Feel powerful + comfortable through what you wear With Marisol Colette

Get to KNOW Marisol: Asheville Book Featuree

Marisol Colette is a Personal Stylist and Psychotherapist who has married her expertise in fashion and personal identity with her decade-plus long career working and teaching in the field of trauma healing. Marisol engages clients from the heart, helping them refine their image to create life-changing results.  

Marisol is the FIRST woman to hold her title in her industry – in fact, she made it up! Fashion Consulting meets Therapy. Now, she has a thriving business as a Therapeutic Image Consultant a.k.a Fashion Therapist!

Marisol believes that feeling comfortable and powerful in what you wear leads to feeling comfortable and powerful in everything you do. In one-on-one and group programs, clients find their authentic personal style through writing, personal sessions, closet transformations and therapeutic shopping outings.  

By looking and feeling good, clients gain the courage to shine their inner beauty on the outside, showing up in the world in new and notable ways. Marisol’s background as a therapist allows her to bring a level of consciousness that is not incorporated in traditional styling, ultimately helping align your style to your soul. 

KNOW Book + Tribe: Share a blip of your story! How did you earn that title?

I have always had an affinity and an eye for style. And as a trained mental health counselor, I have helped people recognize the best in themselves for many years working in agency jobs and in private practice. When I started as The Fashion Therapist, I began by helping my friends find their personal styles, for fun and for free. They would report feeling transformed at a deeper level than just being told “what to wear” or “what not to wear.” They described working with me felt like they were being invited to find a part of themselves that had been lost or buried in societal expectations and norms. That is when I realized that marrying my expertise in fashion and personal style with my years as a therapist was a perfect combination for helping my clients flourish with a personal style that not only looked good, but made them feel good too. My clients know that what we wear and how we wear it is a powerful outlet for self-expression. It’s more than just a fashion statement; it’s a reflection of ourselves. When we feel comfortable and powerful in what we wear, we feel comfortable and powerful in everything we do.

What have you learned along the way?

That opening the door to personal transformation, growth and self-love through the lens of personal style is such a fun and easy entry point. I have always taken a gentle, loving approach in my work as a therapist. This is no different. I find that great changes to how we think about ourselves, what we believe about how we look and our self worth come from the world of style and fashion. It’s an industry that has done a lot to make people feel less than worthy. Reclaiming our beauty through unique and individualized personal style can absolutely change your life! I love how much fun this work is while having such a deep impact on my client’s lives.

How has this contributed to your career and success?

My clients are excited to find a personal style that doesn’t necessarily fit into society’s expectations. They finally feel like there is space for them to play with style and fashion in a way that is uplifting versus feeling bad about themselves as they struggle to fit into a box. Everyone has the right to not only look good, but feel good too. And when my clients come to me, they know their ready to make big changes in their lives and align their styles to their souls.

Success is such an extensive term, how do you define it for yourself?

Being from the world of therapy and mental health, I feel so much joy from hearing the great impact a style transformation has had on my client’s lives. I want more people to feel confident to go out in the world and do their amazing work. I know that how we show up, physically, determines how self-assured we are. So my success is found in the great work of my clients. Also, having created this business from the ground up, it has taken time to help people understand the value in investing in themselves in this way and to convince people that fashion and personal style are more than just vain expression of oneself, but a deep expression of confidence, alignment and self-love.

What’s one piece of advice you’d share to females trying to do the uncommon and become firsts in their field through awards, entrepreneurial journeys, etc.?

STAY THE COURSE. Pray and meditate OFTEN. It’s easy, in the early stages of building and uncommon business, to overanalyze your successes and failures on a daily basis. But each day, week, month and year, I come back to prayer and mediation which lead me right back to a clear understanding of what I do and why I do it. It also helps me to know when I need to pivot. My first idea is not always the best idea, but it always leads me to the next best and right thing. Take care of yourselves in the process and allow yourself space from your work to remember who you are and what you love about yourself.

What does honoring women mean to you and how can we continue to strive towards acknowledging more women and the work they are doing?

Taking time to celebrate women is the greatest gift we can give. It moves us from this historical place where women were catty, competitive and afraid of one another to a place where there is room for all of our time, talent and treasures. In my newsletter, I have a section called, “Things I’m Loving These Days,” where I highlight a woman-owned business I want my clients and followers to check out. It’s a simple act that leads to shared growth and celebration. I also make it a point to buy from women-owned businesses as often as possible. Support your ladies!

 

Stay in the KNOW with Marisol by connecting with her at:

Email: marisol@solreflection.com 

FB & IG: @solreflection 

 You can also find Marisol on page 46 of Asheville of Vol. 1!