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5th April 2024
04:25pm BST
During the Covid pandemic, many of us grew accustomed to living in loungewear, all the while promising to be the most glamorous versions of ourselves the moment restrictions were lifted.
As soon as life resumed as normal, those promises were easier said than done.
Despite the endless online purchases during this time, for me, with each lockdown, my fashion sense seemed to get more basic with the lack of social interaction.
Kara O'Sullivan, one of the co-founders of the Irish fashion rental company, greens are good for you, saw this gap in the market, a gap that consists of many confused and disheartened shoppers.
To bring the fun and excitement back into wardrobes, on Sunday (April 7th), the fashionista launches her newest venture, kara made me do it.
Being a personal stylist has been a dream of Kara's for as long as she can remember.
After years of positive feedback from styling sessions with family and friends, as well as confirmation from online followers about her styling choices, she decided now was the time to make her passion a full-time gig.
One of Kara's core beliefs is that fashion should be an enjoyable process, one that should help us tap into our creativity and become reflective of our individuality.
"I think, for me, I like to say that my personality comes out in my clothes. Everything I wear reflects how I feel, and once I feel good wearing something, my confidence is 10 out of 10," she tells Her.ie.
When we lose touch with our sense of style, it can impact our confidence, something Kara wants to help people rebuild through her styling service when she learns about her clients and sources clothing based on that knowledge.
"I'm encouraging people to bring their own personalities and not just wear things that they think are necessarily 'on trend’.
"So it's me helping them figure out their personal style and then leaning into that, having fun with it, and seeing how we can bring that into everything they wear so that they have confidence in their style.
kara made me do it aims to be a service that caters to everyone's needs, be it a big event (The Weekender), a total revamp of your wardrobe (The Wardrobe Refresh), or a bespoke package for special projects of all lengths.
The personal styling service is simplified yet thorough to ensure clients get the most out of it.
Through a unique questionnaire, Kara gets to know the person before she gets to work, which means it's a guaranteed personalised experience.
Once she has been provided with all the necessary details about sizing and preferences, she builds 10 mood boards of clothing and outfits based on their answers, complete with links to shoppable items.
"The questionnaire is designed in a fun way to get all of the information I need so that I can get a really good view of exactly what your current style looks like, the way you look in your size, and all of those kinds of necessary details," Kara explains.
"It's a visual way of just getting as much information as possible so that I can give the customer the best service possible and the best experience in an enjoyable and more light-hearted way because it can't be overwhelming and stressful.
"It's bringing the joy out of getting dressed again.”
kara made me do it aims to remove the stress and confusion around fashion, eliminate any shopper's remorse gained through panic purchases, and help her clientele find their confidence through clothing that speaks to them.
"I want to make this experience the most enjoyable it can be for everyone because online shopping can be daunting if you don't know exactly what you're looking for.”
Kara stands firm on the belief that everyone deserves to experiment and enjoy fashion, which is one of the core values of this career venture.
She wants to reframe the mindset that owning your own unique fashion is a luxury reserved for a certain demographic of people.
"I think there is a misconception that people feel like they need to be in the public eye, a celebrity or influencer, or someone to care about their style.
"Fashion can be misconceived as this materialistic and frivolous thing. But I think it comes down to your confidence and feeling good about yourself.
"It's giving people access to a stylist that they might not have ever thought they wanted, needed, or thought they could have before."
After Kara builds your mood boards by sourcing clothes that she believes align with the answers to the questionnaire, it's completely up to you if you proceed and purchase anything.
She serves as a guide to finding your confidence through fashion again, a nudge to step outside your comfort zone, and a reassurance that we all deserve to enjoy fashion.
"It's then up to you what you want to buy or what you don't want to buy, whether you want to buy a couple of things now or wait for your next paycheck; it's all at your discretion on what you want to buy.”
The service removes any pressure to buy on the spot, instead acting as a singular service to help people find their sense of style again and offer inspiration for looks.
The mood boards mean that the client walks away with a permanent and physical product, one they can go back to and draw inspiration from before they shop.
"Whether they buy anything or not, they will leave with added value to their wardrobe and their style that they can always revert to."
By living in Paris and visiting fashion capitals around the world, Kara has found that fashion is an individual art for people.
She hopes to see Ireland follow suit by expanding the clientele's comfort zones to play around with their clothing.
"When I go to cities like Copenhagen or even London and New York, they are real; they're cities full of a lot of a mix of people, and there are so few people that look the same, which I think we're missing a bit in Ireland.
"People are kind of wearing the same thing or they get inspired by each other, which I do think is so nice too, but it seems like a bigger deal for people to take a step out of their comfort zone and to wear something that they wouldn't typically wear.
"I want to help with this and bring confidence to their style. That is the main aim."
To get your fashion journey started, visit @karamademedoit
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