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Every person has a style, and every style deserves support. Enter your style strategy cheerleader and founder of BU Style, Natalie Tincher. Since 2010 Natalie has worked with hundreds of personal clients as well as large corporations and a major global news network—and she is here to guide you.
In this podcast, you will gain clarity and insights on how to connect your style with your authentic self through Natalie's style expertise as well as interviews with other style-supporting guests like designers, clients, and other professionals in and out of the fashion industry.
Whether you love fashion, fear fashion, or fall somewhere in between, it doesn't matter. This isn't about fashion; it's about exploring who you are and how to own your unique style identity. This podcast will help you cut through the noise and examine your personal style holistically so you can "wear who you are" every day.
0:00:00 - Speaker 1
It's insane what we get talked into, you know, but really, truly, if we just slow down enough and trust ourselves like it's a direct rebellion against the system.
0:00:13 - Speaker 2
Welcome to Wear who you Are, a podcast that takes the fear out of fashion and holds space for everyone to explore how to connect your authenticity with your personal style. I'm your host, Natalie Tincher, founder of BU Style. Expert, style strategist, and your enthusiastic friend and safe space of support. I believe that every person has a style and every style deserves a seat. With over a decade of experience working with hundreds of personal clients, I've learned a thing or two about how to help others have a healthy and holistic approach to navigating how to build a wardrobe that reflects who you are. So pull up your seat and let's get started. Welcome back to another Wear who you Are.
Wednesday, we're going to start our first block with some fashion news that some of you may have read, some of you may have not. Belgian designer Dries van Noten just announced that he will step down from his namesake label. So this was really big fashion news in the fashion world, and that is because he was part of what was known as the Antwerp Six back in the 1980s, and this was when the idea of Belgian fashion was relatively unheard of. At the time, fashion just wasn't a place that we were looking to. So Van Noten started his label in 1986, and he stayed fully independent until 2018. So at the time in the 90s, when his brand was becoming really prominent, there was a great emergence of Belgian designers who graduated from the Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and so that's where the Antwerp Six came. These designers collectively shook up the fashion industry in the 90s and, as for Dries, I particularly loved, just in general, his designs. I would walk into Bergdorf when I'm shopping for clients and the, the DVN section really would speak to me because it's such a great mix of intellect and playfulness and the designs and it's really was a breath of fresh air to see his section full of colors and textures and joy and playfulness and whimsy.
So what does that mean now moving forward? Why this is also relevant is that he has been at the helm of his brand for nearly 30, 40 years and the real question is who's going to carry on the legacy and will they do it well? Is this going to mean this fashion house is going to continue to thrive? According to his announcement letter, the last collection will be the men's spring summer 2025. And then they will announce the designer quote in due time. So we will look out for that. See who is coming next and what that means for the brand. So, speaking of fashion shakeups and industry transitions, today we are privileged to speak to a designer I admire and respect greatly, who knows fashion and production very well.
I am so pleased to introduce you to Eleanor Turner. With over a decade of experience working in the fashion industry, co-founding the women's work apparel brand Argent and designing for iconic companies like Tommy Hilfiger, tory Burch and J Crew, eleanor has a long history of optimizing fashion for the benefit of the wearer, something we love. From mainstream knitwear to functional suiting with pockets. Eleanor is an innovator, named inventor on several functional design patents. Enter Elle's enhanced vision for the big favorite to provide the ultimate wardrobe optimization, versatile, comfortable quality and naturally healing basics that transcend the ordinary. The big favorites pieces stylishly streamlined wardrobes, providing a favorite thing to reach for that creates space and time to foster focus on self-discovery and the pursuit of a unique purpose. In l's philosophy, the pinnacle of optimization is found in refined simplification as the antidote to distraction. So that's a lot and so much that's so aligned. I remember the first time we got on the phone and we were like, oh my God, like there is so much to explore, let's just start with a podcast combo.
0:04:19 - Speaker 1
So welcome, Eleanor. Thank you so much for having me. I'm delighted to be here today.
0:04:25 - Speaker 2
I am in one of my the big favorite, favorite pieces that I do go to. I got it a few weeks ago actually as I was doing my spring strategy. I'm in the pigment dyed turtleneck correct.
