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Sandi Mele Blog

Discover practical style tips and strategies, read other women's inspiring style stories, and dig deeper into the "why" of style on the Style Shop blog.

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Why Your Style Matters from a Licensed Professional Counselor

If you’ve ever been curious why the way you LOOK seems to directly impact how you feel about yourself or what you accomplish, you’ll love this interview with my client and dear friend of five years, Natalie Van Note. Natalie is one brilliant lady. She specializes in Post Divorce Counseling, Divorce Coaching, Co-Parent Counseling, and Psychotherapy with people who have hard-to-treat mood and anxiety disorders, not to mention her extensive background as a Child and Family Investigator and PTSD post-deployment treatments with the military (WOW).

Let’s hear what she has to say...

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How to Pull Off a Color You Normally Can't Wear

We all know there’s a right way to wear color and a wrong way to wear color. The wrong color may wash you out, make you look sickly, or drain all the color from your face. The RIGHT color will brighten your complexion, give your skin vibrancy, and bring out the color of your eyes.

But what if you fall in love with a piece of clothing in a color that isn’t flattering against your skin tone? Watch this video to learn how YOU can pull off a color you normally can’t wear (or simply WON’T wear because you feel like a ghost when you do)…

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Why the Number on the Scale Matters

By the end of my first pregnancy, I had gained 35 pounds. It was a healthy number according to my OBGYN, but I hoped I would be one of those people who lost the weight quickly after my son was born. To my surprise, I dropped 30 pounds within the first week of my son being born. But at my 6 week postpardum appointment, my OB voiced a warning. “Many women who drop weight quickly after having a baby can experience issues with their milk supply.” Because I WAS experiencing issues with a low milk supply, I took her advice.

Here’s what happened next…

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How to Create 10 Outfits for Travel Using 8 Pieces

If you’re looking to pack lightly or create a travel capsule for your next trip, the formula I teach in this video will give you an easy framework to use anytime you pack for travel. Whether you’re 20, 50, or 100 years old, you can pack lightly using this formula AND enjoy your brightest and most colorful pieces!

Watch this video to learn how YOU can create a fun capsule for your next trip…

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How to Handle Your Changing Shape and Weight Gain During Pregnancy

It’s crazy to me how pregnancy can draw upon so many emotions all at the same time. I’ve felt pride for growing a healthy baby, insecurity over whether I’ve gained the right amount of weight at the right time, panic at how I’ll ever be able to lose all the weight and feel like me again, and excited anticipation to meet the little person I’ve been sharing this body with over the last several months.

As I reflected upon the journey of growing a tiny human and how it’s caused me to view myself and my appearance differently, I realized there’s 5 tools I’ve used to hold a healthy attitude towards weight gain during pregnancy…

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Create Endless Outfits in Your Closet with THIS Trick

It happens to all of us. Before you know it, Monday hits and it’s time to figure out what to wear to work. Again. You hit the snooze button for an extra ten (ok twenty) minutes and won’t have time to get creative in your closet. But how the heck will you come up with an interesting outfit before your first cup of coffee? When you’ve barely had a chance to wake up? When your face is still puffy from sleeping?

Watch this video to learn one of my FAVORITE ways to outfit my Style Shop Denver clients’ wardrobes when I go to their home for a Closet Shop session…

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Styling Strategies, Get Inspired Sandi Mele Styling Strategies, Get Inspired Sandi Mele

A Professional Denver Organizer Shares Her Secrets on How to Organize Your Closet

In this blog, I’ve partnered with Samantha Tobia, Expert Organizer and Owner of Demessify, to ask the most common questions I get from clients about wardrobe organization. I interviewed her to find out what she recommends most frequently for closet organizational supplies, how to best organize small closets, and the challenges she addresses most often with clients who hire her to set up a longterm solution in their wardrobe.

Click here to get all her best advice for organizing YOUR wardrobe…

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Five Ways to Style Your Ankle Booties

You’ve seen them everywhere. Booties in colors, patterns, and neutrals ranging from a short heel to a tall heel. You’ve been curious about how to style a bootie, WHAT bootie is most versatile, and whether to invest in multiple pairs. In this video, I’ll show you five different ways to style your ankle booties, including the MOST flattering style in an ankle boot! I’ll show you five outfits with booties for both work and casual, and if you’re petite or pear shaped, you’ll learn what style bootie I recommend to elongate your legs!

Watch this video to learn all about how to style booties…

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5 Shoes to Wear with an Ankle Pant

So many of my personal styling clients LOVE the idea of an ankle pant but have no idea what shoes to wear to pull off this style in a pant. It’s easier to dismiss the style for a tried-and-true full-length pant instead, but if you’ve followed the Style Shop blog for any length of time, you know just how often I recommend ankle pants to my wardrobe consulting clients.

Watch this video to learn what FIVE shoe styles you can wear with an ankle pant for all 4 seasons out of the year…

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When to Start Transitioning to a Maternity Wardrobe (and the Story of My 1st Trimester!)

The night I found out I was pregnant was the same night I dressed up as Sandra Dee for a friend’s Halloween party. I had absolutely no suspicion except for some tenderness in my chest I’d felt for several days in a row the week prior. When we got home from the party, Nick crashed on the bed and I grabbed a pregnancy test. What? Positive, really?? I wasn’t sure what to think. It was after midnight and I was preoccupied with thoughts of work while in the middle of a big launch for my online style course. I laid awake for a few minutes in bed but soon fell asleep.

