The Basics of Finding and Defining Your Personal Style: An Interview with Clara Sierra
By Johanna Duncan
Growing up, I wore uniforms most of the time. Sometimes for sports and other times for school, but aside from my Sunday best, I rarely had to think twice about what I was putting on. It’s been only in adulthood that I’ve had to stop and think about my outfits, and in this ever-changing life, I’ve had to stop and think it through many times. Every time I’ve had a secret weapon and incredible support system -my mom! I got lucky with a personal stylist as a mom, who started by teaching me that every girl is beautiful and every occasion calls for us to present ourselves our best.
Clara Sierra holds a psychology degree from Ave Maria University, various theology studies, and is a certified personal image consultant (in her previous life, she was a professional traveler). I had the chance to sit down and ask about the tricks and tips that make a good outfit.
For starters, what is personal image supposed to be and how is it connected with the fact that we are first and foremost created as the image and likeness of God?
CS: Our real beauty is based in the fact that we are created in the image of God. An image that is unique, original, and authentic. He created us all good, but different. Recognizing this truth is the base that supports our personal image. Being conscious about it is simply thinking through how to present your body in a coherent way with your essence. This coherence requires a constant exercise to think and rethink who you are and express yourself accordingly. Why re-thinking? Because we are in constant physical, intellectual and spiritual growth and this growth allows us also to develop a personal style that includes not only who we are, but also the codes we have in our culture according to our age, profession, race, social circle, etc…
When you work in your personal image it is important to consider your favorite physical and psychological aspects of yourself and work with them. Do not get trapped in negative thoughts that put you down for not having the characteristics of somebody else. Think about your eyes and the way that you see others, think about your face and the way you smile and listen to others. Work on your emotions and always remember that the smile is an imposing therapy for the skin; it relaxes all the muscles of the face and produces serotonin more known as the happy hormone. This is known as psychological beauty and it is very important when we want to transmit harmony in our face. Then, use makeup that helps potentialize your favorite features and enhances your natural beauty.
Maintain always the search for beauty because it leads us to love our world with spiritual delight. A subjective view of beauty relies on the aesthetic elements to the things that we can modify simply because it is part of our cultural agreements on beauty according to the time and beliefs of these moments. For example, when I was in my teens, hair had to be curly if you wanted to look beautiful by the standards of the day. All girls that had straight hair had to do the perm if they wanted to fit with this social agreement of beauty. We really dried out our hair and somebody made a lot of money out of that trend. Think about the social agreements of beauty that are causing your dissatisfaction only because you do not fit with them. We will always have a constant barrage of beauty prototypes, but it is our personal responsibility to not let them have power over us. Put your effort into working in your personal style rather than achieve a stereotype. Remember that our personal style has to be with our identity, with the things in us that make us special. It is related to knowing who we are, how we think and what is attractive to us.
Could you explain the notion of walking into a room and making an impact without using our words (or before doing so)?
CS: When you are in the search of beauty, the first thing to notice is that you are not anxious to meet the expectations of others. Body posture will be the one to reveal that you are in control of your emotions. Learn tips of posture and practices that will help you to express your confidence. When you decide what to wear, remember to be self-conscious about the social agreements that do not fit with you. In doing so, you will practice and showcase self-respect. You neither hide nor expose your body, you work towards presenting yourself in perfect harmony. You are using the principles of art and design to craft the image that ultimately serves as letters spelling out a clear message of who you are and what your life is about. Taking care of these aspects will help you to be centered on beauty and this is what creates impact when you enter, when you stay and when you get out of the room because you will show you are authentic.
Any advice on how to make the best of fashion fads and tendencies?
CS: Personal image encompasses fashion, trends, silhouette, color, and personal style. We need fashion in order to vibrate with the moment we are living. It is a sign of social renewal and we all need to breathe something new in order to connect with what is going on. Tendencies is what we see in fashion and we have to see it as a proposal, if this works for me I take it, if not just ignore it. Some tendencies may excite you, while others simply don’t work for you, and that is ok, just pass it on. Another thing you have to be careful with tendencies is that you could end up going to a party and find yourself uniformed with somebody else. Unless we are talking about an actual uniform, that should be avoided. Silhouette is the form of your body. You have to learn to dress your body type using the tools of image appropriate for you.
Find where in your body you concentrate more and less volume. Dress the areas of less volume with bright colors, patterns, and textures. Then the areas of more volume should have solid colors and more form fitting cuts. In general terms, this creates symmetry and that’s one of the guidelines for good design and aesthetic.