0:04:39 - Speaker 1
Yes.
0:04:40 - Speaker 2
And I will post it in a link in bio, cause it's this yummy because you may not see it in a clip. It's this like yummy, beautiful lavender and it's Pima cotton. It's so good for the spring transition season that I and it's like colorful and joyful.
0:04:55 - Speaker 1
So thank you for creating it, especially on a day that's 25 degrees outside in the spring. So it comes in handy, keeps you warm.
0:05:04 - Speaker 2
Correct, correct, it really does, but it's still that cotton. It feels nice, I feel like I'm transitioning into spring and I recently bought also the micro V-neck. We're going to talk about all that. I was just so excited Elle's wearing that today and I was like, oh my God, thank you for creating basics that actually work, cause I literally have clients all the time saying where do you get the best t-shirts? Well, here we go.
0:05:27 - Speaker 1
You know, now, you know.
0:05:30 - Speaker 2
Exactly so. I would love to just start and hearing. Like we talked about the shakeup with Dries Van Noten, we've got um so much has happened in the fashion industry in the last I would say even really pandemic with conglomerates. We've talked about this before fast fashion becoming quite rampant. I will say I would love to just get a brief high level thoughts on like what are some of the biggest changes you've seen in the industry and how has that affected your ethos?
0:06:01 - Speaker 1
Yeah, certainly the rise of fast fashion. I graduated in 2008 and then began working in the industry shortly thereafter and over the last few years, the rise of fast fashion has been shocking. There's a provision or a loophole, basically, that allows a lot of these fast fashion brands to ship shipments under $800 in value straight from China to the US. So these people don't hold the inventory in the US, like Shein doesn't hold inventory in the US. They hold inventory in China and then they drop ship it here. So every single shipment is coming thousands and thousands of miles.
I mean, think about that in terms of carbon impact. And not to mention, it's not subject to customs searches, so they're not checking, like, what is actually in these things. And when you look at some of the studies that have been done on these actual garments and the amounts of basically poisonous chemicals that are in them, it's shocking. So that's been a huge shift. On the brighter side of things, one of the best things that I've seen happening is people are actually creating platforms around just honest business practices, like how the industry operates, more transparency you know designers speaking out about the churn and just the rapid pace of what's required and how you know they're producing like anywhere from four to 12 collections a year. I mean, that's, that's bonkers and it's just very fast.
So I would say the biggest thing that I've seen change over, you know, the last decade plus, is really just the pace at which we are consuming and we are being trained to do it that way. So I just want to make everybody a little more aware of what's happening there in the mindset of the consumer.
0:08:08 - Speaker 2
And right Cause. When I started fashion week it was your typical like two season collection with a resort sprinkled in. You know it was in, resort was like very micro. And now I feel like there's some sort of new collection coming out every pre-spring, pre-pre-spring, whatever. Whatever it is.
0:08:29 - Speaker 1
Definitely.
0:08:31 - Speaker 2
I mean when I started my business 14 years ago and I've always stayed to the same ethos of buy better, buy less, buy the best you can within your budget, to understanding that not everybody can buy. You know luxury, but if that's really the best thing to do is to wear something over and over, and when we're being trained to say, this month it's Barbie core, next month it's cottage core, whatever it is, it's like yeah. Right, how do you feel about all of these cores?
0:09:01 - Speaker 1
I don't feel good about it for the very reason that we were just talking about. I mean, truly. This is why the big favorite sticks to very versatile, beautifully made, sustainable basics with a slight point of view, and we get a lot of feedback. Well, I want to see more things from you and da-da-da-da-da, and I'm like that doesn't speak to our values. We are here. We are doing something very specific. If you don't need it right now, that doesn't speak to our values. We are here, we are doing something very specific. If you don't need it right now, please don't buy it. Don't buy it. So I think these micro trends are really training people to just go faster and faster and faster and increase these companies' bottom lines faster and faster and faster, and it just doesn't serve anyone. And there are so many things around this that I know we'll get into later, so I'm going to save it, but it's definitely a relevant conversation right now.
