh, I made a post. As I said, I'm not an influencer, but I am a woman of influence.

Speaker B: Yes, Right.

Speaker C: I made the differentiation because when I. When you think of an influence and there's no shade, like with influence, they have a job, right? This is what they're doing, and they have a big community. So they. The role of the influencer. They are showing you the pieces to. To buy, right? Pieces that look great on them, that they like. So they're showing that, uh, uh, which is fine. I'm influenced by some of that as well. But as a woman of influence and the work that I do as a personal stylist, uh, I am influencing the women that I am working with, one on one, and helping them to make decisions that are right for them. What works for their body, what works for their lifestyle, what works for their. For how they work and how they live. Right? So that's. That's how I see. It's different. When you're listening to an influencer. She doesn't know that your body shape, it work. It looks great on her. Right? Right. It looks whatever she, she loves it because of how she lives or whether she have children or not have children, whatever that is, it works for her. Uh, but we all. But I. But we need to think about. Instead of, you know, buying, okay, everything the influence says, you. You love this influence, everything that she likes, will it work for you? Will it work for how you live? Will it work for your fuller chest? Will it work for the fact that you're on the floor with your kids? Well, at this age, probably not, but maybe m. Your grandchildren or, you know, on weekends, you're up at Your. You're traveling, whatever that is. So you really want to think about that. And that's. That's how I really work with clients. I influence the decisions for them on a more personal level.

Speaker A: I love that you said that, because the other day, I see influencer. It's their opinions. To me, they're. They're the modern day. When we had critics back in the day. Right. Who. Who had opinions. So I love that. Okay, Renee, I do have to ask this question, because my sister, I told her about you, and she works for the state of Michigan, and she sees. She says she sees it all when it comes to style. And the one thing we talk about all the time, because it's one of those things where I feel like we had when we were younger. We had it during COVID We had it today. What is your take on, um, leggings? Because it's. I don't care what year it is. It seems like leggings always make the news. Whereas, you know, we went through this phase over Covid, where everybody, of course, everybody's on zoom. So everybody was just dressed from the waist up. You know, I hear people say, don't wear leggings at the bus stop to go get your child. Don't wear leggings to the grocery store. And then some people are like, I can put a blazer and wear my leggings. So I'm just dying to know, because I love the pair of leggings.

Speaker C: I'm just so. It's so funny. Ask that question. But it was. Because it was just this weekend I actually saw, I don't know, some. A magazine or something. I'm like, oh, that's not bad. I guess. So, first of all, I'm not, uh, aware leggings as I'm going up. Leggings I wear to the gym. Right?

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: So I don't even. I don't even think. Yeah. I don't even have leggings that I would wear anywhere but. And leggings always come around. But I did like it. So first of all, they have to be thick. They can't be the leggings that you can see through.

Speaker B: Um.

Speaker C: Right. So high. A great quality. I would wear it with. On. And my question is, where are you wearing it to? Are you wearing it out, like in the night? I think you could do that with a long. With a black. Something in black. So this is my vision. Black leggings. And I'm kind of liking the stirrup. No, I'm seeing the stirrup again. We did that before we did it before, I was like, no, no, no, no. But I've been seeing it, and it's growing on me, which I'm very shocked. I'm like, hm. Well, it got me to hm. That's interesting. I haven't gone further. I'm like, not bad. Stir up. So black stirrups, maybe some nice pumps, a long black blazer over your. Covers your butt. For sure.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker C: And, you know, just maybe style up with a night with a. With a. A nice blouse. So I'm leaning where that could be. It could be. Okay. But as a rule, quote unquote, I don't do static rules. But I just. Leggings are not a part of my.

Speaker A: Right, right.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: As long as I bring shoulder pads, I'm good. So as long as nobody ever brings back shoulder pads, I'm good.

Speaker C: Shoulder pads are back. What are you talking. They're back.

Speaker B: What are you talking about?

Speaker C: They're back and they're fabulous. They're awesome.

Speaker B: The puffy sleeve, the shoulder pads. Yeah.

