My Style Makeover

OMG I won a contest! A reallly cool contest. Incredibly cool. Trust me, read the details below and you'll be thinking, "Wow! That is really cool!" Here's what I won, re-printed from the Image Assets newsletter.

Well, today is the day! I am proud to announce the winner of the "Sofie Made Me Do It" Contest is:

Kathy Powell!

Please read more about Kathy and the judges that help make this decision. We are so excited to share this journey with her and will be blogging, writing and video taping her journey all summer long.

Kathy will beginning her journey at StyleCAMP in June.

Kathy will be winning:

• Personal Color, Style, Closet and Personal Shopping with yours truly! (Karen Hughes)
• Hair, brows, manicure/pedicure and make-up with Alyson Hoag and colleagues
• Summer survival kit that includes canvas tote, MTW T-Shirt, Notepad, BestSelf Magazine and Summer Reading book from Kyle Young
• Soul Coaching book and Soul Journey with Susan Cadley
• A FREE OUTFIT FROM LANDS' END CANVAS!!
• Kathy will also be featured in the June issue of Best Self Atlanta Magazine.

Here's my winning essay and my before and after pics!

Dear Sofie,

I did it. In March 2009, I realized that I wasn’t happy with me: how I looked, how I held myself or how I treated myself, so I decided I needed to take control and set a goal to lose weight and revitalize my self esteem. Knowing that slow and steady determination would win the race, I sought support and set to work changing habits. Now, 14 months later at 27 years old, I’ve gone from a size 14 to a size 6. I have energy and muscle definition. I’ve made a commitment to allow myself to take pride in my accomplishments and have embraced my spiritual side and faith to help build me up.

I feel like a new person, but my outside shell is still the woman I was before. The majority of my clothes are size 10 or 12, so my new inner strength is drowning in an over sized, sloppy-looking exterior. I’ve bought some smaller-sized clothes, but on top of losing weight, I’ve also lost any sense of what my style should be or what’s best for my current body. After losing a full cup size and gaining shoulder muscle, I have no idea how to dress my new torso. The shirts I have were designed to hide my tummy and accent my chest, but both seem to have disappeared! I get excited about a smaller size and find myself chasing the lowest number, regardless of how the pants fit. I end up wearing clothes that are either old and too big, or new and too tight, because in my head the smaller the clothes, the smaller I look.

Part of my personal transformation during this past year has been growing into my career. I discovered my passion for nonprofit organizations in college and ever since, have thrown myself into creating, promoting and assisting programs and organizations. I’ve always considered myself a pseudo-professional. I was (and really, still am) a young adult working for small, meaningful organizations on very little money. I’m feeling the inward transition from the worker bee mentee to embracing the expertise I have and stepping up to be a leader in my field. Working for charities and ministries has not been a good influence on my wardrobe. My work spaces have been casual and my budget tight, but as I take my career to the next level, working with larger organizations and starting to do consulting on the side, I need to learn how to best utilize my limited funds with items that fit me and are appropriate for the setting so I can drop the pseudo and confidently present myself as a true professional.

I want this makeover because I’ve been building my confidence from the inside out. It’s time for the outside layer, my wardrobe, to catch up!

Sincerely,
Kathy!