shoot after a wardrobe restyling with lucy philip from purposefully blended
Figuring out what to wear is one of my clients’ BIGGEST worries before a photoshoot! I always tell them to choose what their audience would actually see them wearing if they were to bump into them (and bright colours, of course).
However, if you’ve found that you only ever wear a small portion of your clothing, it might be time for a declutter. That was also the case for Lucy Philip, whose learning and development consultancy business helps companies all around the world (how cool is that?!)
Discover how she worked with a personal stylist and what the final result looked like.
“i was really attracted to rosie based on the photographs that i'd seen online on social media.”
introduce yourself and what you do
My name is Lucy Philip, and I'm the founder of a company called Purposefully Blended. We are a learning and development consultancy, predominantly offering coaching and learning support services to internal training managers and leaders.
I tend to work with global companies that have got managers and trainers based all around the world, but they want a consistent learning solution. We help them put together what that package looks like and then roll it out around the world using trainers with different languages and cultural skills depending on what the project is.
where have you come from today?
We've come from Surrey, so it was quite a journey. I brought my daughter with me as well! It was really nice to come somewhere different.
what were your biggest anxieties or worries leading up to the shoot?
I didn't really have any, to be honest. Because I knew it was all going to be taken care of, the worry was taken out of that, I guess! So, I wasn't too concerned knowing that my hair and makeup were going to be done.
I think the biggest thing for me was finding clothes that I was going to feel comfortable in, that I felt suited me, and were kind of natural in terms of how I would show up.
Honesty is a really important part for me in terms of my core values. So, it's really important that I show up as myself and how clients will see me come across.
a lot of people have that issue about clothes. How did you manage to find good outfits?
Yeah, finding the clothes was the main thing I was worried about, and I knew that my wardrobe probably needed a bit of a rehaul.
Like many women my age, I'm sure you find you changed shape and are not quite sure what suits you anymore. Maybe you find there are parts of your wardrobe that you're wearing more than others.
So, I decided to get someone to do a bit of a wardrobe declutter for me. She was really helpful in terms of helping me choose the things in my wardrobe that were great already and then putting them together with some new items.
We took photographs of all the stuff I loved in my wardrobe and uploaded them to her Online Wardrobe platform. Then, she created Look Books of outfits that were made up of items I already owned but with new picks she had chosen. This gave me a chance to expand what I had in my wardrobe as well, which was brilliant.
So, it ended up going from being an anxiety to actually being quite fun! And I cleared my wardrobe out at the same time, which was really good.
By the way, her name's Lisa Talbot, she’s an Award Winning Personal stylist who specialises in helping female business owners & women in business have a wardrobe they love that creates confidence & represents them and their brand.
Actually, the stuff she uploaded for me online was all from high street stores. So, it was just so easy to look at what she'd put together and then click on it and order it. Some of it was on sale as well! So, it was all really, really affordable and just good fun.
“when Rosie and i chatted online, i just thought it seemed like a really good fit for my brand, which is really colourful and vibrant.”
do you have any upcoming projects you would like to talk about?
I've just been through a change of company name, and I've also niched in the last year.
I've recognised that training managers and first-line managers are the ‘poor relation’ sometimes when it comes to training and development, but there isn't much out there that's really tailored to them.
So, I've created a signature system that I use to make them even more effective at the roles they do. I just felt that my website needed a refresh to reflect my signature offer and this new focus.
Why do you think professional photos are important?
I think professional photos are really important because they give you a sense of that person and whether you're going to have a connection with them.
I'm a strong believer in having an attraction to your clients and them being attracted to you.
And if that comes across in your photos—what are your values? What's your sense of who you are and what you're going to bring to the project?—then that's really useful.
You're more likely to attract the people where you've got the connection and, therefore, to do great work together.
what do you specifically like about rosie’s work?
I really liked the fun that came through her photographs, which fits with my brand values as well!
Wasn’t Lucy’s experience with a personal stylist super inspiring?! Not gonna lie: I’m now tempted to do the same.
Purposefully Blended - https://perfectlyblended.co.uk/
Styling by Lisa Talbot https://lisatalbot.co.uk