Speaker C: Nicole Vision. Listen, shoulder pads with your jacket. It's a blazer, and the waist is nipped in, and it looks fabulous.

Speaker A: Okay, Renee, I'm gonna take your word for it. All right, Renee, so what do you say to the Gen Xers, who are still rocking the same look from, like, if not even 2004, 1994, and they feel stuck, like you're trying too hard and giving up? What's that one first small step that he or she can do to be like, hey, let's get you out of this, Ruth.

Speaker C: Um, stuck. So think about what thing I always say. Look at. Look at what you see other people wearing. Look at what is in stores. Look at what's in what's in magazines. Follow some, follow some influencers. Follow. You don't have to buy it, but just kind of follow it and just get familiar with what is happening out there. Because. Because let me tell you, I work with my. Women are in corporate, usually, or business owners. We don't want to look dated. That. That's. That's the. That's the worst thing. You don't want to look dated. And when I. And I'm not saying that you have to look trendy. They're different trend. Okay, let me just. Trendy. When I say trendy. Trendy is usually a person who. Every trend that comes, they have to buy it. They're always buying it. They feel that they have to. Or they're not stylish. That's trendy. That's not sustainable. That's not what I'm saying.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker C: When you're on trend, I see it as being current. You are modern. Right. You have your finger on the pulse. So that means you are maybe incorporate. You're thinking about it too. Hm. This trend, does it look good on me? Will it. Does it fit my personality? Does it fit how I live? Can it. If I bring it into my closet, will it work with what I already have in my closet? Or do I have to buy more pieces to make this work? We don't want to do that. Right. We want. If we're incorporating trends, we want it to feel like it's who we are. It's. It's just. It just freshens up, uh, what we have. So. And then. So when you're working, you know, if you're dated, think about this. Uh, we talked about this before. People make decisions about it. So if you look dated, it also translates to. Your skill sets are also dated. You're m. Behind the times. You don't have your finger on the pulse. You're not quite with it versus someone who looks current. And I'm going to give you some examples that looks current. They're modern. They know what's happening in there. So the, the thought is they know what's happening in their industry. They're with it. They, they're more adaptable. They're a, uh, growth mindset. Right. So those are the things that people think about when you show up. Current versus dated. And what does that look like? So right now we're dressing much more relaxed. Like, we're not doing the really cropped. I'm sorry, the really tight and fitted blazers and the very slim and tight suit pants. Right. It's more relaxed. I'm not saying oversized and. And, um, frumpy, but a little bit more relaxed. The pants, the wider leg pants. The balloon. What you call the bell bottoms. No. Okay, those. But the wrong.

Speaker A: I was thinking the horseshoe.

Speaker C: The.

Speaker A: The barrel.

Speaker C: Yes.

Speaker A: Okay, I gotcha.

Speaker C: The silhouette is. Is more relaxed. So the silhouette is really. You ask me what to think about. The silhouette is really going to be the dead giveaway. It's a silhouette of anything, whether it's the jeans, the pants, the outfit. You're just. You're more relaxed. You're not as tight and restricted as we did before. Um, so I think that's a big. That's a big piece. Is so. And I think also is you want to be current and modern and not look. Not look dated.

Speaker B: I love that. So current and modern. And then. So firstly, the silhouette and the other thing, I want to just double tap on the idea of colors because as somebody who. So, uh, I used to be much blonder in my youth.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker B: And my hair has been changing color, texture, like, you name it, like, everything as I've gotten older and like, I'm never going to be that blonde again.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker B: I just know this. But it's like, you have to rethink what you wear and what looks good on you. And I know you're super passionate about people. Like, it sounds, again, dated. Like, we all heard, do your colors back in the. Back in the day.

Speaker C: Right.

Speaker B: But, like, you need to understand what your colors are to help get you your style, your silhouette. And then those colors are so important so that you're not just always choosing black and gray.

