I love clothes. I always have. I love how they feel. I love how they make me feel. I love how powerful they can be!

So it makes sense that I’m a confidence creator for women to get visible with their style and confidence because you cannot have one without the other.

Wherever you are on your journey, clothes matter, unless you live where clothes are optional. Clothes are an important part of our daily lives.

I want to share with each of you a different perspective on clothes. One that puts life into your outfits based on the decisions and experiences of the most important person, Y-O-U!

Here are five ways to love your clothes!

Dress for You, Nobody Else!

While we are older and, hopefully, wiser, sometimes we still rely on the approval of others. I wish I had moved away from this decades ago!

What we wear is our choice. It should reflect the following:

• What you love
• Your lifestyle
• Repeat the first two bullets

When we dress for ourselves, we are in the driver’s seat and making decisions based on who we are, which, my lovely ladies, is what true style is all about.

Letting Go of Clothes that Don’t Fit and Are Not Comfortable!

When I work with my clients, one of the ways for them to embrace and define their style is to clear their path so that they can connect with what matters to them. I want your style to be simple , and I believe you do too!

To me, there is nothing worse than clothes that don’t fit – and I am talking about clothes that are too big and too small. We want to channel Goldilocks when wearing our clothes, just right!

And when I am talking about clothes, I mean everything! Starting with our underwear. How can you be comfortable and confident in your outfits when your bra doesn’t fit, or your undies are either too roomy or cut into your waist?

The simple answer is, “You can’t.”

The same applies to shoes and accessories. I cannot tell you how many times in my younger years I forced my feet into shoes that didn’t fit but had to wear because they made the outfit. So crazy. And don’t forget about jewelry. If earrings, bracelets, or necklaces are not comfortable in any way, don’t wear them!

Allow Space for Positivity

When you’re not dressing for yourself or your lifestyle, or are wearing clothes that aren’t fitting, it’s hard to create space for positive energy.

We’ve all been there.

In the past, when I wore something uncomfortable, it was all I thought about, or perhaps a better word was obsessed. I was fearful something would fall out of place, break, or rip. It was a balancing act, and whatever I was doing while I was wearing these uncomfortable clothes was not receiving any attention. I was not engaged. I wasn’t comfortable. That’s not a healthy place to be both emotionally and physically.

Of course, we want to be comfortable. That’s a given.

Yet when you aren’t wearing clothes that fit (physical comfort), chances are you will not be emotionally comfortable when wearing them. And that, my lovelies, stops today.

When we give both physical and emotional comfort the same attention when it comes to our clothes, that’s when we can start to really love our clothes.

Commit to Letting Go

I want you to visualize how you will feel when you have a style path free of clutter, negativity, and no movement. You’re starting to create a closet of things that fit your today body. Remember, you’re celebrating, honoring, and respecting your today body every single day!

When we are uncomfortable in our clothes, we are preoccupied, as I described earlier. Like spending unnecessary energy chasing our past and future bodies, the same is true when we choose to spend time in uncomfortable clothes.

Owning and wearing clothes that help us go through our everyday routine in both comfort and style is akin to basic self-care, like nourishing ourselves with good food, moving our bodies, hydrating, getting enough sleep, and surrounding ourselves with good people.

Here are some ways to start letting go.

Start Small! Break your clothes into categories:

• Pants and Jeans
• Tops
• Dresses
• Workout Clothes
• Shoes
• Underwear
• Accessories

Start methodically going through these in whatever order you decide, and if an item fits, keep it; if it doesn’t, donate, sell, or whatever other way you feel is best, just remove it from your closet, drawers, or storage bins.

Some of these categories will be easy. Personally, I’m not emotionally invested in my underwear, but I do need them to fit. In fact, when I work with my clients, the first assignment I give them is to make sure they have a kick-ass bra.

This should be a positive experience. I don’t want this to be a chore. Remember, you are clearing a new path, a path that will help you love your reflection, a path that celebrates your vibrance, your magnetism.

Start Shopping!

My favorite part of clearing your style path is looking for new things that represent you! You are now ready because you’re giving yourself permission to buy clothes that FIT! Replace pieces that are no longer working for either your today body, your lifestyle or what you love!