0:09:52 - Speaker 2
It's a super relevant conversation. I do want to. Then, before we get there is to talk about the big favorite. I want to talk about it. This company existed many decades ago, right, and you were inspired. It's essentially a family company. It is yes.
0:10:09 - Speaker 1
So this is actually my great grandfather's company and he started it back in the thirties with American workwear and he grew it actually into a holding company. So he had a holding company and then he had four different lines of clothing that made overalls for railroad workers, denim just for the American worker, hardworking like cotton canvas. He had government contracts actually too, for World War II uniforms, and so it was really like a full, it was fully integrated, it was fully vertical. He had the whole supply chain, soup to nuts, and in the 60s production actually started to go overseas to Korea and he knew that he would never be able to compete with that price point, and so he struck up a relationship with the Bush family, which actually owned Williams and Dickey Manufacturing Company back in the 50s and 60s, and basically sold his whole company to Dickey's in the 1960s. And I still actually have some of that correspondence today, which is really cool.
0:11:14 - Speaker 2
Oh my God, I bet that was a treasure trove to just look through and read.
0:11:19 - Speaker 1
Yeah, absolutely. But the crazy thing is I never knew about this until I actually was in college studying fashion. I had no idea that this was in my family history, and so I literally went home and I was like, wait, dad, how did you never tell me about this? And he's like oh, I thought we did. I guess we didn't talk about it and it was so special and I knew that I had to do something with it someday, and so it was just a matter of time and I stuck it in the back pocket and it was literally in your DNA and you didn't know it right.
0:11:53 - Speaker 2
I had no idea that gave that gave me chills when you said that. How cool when you, I like, wish I were there when you'd had that conversation and that discovery of like wait, this is such a big part of my history. I didn't know and maybe that's why part of the reason I'm I'm pursuing what I'm pursuing.
0:12:10 - Speaker 1
Totally, totally. I mean I had also told my parents when I was like eight years old, I like marched home from a summer trip with my grandparents and somebody on that trip. I had a little sketchbook and I was like sketching what people were wearing. And somebody on that trip was like you know, you can actually make money doing that, like you can actually do that as a career. And my little eight-year-old mind just like exploded, you know, and I marched home that summer and I was like I am going to be a fashion designer. And I followed that through for the next 10 years and ended up going to fashion school at Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia and at no point did my parents say, hey, this is like did you know? You know?
0:12:58 - Speaker 2
I'm like what this makes sense. Did you know your grandfather started a company in the 1930s? Right, Right, Come on parents. So when you decided to leave your other endeavors and start the big favorite, what was the catalyst to starting?
0:13:12 - Speaker 1
Yeah, so essentially like the background of the big favorite just being what it was for hardworking Americans, and just given my experience and you went through my bio I am a huge like and I wonder actually, do you mind if I ask you a question before I answer this? Oh, of course, ask me anything. Do you work with any particular modalities like astrological charts, human design, any of that with your clients?
0:13:41 - Speaker 2
So we have a proprietary assessment that works through style, personalities that's right, yes and how we all are pieces of all of them. So we've got relaxed, classic, polished, magnetic, soft and creative, and we all embody all of them. They come from who you are, your ethos, your personality, what you prefer, your habits, and so we piece all of that together.
0:14:07 - Speaker 1
So fabulous.
0:14:08 - Speaker 2
Yeah, it's like it's the inside out.
0:14:11 - Speaker 1
Natalie, maybe you need to do this for me. This would be fun.
0:14:15 - Speaker 2
I would love to. Let's do it. I feel like you would get. I have my guesses on what you score high in, but I would be really curious to see you score high in, but I would be really curious to see.
0:14:31 - Speaker 1
Yeah. So I basically am a big proponent of optimization. Like my human design makeup is truly around looking at systems, seeing the inefficiencies and then suggesting and correcting and providing solutions. So that really speaks to most of my design career in obvious ways, with Argent, especially with the patenting and the pockets and the solutions that I engineered into that brand but the pinnacle of wardrobe optimization is truly refined simplicity.