Speaker C: Exactly. And, you know, as a. As a black woman and I grew up in Jamaica, so we wore all, uh, colors. Color. There was nothing. I knew nothing about your right colors or wrong colors. And even as a black woman, like, oh, I can wear any color. But now, as I've been doing this work and learn, understanding color and doing. Doing women's colors, you can see a difference when you wear a color that you wear the wrong color, and almost instantly, you can see the color wash from your face. Yeah, you look. Oh, you can look older.

Speaker B: Older.

Speaker C: Wearing the wrong. The wrong colors. Um, it can show up lines under your eyes. It shows lines in your face. It can give you jowls and shadows. Right.

Speaker B: Which none of us would want.

Speaker C: Right. If you're wearing the right colors, the whites of your eyes look whiter. Uh, your skin is shine looks.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: Rosy and. And full. You look rested. Right. Um, so all of those things are important. Even if you're on zoom. Right. That's even a bigger deal because people just have this little box that they're seeing. M. So I. I think color.

Speaker B: Oh, my gosh.

Speaker C: A color analysis is one of the things that. That all of my clients, I do. With all of my clients, I do it virtually or in person. And it just helps to set up. Set us up to buy the right things. Because what's the point of, you know, doing this shopping and then you go buy the wrong colors, then you still don't. When you put it on, you still don't look great.

Speaker B: Right.

Speaker C: Right. And the thing is that when you understand your palette and you have, you know, what colors look great, they all mix and match, so it makes it even easier to get dressed. And, you know, some people say, oh, uh, that's just too limiting. I don't want to only wear these colors, but let me tell you, it's not limiting it. It's a. Color analysis is a tool.

Speaker B: It's freedom.

Speaker C: Yeah, it's freedom. Because, you know, when you go into a store, instead of looking at all the colors in the store, you know the colors that look best on you, so you just zone in on those colors.

Speaker A: Yeah. And plus, there's a range of colors. Right. Like, I always get. I wear a lot of pinks, and as I've gotten older. But because pinks look good at me. But there's a range of pink. It's my hot pink.

Speaker C: Exactly. Shades. Right. Sometimes I say, oh, because I used to say, oh, like yellow. Oh, I cannot wear yellow. But no, you know, there's different shades of yellow. You're going to get mean butter yellow. But mustard. That's my jam. Right.

Speaker B: So, yeah.

Speaker C: And when we understand where we fit, you know, with within our. Within the spectrum, it makes it so much easier. Easier, Cheaper. You don't waste money buying the wrong things, and that's key. You look great, right? Yeah. And I think what's important, it's the color that's nearer to your face. If it's a color that's not really a great color for you, but you still like it. Maybe on the bottom, but it's what it does to your face, that's what. That's the important part.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Yep. So one of my girlfriends and I, uh, we've been talking about this for a while, Renee. So it's so timely that we're meeting with you. I'm like, oh, my gosh, I love everything you're talking about. We're like, if there's something in your. Like, because we were talking about how stressful it was, what to wear to work. Right. And what do you wear to work now? Right. Because again, like, what's business casual for one company versus another? Totally different. And we're like. We're going through our closets, and we're like, okay, does this make me feel older? Like, how does it make me feel? Does it make me feel and look older? Because there's. There's the two elements combined, which is not just. If I put it on, do I feel older?

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker B: But doesn't then. Is it helping me?

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker B: And everything that you're saying, it's.

Speaker C: It's.

Speaker B: It comes down to that idea of, like, style is not just about buying the latest trend or buying Gucci or whatever it is. It's about looking and feeling your best. Uh, where you are now.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker C: Absolutely. It's not about buying the latest things because the latest things may not be great, may not look great on you.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: It may not resonate with who you are and how you want to move through the world. So I have some questions. I usually give clients when we're doing the closet edit. I'll say, okay, um, do you love it? Do you feel amazing in it? Um, if it wasn't on sale, would you buy it again? Right.

Speaker B: That's a huge one. I might, I might have a few violations of those in my closet.

