If you’ve been following me for very long, you’ve heard me rave about my favorite style system – Fashion Feng Shui®. What I recently realized is that while you’ve heard me talk about it in various contexts, you may not understand what it really is … and more importantly how it can change your life. So I thought I’d share my own Fashion Feng Shui® story with you.
In 2006, at one of my first Association of Image Consultants International (AICI) New England chapter meetings, I met Evana Maggiore, founder and creator of Fashion Feng Shui® International. I had heard so many wonderful things about Evana, so I was very excited to meet her and learn more about Fashion Feng Shui®. After talking with Evana, I knew that FFS was the style system I wanted to use in helping my clients better understand their personal style. I loved the holistic, mind/body/spirit approach to dressing from the inside out.
Fashion Feng Shui® was developed based on the ancient Chinese art of Feng Shui and is a holistic personal design system that relies on individual preferences and empowering choices. It is my style system of choice because it teaches us to dress the whole person — mind, body and spirit. In other words, getting to know yourself really well in order to bring that inner self into alignment with your external image.
As I learned about the five life-forming elements of Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal, I discovered that each of the elements has a distinct energetic quality that is transmitted by specific colors, shapes and substances. Fashion Feng Shui® personifies nature’s five life-forming elements as five Elemental Archetypes and classifies each by Essence, Intention and Appearance. Once you discover your Essence, Intention and Appearance, we synchronize your style by choosing design elements that integrate all three of your personal energies. With that knowledge, you’ll be able to choose garments that function in your life, and you will feel energized and excited. When you begin dressing yourself authentically, your self-esteem and confidence change immediately.
I signed up right away and completed my Fashion Feng Shui® Professional Facilitator Certification Training with Evana in a group of wonderful women from all over the country. It was so exciting! Part of our training was to go through the FFS evaluation process ourselves. And that was the beginning of my own transformational journey.
Through Fashion Feng Shui®, I learned that I was tolerating so many things in my life and wardrobe. I was overwhelmed by the clutter in my home and my life. I had gone through a major upheaval and was trying to make sense of everything that had happened, while taking care of my two young children and getting back into the workplace to support us. My life had changed completely, and I was now the breadwinner in my family — a role I had never played before. And I had certainly never considered the idea of being a business owner! What I did know for sure was that I could not continue to work for a paycheck doing something that I didn’t enjoy, making no money and getting no benefits. I remember thinking “It’s time to take a stand!” just like I’d read in the wonderful books I’d been reading by Cheryl Richardson — Stand Up for Your Life and The Unmistakable Touch of Grace (both books had a huge impact on my life at the time, and I highly recommend them).
As I went through my own evaluation process, I discovered my Essence is Metal, my intention (at that time) was Wood and my appearance is Water. So I do everything through my lens of Metal. I love high quality garments, luxurious fabrics, elegant styling. I have known that all my life, since I was a child. Given the choice (which I often was not), without knowing the price of something, I always chose the most expensive item! I grew up hearing that I had “champagne taste on a beer budget.” My parents both lived through the depression and often came from a place of lack and scarcity. They worked hard. My dad owned his own business, but any extra money always went back into the business. They never took vacations or bought anything extravagant. They would go out to dinner after work on Friday evenings. That was their little bit of extravagance. While love was never lacking in my family, the message I received was that I should never expect the finer things in life and to suppress those feelings and settle for something less than what I loved.
Through FFS I learned to really honor who I really AM — only buying things that fit, flatter and fulfill me and who I am meant to be. It was then that my whole world began to change! Now all the clothes in my closet are items that I love and wear all the time (in season). I don’t need to worry that I won’t have the right outfit to wear, and I always feel great in my clothes because I know that they are reflecting the REAL me. No more do I settle for “just okay.” I only go for great looking garments that I love. But that doesn’t mean I buy millions of dollars worth of clothes. I’ve learned to buy garments that go with each other and create more with less! It is such a wonderful feeling knowing that I always have what I need. And that feeling flows into more than just my wardrobe. I am more confident in who I am today and where I’m going. Fashion Feng Shui® was the catalyst for changing my whole life. Now my outer image is in alignment with my inner self, and the sky’s the limit!
I will always be grateful to Evana Maggiore and Fashion Feng Shui®. Without them, I would not own this fabulous business doing exactly what I love — helping other women learn about their personal style so they too can live the life of their dreams.
Here’s what Fashion Feng Shui® has taught me:
- Get rid of the clutter in your home, closets and office. It affects you in so many ways.
- Know your likes and dislikes, and pay attention to them — listen to your intuition!
- Don’t tolerate anything in your life that doesn’t make you happy.
- Only fill your closet with clothing that you LOVE – things that fit, flatter and fulfill you.
- Own your Essence, and honor yourself by stepping into it fully. Don’t settle for less!
- Don’t wait to make changes in your life and wardrobe until things are perfect. Take one baby step at a time and watch what happens!
- Keep your closet clean, clutter free and well lit so that you can see all your beautiful clothing and accessories easily to create your outfits.
- Live your life through the “lens” of your Essence. How you do anything is how you do everything.
©2010 Laurie Mandato
With temperatures hitting 100℉ and the humidity high for the last week, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has felt more like Cape Coral, Florida. Our usually temperate New England weather has turned tropical, and Jane Austen’s words could not describe me better. It’s difficult to look and feel elegant when your makeup is dripping down your face and your clothes are sticking to your body like damp rags. This summer’s Fire is melting my Metal!
While the element of Fire brings fame, fun and sexuality to you, it is also associated with the season of summer, when nature is in full bloom. Fire energy brings out the best in everyone and everything. It lights up your life just like fireworks light up the night sky! So if you want to have some real fun this summer you can start by bringing some FIRE energy into your wardrobe and style.