Optimization is truly refined simplicity, and so that is where I wanted to take the big favorite forward because you know, through 12 years in fashion, 14 years in fashion, you know you start to see, start to like really understand the shifts that are happening around quality, around um, you know what, what's being sacrificed to make these clothes and keeping things simple and cleaner and more sustainable and also circular, which means that our customers can actually send our garments back for recycling rather than ending up in a landfill or in a third world country.
So these are all the things that I really wanted to engineer into the big favorite and sort of gear it towards a new daily grind. Right, and you know we launched in 2020, which I didn't know we were going to be having a pandemic. But you know, during that time I think people started to realize how important it is to be comfortable, no-transcript, what I like to call like edit your consumption filters. But you know, it's really important to be in your body and the only way you can do that is if you're comfortable with what you're wearing. So this product line you know, things like what I'm wearing, what you're wearing today is really about being really refined and simplified so that people can get their time back, so that they can focus on their unique purpose.
0:16:39 - Speaker 2
I love that so much and it is so true. I mean particularly post pandemic. The first thing when I was reengaging with clients, there was a lot of exploration, a lot of discovery, and that has been the number one word used to describe what they want is to feel, be comfortable, whatever that means for them, and that's where we explore what does comfortable mean for you and what sense of the word comfortable? But to have something touching your skin, that is natural, that lays against your body, nice, you don't have to fuss with that. To your point, it's like take that mental clutter out and be able to engage in the world without fidgeting and fussing, and knowing, though, that you're presenting your intent and you feel comfortable Absolutely, and that's what I love that you're doing.
And I do, then, want to talk about so your innovation and creating this. You know circular world. I want to talk about fair trade certifications. How important that was to you, and not only that, but how hard are those to obtain, just in terms of inclusivity and maybe brands that it's like hey, it's maybe a lot of money or it's a lot to work around. So, step one of your fair trade practices, the buzzwords, what was important to you from a sustainability standpoint, and then from there.
0:18:02 - Speaker 1
Yeah, yeah, I mean in terms of sustainability, like what was really important to me, it was not just like providing something that was synthetic and plastic free. A lot of people don't understand that plastic is hiding in our clothes and it's everywhere and it's disguised in words like polyester, elastane, nylon and all these things they shed, they end up in waterways, they end up in our bodies, etc. So that was really important to me to like let's engineer synthetics out of this category, because it is so pervasive here. Out of this category, because it is so pervasive here. The other part is like the people part, the human part, you know, and finding the right supplier who has these shared values. You know we produce in Peru. My background at Tory Burch gave me the amazing ability to travel to Peru a lot and establish a lot of relationships there, and I've traveled there and I've seen what our production lines look like, what does the sewing line look like, who's working for them.
But the next step was really to catalyze that in a certification. And these certifications are hard. They're really really hard to come by because you have to get an auditor out there. You have to fill out like countless amounts of information on these forms and give proof, basically. And so this was not, this was actually not a lift for me. It was a lift for my suppliers, you know, and so they really deserve the credit here because I asked them. I was asking them for years, you know, like, hey, when can we do this? Can can I raise money for this for you? I even I even offered to start a Kickstarter for them because I'm like, if you need money to do this, like let me help you, I will help you. But they understood how serious I was about it and so they took it seriously and I think that they also saw, you know, the trends coming from the industry and just other companies wanting this as well, and so they doubled down on it and they really showed up and got certified. But it was a rigorous process. I mean, it probably took about eight months for them and, like I said, like they had to fill out countless forms and information and have auditing visits and a lot of the RAP and the Fair Trade Peru certifications are centered around fair wage pay, making sure that there's like prohibited child labor, prohibited like excess hours per day, that the working conditions are safe, that you know people are, you know they have transportation and safe transportation to the factory and that while they're there they have adequate breaks.
So it really is about the people, you know. But I'll say the other thing that our fabric suppliers do is they do have access to GOTS certified organic, which we have in some of our product lines. They do Oikotex certify the other fabrics, which means that these fabrics are tested for over 350 chemicals that can be added into the fabric in the production process. So that's ensuring that they're devoid of, like you know, heavy metals and dangerous chemicals. And then they also use reverse osmosis to clean water that they use during the finishing process on. Yeah, it's really amazing, it's very inventive, it's great technology and it saves water waste. So these are the things that we're doing on top of the circular piece in our product line.
