Catherine Cassidy

When we go through major transitions in life sometimes we feel the need to make sweeping changes.  We quit our jobs, go to therapy, consider a move out of state. 

Change is good.  But it can be difficult.  Especially when it wasn’t your idea.

Like when we find ourselves fresh out of a relationship.  Right after a break up we often feel bored, depressed, too fat, too thin, and all around blah, blah, blah.  We’ve gotten comfortable with our every day staples and too attached to those old comfy sweats or our ex’s college t-shirts.  If you’ve been dumped, your self-esteem is also probably in the crapper.  The last thing you feel like doing is getting dressed up and putting on lipstick.  

But life must go on, right?  And Step One is boosting our self-image so that we can take full advantage of the opportunities the world is presenting to us right now.  One of the best ways to accomplish this is by giving your closet a once-over.  Personally, when my ex and I broke up, I gave away a bunch of clothes that were perfectly fine but reminded me of dates or holidays we spent together.  Buh-bye.  By overhauling our wardrobe we give ourselves a chance to reimagine who we are, and more importantly, who we are going to be.  

Catherine Cassidy knows all about effecting positive change through clothing.  As an wardrobe consultant and stylist she helps women get a grip on their image by transforming their closets.  Her efforts have helped women land their dream job, put together a great look for corporate headshots, and simply find more appropriate clothing choices as they begin new chapters in their lives.

I interviewed Catherine to find out how changing your image can also change your outlook.  And why it’s so important sometimes that we do both:

 Describe LIFE*Styled and your mission.

My mission with LIFE*styled is to empower women to do something for themselves. It’s a tough job trying to balance a career with a personal life, but it’s a huge help to have someone else working tirelessly (or just an hour a month, whatever your budget) to make sure you look and feel great. It’s really about realizing that it’s OK to ask for help, and/or outsource it!

Why do you think it’s so important for a woman to carefully consider her wardrobe?

According to Lauren Frisky of the TheFrisky.com, there are two kinds of single women: the kind that creates - and enjoys - a full life, and the kind that wastes time lamenting their single status. Guess which one ends up happier?

“In January, I left a live-in relationship after three years. The experience was all the sad adjectives you can imagine. But after the sobbing spells and the heavy drinking, the fog lifted — I was finally single again for the first time since after I graduated college.

Naturally, I expected my single friends to react with equal doses of giddy glee. For the record, I’m not the kind of girl who ditches my ladies when I’m dating someone. But lots of time does free up when you become single.

As for my coupled-up chums, I expected sad stares. They probably thought I was doomed for spinsterhood after leaving my longest relationship at age 27.

“But don’t you want to get married and have kids?” I imagined them asking. When I’d respond, “Not right now,” they’d ignore me and say, “I know someone who’d be perfect for you!”

But that didn’t happen. My taken gals were as supportive as my sturdiest Victoria’s Secret bra.

“I don’t worry about you,” my best friend, who is getting hitched next summer, affirmed.

“You’ll be fine, alone or with someone.”

Which girl are you? Read the rest of the story here.

You may have noticed that I posted some new pictures of myself on the site, specifically on the About Us, and Ask Our Experts pages.  Between Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and whatever other social networking profiles you have, you know a girl needs a good picture of herself.  I was in desperate need of some new ones (and the ’ol self-portrait-in-the-bathroom-mirror ain’t cutting it anymore…) 

So I did the adult thing and arranged for a real photo-shoot.  These pics are the result of that very fabulous shoot with super-talented photographer Yvonne Lynch.  If you EVER need professional pictures taken, CALL HER.  Seriously.  I used her because I did not want the typical stuffy corporate shots, but still needed to look like an actual grown-up.  With her mega-talent and the help of a very trusty makeup artist, Catherine of Rin Your Face, I came out looking like a semi-professional woman (with a hint of style, of course).  Yvonne’s a bicoastal girl and Catherine is an LA baby.  Between the two of them, a girl need not worry.

I wanted to share Living Life’s most recent blog post with you guys.  I always appreciate the raw honesty she shows in her blog, discussing her post-divorce life as a single woman just trying to do her thang. This week’s entry is no exception as she examines why we let certain people treat us badly (read: men) when, intellectually, we totally know better.  If you’ve been hurt once (or twice, or three times) how do you proceed in life, maintaining your faith in people without leaving yourself vulnerable to disaster and heartbreak?  It’s a good question.  I think it’s a very delicate dance we must perform, being open and willing to explore new relationships, but at the same time not forgetting who we are and what our value is.  Remember that as women, we have the option of saying, “no,” and we have to exercise that right, even when it’s uncomfortable or awkward.  Make “No” a phrase your comfortable with and use it when your gut tells you to.  Because if there’s anything the readers of this blog know, it’s that there’s nothing more awkward than dealing with bad relationship issues later rather than sooner.  

 ”In one particular relationship I found myself constantly going against what I knew had to be the truth and falling for his lies. He twisted the truth, and a lot of times straight lied to me, but somehow he always managed to make me feel like I was going crazy for questioning him and not blindly believing what he was saying. I allowed this to go on for a very long time, almost the entire three and a half years that we were together.”

“For the life of me, I can’t come up with a great reason that I allowed him to do that to me. Was it simply because I wanted to believe that he was a good honest person who loved me and wouldn’t hurt me? Maybe. Was it because my insecurities about being alone made me fear him leaving me? Possibly. My guess is that it was probably because of a combination of these things along with some others that I haven’t come to realize yet.”

How many of you can relate?  Read the rest of the entry here.

Carl Weisman is no stranger to affairs of the heart. In 2007, he wrote the book, “So Why Have You Never Been Married: 10 Insights Into Why He’s Never Wed,” attempting to demystify why some men refuse to relinquish their bachelor status. The book got a lot of media attention AND positive reviews – from both men and women – on Amazon.com
After tons of comments and feedback, Weisman felt a follow-up was in order.  He quickly embarked on his next book, “Serious Doubts: Why People Marry When They Know it Won’t Last.” This book takes a look at why people stay in relationships that are unsatisfying. Worse yet, they actually move forward and marry people they don’t love or don’t believe will make a good partner.

If you would like to share your experiences about how you found the strength/courage to leave an unsatisfying or unhealthy relationship, Carl is offering our readers the opportunity to be featured in his new book.  You can submit your story at info@thathappenedtome.com.  Please mention if you would like to remain anonymous.