We were lucky to catch up with Julie Vogel recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s talk about innovation. What’s the most innovative thing you’ve done in your career?

As a native New Yorker I began my career as an image consultant for female executives and entrepreneurs. Relocating to LA in the late 90’s I became a celebrity stylist, dressing the most powerful women in Hollywood. Wardrobe styling is both an honor and privilege, an intimate exchange where deep trust is vital towards ensuring my work instills confidence in the clients I dress. Over the past 30 + years women have invited me into their closets and I’ve noticed universal truths that we collectively experience. Whether I am adding finishing touches to a celebrity gown fitting, helping a postpartum Mom reinvent her style or outfitting a CEO for her next Pitch Deck presentation, the underpinnings and inner dialogues of female hearts and minds are pretty much all the same.

I remember a time when I was styling a famous model/actress and while in the dressing room she told me she felt ‘hippy’ and that she wanted to lose weight. I stared back at this 5’9″ size 2 gorgeous human being with limbs as long as a giraffes in disbelief and my inner dialogue went something like this: ‘if she thinks her body is unacceptable, we are all pretty much Fuc&ed’. I was astonished, yet I understood because I too had a history of body dysmorphia and spent most of my 20’s and 30’s starving myself down to a size 0 while still thinking I was ‘fat’. This distortion of self image effects 60 percent of the female population and goes way beyond our appearance or a number on the scale. Over the years many women have shared with me stories of addiction, eating disorders, anxiety, trauma, depression, domestic abuse, sexual assault, imposter syndrome and much more. I have a front row seat into their lives. What I have witnessed is that despite fame, money, success, red carpets, being pulled together and perfectly coiffed on the outside, many women are feeling invisible, unheard, unseen and unfulfilled, estranged and disconnected from themselves and others. Women are hungering for a deeper and truer runway on which to walk.

Social media and media in general have only added to these unrealistic standards. In my opinion, the projection of highlight reels and utopian landscapes aiming to depict flawless lives lack honesty are actually making women and young girls unwell.

Last year I was approached by a television network to become a host for a recurring fashion broadcast. I was given creative license to create a show geared towards midlife women. It was at that moment BEHIND THE MIRROR, the makeover show with depth was born. Each month I share style makeovers along with real talk and real women on subjects that may not always heard or seen on national TV. Sharing honest vulnerable topics it is my aim is to connect women and help them create lives of authentic beauty and joy.

Julie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

The 3 pillars of my business are Fashion Styling, Self Empowerment & Manifestation. I offer comprehensive coaching for women in all areas of their lives.

-I support women in building confidence through wardrobe creating their true signature style.

– Like it or not we live in a visual world of first impressions and how we present makes a difference whether we are in a job interview, on a first date or performing at a gig. We all have a magnetic frequency and is often reflected through our appearance and shows up through our self image.

– How we look effects how we feel. I call this ‘Dopamine Dressing’ and it is the easiest way to shift into a positive mood and feel your best each and every day.

-I offer bespoke coaching sessions designed with comprehensive make-overs including but not limited to: Appearance, Career, Health, Hobbies, Relationships and Spirituality.

– The majority of my clients are women in midlife 40- 60 years old (and above) who are reinventing & rediscovering themselves in order to live authentic abundant & joyful lives.

– I believe every woman should have ‘Access to Fabulous’ that is why I have curated a digitized Amazon Storefront showcasing the most affordable fashions and outfit formulas. My social media channels are built to offer ‘Luxury for Less Fashion’ as I call it where I share budget friendly items & daily style tips from the top retailers Target, Tj Maxx, Marshalls, ZARA and more. I offer personal anecdotes, client success stories, latest fashion trends, encouragement, business strategies and more to empower my community.

– My goal is to help women experience their magnificence at every stage of life. I am here to dispel limiting beliefs & myths about aging, body types, what is appropriate dressing etc. I will help you look and feel your best no matter your age, no matter your size.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In 2014 I was getting divorced. I had spent the prior decade juggling motherhood, career, marriage and my own personal journey healing from childhood trauma and abuse. I am a survivor and knew despite the fact that my life felt in shambles, I had no other choice but to push forward through the dark hallway in pursuit of a better future. I remember sitting in my therapists office thinking ‘my life was over’ and ‘I was done for’. Sobbing for weeks on my analysts couch I had no idea how I would make it or what would become of my life. My identity and all that I had built was gone. My kids were grown and on their own, my promising career in fashion was put on a back burner in order to prioritize my family and my marriage had failed. I was that midlife cliche; a divorcee empty nester living in a very small one bedroom nest. I made the choice to leave with merely the designer clothes in my closet and on my back. California state law states a spouse is entitled to half of ‘everything’ and a lifetime of financial support if a couple is married for a minimum of 10 years. I left my husband after 9 years and 4 months because in all honesty I could not withstand one more day living with a man who was abusive. My mental and physical well being were more important than any financial assets would ever be. I trusted God, packed my bags and never looked back. (And yes I did learn the art of reselling my 4 carat diamond engagement ring along with much of my high end clothing items and designer handbags in order to make my rent)