For color, recognize the natural balance of the skin, eyes and hair color on you. These natural colors are the key to finding your palette color and the right shade for you. Place a piece of fabric with a color you like close to your face and pay attention to whether your eyes seem brighter or dimmer. If they appear brighter, this is the right shade for you. There is no such thing as a color not being for you, it is all about the right shade.
What do you mean when you say “taking beauty seriously”?
CS: It takes time to get to know you deeply in order to make bold decisions about your personal image. It is also about realizing the importance of beauty in our lives. To be serious about beauty is to recognize our femininity as a regenerated power that connects Beauty to the world. It all works in unity with our soul and body to dress according to our inner desire to love and be loved and avoid the distortion of being objects of use. All of this is applied to the tools of image that you learn in our seminar about the basics of image called the 1,2,3 of Taking Beauty Seriously. Then you decide what tools work for you and apply them to create or renew your personal style.
Taking seriously the virtues of beauty enriches your life and facilitates a happy environment.
Any practical tips for our own pursuit for beauty?
CS: Trust in you! Don't allow others to make these important decisions about you. You are the one who knows you the best, and you are the one who looks at the mirror every morning.
Learn, ask for advice and make your own decisions. Encarnita Ortega give us a good advice when she said: “When you are in the pursuit of beauty you understand that femininity and elegance is not mere vanity, nor an ostentation, it also lies in simplicity and in the good use of goods, in the admiration of the quality of others”.
Practice every day a new tip that enhances your beauty, in your soul, in your mind and in your body. Select your readings, and the people that you are following according to the pursuit of beauty. When you practice those you will notice that you achieve a healthier relation with fashion. But how will you notice? First sign is to experience a better relationship with yourself and soon you will begin to receive compliments from others near you. These are signs that you are in the right direction to impact your world.
How can I break my current style habits and try something new without feeling like a fraud or simply not myself?
CS: First thing you have to think about is your authenticity and originality. We don't come to this world as a copy, then why do we intend to be like somebody else? We need to look up to others as references in order to confirm our ideas of what we are looking for and this is right. We also can recognize some similarities in other people and we may relate, but we have to be aware of not trying to be another person because this is the way that brings you very far from you and creates this feeling of unfulfillment within yourself.
Second thing that I recommend is to use the formula CONTEXT + NATURE + YOU. Context connects us with the place where you live in a coherent way that will help you to be assertive in the decisions you need to take in order to buy what you really need. Making a list of your daily activities during the week or month, will help you to identify the amount of clothes and categorize them according to the activities. Do not forget to include bedtime in your list and choose pajamas that help you to feel beautiful and comfortable at the same time.
No matter which part of the world we live in, nature will always be a fountain of inspiration. Nature is always conducted to Beauty because it is in its perfection. Colors, forms, harmony, order always match in its right proportion and if you take time to connect with nature this will give you great inspiration.
At last but not least important, there is you. You are the protagonist of your story and the one that is looking to tell the world through your personal image who you are, your personality, your taste, and preferences, translated through your choice of clothing, colors, accessories and body language.
A good exercise that you can do is take a picture of the nature around you, also the place where you live and a picture of you with your outfit. Make a college with its 3 components and look how they match. Do you like what you see? Are they related? If you create harmony between those -congratulations! You have created a melody that people can listen to without you opening your mouth.
Are there any particular saints who stand out to you for their personal style and sense of fashion?
CS: Since I was a little girl I have been fascinated by the Virgin Mary dressed in her apparitions; La Salette, Fátima, Lourdes… but most of all Guadalupe. She presents herself to the indigenous in a Tilma where they can appreciate her beautiful dress; universe cloak, her tunic the reddish of the earth and embroidered with plants of the region, a red ribbon under her chest, all with a clear and direct message to the heart of each indigenous.
Initially, she doesn’t say a single word, her dress lets them know that she is the Mother of God and also their mother.
This teaches me that the image always has to reveal who we are and what we can say to the world about us. If we don't work to reveal this truth about ourselves, we are distorting the deep truths about femininity to the world.
Another great influencer for me is Encarnita Ortega, a numerary of Opus Dei currently on her way to the altars. She wrote a book in 1993 entitled Fashion. Do you know it in all its dimensions? She wrote:
“I propose in these pages to collect ideas launched by authentic specialists in the field of fashion, or by people who have a clear knowledge of the human being and that they know that their external image is like the mirror of wealth or poverty that exists in the minds and hearts of men. I would like to present fashion, not as something frivolous, which we see passing before our eyes, but as a cultural, economic, moral, artistic reality that reflects the history of the moment and the personality of those who create it and those who adopt it. A great fashion prodigy is asked of him: to adorn the body, but to be able to express the greatness of the soul. Giving it that great dimension is the purpose of each of the lines that make up this work”.
For more, visit Clara’s website: Tomando la Belleza
