I often get asked why I’m, “so overdressed”. Admittedly, that questioning used to make me feel self conscious and silly — like I needed to turn around, walk right out the door, and crawl into a hole. I would immediately want to turn invisible because if someone felt the need to voice it… surely everyone else is thinking it too. And if everyone’s thinking it too — I don’t belong.
I don’t feel that way anymore.
It’s no secret that my relationship with clothes is a deep one. Growing up, I found it to be the greatest tool of expression — and of course, still do. My style is an extension of who I am.
When you walk into a room and don’t know a soul, what is one of the first things people are going to see? Say that they’ve never met you, they don’t know your name, what you do, etc.
Who are you? Who are you showing up as?
The beautiful thing about this concept, for me, is that the answer can change as many times as you’d like.
On photoshoot days, you’ll often find me in overalls with my Sambas and a hat of some sort. On others, I choose to take the suit and a tie off the hangers and throw on a pair of heels. And let’s not forget about the all denim days.
Last year, not too long after I’d bought my “baggy pants” as many would refer to them as, I had multiple different people — frequently strangers — tell me how much they disliked my pants and how unflattering they were on me.
Fair. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion I guess, right?
3 years ago, comments like that would’ve killed me. As an individual with a love of connection and still trying to find my place in this vast world — a mere comment like that, to me, signifies disapproval. Like if I wanted to be accepted, I better change my pants quick.
Instead, I met their opinions with a smile and told them that if they hated them so much, I guess it was a good thing I was wearing the pants and not them…
I still wear the pants — often, actually. Even after the public disapproval, they’re my favorite pairs to be quite frank.
Instead of letting these opinions destroy the pillar of self confidence I have worked years on building (and still am…), I would rather leave you with this —
“The best part of being authentic is that there is no image to maintain. You will delight some and disturb others, and none of it will concern the truth of your being.”
Although I think this thought fits into far deeper aspects of life, it’s still applicable here.
For me, pursuing this industry was never about buying the cutest tshirt on the rack because I felt like it. If I had a nickel for every time someone responded to — “I went to fashion school” with “Oh, so you like shopping?” — I’d be a millionaire.
Whether you care about fashion or you don’t, there’s no denying that what we decorate our figures with every day has an impact on our mind and confidence. That’s always fascinated me — which is what has carried me here to this very moment with you.
As a stylist, people typically ask what I want them to wear. But it’s not that simple for me. My job isn’t and has never been to dress you exactly how I want or would dress myself… Then we’d just have a bunch of Ranaits running around and for everyone’s sake, I think one is enough!
For me, the styling process is about finding who YOU are and how YOU want to be expressed — finding which pieces make your inner light shine. It’s about choosing the things that make you feel like when you’re walking down the street, you can stand tall and smile at passersby rather than forcing your gaze to the ground out of fear of being seen.
I want to help style you to be YOU! Not me. Not someone else. You — because you’re the only one we’ve got.