0:21:43 - Speaker 2
I love that, and so how can? Then? Something that I really want to educate people on is the buzzwords Again, this fast fashion. We're in a world that's like buzzword, buzzword, buzzword, and so you hear a lot of companies now because sustainability is a buzz. It's become a buzzword, but people I think for the most part, at least the people in my world are trying to wear their values a little bit more strongly. But it's hard. It's hard with all the buzzwords, it's hard with marketing. What are some of your top tips that consumers or listeners can use to understand, like is this really ethical? What is fair? Space trade versus fair trade? That they can say, okay, yellow flag, red flag, that this is greenwashing, not actual ethos coming into it.
0:22:43 - Speaker 1
Yeah Well, first, I think it's important to note that if fast fashion companies are using these terms, it's not true that's greenwashing. If they are using any of these terms, it's greenwashing because simply by the way that they produce and exist and the cost by which they sell these things, it makes them inherently unsustainable. So I pointed out to a friend of mine who works for a well-known company in the industry and I said you just put a green label on something that's cotton, like that's what, what? What are you doing within that? That feels, you know, like it's additive or it's more sustainable. And she's like that's a great question, you know. So I think it's. It's about looking at the brand and looking at the inherent values of that brand and then making the decision.
I always encourage people to shop more locally, shop with brands that you know are small and really trying to do things better, because oftentimes, like we don't get, I don't get paid to do things better. In fact, it costs me more, you know, but we're using part of our profits to be able to do that, because it's the right thing to do, you know, but we're using part of our profits to be able to do that, because it's the right thing to do, you know, and that's, those are the values that we stand by, and if we can't pay for it with profits, then where are we going to pay for it? You know what I mean. So I think it's really about looking at brands instead of looking at words and terminologies and thinking, oh, I can buy this H&M thing because it says that it's, you know, whatever certified and like, it's just not. It's just inherently at odds with who they are as a brand. So that's my biggest recommendation around how people can look at these terms and make decisions.
0:24:28 - Speaker 2
I wholeheartedly agree and I think that's a great way of distilling it and that's a reason that I generally love having my small, independent brands, because I find that there's an ethical alignment just inherently because you have chosen to not you've chosen essentially to leave mainstream big conglomerate, big corporations to follow your values.
So, that alone is go to the about page. And how do you feel in that about page, like you know, um and to your point, going to independent designers, local shops, artisans, people that you know, that you respect and have a face behind it. There's a face you can identify with it. Yep, it's, it's my people.
0:25:15 - Speaker 1
Yep, it's, it's my people. I think it's important, though, like making a community for this stuff, because the world runs on relationships you know, and, and if you can't look in somebody's eyes and ask them an honest question about you know how they're, where they found this thing. You know it's, I don't know. I just think it's a better way of operating. It's a better way of buying it's.
0:25:36 - Speaker 2
I don't know, I just think it's a better way of operating, it's a better way of buying, it's also just better and more connected and I find, for me, I love knowing, when I have on my turtleneck, that like, oh, this is Eleanor and she's going to be on the podcast and we've spoken and I understand where this came from and I understand, like the whole story behind it, and then I can stand behind it as someone who does guide people in making choices, to be able to say this is a brand that you know when you're swiping your credit card. It is supporting not only Elle, but it's supporting the workers in Peru. It's supporting them to have proper conditions. It's supporting a world that I would rather be a part of.
0:26:18 - Speaker 1
Yeah, and it's supporting the development of a circular solution. So I think of us as we're the experimenters, we're trying to figure it out, so every dollar goes towards that kind of experimentation here.
0:26:36 - Speaker 2
Tell me then, in the circular, let's talk about recycling, let's talk about fabric recycling and going back to this idea of plastics and things in your clothing. People want to recycle. I know that. I know that there is a desire. There's a desire to not just throw things into landfills. Tell me what they can do.
