Crack a style Feel good in clothes that fit you at every stage of life By: AV Kitching Posted: 5:31 PM CDT Monday, Sep. 11, 2023

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/09/2023 (1104 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The lights at Valencia Boutique on Corydon are very bright.

I have left the safety of the dressing room in the clingiest dress I have worn in years.

I’m so far out of my comfort zone, I can’t look at myself in the full-length mirror.

My skin prickles in discomfort; I yearn for the invisibility of the baggy jeans and slouchy tee I arrived in.

Sunayna Gupta, the woman who chose my outfit and convinced me to wear it, smiles.

“What do you or what don’t you like about this ?” she asks.

I immediately start to criticize my body but Gupta cuts me off.

“This is a you problem,” she says frankly.

“No one is looking at your belly or your bum. No one is thinking the things you’re thinking. As women, we are so hard on ourselves. Remember what your body does for you.”

It’s a hard truth to hear, but Gupta delivers it so kindly I have no choice but to let her words sink in.

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Stuck in a sartorial rut after the birth of my child seven years ago, my once keen fashion sense deserted me. Confronted daily by the mediocre offerings of my wardrobe, stuffed with clothes that no longer worked on my now older — and yes, bigger — body, I had veered in the opposite direction, drowning my figure in swathes of material that served to disguise rather than flatter.

Dressing became a chore rather than the joy it once was. Motherhood, rewarding in myriad ways, also erased aspects of my personality. Shopping for clothes filled me with dread.

But I had forgotten a fundamental truth: you are not meant to fit your clothes, your clothes are meant to fit you.

“You deserve to look and feel amazing in the body you have now,” Gupta emphasizes.

Gupta, 39, is a personal shopper and stylist extraordinaire. The successful dentist started her personal styling business, House of Nayna, after experiencing a crisis in confidence following the birth of her first child in 2014.

“As someone who really prides themselves on knowing themselves truly, I found myself looking in the mirror and not really knowing anymore. I didn’t recognize my body anymore. I was questioning my decisions. It was really hard,” she recalls.

“Growing up, I was always that girlfriend that everyone came to for fashion advice. I’ve always loved fashion and styling. When I became a mother and went through my own journey I knew I had to start helping women like myself.”

As she presents her meticulously chosen outfits, I balk. These are clothes I would never consider wearing, colours I often shy away from, lengths I would never attempt, clothes that cling rather than obscure.

There are skin-tight jeans, fitted T-shirts and bright jackets, a satin skirt paired with a cowl-neck tank and sky-high heels, an embroidered belted jacket to go over a dress.

She chooses three base items, which she then modifies by changing the jacket, adding a different shoe or layering with a different texture or colour.

But as much as she encourages experimentation, Gupta also pays attention to my feedback.

“It’s as important to know what you don’t like as much as what you like,” she says.

An advocate of maximizing, Gupta believes in getting the most of out of clothes and eschews traditional seasonal dressing.

“I believe clothes transcend seasons and occasions,” she says. “You work hard for your money, so make your clothes go the distance.

“The goal of every shop with my client is to ensure they leave feeling educated and confident to go out shopping on their own.”

“The goal of every shop with my client is to ensure they leave feeling educated and confident to go out shopping on their own.”–Sunayna Gupta

She advises investing in foundational pieces, such as a great pair of denims, a great blazer or a great button-up that can be built on. The majority of her clients come to her seeking to refresh and build their wardrobes.

“Most people think clothes are just material things, but the truth is, grabbing something as simple as the right pair of jeans, T-shirt and jacket can change the trajectory of how you feel about yourself and your body,” she says, coaxing me into a floral print I wouldn’t have glanced twice at.

“I think clothes are magic, and the right clothes can make you look — but more importantly, feel — amazing in the body you have.”

Before I know it, I’m in the figure-hugging slip dress, which elongates my legs; a dusty pink cropped knit thrown on top emphasizes my waist.

“Look at yourself,” she says, beaming proudly.

I take a deep breath and, for the first time in seven years, I look at myself properly in the mirror.

Gupta is wrong. It’s not the clothes that are magic — it’s her.

av.kitching@winnipegfreepress.com