The next day it started to sink in…

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How to Find the Right Length in an Ankle Pant

Many of my personal styling clients are intimidated by the ankle pant trend because it reminds them of their high water pants from years past, and they’d rather be caught DEAD than try to pull off that look again. So what’s the big fuss?? Ankle pants are flattering, functional, AND easier to find in the stores than ever, and it’s important to understand how to pick out the right length in an ankle pant without confusing the length with a capri pant OR full-length pant.

Watch the video below to learn how to measure to find the right length in an ankle pant…

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How to Flatter Your Figure Using a Front-Tuck

One of the BIGGEST misconceptions my personal styling clients believe about their body is they need to hide areas they don't love with oversized clothing. For many women, this includes the tummy area, and I've been overjoyed to watch client after client learn how to accentuate their waistline in a flattering way no MATTER their body type (or whether they have a tummy!).

Watch this video to learn FOUR ways to accentuate your waistline, beginning with the popular front-tuck…

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Six Ways to Style a Vest

It’s that time of year when layering is a necessity, and for the longest time, I thought vests were so impractical. Why would someone layer with a vest when it only covered half of their upper body? Now after 6+ years living in Denver as a personal stylist, I’m a firm believer in a stylish OR functional vest as a go-to in the fall and winter months.
In this article, learn about 6 ways to style two casual vests…

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How to Organize Your Closet Accessories

I’ve always loved organizing. I geek out when things are in an easy-to-access spot, and even more so when you can find them without digging, unfolding, refolding, unpacking, or moving an entire drawer around. Over the years, I’ve walked into many a closet and discovered a handful of organizing hacks that work for everyone, no matter the closet shape or size. In celebration of my newest in-person service, Closet Organizing (soon to hit the website, but you can book the service now!), I thought I’d share a few of my favorite ways to organize accessories.

Read on for 8 space saving accessory organizing how-to’s…

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10 Reasons to Try a High-Waisted Jean

I had a breakthrough this past fall. I found my first high-rise jean, and it was unlike anything I’ve experienced. I was so excited about my discovery that I appointed myself as the unofficial high-waisted jean spokesperson. I’d bring it up to clients only to hear, “you mean mom jeans?” I convinced a few to at least TRY a high-waisted jean and soon discovered the many perks to wearing a high-waist style in a pant.

Read on for my TEN reasons to try a high-waisted jean…

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What to Wear if You’re a Stay-At-Home Mom or Work from Home

Do you work from home or stay at home with your kids? If so, you’ve probably noticed how easy it is to wear PJ’s from noon to night and feel like you’re #winning at life. Gone are the days of stiff, structured suit separates and itchy sweaters. Yoga pants, workout wear, and oversized sweaters are your new uniform. When I transitioned to running my business full-time, I was curious to discover how I’d feel wearing around-the-house clothing for work. I was scared I’d fall in love with leggings and oversized sweaters and feel shameful for loving them so much as a stylist.

And then it happened...

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5 Things You Can Do NOW to Improve Your Professional Image and Personal Style

If you’re like me, I start getting bored with my wardrobe towards the end of the season. It’s the end of July, and I’m pretty sure everyone in Denver has seen me wear pretty much every summer outfit I own. What are some things you and I can do to switch things up and keep it fresh?

Here are five ideas for improving your professional image and personal style when you feel stuck in a rut...

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The Style Shop by Sandi Mele's Pricing: What’s Included in My Personal Styling Services

I couldn’t be more excited to announce that I’m rolling out some big upgrades in the way I service YOU, my client! These changes include processes that will benefit you long-term, keep us both organized as we work together, and make your life SO much easier when you approach your wardrobe and style. I’ve created materials for our sessions that summarize your goals, schedule, and overall vision as we tackle your wardrobe. I'm excited to wrap even MORE value into my services, and I've been working hard behind the scenes to develop materials I know you’ll love.

Here’s what’s included in each session...

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My Visit to the Dermatologist...and Why I Left Fuming

The first time I noticed the wrinkle was in a selfie. “Wait what is that!? What’s wrong with my face??” I couldn’t seem to disguise my newfound flaw. This was a month or so before I called the dermatologist to schedule an appointment for a bump on my leg. It had been bugging me for a long time, and with a tropical vacation coming up in just a few weeks, I was tired of looking at it. Perhaps you can relate. Do you have a physical flaw you can’t seem to get past?

Read this blog for the lesson I learned after leaving the dermatologist fuming…

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The Hard Truth from a Girl’s Night Out

Do you put your worth in what you look like? I know I do. I have for years. I’m reminded of it when I go to the mall, gazing up sheepishly at the giant posters of beautiful women. I wander inside a store, unconscious of the desire the image has sparked inside my heart. I want to look beautiful…to captivate an audience. I try on clothing in the dressing room and begin to feel anxiety when I don’t measure up. I stand in line at Victoria’s Secret and wonder if it’s possible to actually have a body with such perfect proportions. The women look so happy, so fulfilled. Their radiance speaks of the worth they must feel. The value behind their beautiful face.

All of a sudden, the comparison game has started. And it really has nothing to do with clothing…

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