I updated my style and this is what happened...

At the end of 2019, I decided it was finally time to chop my fairly long-ish hair into a short bob. I'm not one to stick with the same style or colour for years on end, and it was definitely time for a change, but this time around the change seemed much more difficult to make. I just couldn't seem to commit to a new style.

Sitting in the hairdressers chair, I was still nervously going back and forth over my decision, until my hairdresser announced "Enough! We're doing this!". And then just like that, scissors in hand, the hair started to fall to the ground.

Changes to our image (whether they be big or small) go way beyond the exterior and often stretch and shift our internal self as well. Reflecting on this experience, I realised how much emotion and memory had been intertwined with that long hair of mine.

You see, I'd grown my hair out when I moved to Argentina back in 2013. It was a conscious decision, in part driven by a desire to fit in with the culture there (where long hair is still prized by both men and women), as well as wanting to feel more feminine, attractive, and new...I'd moved to the other side of the world, completely alone, and my life was the most exciting it had been for years. I needed a new look to go with it.

Coming back to Australia more than three years later was one of the hardest things I've ever faced. Trying to re-assimilate back into the culture here has been a long and difficult process and I still struggle with how ordinary everything seems to feel here compared to my life in Buenos Aires. On top of that, I asked my non-English speaking partner to move back with me. Moving abroad for love, and navigating a relationship together in what felt like a foreign country for me too, hasn't always been rosy.

Yet something internally shifted when I let my hair go. When I stood up from the hairdresser chair, I felt like a new woman. I felt suddenly lighter, like a deep weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

Sometimes, we need an external change first to help heal and move us forward from our underlying struggles, old habits and routines, limiting beliefs, past decisions, regrets and toxic relationships.

And while it doesn't need to be as drastic as chopping all your hair off, I promise that it can work wonders!

I had been hanging onto my hair because I wasn't ready to let my old life go. I often see this with clients, when they are hanging onto old clothes which remind me them of a different time in their lives, or a thinner version of themselves, but these too must go. 

Life is constantly changing, and we need to allow ourselves to shift and move with it, and not get so caught up in our own drama or stories that prevent us from moving forward and embracing the life we have right now.

A change to our image can sometimes be just what the doctor ordered. Seeing a visual change, and feeling the benefit of changes in our external world, instantly alters the way we view ourselves and can help push us forward to the growth and change we need in our internal world.

"If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we are not really living." (Gail Sheehy)

Lucy Owens, founder of Style Rises, is a personal stylist, communication consultant and mindset coach who loves bringing powerful personal style into the lives, businesses, brands, and careers of her high-achieving clients.

Deeply passionate about transforming women’s confidence through their closets, Lucy has fallen in love with watching women skyrocket their promotional appeal through reclaiming their power. As a certified image consultant who understands personal branding, power positioning, and has first-hand experience of working in the corporate world for luxury fashion and hospitality brands, Lucy has become an image advocate for women making an impact.

 If you'd like to discuss how Lucy can resurrect your style confidence, get in touch.