Speaker C: Think about it. It was not say, would I buy it again? Um, did I say, does it fit me now? Does it fit me now? Not ten pounds. When, when you lose a ten pound weight. Not then, but now because we really want that. And then is it a hell yes? If it's not a hell yes, then it's a no. Because you're not going to reach. If it's not a hell yes, you're not reaching for it. It's just taking up space in that closet.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker C: And I, I want us to think about. Our closet is prime real estate. So whatever goes into our closet, they need to work. They, they need. We need a role for this piece. It needs to do something. It needs to carry its weight. Can we wear this piece more than one way? Right. How else can we wear it? Can we. Yeah. How else can we wear it? I like to think of at least three different ways if you're thinking of buying something at least three different ways you can wear this piece. Uh, yeah, it needs to, it needs to carry its weight.

Speaker A: I love the closet being prime real estate because I feel like as I'm getting older and very intentional about what I put in my closet, like I have to wear it. Gone are the days where I just have clothes sitting there for years on here with tags on it. It's like now if I buy something, I'm wearing it.

Speaker C: Exactly. And that's it. Right. So much of our closet is filled with things that has a tag or you don't wear it or I thought it was a good idea. And sometimes it's these one off pieces that we see the. Oh. That we love and we buy, but we haven't really thought, okay, what else, how else would I wear this? What would I wear this with?

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker C: So that we end up with closets that are closets filled with pieces as opposed to closets of outfits. And we want outfits.

Speaker B: Oh, that's good.

Speaker A: That's good.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: If you had a closet of outfits, think about how Stress free. Your mornings would be.

Speaker C: That's the point. That's my point. Right.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: Fatigue, um, feeling great. Yeah. We want outfits. We want to be able to mix and match and to create pieces that support how we live. I love that the lifestyle piece is big. Think about, okay, are you working from home three days a week, Are you in office five days and you really, you really want to align the amount of clothing that you have to support the kind of the ratios of that. If you're in office twice, twice a week and, or once or twice a week and you office what you have to wear to the office different from working from home, then the proportion of your clothes needs to kind of be in alignment.

Speaker A: M. That makes total sense.

Speaker B: So you have a couple of offers that, to get to know you and we'll, we'll provide all the links and everything that we do.

Speaker C: Right.

Speaker B: So it'll be there. One is a perimenopause style confidence guide, which is amazing. And then the other one is like, it's something I've been looking for forever. Find the right jeans.

Speaker C: Yes.

Speaker A: Yeah. That's my whole world, my whole life struggle with.

Speaker C: So that, that would be good. And when I go through this, you know, I go through kind of how to measure, you know, what to look for. So it's like um, a guide and then also shopping links for different ones. So it was, it's helpful. People love.

Speaker B: Absolutely amazing. I love that. And tell us where, um, everyone can connect with you and again we'll provide the links but just tell us how, how best to find you.

Speaker C: So I am, um, active on LinkedIn. So Renee Lindo. And then of course my website, everything is kind of there. Let's get dressed now. Dot com. And my IG, I'm. I'm active on LinkedIn and Instagram and I'm Renee Lindo. Style. Renee Underscore style, I should say.

Speaker B: Love it, love it, love it.

Speaker C: Yes.

Speaker B: All right. And don't forget to stay connected with us for what's next Gen x on both IG and LinkedIn. Of course. Um, and of course Nicole at her website is the Nicole Gray dot com. And don't forget, what's next Gen X. Like your next chapter starts here. And uh, today it's going to start with an amazing style and a style makeover from Renee. Because I feel like we all need this. Yeah.

Speaker A: Yeah, definitely. Renee, thank you so much for reminding us that style isn't about chasing trends. It's about coming home to ourselves and Gen X. If you've been dimming your light, playing it small, or thinking that how you show up doesn't matter. Let this be your permission slip. You don't have to wait for the promotion, the ten pounds, or the new job. You get to start expressing your power through your presence right now. So, Renee, thank you. The tips, everything has been awesome. Um, I don't know about letting go of my leggings, but I'll see what I can do. And we'll see about the stirrups. But again, thank you so much.

Speaker B: This is awesome. Thank you so much.

Speaker C: Great to be here after fun conversation. Thanks for having me.

Speaker A: Of course. Thanks, everybody. We'll see you next time.

Speaker C: Bye. Bye.