Meet Lisa Wisdom, founder of Style with Wisdom—a styling and shopping service working to build confidence through clothing.

Lisa has worked within the fashion industry for more than 20 years, from retail to fashion buying and now running her own styling business.

After 10 years working in personal styling, Lisa truly understands the power of dress and seeks to share the secret with her clients. "Personal styling is about more than organising your wardrobe and buying new clothes, it's about building confidence to take forward in your everyday life. Every morning, whoever you are, you have to get dressed—everyone should enjoy that process, it can totally impact how that day turns out!"

The face says it all

More often than not, Lisa's clients contact her via email or social media. Lisa finds that clients tend to follow her for some time before reaching out, or they come to her via a recommendation.

After that, Lisa and her client build up to a consultation over Zoom, and then face-to-face. "Face-to-face meetings with my clients are so important because it's their face and body language that allow me to really understand how comfortable they are in the outfits we have styled. I can usually tell immediately if they love or hate what they are wearing just by how they stand and their facial expression."

The client's feelings are always the most important, "It's not about clients wearing something that I love, it's about them finding clothes they are clearly happy and confident in—which I love to see!"

The person behind the clothes

Before even thinking about clothes, Lisa seeks to understand her clients' current mindset and what they hope to achieve—whether that be gaining confidence in day-to-day dressing, dressing for a new position at work, or adjusting to a new body shape or lifestyle.

Lisa measures her success in client feedback, sometimes that is a subtle as a shift in how a client talks about their style, but it can also sound like, "Wow! Every day I have received compliments on my outfits." Or, "I am having so much fun dressing every morning, I love my new wardrobe!" I know I have done a good job when clients are confident enough to create their own looks and are excited to go shopping. I love receiving mirror selfies!

What’s the most challenging part of this process?

Lisa is mindful that many of her clients reach out for her assistance because they find themselves in a low and vulnerable position with their body and confidence. "It is only natural for us all, including myself, to focus on our negatives. My job is to work closely and consciously with my clients to build up their confidence and encourage them to focus on their positives. Once we focus on those positives, and find the right shape and colours for them, everything comes together."

We challenged Lisa to understand her client's current style situation and establish their new style goals—if she had just ~5 questions to work with.

What... are the 5 key items you are wearing on repeat right now?

When... have you felt most confident in what you were wearing?

Why... are you looking to update and move your style on?

Who... in the public eye or personal to you do you admire for style?

Where... do you currently shop the most?

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Learn more about Lisa's services on her Instagram.