Welcome to “The Elegant Edit”
In the past 10 years, I have experienced so many life changes: getting married, my beloved grandma’s passing, finally having a miracle baby after years of prayer and struggle, leaving my pharmaceutical sales career and starting my own businesses. In that same time, I have grown so much and in so many aspects of my life, finally now experiencing a greater sense of peace with who I am, where I am at and who I desire to become.
One of these many aspects is my fashion sense and style. As much as I wish I could redo my teens and most of my twenties: all the stumbles and bruises, as well as mistakes made (as I imagine many do), I understand now that these years were a very necessary part of developing character and maturing into the adults we were meant to become. While photographic evidence speaks for itself, I truly wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self: please don’t do that… for heaven’s sake: please don’t wear that… and most importantly and gently: have faith for none of this will matter later and you will get through this. From the over-plucked eyebrows to the colored contacts, hair colors spanning from blonde to jet black to wearing very short skirts and shorts: I am just so grateful I am no longer that same young and lost girl that I once knew. Respectively and in due time, I am no longer a follower of trends and peer pressure/social media influences, desiring to fit the mold of what I believed others wanted me to be or feeling the need to overcompensate for what I once thought I did not have.
Me (around 2008-2011)
Who I am now is a woman in her thirties who loves to dress well and look put-together and polished every day. I have developed a formula and adopted a style of dress that takes little effort but makes me feel great. I have come to terms with the body God has given me and strive to take care of it. Unabashedly and unapologetically, I will never leave the house wearing sweats or not wearing makeup because while it is not wrong, it is simply not me. From pencil skirts to midi length dresses, feminine blouses to pretty lace, I love it all and feel most confidently myself wearing these styles of clothing. I show less skin now and yet feel more confident and attractive than ever before. I am repeatedly and frequently asked “why are you so dressed up?” or “where are you going?” but I do not mind at all since to me: every day is a good day to dress well.
Mr. Martinez and I during our engagement photo shoot, 2013 (Photo Credit: Palos Studio)
At 7 months pregnant, 2018 (Photo Credit: Diana Barrile)
With my miracle boy, 2019
Me now, 2021
More important than maturing my style, I simply feel better about myself and the woman I am now. I do not feel the desire or need to impress anyone and just feel a sense of calm, grace and peace I had never quite experienced before. I am more intentional about my choices: whether it comes to decisions for my family and household, who I spend time with and how I spend my time to what I buy and what I wish to own.
No one is perfect: we all learn and evolve as we live and experience life’s challenges but the journey becomes easier and simpler when you have a friend to help you out. No matter where you are in your self-discovery, if elegant style confidence is your goal, I can be the one to help you get there. If you are lost in terms of figuring out what style of clothing best flatters your figure, how the right colors will make you glow and look reinvigorated along with what clothing items are timeless and classic while being beautiful and alluring, I can help you uncover and understand it all. When you look great, you can feel amazing and it truly can positively transform so many aspects of your life. It all starts with you and it is your choice to take the leap to make the change that can completely alter your life and how you see yourself, for the better.
Now, I would like to introduce my first mini-course that has been long tucked away in my heart but finally surfaced as a true passion project. I want to help women like me (who strive to look, feel and become more elevated) create, understand and develop an elegant style that withstands time, age and all of life’s chapters and seasons. Welcome to “The Elegant Edit,” the first course developed for my online school: “Clothed in Grace”:
I truly hope you will join me and I cannot wait to see you there.
Love,
Katherine