No more dreading putting on clothes that are too tight or too big. You are worthy and beautiful, and when you’re comfortable, you are confident. Wait, what is that I see just ahead? It’s Y-O-U looking into the mirror and loving what you see!

Celebrate the upcoming holidays in style with Susan’s Holidazzle 2022 Capsule!

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What is your relationship with your clothes? Do you love wearing them, or do you wear them only just because you have to? When was the last time you style took precedence over comfort in your wardrobe? What about the other way around? How do you shop for clothes these days?

To be in a healthy romantic relationship with another, you must love yourself first. A hard-won lesson for me, as it is both cliché and overused. I wanted to do it my own way.

Three years ago, at 58 years old, I met my soul mate and we fell in love. That’s only part of the story. Learning how to be truly with another and at the same time true to myself is much harder than it looks. I had a steep learning curve on how to be the best for me and the best for us. Ain’t that the truth?

I wasn’t raised in the south. Or the hood. Most definitely not the sticks. I grew up in the suburbs in the ‘60s. No one even used the term burbs then. What was important was that the suburbs were not the City.

My parents and their neighbors had left the city. They had moved up and out and were building that American dream. The word “ain’t” was never used. It was considered extremely poor form. A rookie mistake. So, in my first professional job, when my impressive boss with her undergrad from Vassar and grad degree from Columbia said, “Ain’t that the truth,” I adopted the phrase on the spot.

She used it sparingly. To emphasize something very basic, although just not evident. A truth so simple that even I, a world class complicator, was unable to twist into knots, rationalize and add complications. It was that simple.

“Ain’t that the truth” is my catch phrase when I want to emphasize a point. I say it under my breath, almost as a prayer to listen to what is happening. To honor that moment. Most importantly, those words are never spoken, if I don’t mean it or I am just going with the flow.

When the word “ain’t” crosses my lips, it makes me stop and take double notice. It signals me to pay attention to what is going on. To slow down and be clued into the moment.

Ain’t That the Truth

What happens when you are over 60 and have never had a true romantic partner? A partner who fills you on the physical, emotional, and spiritual level. Your equal.

Over the last three years, that journey has changed both of us. And now we are at a crossroads. Can we truly be better together? To do that I had to step back and love myself first.

Loving myself first has never been my default. I am a people-pleaser, and I like to take care of others. And I lost myself a bit. Staying solid in this relationship meant I had to acknowledge my deep beliefs and opinions that are not serving me anymore.

I had to learn to recognize my real wants and desires. Not what I imagined them to be. Not as a career woman balancing life and raising a child.

Who Am I Now?

I had to find what is important to me as a mature sober woman turning 62 years old in two weeks. As the woman I am now. I had to distillate all the lessons and experiences that brought me to this point.

Oh, I knew myself. What I like to drink, what type of food I like, how I like to decorate. I just didn’t know who I was at the core. What was truly important to me.

Have you ever found yourself digging through cabinets for the tea you like, or rifling through your closet in search of that one sweater you want to wear on this particular day.

This is about putting what I love first. What I value in easy reach. Not holding it for a rainy day. No more saving what I have for some day when I may need it. Today is the day.

It all started with a wise therapist who gave me an easy way to get to know what I love. To show me who I am. What makes me smile. A way to get me to know myself better. To put what is appreciated in my path, so that I can appreciate myself.

Here is my step- by- step action plan:

Start with One Cabinet, One Drawer

Start with one place. A drawer, a cabinet. Empty it. Totally empty it. Clean out the cobwebs, the dust, any crumbs. Then start putting in only things you love. They don’t have to be useful; they don’t have to be what that cabinet was used for before. They just must be things you love. You want to look at. You value. Don’t judge the item, just fill the space.

For me, it all started with tea and a kitchen shelf. Although I have always been a devout coffee drinker, now I tend to drink one cup in the morning and then switch to tea. My kitchen traffic pattern did not reflect this.

In my empty cabinet, I put in the tea bags I use daily, my favorite mug, a tea pot belonging to my great aunt, albeit I never once witnessed it used. It is so pretty. I added a few favorite mason jars and a small picture of a sparkly unicorn. Everything in that cabinet makes me smile, every time I look at it.

