California (San Diego)
Debbie Roes brings a unique background to her work as a wardrobe stylist. She combines a lifelong passion for clothing and shopping with her education in psychology and personal coaching to offer her clients knowledge, compassion, and perspective. Her mission as a wardrobe stylist is to help women increase their confidence, improve their body image, and enhance their personal and professional image – all through the magic of clothing!
Debbie’s Philosophy and Approach
Debbie’s work with clients focuses on helping them to embrace the body they have, not the body they once had or the body they hope to have one day. Debbie believes that all women are beautiful (and all men are handsome!) in their own unique way and that clothing can serve to enhance that beauty. Clothing can also help us to express our creativity and project a positive image to the outside world. First impressions count, so Debbie works with her clients to make sure that the image they are projecting resonates with who they are and how they want to be perceived.
Getting dressed can and should be fun! It’s not about keeping up with all of the current trends, although incorporating trends here and there can help keep a wardrobe fresh and interesting. The important thing is to cultivate a personal style that will have you feeling energetic, confident, and beautiful! It IS possible for all of us to feel beautiful in our clothes, whether we are a size 2 or a size 22.
Debbie specializes in working with women over 40, as she fully understands the challenges inherent in mid-life: changing bodies, changing roles, and changing wants and needs. It is often a time of many transitions and our wardrobes need to transition along with the rest of our lives. Mid-life is not a time to hide or shroud ourselves in head-to-toe black. It is a time to celebrate who we are, what we’ve accomplished, and what we’ve learned. Clothing can play an important role in defining who we want to be and where we want to go in the second half of our lives. We can be just as beautiful, sexy, and vibrant in our forties, fifties, or sixties as we were in our twenties – and perhaps even more so!
It is usually not necessary to completely overhaul a person’s wardrobe, but it can be liberating to let go of those pieces which no longer suit one’s body, age, lifestyle, or personal sense of style. Releasing the old, tired pieces can often unleash the possibility in a closet. Debbie helps her clients to add select pieces which will increase the available outfit combinations and push a wardrobe into the modern era. We play with the power of accessories, too. The right pair of shoes, a statement necklace, a scarf, or some great earrings can really add oomph and excitement to a basic outfit.
Great style can be found at all price points! Debbie can help you find fabulous pieces at a high-end department store, a trendy boutique, a discount outlet, or a local consignment or thrift store. Beautiful pieces are available in all of these places and no one need know where we found the hidden treasures! Shopping is always done with a client’s budgetary constraints, lifestyle needs, and style aesthetics in mind.
Through the entire process, Debbie offers her knowledge, expertise, witty sense of humor, positive attitude, and compassionate presence. She views the wardrobe styling process as a collaboration between the stylist and client and uses her coaching and counseling skills to help the client discover and express her own personal sense of style.
Debbie’s Background and Experience
From a young age, Debbie always loved clothes and continually embraced the opportunity to create colorful and eclectic outfits to wear. However, her long struggle with eating disorders from her teens through her thirties led to extreme body image and self-confidence issues which interfered with her ability to enjoy fashion and clothing. For many years, she used clothes more as a way to hide her body than as a means for expressing her creativity and personal style.
As Debbie was approaching 40, she wanted to evolve her quirky way of dressing into a more sophisticated, mature, and classy style. It was at that time that she discovered the television show “What Not to Wear.” The successful makeovers highlighted on this show gave Debbie hope that she could find a way to dress which would flatter her unique figure and allow her to feel attractive and confident.
Thus began a lengthy period of self-exploration and reading everything she could find on style, fashion, and body image. After Debbie transformed her own wardrobe and style, she started applying her knowledge to help key people in her life, including friends and family members. After receiving a lot of positive feedback from her first unofficial clients, Debbie decided to make a career change and become a wardrobe stylist.
Debbie Roes holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology, as well as a Life Coaching certification. In her work as a professional coach, she helped clients with such diverse issues as weight loss, career transition, dating and relationships, and business growth. Debbie also worked in the high tech industry for a number of years as a program manager, web developer, and writer/editor.
To learn more about Debbie Roes, please visit her personal website at www.debbieroes.com.