0:26:58 - Speaker 1
Yeah, so, at this point, not a lot, but that's why we exist, or that's part of why we exist, and the the reason why it's not a lot is because, well, clothes are made out of a lot of different things and the biggest solution right now is downcycling. So, essentially, you know, you send it to a shredder, they grind it up and then it becomes car insulation, or I'm not sure if you remember Blue Jeans Go Green by Madewell, where they were donating it to Habitat for Humanity to create housing insulation, which is amazing. It's a great innovative way to divert things from landfills, right, but it doesn't create an equal or more valuable end product, you know, at the end of the day. So it really that's why I'm downcycling, upcycling different In terms of what you can actually do with 100% cotton and 100% polyester.
You can actually upcycle those things, and there are a lot of really amazing innovative companies that have come around in the last five, 10 years, one of which is Cirque, who is upcycling cotton and polyester. They just worked with Zara, which is pretty cool. So there are things that are coming to scale. It's just not quite ready for like, hey, bring all of your stuff here and we can deal with it. So it's really about niching down into, like certain items which is why the big favorite only takes back our items because they're a hundred percent Pima cotton and we know that we can do something valuable with that on the other side, Great, great, great, great feedback.
0:28:41 - Speaker 2
Let's talk about this a hundred percent Pima cotton and the big favorite, and what's against your body and the choices that you have made for it to be Pima cotton in particular? I mean every item that you have but your undergarments. Yeah, Tell me why that was such an important niche for you to fill.
0:28:59 - Speaker 1
Yeah, so Pima cotton is actually like a far superior cotton. It's something that you don't find in undergarments a lot, and I found this out when I worked at Tory Burch I mentioned, you know we worked a lot with Pima cotton. It's a longer staple fiber, so that means it's so much softer than anything out there on the market. And so when I wanted, you know, when I decided I wanted to start with basics, um, it really was about okay, what's the best fiber that we can use for this? And that was Pima. And um, you know, so Pima is luxury, it's amazing. It's incredible and it also it doesn't. It's like wrinkle resistant. So when you put it in the washer and the dryer it doesn't come out like all you know, wrinkled and creased and stuff. It really is like nice, soft, sufficient, superior fabric.
0:29:51 - Speaker 2
Is that because of the staple length? And so I remember taking my fabrics class and that was the biggest consideration for just consumers and your knowledge. When it's a Pima cotton, the staple length means that and correct me, elle, that because it's longer it can get woven more smoothly, right?
0:30:11 - Speaker 1
Yes, smoothly and also like it doesn't pill. So I know everybody now knows what pilling is because garments have become so cheap lately and a lot of that has to do with the fact that you know these fibers are being cut with polyester and that is really, really bad for pilling. It just like creates the little balls that you see all over your clothes. So when it's a longer staple fiber it doesn't pill and you won't get that with the big favorite garments. Our stuff is not going to pill. But yeah, so Pima not only is just like amazing on your skin, but it's also better for the circularity process at the end and it's truly just the most amazing cotton fiber that you'll ever feel, ever. I just can't. I can't highlight that enough. It's just so incredible.
0:31:02 - Speaker 2
It's so funny because when I was telling Allison, who works with me, about my new purchases and I was so excited and I was, you know, we were having our nerd out session, like we do and I was like, no, remember when you used to be able to buy quality cotton and it felt nice and it felt substantial, but it's still draped against your body, I was said, enter the big favorite. Finally, it truly is like it's. It's got a beautiful weight to it so it doesn't feel flimsy. I think that's something that I have to name is that it's not this heathered stuff that then it's going to rip on your pant button in a second. So there's, there's a tailoring to it.
That gives it a weight, that's nice, but it's still so soft. It just smells really nice.
0:31:55 - Speaker 1
That I have to give credit to Audrey Louise Reynolds, like she's our hand dye artist and she really whatever she uses to to process these things, it smells so good it smells so good.
0:32:06 - Speaker 2
I got it and I was like, what is this? This smells delightful. I know I was looking for a little sachet or something in it, and it was just. No, it's just that, it's just that, it's just that.
0:32:17 - Speaker 1
It's just that, it's just that. But yeah, truly, the cotton is very quality. In fact, a lot of people say like when I reach for my big favorite things in the dryer, I can actually tell which ones are big favorite and which ones are not, just by the way it feels in my hand, because it's substantial quality.