I was sharing my jobless woes with a girlfriend when she suggested I join Linkedin. At first I thought she was referring to an online dating site until she grabbed my cell phone and proceeded to create a business profile. My 18 year old daughter who was across the country attending University was who previously cut and pasted my emails along with showing me how to navigate my Iphone. Needless to say I was technically challenged and not accustomed to the world of Apps and digital communications. The following day I got an ‘alert’ and miraculously figured how to retrieve the incoming message that was sent from a recruiter looking to hire for an LA Business Development role with a trendy start up company in the Luxury Handbag Resale space. I was unfamiliar with Start Ups however I believed this was a brilliant idea knowing firsthand that bags are the equivalent to crack cocaine for women and we are constantly in need of our next fix. The following week I had a Facetime meeting with the CEO and within 24 hours, beating out several hundred millennials, I was offered the job. What I lacked in tech skills I more than made up with my first impression interview along with a client list of some of the wealthiest women in NY and LA.

I became part of the initial 15 member team @rebagoffical who launched what is now one of the most successful worldwide digital and brick- and-mortar retail platforms buying and selling handbags, accessories, watches, fine jewelry, shoes and apparel. I was also the only 50 something year old to work amongst a group of millennials with zero tech skills becoming the Director of VIP Services who sourced several millions of dollars in merchandise each year. As the company scaled, this midlife single mother of two, leveled up and learned about software, KPI’s, ROI’s, Gross Margins and Venture Capital Funding.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have spent a significant portion of my career making other people and institutions a lot of money. From the early days when I was a top producing personal shopper in Beverly Hills to my 5 years launching and growing a successful Start Up. By Jan 2020 @rebagofficial had a flourishing online presence along with retail locations in NYC, LA, Miami and SF. I had been worked tirelessly seven days a week without taking vacations and began to experience burnout. Per doctors orders it was recommended I take a break. I am a type A hustler/over achiever who never takes days off. However, at this point we were in the midst of a worldwide pandemic and with that added stress I adhered to my physician and actually listened to my body. I was running on fumes and had no idea how depleted I had become. I remember feeling guilty when I filled out the disability forms. I was anxious at the prospect of having no structured time or regular schedule. It did not take long before I started to feel human again. I spent my days sleeping late, I started painting again, nourished my body, took pilates, spent time with friends and began to heal. It was a time of deep reflection and epiphanies. I didn’t know it back then but my life was about to shift trajectories. It became clear that I wanted to be my own boss and the corporate world was no longer going to cut it for me. I had a soul fire calling to help and empower women not only with style but in all areas of their lives. I hired a team of business/life coaches and became crystal clear on what I wanted to manifest. Thus began a deep dive into creating a life of choice rather than acquiescing to life’s circumstances. No longer interested in a hive mind mentality, I trusted my creative instincts and became an entrepreneur. It was a bold move at the age of 59 yet I trusted God and my instincts to carry me through.

I believe we all have personal truths inside of us and glimmers of profound purpose for our lives that is meant to be fulfilling. Social norms would suggest we continue to work at a pace beyond our capacity or stay at jobs that stifle our souls. As women, many of us are conditioned to believe that we exist simply to nurture and pour into the lives of others- while this in and of itself is a beautiful aspect of womanhood it often stops there and we somehow feel that is our sole identity and we must stay within its boundaries. We begin to think the best days are behind us and that somehow we lose our curiosity, vitality and zest after a certain age. Many women give up and stop caring about what they wear, how they look and disown their feminine sensual (and dare I say sexual ) nature. Women of a certain age in my opinion, are the most powerful untapped resource on the planet.

I am 63 years years old. Looking back a decade ago I believed my life was over. I can honestly say I have lived a more self expressed life within the last 10 years than I had in the previous 50. Lastly, I can tell you that I am just getting started.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @julievogelstyling
• Other: Tik Tok @julieelizavogel