A Glossary of Terms
Show up as your bold, brilliant self - with bells on
This week I’m sharing a glossary of terms for your reference.
1. Be yourself but make it fucking iconic
Your reminder to show up as your bold, brilliant self - with bells on. You don’t need to tone it down, you need to dial it UP to be 100% YOU. Caveat - remember to read the room. Personal style is self-expression, but it’s also communication -
2. Comfydence
Happy that you are presenting yourself and your business appropriately? Are your clothes conveying the messages that you want to send out? BRILIANT!!! You’ve cracked it – you come across as self-assured and credible...because you feel comfortable and confident in the situation and environment that you are in. You are presenting as ‘comfydent’.
3. Dopamine Dressing
Wearing things that spark joy, boost your mood and help you feel like the best version of you. Your wardrobe should reflect who you *really* are. Your audience wants to see *you*—not a version of yourself that feels uncomfortable or inauthentic. Dopamine dress helps you find clothes that align with your true self, allowing you to show up authentically in your business.
Align your outfit with your energy, your message, and your goals
4. Dress with Intention
No more throwing things on and hoping for the best. This is about aligning your outfit with your energy, your message, and your goals. Think about the qualities you want to convey in your business—whether it’s creativity, professionalism, or approachability. Choose outfits that reflect these traits, and you’ll naturally draw in your ideal clients.
5. Dressing Dissonance
That niggling feeling when your outfit doesn’t match who you really are. It’s like wearing someone else’s clothes—and it shows. A wardrobe that doesn’t match your energy, your success, your essence is more than just an aesthetic mismatch. It’s an unconscious act of self-sabotage.
6. Duck Words
The 3-5 descriptive words that define your personal style vibe. Like a style compass for your wardrobe decisions. (From my Define Your Unique Style Recipe in 3 Words method.) They are your guiding principles, words that encapsulate how you want to show up in the world and define your desired style identity
Enclothed cognition - the sciencey bit
7. Enclothed Cognition
The sciencey bit—what you wear can literally change how you think, feel and perform. There’s plenty of research out there showing that when we look good, we feel good—and we actually perform better. There’s even a fancy term for it: “enclothed cognition,” which is all about how clothes influence how we think and behave. this is especially important when in business because how you present yourself can directly impact how others perceive your expertise and how seriously they take you.
8. Figure-Flattering Style (FFS) & Body Shape (BS)
The old-school approach that says you should dress to ‘hide’ or ‘fix’ bits of your body. I’m not here for it.
I can show you tips and tricks that will enhance your favourite bits and disguise the bits you’re conscious of but ONLY if you said that’s what you wanted. My message is always the same – if you love it, wear it, if it makes you feel good then who cares what anyone else thinks. But you can be safe in the knowledge that I’m here with tips and tricks if you need a bit of help to feel good more
9. Flamingo
I help people be the flamingo amongst the flock of pigeons. A metaphor for standing tall, proud and gloriously different. My flamingo acronym = fabulous luminaries always make an impression & never get overlooked.
10. Heroes, Supporting Cast, Villains
A way to audit your wardrobe. Heroes = your go-to items, often statement pieces. Supporting Cast = the everyday stuff that helps them shine. Villains = the stuff that isn’t serving your current needs and should go.
Nicely dressed to fully self-expressed
11. Image Alignment
When what you wear is fully aligned with who you are and what you stand for. No more disconnects—just magnetic visibility. It isn’t just about looking good. I genuinely believe that when your wardrobe is in alignment, something shifts. You stand differently. You move differently. You radiate confidence, ease, and that je ne sais quoi that makes people take notice. Not because you’re wearing something loud or attention-seeking—but because your presence is undeniable.
12. Just Nicely Dressed to Fully Self-Expressed
The transformation. You’re not just looking good; you’re owning your identity and showing up with unapologetic authenticity. It’s about showing up as the person you know you are, without hesitation, without playing small, without diluting your presence to fit outdated narratives about ageing, visibility, and personal style.
