How Style Analysis Reduced My Mental Load

When I booked a colour and body shape analysis, I thought I was buying confidence - and I definitely got that.

But what I wasn't expecting was how much easier it would make shopping, getting dressed and even decluttering my wardrobe.

I had wanted to get my colours analysed for some time, and had hoped that would help me refresh my wardrobe with clothes that would make me feel good again. But it was so expensive that I had never taken the plunge.

Until I came across Emily Innes from Style Me Happy on Instagram, and discovered she could do her analysis from photos for a fraction of the price (£55 versus £200-300 in person at the time of writing).

I was pregnant with my second son at the time and decided to get my colours analysed so I could start thinking about my post-pregnancy wardrobe.

The first thing I did was fling open my wardrobe and pull out everything that fell into the “won’t look best on you” bucket.

There was a lot.

But there were also things that did fit my best colours, so I kept those.

I can’t tell you how much knowing my colours helped me declutter. It took away all deliberation. No questioning when I might wear it, what I would wear it with, no guilt for knowing how much it cost despite never having worn it.

It was simple: I wanted to feel good in my clothes again, and these colours are going to get me there.

Does it fit the palette or not?

In fact I was so sold on the benefits of knowing my colours that I booked in to get my body shape analysed too.

If colour analysis gave me one rulebook, body shape analysis gave me another.

Now I knew not only which colour clothes to buy (muted autumn for me!), but also which shapes (I’m an hourglass, so high waistlines and v-necks are my friend).

I started looking online for new bits to add to my wardrobe, and learnt how much easier clothes shopping is when you know what to look for and what to rule out.

I could now filter on the colours I knew would suit me best, and not even have to consider the others.

I’ve always found shopping for new clothes difficult. I get overwhelmed by the choice, and have no idea how to narrow it down to what I should actually buy. I’ve lost countless hours of my life trawling online or traipsing around shops, only to leave with nothing.

So having rules to steer me in the right direction was a game-changer for me.

But now I was armed with my fashion “rules”, suddenly things felt easier.

I didn’t have to consider every single item in the shop.

In-person, I could hone in on the colours I knew would work for me and ignore the rest.

Online, I started using the colour filter so I wasn’t even shown anything outside of my palette (as a muted autumn, black, white and silver are not my friends).

I also started using the other filters more - filtering for v-necks and high waistlines to suit my hourglass shape.

I wasn’t deciding yes or no for every single item on the internet anymore.

And decisions felt lighter - if I filtered on my best colours and shapes, it felt like I couldn’t get it wrong, so I deliberated less.

OK so grabbing the nearest joggers and feeding top wasn’t exactly a taxing process before my analysis.

But now that I cared more about my appearance, I was grateful not to be faced with lots of decisions about which things to put together.

Everything went together.

There were no clashing colours, because they all had similar features (warm and muted for me as a Muted Autumn).

So it’s not really possible to put anything together that doesn’t “go”.

I developed a sort of winter uniform: wide-legged, high-waist jeans, belt, long-sleeved top (thermal, because I’m always cold) and a cardigan or knitted tank top over the top.

It was all mix and match, so whatever I grabbed in the morning would work.

After all, I was by now a mum of a baby and a toddler, so I wasn’t getting any more than two minutes to get dressed.

I also stopped wasting money on clothes that looked good on the hanger or online, but never quite felt right once I got them home.

Over the years I have bought various items of clothing in various shades of yellow.

Other than once or twice, they would then sit untouched in my wardrobe.

I didn’t know why, but I never found myself reaching for them.

Now I know that I kept choosing bright yellows, and that they don’t do much for my natural colours.

Knowing that I need to choose muted colours, I now own a couple of yellow things that actually get worn.

These days, when I buy something, I'm much more confident that I'll actually wear it.

I felt so much better in my own skin.

I could 100% see why certain colours suit me and others don’t.

I felt sophisticated in my new colours, and I felt like a woman in the right shapes.

More than anything, I felt like myself again.

I felt more put together, despite spending very little time getting ready.

I felt more confident dressing my post-baby body.

I wasn’t just “Mum” now, I was Lesley too.

If you’re looking for an affordable colour and body shape analysis, I highly recommend Emily at Style Me Happy.

I'm delighted with my analyses, and she also happens to be one of the loveliest people, so do go and check her out.