Charlotte Livingston knows that style is so much more than shopping. In fact, she rolls her eyes at the whole styling formula.
“In the conversations I’ve had with women and hearing their journeys...we all have style. I don’t really want to take women shopping. I don’t want to give a sheet to somebody and say ‘well you’re this or that,’ “ she said.
Not that she hasn’t tried putting her clients in neat little style boxes before – there was a stint as an independent contractor for a styling company in the 80s – and it took a lifetime of breaking out of her own boxes for Charlotte to realize she wasn’t the problem.
Charlotte’s relationship with fashion began after a spinal injury ended her dance career at 16. With no plan B, she enrolled in the Fashion Institute of Canada, finding her calling after graduation, when she helped her neighbour find a dress to attend a wedding.
“She had heart surgery and had this big scar that went down her chest, and she was going overseas for this wedding, it really meant a lot to her. I made her a dress that had a deep V at the back in emerald green and you could see the difference when she put it on, I still have those pictures,” Charlotte said.
Fast forward a few decades and a few careers, Charlotte came back to herself and fashion during the turbulence of menopause and depression.
“I went to the York Region Women’s Center and did a course called ‘Enterprising Careers.’ It was at least 12 women and an incredible facilitator, all looking towards what we want to do –where we’ve come from, where we’re going, and getting feedback from other women who didn’t know me – and I was still extremely depressed, I wasn’t even talking – what they saw in me, Style with Charlotte was born,” she explained.
Breaking out of the you’re too old to dress like that box, despite life changes and mental health, gave Charlotte the insight needed for guiding other women into their personal style, for a time in life that can be defined on their terms.
“I was talking with a woman and she said ‘I’m about to turn 50 and I don’t know what I’m going to do next.’ ...this is often what I’ve heard and very much what I felt in my fifth and sixth decade of my life. There’s this big question of ‘What do I do?’ “ she said.
First, banish the idea of ‘too old.’ “It’s a lie,” Charlotte says flatly. “You’re too old/fat/thin enough for this – whatever ‘this’ is – no. When I first meet my clients I ask ‘What makes you feel good?’‘What do you need?’ It may have nothing to do with style, so I want to see what comes up forthem and we can talk about where the idea of being ‘too old’ came from, and hearing what theyhave to say,” she said.
Next, enjoy the style and pieces you do have.
“Just before COVID, I had a client that was going on a book tour. We went through her closet and she had this fabulous scarf from the Aga Khan Museum that was just so rich, but she’d never worn it. When I put together her looks – and sent her the pictures so she could recreate them herself – she was flabbergasted that she had as many options as she did. I saw the value in the pieces she had, and by styling them I was saying that she has value,” she said.
Finally, try to remember who this process is for.
“Empowerment is realizing your self-worth to yourself – giving yourself the grace to be who youalways were...I always think about growing back into the five-year-old girl. For me, she’s theone who has all the energy and big ideas and feels her power,” Charlotte said.
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