Next, I moved on to my junk drawer. Which was filled with random stuff. When it was finally empty, I added only things that I wanted to honor and loved to use or look at. These included my favorite stapler, which I use all the time, a pair of flower-handled scissors, a ring I sometimes wear, some favorite ribbon and a few cute magnets. You get the idea.

From there this clean-out spread to every nook and cranny and inch of my home. No matter what drawer, closet, or shelf I look at, I love what I see. Drawer by drawer, shelf by shelf, all filled with things I love. It took me a while to get there.

Front and Center

Put things you love and need front and center. Eventually, all the superfluous utensils, clothing and stuff will naturally move to the rear of the shelves and drawers. Unused. Unneeded or perhaps they have already fulfilled their purpose.

I have a friend who started with one coat hook. She had six deep layers of coats she thought she may need, and yet never wore. What if it rains? What if I am cold? What if I gain weight? What if I lose weight? What if I go someplace special?

She hated looking at those coats. She confided in me she was always afraid the whole thing would topple over every time she walked by. The truth is, she wears the same “all purpose” jacket every day. That coat, the one she wore, she never hung up. She kept it on the chair next to the overloaded coat hook.

Once she could see that truth, she cleared away all the unused coats. Now she can hang up the one she wears every day. An added benefit, she can now sit on the chair that used to hold her coat and put her shoes on by the door. This changed the entire way she faced getting out of her house and then coming home.

What a difference putting what we need front and center has in everyday choices. Our surroundings become calm, creating a huge impact on how we face our days. Be patient with yourself.

Toss What Doesn’t Serve You

I know it’s hard to let go of the things that we thought we needed and wanted. For me, I often believed my life would be better if I had this one special thing or that gadget or whatever seemed to work for someone else. If I had it, I would use it and be happy. Having it sit front and center and then having to reach over it, to get what I actually needed, was starting to have the opposite impact.

It is these realizations, about how I live every day, that brought me into the space I am meant to be. This is not about a massive effort to purge and clean. It’s about finding the things you truly value. What you like. Over time, having more of the things you love, instead of tolerating what you hang onto, opens space in your life and frees your mind.

Miraculously, the things you keep will show you more of you who you are, what you love and what’s important to you. Being surrounded by what I value taught me to value myself. I forgive myself for the money, time and effort that didn’t pan out on some items.

My new belief: Reward myself for doing the best I could at the time, for not knowing better. Now I use what I love and value and get rid of the rest.

What’s Next

It is the small steps that lead to big change. Every one-percent change, on top of another one-percent change, shifts your direction and your perspective. Drawer by drawer. I pass this onto you. Ain’t nothing more important than having what you love, front and center.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What is your truth? Have you cleaned out your space so that what’s left is what you really love using and looking at? How has this reflected onto your mindset and emotional state?

Kyle Richards’ Hooded Bear Sweater on Her Instastories

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills 2022 Instagram Fashion

We all know Kyle Richards loves the classic Ralph Lauren bear sweater. So, it was no surprise to see her in this adorable hooded bear sweater on IG stories. And I hate to break it to you, but it is sold out (except for a some listings on eBay!!!). But it’s all ok because we couldn’t bear the idea of leaving you without something similar below.

Sincerely Stylish,

Jess

Click Here to Shop Her Ralph Lauren Sweater on eBay

Shop Other Polo Bear Sweaters on Sale for a Limited Time Here

And Also Here!

Photo Credit: @kylerichards18

Originally posted at: Kyle Richards’ Hooded Bear Sweater

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, STYLECASTER may receive an affiliate commission.

Sorry, moisturizer. In our humble opinion, serums are the GOAT of skincare products. Not only do they give your complexion an ethereal cosmic glow, but these products also tackle some of the most annoying skin concerns at the same time—looking at you, dark spots, fine lines and wrinkles. Because serums are formulated with high concentrations, they absorb quickly into the skin. That means you can easily layer other skincare products on top, without worrying that tackiness and stickiness will spoil the fun. Another reason to join the serum hype train? They contain powerful active ingredients like vitamin C, retinol and AHA/BHAs that are each known to reinvigorate your skin. Woot!

Let’s address the elephant in the room here first: there are TONS of serums to choose from with different ingredients and benefits to boot. To uncomplicate your search, it’s good to opt for a serum that’s well-tolerated by all skin types. That way, your risk of irritation is minimized, even if you pair it with other skincare products in your routine.

