Janna Beatty wrote one of my favorite style guides with Sharon White. I learned so much from this book that I thought I would introduce you to the author Janna Beatty. I am turning the blog over to her today to get to know her a little more.
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| Janna Beatty in her studio. |
“Fifty Not Frumpy,” what a remarkable blog site. Wow, I was so excited to be invited to contribute to Susan’s blog. I’ve been working with women for over 30 years, and we all need to be reminded that age doesn’t mean much—it’s all about attitude.
I was recently a guest on a radio talk show, and the host made this comment after reading our book: “I have highlighted something on almost every page of Quintessential Style. I’m 47 years old, and I feel like I’m learning about my style all over again.” This comment has been repeated by hundreds of clients over the years. Mid-life seems to be a transitional time for most--empty-nesting, returning to the workforce, losing loved ones, divorce, and physical changes. Women regularly seek my services during some kind of “shift” in their lives.
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| Janna shows clients which patterns and prints are most complementary. |
When I read Susan’s blog, I could understand immediately why she has such an enormous following. Susan’s story of transformation during mid-life could be any of ours. She went from “now to WOW.”
In the busyness of day-to-day living, we can lose our identities—especially women, who are natural caregivers and frequently don’t take time for themselves. More often than not, when I meet a client, I predominantly hear negative self-talk rather than positivity. “I’m fat, I’m getting jowls, I have wrinkles.” Their confidence levels are sometimes at an all-time low.
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| Janna shows clients which colors look best on them. |
When I meet a client for the first time, I see none of that. My eyes focus only on their marvelous attributes: a beautiful smile, high cheekbones, amazing eye color, gorgeous hair.
Most women engage in too much negative self-talk. And over the years, like our bodies, our hair, and our skin change, we no longer see the vibrancy in the mirror. Our tendency is to envision an older, less attractive version of ourselves. We may begin comparing ourselves to others or who we used to be. It is all very self-critical and detrimental.
I went through this myself. And even though I am a professional image consultant and have been advising women for years, I had to figure out what to do when I no longer reflected the vibrant, energetic person I once was. After all, it was my job to be the expert.
I went through what I term in the book as “My Falloff Point.” It means a point I had reached the point where even though I was putting more and more effort in, I couldn’t quite get myself looking as good as I once had.
I began to learn what was causing my “fall off.” I started putting systems into place to combat the changes. I had to reevaluate my life and ask myself: “Who am I, TODAY?” I focused on the present, not 20 or 30 years ago.
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| Janna and Sharon co-wrote the book. |
Thus became the inspiration for our book: Quintessential Style: Cultivate and Communicate Your Signature Look. It was a 3-year project. My co-writer, Sharon White, researched book after book before we began writing. What we found was this: Every book on the market talks about how to dress. QStyle talks about how to dress YOU. It is meant to speak to each individual reader about her life’s journey, no matter the age. What do you want to communicate? How can you do it? QStyle’s intention is to enable every woman to “see” her magnificence more clearly.
Susan reevaluated her life at age 54 and made changes to support her wants and needs. Then she went even further to share her journey with the world. Brava Susan! Sharon and I hope we can help women at any age realize that change is inevitable, and you must flow with it. But if you need a little guidance, take the first step and figure out, “Who you are—TODAY?
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| Janna designs custom jewelry based on color types. |
The link below is a special offer for Fifty, not Frumpy readers, to get $10 off the book.
Wonderful advice. I just ordered the book and can't wait to receive it. I turned 50 this year and have been going thru all those questions in my mind. thank you so much for the offer on the book and to Susan for having you as a guest on her blog. --Anne
ReplyDeleteI ordered QStyle several weeks ago when I saw it on Susan's blogsite. When I first received it I wasn't sure that it would help me, as I just 'flipped' through it quickly and saw that Janna touched on topics that I had read about in other books I have been collecting these past few years.(I am in my mid-fifties and was TRULY lost, regarding this topic.) So, re-thinking the foolishness of that attitude, I vowed I'd read through it, one chapter a day until I finished it, and boy am I super glad that I did!!! Janna teaches CONCRETE ways of dealing with problems we middle-aged ladies have. For the first time in my life, I know what to look for when shopping! This has enabled me to SUCCESSFULLY shop on line, because now I am aware of the style which looks best on me, the colors, and even the type of fabric and pattern!! It is so amazing to know that there is a system that makes this nearly foolproof! Thank you, Janna, for sharing this! In fact, my maiden order from the internet yielded a top and bottom that was so attractive on me, that my four boys ENTHUSIASTICALLY complimented me! By the way, I AM NOT a little lady, I am about 5'6" and weigh in the low 200's...Yipee!!!!!
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