We were lucky to catch up with KC Sullivan recently and have shared our conversation below.
KC, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard
Fashion is powerful. There is a reason there’s the phrase “Look good, feel good.”
In the industry of personal fashion styling, all stylist help their clients with building a level of confidence around their self-image by utilizing clothing as a tool.
But within my work over the years I felt like that wasn’t enough. Clothing was a great tool that unfortunately was only a bandaid to a much deeper struggle for so many.
A struggle that gets pushed down over time into the fibers of our identity and creates how we see ourselves in the mirror.
Sometimes those struggles are caused by a classmate teasing you on the playground, or your mom poking your belly and telling you you’re getting fat in the dressing room when you’re 11 years old, or sometimes it’s a health scare and surviving a double mastectomy thus feeling like you lost your identity as a woman.
No matter how big or small those nagging insecurities we carry around are, they affect our self-image daily. And on average, 80% of a woman’s confidence comes from her self-image. So I started to ask the question, what happens long-term if we don’t address the inner insecurity before we address the wardrobe?
Because of the personal journey, I’ve had, and the journey many of my clients have walked through I have come to understand how vital personal confidence is, thus creating “Curating Confidence,” where I offer client experiences that go deeper than just the closet. We start with a deep dive on coaching around the inner struggle to reframe your belief and confidence about yourself and then we curate the wardrobe to match your authentic shine; allowing you to have the ultimate glow-up from the inside out.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Like most of us, you want to look in the mirror and feel flippin’ beautiful every day.
But instead, you:
Feel discouraged with yourself (for any number of reasons).
Find yourself every morning in your overstuffed closet, but still “have nothing to wear.”
Feel embarrassed when you see yourself in a photo because you think you’ll never look as good as everyone else.
Had a thing called life happen and your body’s gone through changes you don’t know how to dress for.
Or maybe you made a career shift during Covid, and you’re struggling to adapt your wardrobe to match.
M’dear, don’t feel bad, you’re not alone. I used to stay awake at night with those struggles too and it’s why I’m so passionate about what I do at Curating Confidence.
Today, I’m an confidence curator, an expert wardrobe educator, shopping enthusiast, and genuine encourager committed to helping you love what you see in the mirror. I’m here to serve, guide, and empower you on your own journey to authentic confidence and personal style through the unique experiences I offer clients.
The full scoop on how I went from hiding from the mirror to feeling fully empowered and confident is a lengthy tale I’ll share some time, but here’s the abridged version.
This story has three parts to it. my natural personality, a hidden accessory called “life struggle”, and a messy bow to tie it all together called technical training, education, and work experience.
My personality is equal parts artist and connector. I love all things creative (especially fashion) and I love connecting with people. The life struggle part, an almost 20 year battle with weight, body image issues, and terrible self-confidence, coupled with over 15 years of experience in fields such as :
-Modeling
-Fashion Design
-Styling specialty runway shows for events like the Oscars
-Working freelance wardrobe on sets like The Disney Channel
-Visual merchandising at Versace
– Rehabilitation Services
-Event planning for nonprofits
-Teaching
-And a whole lot more randomness
I tell you all this as proof that life is ever-evolving and it’s normal and ok that our bodies are ever-changing also.
I wholeheartedly believe your body, no matter the stage you’re in, is always worthy of love and a great outfit that inspires confidence.
With the technical training I’ve had, the many job titles I’ve held, the darkest depths of my personal struggle with confidence, and the countless lessons learned with each of my precious clients, I continue to learn and expand my own skills and transform my idea of what it means to be confident in my own skin and how to help you achieve it too!
My work is about helping usher you into a feeling of daily confidence in yourself. Curating Confidence is built on a foundation of kindness and love to all, a passion for all things fashion and style, an obsession with building your self-confidence and love, and a commitment to teaching you how to conquer your insecurities from the inside out through the power of your mind and wardrobe.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
I fought the idea of my business for a long time because to get it to where it is today meant I had to publicly own my very messy and at times painful journey with lack of confidence and weight struggles to name a few. I had to let go of my ego and own my ability to lovingly guide someone else through their pain.
I started in the fashion industry by way of modeling then moved into fashion design and wardrobe styling. My budding career came to a jolting “end” when I had some unexpected medical struggles. One of the many side-effects to my health collapse was 100 lbs of weight gain in 9 months. To say the least, I quickly began to grapple with my self-worth. I couldn’t imagine having value to add to anything at this time. My career, my relationships, and everything else were affected by absolute disgust and self-loathing in the mirror.
Over the years as I worked on recouping my health, I started to find myself again little by little. At first, by utilizing the one tool I could control, my wardrobe. Then I started my journey into the rehabilitation and non-profit space, Unknowingly adding to my skill set to serve within my business now.
I was working as an event planner for a non-profit in Texas when a friend asked for a favor. She had a friend that was struggling to find a formal dress for a special event and wanted me to help her shop. I really didn’t want to, but I reluctantly said yes anyway.
Turns out, this friend was a breast cancer survivor and after her double mastectomy was struggling with her self-image. I knew that pain. I knew the pain of seeing yourself in the mirror and feeling totally unrecognizable to yourself. The pain of feeling unworthy and unlovable because you didn’t think you were “enough.”
During one afternoon of shopping, we found her dress, her shoes, and her accessories. It was the moment in the dressing room when she tried it all on and looked in the mirror and her entire body shifted, her face lit up and she said “I FEEL BEAUTIFUL.” I will never forget the power of that moment.
Turns out, I needed her, probably more than she needed me. That moment is the moment I started this business for. The opportunity to help foster that moment for others that too so desperately need to find their self-worth in the mirror again. No matter their story.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I guarantee everyone has a story of resilience if they think about it, No one gets through life untouched by struggle. I am not special in that regard, but I share this story in the hope to inspire someone in the midst of a struggle right now to keep persevering. To keep putting one foot in front of the other no matter how slow their pace. You got this!
I had unofficially been doing personal styling and confidence coaching for individuals for 6 years when I decided it was time to turn my side-hustle into an official business. In January of 2020, I took the leap of leaving my salaried position to launch Curating Confidence, a personal styling business. By the end of March 2020, nobody was leaving their house let alone getting dressed for anything!
My new business calendar was empty, my inbox was empty, my phone line….crickets. And I had zero clue how to even begin marketing in normal times let alone during a freaking pandemic.
After a moment of panic, followed by a moment of self-pity, I made a decision. There is no Plan B…this mission is more important than my embarrassment if I fail.
I found a mentor (or several actually), I hired a coach, I tried new ideas and if they didn’t work I tried something else. I slowed down and listened to myself. I asked my previous clients for lots of feedback, I tweaked things accordingly. I asked people I thought would be ideal clients questions on what they thought they needed. I tweaked things accordingly. I learned how to offer my services virually. I got comfortable with being uncomfortable and trying anyway.
And slow and steady the heart-beat of Curating Confidence goes on. I continue to hone my services, to niche down my audience. To serve with heart before anything else and it has been coming together,
With gratitude, I can say my business is growing and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.curatingconfidence.com
- Instagram: curating_confidence
- Facebook: curatingconfidence
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/curatingconfidence/
- Other: Google: curating confidence
Image Credits
Photo Credits: Katie Johnson Jerry King Cody Perez MUA Credits: Peggy Haynes Rhianon Whitney Hair Credit: Hannah Deahl