The Everyday Icon Style Podcast

Episode 193: When Your Closet No Longer Fits Who You’re Becoming

• Tiffany Howard

Share episode

Ever open your closet and feel a quiet no? Not because it’s messy, but because what’s hanging there belongs to a past version of you. I’ll unpack why that discomfort is a powerful signal from your intuition and how aligning your wardrobe with your identity can transform how you lead, communicate, and move through your day.

Instead of new hangers or a custom system, we look at the deeper question: who is your closet arranged for? You’ll learn how to audit pieces through the lens of authority, decide what to release without guilt, and build a tight foundation that supports you..

At the heart of this conversation is self-trust. When you stop borrowing aesthetics and start honoring your own, dressing becomes simple, joyful, and unmistakably you. Confidence rises because your wardrobe stops arguing with your future. Expect a clear path from confusion to coherence: edit old identities, keep what serves, fill the essential gaps, and watch how your energy shifts in rooms that matter.

Virtual Closet Edit VIP Day: https://stan.store/StyledbyTiffanyO




SPEAKER_00:

This is the Everyday Icon Style Podcast, the space for style-conscious, career-driven women who are ready to look like the next level version of themselves. Each episode helps you build a wardrobe that reflects not only your executive presence, but your real life. With a little bit of guidance, intentional edits, and no full-blown transformation required. Let's elevate your style and your authenticity one outfit at a time. I'm Tiffany, your style coach. Let's get started. You know the feeling when you open your closet and something just feels off? Not because it's cluttered or disorganized, but more so because when you look at those hangers in the clothes, you just don't see you anymore. And the weight that you're actually feeling, that's not about needing better storage solutions or a color-coded system. That's what we're taught to believe. But it's actually misalignment. And it's one of the most powerful signals and signs that your intuition can send to you and is probably sending to you right now that you've outgrown an identity, not just a wardrobe. And it's actually about creating a foundation, it's about the identity you're stepping into and the authority that you are finally going to claim. And today I'm going to talk about what it really means when your wardrobe no longer resonates with who you're becoming. So let's talk about what I feel is a misdiagnosis. We think it's disorganization, but in reality it's identity versus disorganization. Have you ever looked in your closet and you're like, my closet is a mess? I need to get organized. I need a system. And yes, organization can help, but it's not the root issue and it's not the root cause. Because what I've seen time and time again, and even especially in my own personal life, before I started editing my closet the way that I do, the real problem isn't how your closet is arranged. It's who your closet is arranged for. Let me repeat that one more time. It's not about how your closet is arranged, but it's who your closet was arranged for. It's being arranged for an old version. Because most style overwhelms don't come from having too few pieces or too many pieces. It actually comes from having pieces that represent versions of yourself you've already evolved past because they're all still living in your closet, all 50-11 of them, and they're actually suffocating the version of you that you're trying to and that you need to step into. And they're evolved past the woman who played it safe, the woman who dressed in dressed to blend in rather than to stand out. The one who prioritized being liked over being respected. Those versions, along with other versions of yourself, are clogging up your closet space. Now, when you feel this resistance, you'll feel it every single day. This is where the overwhelm and the decision fatigue and all of that come from. But it's actually your intuition is telling you something crucial. That the woman you're becoming cannot be found in this space at all anymore. She's not there. You haven't even invited her in. And no amount of reorganizing is going to change that. My closet is as edited as can be. But you can't even do that because you have to make space and you have to get rid of old identities. So this is where my closet first strategy comes to play and why it's important. Because our wardrobes, they're not a vanity project. They're actually a manifestation of your identity and who you are. And the new version of you has to be allowed to come in and curate that. And she can't do that with all the other 50-11 versions of you in there. And when there's a gap between who you are now and what's hanging in front of you, you'll feel it in your confidence, your presence, even your decision making, because that's probably why you only wear like the same, I don't know, five or six outfits that you pull from every day. And you feel it in how you show up in meetings, how you present yourself to clients, or when you're out having a great time with friends. And even in how you carry yourself into rooms, even as something as walking down the hall or getting out of the car or walking down the steps, you just feel it. And you feel that there's a shift or something's off, even in your confidence in your own energy. So if you think, or if you've been trying to fix your closet with better hangers or more storage, or here's one that you probably don't realize, I'm gonna call someone