0:32:42 - Speaker 2
Like you know, it's going to hold up and it's soft, so Love it. And so then, with that, let's just talk a little bit. More than like your wellbeing and nurturing the planet through clothing and style, I want to talk about that authenticity piece on. What principles do you implement personally and in your designs that just nurture well-being?
0:32:58 - Speaker 1
Yeah, I mean. So the reason that we've been talking about recycling so much is because Big Favorite did originally start as like a circular brand, right Like, we still have that as one of our values. But I had a personal epiphany last year that it is just it's almost impossible to convince people to save the planet if they don't understand why that's important and you can't really convince people to buy your product. Like on that either, like through my own like personal journey, just in meditation and creating a lot of self-care rituals and prioritizing my own personal healing and health. It changed me in a way that was like, oh my God, if we can get more people doing this, then that's truly what's going to save the planet.
Because authenticity and like being in your unique purpose right Like, everybody has a purpose. Like you love styling, I love designing. You know, like we, there are different things that we excel in, and if we're all in our right seat and our right purpose and we're filtering our decisions based on those things, we don't have a need for excess right Like there's just no need for it. And so I feel like being in your authentic purpose and prioritizing your own self-discovery and self-healing is the thing that will ultimately bring balance back to the planet and completely I won't say eradicate, but it will cut down on the amount of distraction that is out there for all of us. And that's kind of my.
I guess it sounds a little idealistic, but truly it's what I believe and it's what my brand is trying to embody now by offering these really simple, refined basics that can give you time back, because I think a lot of the distraction is like oh my God, what do I wear? I mean, it's why you're in business, right, it's why I'm in business, a thousand percent business, right. And so I think, providing a solution that simplifies things, that gives you your time back, so that you can have hey, I have five more minutes in the morning so I can meditate or I can, you know, focus on self-care, like hello right, like that is going to be part of the solution and that is really what's important to me at this point. For the big favorite.
0:35:34 - Speaker 2
I feel like that was our first call. Why one of the main reasons we were so aligned and so excited to talk is, you know, while my purpose has always generally been buy better, buy less, I've been so focused in the last few years, in particular on let's really think about you. Think about. I had a client yesterday and I said close your eyes, picture yourself in this garment walking to meet your you know colleagues on a Saturday.
How do you feel? Do you feel like the best version of yourself? Do you feel aligned with who you are? Do you feel like this is all this is going to support your day and your interactions and your life? And if you're a little nervous about it, no, like it is such a good way when you have a realization of really who you are, your authenticity and what it looks like to wear that that's why I started this podcast. It's cuts out the doom scrolling and the well this influencer is wearing this this week and should I get this? And how do I feel about skinny jeans? And and everybody told me I need to do this it's like no, you can say not for me not for me, this, this, this is conceptually beautiful, but it's not.
it's not me.
0:36:46 - Speaker 1
Yes, Well, and what you're talking about it's it resonates so much because you know it's part of being in your body, it's part of like, okay, let's slow down. We're asking ourselves these questions and I think it's particularly as women, like we forget right, Like we're, so we're such like creatures of well, let me ask my girlfriend and let me ask this person and let me, I'm going through something, so maybe I need some advice from whoever right. But instead, like slowing down and asking yourselves those questions and listening and knowing what it feels like in your body when it's a yes, I feel like my best self, or no, like Ooh, I don't know, I feel a little uncomfortable. Having that awareness is so important?
0:37:32 - Speaker 2
And how often do we inherently know before we look in the mirror? And this is something that, when people are struggling with this it's a challenge that I give is and I do it to myself I say put it on, and your body literally tells you.
0:37:46 - Speaker 1
Your body.
0:37:46 - Speaker 2
I always identify people's confidence pose, like you're doing. You know one client. We call it the Lindsay lean. I'm like you're doing, the Lindsay lean, and that means you feel like this is connecting to yourself, to yourself, when you feel comfortable, aligned, authentic like you can wonderful. But you know it in yourselves. And I feel like where we get lost is when we let all the outside voices speak and we're, particularly as women, the first thing people ask when they start working with me or we talk about you know they're doing a keynote of well, this person might be dressed like this and this person is just I don't care Like yes, I want to respect the setting that you're in, but within that respect, what do you feel the best and what is going to make you feel like your message is coming out strong and clear? And then we don't buy extra stuff. Then we think about when I'm putting this on my body, what values am I wearing? Yep, and I think it's just so important.