That’s why we recommend Tula’s Illuminating Serum. Not only is it safe to use on dry, oily mature and combination skin, but according to shoppers, “the texture is soft and light, and it feels great even on extremely sensitive skin.” 

Even better, grab your Illuminating Serum for 40 percent off during Tula’s extended Cyber Monday sale, which ends on December 1st. The rare discount brings the serum’s price tag down from $68 to $48. This $20 markdown is pretty hard to turn down.

RELATED: This Hydrating Moisturizer Is So Effective, Shoppers Call It The ‘Fountain Of Youth’—& It’s on Sale

Photo: Tula.

Tula’s best known for its use of probiotic ingredients in its formulations. Much like how probiotics in Greek yogurt is good for your gut, probiotics are also beneficial to your skin—they have been demonstrated to have positive effects on inflammatory skin disorders such as acne and atopic dermatitis, according to a recent study. Rest assured that probiotic extracts aren’t in short supply in this Illuminating serum. 

“This little gem was just what I needed for dullness and adding a glow to my routine! Smells amazing and so hydrating,” wrote one five-star reviewer. 

Tula’s Illuminating Serum is chock-full of skin boosters such as prebiotics, peptides, and Japanese Mandarin. Like probiotics, prebiotics also boast beneficial effects on inflammatory skin conditions, particularly atopic dermatitis. Peptides are another skincare superstar added in this serum because they smooth skin and provide collagen support. And per the brand, the included Japanese Mandarin brightens and corrects uneven tone. That’s always a plus in our eyes, especially if you’re looking to trade your highlighter in for a natural radiant glow. 

OK, enough with the science-y jargon. Let’s talk about reviews! After all, this serum has a near-perfect 4.8-star rating, with hundreds of five-star reviews to boot. Shoppers love the illuminating product for its ability to rejuvenate their skin.

“I use it morning and night on bare skin,” I use it under the primer in the mornings. I’ve noticed a decrease in blemishes and redness,” said another five-star reviewer. 

Another called it “magic in a bottle,” adding: “This stuff has brightened my complexion and has decreased the appearance of my melasma and dark spots drastically!!”

A starter serum that improves dullness, incorporates anti-aging ingredients and is safe to use on sensitive skin is something we’re all on board with. Do yourself a favor and ditch the highlighter for Tula’s Illuminating Serum.

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, STYLECASTER may receive an affiliate commission.

Netflix just announced that its hit show Wednesday surpassed season 4 of Stranger Things as the most-watched English-language series in a week. That’s not surprising to us as everyone we know is addicted to the show. Fans are also obsessed with Wednesday, played by Jenna Ortega, and her soft goth makeup. And now we know exactly what hair and makeup designer Tara McDonald used in the show.

Cat Quinn, M.A.C. Cosmetics Executive Director, Global Trend, posted a video on TikTok and Instagram collaborating with McDonald. She got the makeup artist to spill the exact lip combo that makes Wednesday Wednesday. It’s the perfect deep plum that’s not too edgy for everyday wear but still adds to her spooky look. And it’s pretty easy to achieve.

All you need is M.A.C. Cosmetics Lip Pencil in Nightmoth ($21 at M.A.C. Cosmetics) and a clear lip balm. We love Kosas Kosasport LipFuel Hyaluronic Acid Lip Balm in Baseline ($18 at Sephora) and Fresh Sugar Lip Balm in Clear ($24 at Sephora) because they aren’t too glossy. This isn’t the gym lips trend. You want a more muted look.

M.A.C.

Quinn shows how the combo looks really pretty if you just use your finger to blot the color onto your lips.

Source: Instagram

And if you want to get the entire Wednesday look, that’s from M.A.C. Cosmetics, too. Quinn says McDonald used three eyeshadow shades for Wednesday’s soft smoky eye: Brown Script ($17.85 at Macy’s), Carbon ($21 at Ulta Beauty) and the sold-out Glitch in the Matrix. Here’s how you do it. Brown Script goes on top and underneath the eyes, Carbon lines under the eyes, and Carbon and Glitch in the Matrix then gets smudged on the top lash line. Add in some dark circles from staying up all night watching the show and you’re set.