13. The LISA Method
My signature approach that blends style with soul. It stands for: Liberate, Investigate, Style, Align. A framework for dressing from the inside out. I’m not a personal stylist or an image consultant, my work is so much deeper than that. There isn’t a name for what I do or how I do it. People have always talked about being Lisa’d though. We incorporate the 4 pillars of my Project FAB framework and the mindset shifts that are woven into everything I do.
Shopping is a short term fix
14. Shopping Trap / False Fix / Newness Factor
Buying something shiny and new to feel better—only to regret it later. A short-term ‘fix’ that rarely works. You can spend as much time as you like buying new stuff to fill a hole, to give you a short-lived dopamine hit with the newness factor of wearing something for the first time. Both you and I know that the novelty will soon wear off.
15. Style-gasm / Happy Dance
That rush of YES when an outfit just works. You feel it in your body. You might even do a little happy dance twirl in the mirror.
16. Style Recipe / YOU-niform
Your personal formula for looking good and feeling fab every day. There’s a reason why Steve Jobs always wore the same thing and why Angela Merkle has the same jacket in all the colours...it makes getting dressed easier. I’m not suggesting you go to those extremes but when you have your signature style recipe nailed aka your “YOUniform” it gives you confidence because you know that you have a unique formula to work with.
17. Style Sleepers
Possible hidden gems in your wardrobe that haven’t been worn in ages. Are they out of style, the wrong fit, or do they no longer match your current identity? Were they victims of a style rut, or maybe just overlooked?
How's your wardrobe serving you?
18. Style Strategy
A thoughtful plan for curating a wardrobe that works for you—your life, your business, your vibe. I work with individuals, to create and develop their own bespoke package, one size does not fit all. There is no set ‘cookie cutter’ formula, we are all unique and I help my clients to create their own authentic style. The sessions start at just £99.
19. Wardrobe Winners
The items you wear on repeat because they tick all your boxes and make you feel fabulous.
20. WTF Syndrome (Wardrobe That’s Failing)
Very early on in my business I determined the main symptoms that my clients had were all around how they FELT around the items in their wardrobes.
I christened WTF Syndrome – Wardrobe That’s Failing...sufferers might have one or more of the symptoms:
✔Always wear the same old things despite a wardrobe full of clothes
✔Avoid social occasions because you don’t have anything to wear
✔Bought items ‘that will do’ and you don’t really love
✔Bought items at the supermarket just because it’s convenient
✔Bought items just because they fit
✔Bought random items of clothing that don’t go with anything
✔Dread shopping for clothes because you don’t know where to shop any more
✔Feel like you’ve lost your style mojo
✔Feel self-conscious trying something new
✔Feel stuck in a rut with your clothes
✔Feel too old to follow fashion but still want to look on trend
✔Feel young at heart but don’t see it in the mirror
✔Have a wardrobe full of clothes but ‘nothing’ to wear
✔Have kids that are getting a bit older and want to get your own identity back
✔Have lots of similar items in your wardrobe because it’s what you know
✔Don’t enjoy clothes shopping
✔Don’t have much time to spend on getting ready every day
✔Don’t know what suits you any more
✔Not liked what looks back out of the mirror
✔Stick to slimming black because it’s easy
✔Think you can only look stylish if you are tall and slim
✔Want to look on trend but worried about looking like mutton dressed as lamb
✔Worried about dressing too old and looking like your mother
WTF Syndrome can steal your confidence and stop you from doing things. That familiar cry of “I’ve got nothing to wear!”—despite having a full wardrobe. The struggle is real, but it’s fixable. You know where I am.
Keep Shining!
PS My tried and tested SUPER SAVVY STYLE self paced online course is on special offer at the moment - it’s usually £197 but now only £97 - save over 50% until midnight 4 April 2025.
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