Sunday, February 17, 2013

Dressing My Truth

Most people know that I love a good deal and that I often shop at thrift and consignment stores.  Well, one day recently, I was in one of those upscale consignment shops and overhead a very attractive and well-dressed woman turn in a huge amount of clothes for the clerk to consider buying from her.  The clerk said, "Well, these are really nice  . . .  cleaning out your closet or what?"  The girl proceeded to tell her that while the clothes were nice and stylish, and many of them were designer items, she was wanting to get rid of them and build a new wardrobe.

After a few moments, she said, "See these clothes are mostly just all kinds of colors and a bunch of different styles that I liked while shopping, but they aren't one image and style that reflects who I really am as a person.  But I've recently started an online program called Dressing Your Truth and since taking it, I've come to realize that I'm a Type 1 and need to do a wardrobe revamp. I'm hoping to sell these clothes to start a new wardrobe fund for myself." 

This really intrigued me so I walked up to her and starting asking all about it. 

She proceed to explain that in the Dressing Your Truth system by Carol Tuttle, there are four basic types of people - and the material helps you learn more about your personality - your inner as well as figuring out how to dress yout outer self (in terms of makeup, clothing, hairstyle and jewelry) to better reflect your inner self.

After leaving that store, I immediately searched the internet and found the Dressing Your Truth book on Amazon and soon realized the program also has a website, and the web-based course goes pretty in-depth, but there is a free 7 day intro  . . . .a series of 7 introductory lessons that are free to anyone who wishes to sign up by email and subscribe.  After watching the intro videos and reading both of Carol's books, I got really interested and drawn into the whole program, enough that I signed up for the course.

I found out, ironically, that like the lady I met in the store, I am a Type 1 woman.  The basic types are:

Type 1 - bright animated woman (high energy and very upbeat - full of ideas but who sometimes has more energy than follow through - they are fun-focused and sometimes drop projects if they get too boring). 
Type 2 -  the soft subtle woman (calm and detail oriented, often introverted  - very relationsip oriented and caring and concerned about other people - downfall is that they can sometimes be more focused on other people's needs than their own and aren't always "heard"). 
Type 3 - the rich dynamic woman (very goal oriented and practical - focused getting things done quickly and efficiently - they are great leaders, but sometimes seen as "bossy")
Type 4 - the bold confident woman (low and calm on the energy scale - they are elegant and classic in their features.  They believe they are right and often are!  Can function well on thier own, but can speak up when they see that things could function better.  Downfall is that they can be seen as "picky" and "critical.")

That is a very short summary of what is an in-depth and very interesting study in personality, appearance, body language and many many facets, including face profiling, where you analyze the features of your face and body language.  If you are at all interested, you can go to the website and either learn more or sign up for the free email sessions.

I started into this at the end of January, and in the four weeks since, I've been in a frenzy to clean out my closet and replace items with ones that fit better for both my coloring and Type 1 personality.  Even after taking the course, there is some confusion among some people as to what type they are, so it's not one of those things where you just take a quick test and figure out what you are.  It's more of an intuitive understanding that you come to after going through the material. 

This system vaguely reminds me of the Color Me Beautiful system that came about sometime in the 1980's when my Mom and I were off trying to find our "colors."  I was an Autumn back then, but that system was based on the color of your hair and eyes and skin tone.  This other system (Dressing Your Truth) isn't affiliated or connected with that other system in any way, and it is more multi-dimensional because it is based on your inner nature and energy levels, as well as many factors that are more complex to figure out - and it's left for you to figure out on your own, because while Dressing Your Truth provides guidance, no external person tells you what type you are, so it's up to you to explore, study the material and let your higher power tell you what you are!  But it's more than a system of dressing, much more.  Doing this program is making me delve deeper into an understanding of myself and others. 

One interesting thing, though, is that if I am a Type 1, and I am fairly certain that I am, then my decision to grow my hair out gray won't mesh well with my Type 1 "light and airy" appearance I'm working on building, so I am considering coloring my hair again.  I'm not sure yet  . . . but am thinking about it and trying to figure out where my hair should be and what it should look like.  I've cut it quite a bit recently trying to grow it out gray and the style seems to translate well with my Type 1 look, just not the gray.  Still thinking about that.

I'm learning a lot from it and have been having fun!  Lots of fun with it.