0:38:55 - Speaker 1
You couldn't have said it better. It really is and it's something actually I remind a lot of my friends. I'm like why are you calling me? You know what you need to do. You just need to slow down enough to listen.
0:39:07 - Speaker 2
And I will help you. But now my questions are always reflective of you, of how do you feel in it? What do you like about it? Why are you nervous about making this decision? What's your hangup? Oh, the answers are all inside of us, and I find people have great instincts. They just haven't been attuned to themselves.
0:39:27 - Speaker 1
Absolutely. And they, I mean it's part of, it's part of the consumption machine, right? It's like, well, maybe you need some help. So then, like, here are, you know, 12 self-help books that, like you can read to. You know what I mean. It's part of the system is to distrust and not be tapped in.
0:39:47 - Speaker 2
So and it's so interesting and we're in a odd way and I don't know if you're seeing this reverting back to days when we had a prescriptive model on what we're supposed to do as part of the consumption wheel, again like Say more Like color analysis or body type analysis, or this is what you're supposed to wear as the must-have that every single person needs to have. And it's like, almost now, a reverse way of saying, well, you thought you were okay, but now you have to have your exact swatch and your exact color or your exact like white shirt. I don't have a white shirt in my closet. Well, what do I do? This list told me I have to have it.
0:40:32 - Speaker 1
I know it's insane. It's insane what we get get talked into, you know, but really, truly, if we just slow down enough and trust ourselves like it's a direct rebellion against the system.
0:40:45 - Speaker 2
Which I love being my therapist calls me a sweet rebel. You always do it. You follow the rules. You collectively want to hug everybody in a better, kinder spot, so you'll stand up for it. I'm like that's correct. So then, just to kind of wrap up this beautiful conversation we've had for you, what does wearing who you are look like? What values, what style, personalities, what key pieces make up Eleanor's? Wearing who you are.
0:41:16 - Speaker 1
I loved this. Okay. So I mean, I'm a creative and I really I have my favorite fashion designers and brands that I pair with the big favorite all the time, Cause obviously I'm wearing the big favorite, it's great, but my wearing my values truly looks like some sort of silhouette. I throw a silhouette in a pair of jeans Like I don't just go for, you know, straight. Or um, skinny I'm, I'm like a barrel girl, I'm a twisted barrel girl Like I and I just I love denim because listed barrel girl Like I and I just I love denim because, you know, it is part of my, my heritage, it's part of my growing up. Um, you're a Midwesterner right, no.
I'm a.
0:42:07 - Speaker 2
I'm actually a Southerner. I grew up in Virginia. I like Southern Virginia, yeah, um, but I I'm a Western Southern.
0:42:09 - Speaker 1
We love the denim Totally, Totally Like. It's just a good. I just love the texture of it and it's hardworking, so it speaks to me in that way. And then I always love a piece of structure. Just give me a great blazer. So those are the things that you'll find in my closet. It's a really nice basic layer, a blazer and then a funky, creative pair of jeans. Like that's sort of my uniform, my go-to.
0:42:38 - Speaker 2
We have very similar closets.
0:42:41 - Speaker 1
Great, maybe I should cover more.
0:42:45 - Speaker 2
Flops, speaking of circular and getting more out of things. Yeah, I'm down. I love it. Thank you so much. This has been such a wonderful conversation. I'm so excited to share your magic the Big Favorites magic with all of our listeners, and I just encourage the listeners that, as you get dressed every day, think about what you're wearing and who you're supporting and what supports your innate sense of self. Thank you so much and we will see you next time. Thanks for joining another where who you are Wednesday. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social media or leave a rating and review. Be sure to follow along for episode news updates and other bonus style insights on Instagram through my business account at Bustyle that's the letters B-U-S-T-Y-E-L, or my personal account at Natalie underscore Tincture. And don't forget to subscribe to Wear who you Are wherever you listen to your podcasts. Thanks again and see you next time.