and gonna make me a custom closet the way I like it. Uh-uh. That ain't gonna work. Because this is what I want you to consider. The issue is not the system, it's the identity your closet is still holding on to. And no matter what you do, to how to fix it, how to put a band-aid on it, it's always gonna show up every time you open up your closet. It's gonna hit you every morning because why? Your closet is a mirror, it is a reflection of who you are. And your closet is the most honest mirror that you have. And you have to go in this closet every single day. This isn't a mirror that's on a wall where you can like run past or walk past really fast or ignore it all together. No, you have to go in here every single day. Your closets, your drawers, everything in between. It reflects not just your taste, but it also reflects your growth and your transitions and your willingness or resistance to step into the next level version of yourself. You just ignore it. It's like, oh, you know what? I'm just gonna throw this out, I'm just gonna go buy something else, but you're always gonna run into that same resistance and that same play over and over again. So I want you to ask yourself something and really think about it. What are you still holding on to that doesn't resist that doesn't represent your next level? Are there pieces you wore when you were building credibility instead of wielding it? Is it the wardrobe of the version of you you're still trying to fit to fit in? Is it the safe choices you made when you didn't yet trust your own authority or yourself? I want to stop here really quick. Sometimes, most of the time, we don't trust ourselves, and that's why we're hesitant about moving into the next version of who we are. That is why we are not building the style that we want to, because we don't trust ourselves, and somewhere along the way, we lost that trust or we get wanted to give it over to someone else. But you have to begin to trust yourself again, and this is the best way to do it, is through your closet because the style that you see that's in on a Pinterest board or in your Instagram saves, somewhere in there, your style is there, but you're afraid, and you don't trust yourself enough, and you don't trust her yet to make that happen and to bring it to life. Because every time and every item in your closet, it's either supporting your evolution or it's undermining it. There is no in-between, and many of you are in the in-between. And the one thing that a woman that has and will rise with confidence and clarity is that they understand what their wardrobe has to evolve, that they have to understand that their wardrobe has to evolve with them. And it cannot lag behind them. That is why they're able to show up as the best version of themselves. And this is more of an identity-based transformation than a close or a style-based transformation. Because it's not about following trends or copying someone else's aesthetic. That's boring, that's not you. You're still trying to fit in, you're trying to catch somebody else's vibe, and it's not yours, it makes you feel uncomfortable. But it's about building a wardrobe foundation so aligned with who you are that getting dressed becomes fun, it becomes easy, it becomes something that brings you joy when you're getting dressed and gives you self-love. And every day that you open your closet doors, it becomes an opportunity to step into your power and not second guess it. And that second guessing it goes back to self-trusting yourself. And that is a huge thing that we kind of have to also work on when building our style. You have to trust yourself that it works. So if you feel that something is off in your closet, but you're not sure what it is or you do, and you might be afraid to take that first step of letting go or opening it or even dealing with it, I invite you to take a look at my virtual closet edit VIP Day. And it is designed for a woman just like you. Whether you're in executive spaces or entrepreneurship, and you're actually ready to move from confusion to clarity and move and walk and embrace the next level version of who you are. And guess what? I am there to help and support you with this by letting go of what is anchoring you in the past and begin to identify the foundation pieces that will serve your evolution. Because guess what? You do have some pieces in there that can serve and build the foundation, not your whole style, that builds your foundation that can serve you and help you with this evolution when you're actually ready to create the actual full style. And also creating what I like to call my closet first strategy because here it reflects your authority and love for yourself. Because this is no longer about tips or how-tos or what-to-do's, it's about your personal transformation, and it all starts in your closet. So be sure to click the link in this episode to find out more and to book your sales call today. Because here's what I want you to know something. I want you to know. When your wardrobe evolves with you, and when it becomes a reflection of your power and your love, self-love, everything will shift. Your confidence, your strength, your authority, your leadership, even opportunities will come your way in ways that you couldn't even imagine. Because you have to breathe life into your closet, and that starts by letting things go. Because your closet is not about fabrics and hangers and pretty color combinations and coordinations. It's actually the foundation of how you show up in the world and to yourself, and you deserve one that matches the woman that you are becoming.