The Key To Confidence

Sydney Sadick : Author of Aim High

Aiming high is all about still wearing incredible outfits, dressing up and showing confidence every day for your present and future self, because no one else is going to be confident for you. Living a balanced life is critical and creates a spiritual effect from your health right down to your clothing choices. Today. I’m way more confident in what I wear, because I know I’m a work in progress. And when I throw in a pair of heels, they make me feel unstoppable. Even when I eat too many cupcakes and all I have on is a pair of biker shorts and an old t-shirt.

 

Yeah. So I am regularly seen on television talking all about fashion and celebrities as a national fashion and entertainment expert. I got my start in my career as an editor at the Daily Front Row, which was the original fashion week publication. And I’m a journalist by trade. I went to college for journalism at George Washington University. I have always been in fashion and working for different publications and stylists like Rachel Zoe. And so really once I got my start in TV, I was going on different shows like The Today Show and E and showing women and men how to dress for a very limited amount of time. These segments last, you know, three to five minutes. And so I thought to myself, I’m getting all these messages all the time for my followers. They want more, how do we dress for different occasions? What’s the key to bring out your confidence? I said, I could never do this on TV in three minutes, but a book now that’s a really great place to get into it. And so that’s where this idea of aim high really came about. And I’m glad that people are so excited to pick it up and read it.

 

The connection between how we present ourselves, our confidence and the rest of our lives. 

 

I really believe that the way you dress, it affects your mood. And when I get ready for whatever I’m going to or attending, there’s a purpose. So today this is an intimate conversation for me. I am the most comfiest. I said in a Lux athleisure set when I’m trying to just be real and we’re talking, right? Like we’ve known each other for years and years when I am hosting my show. I’m a little bit more like you where I’m in a structured top. I’ve got my pants on that aren’t sweats that are a little more structured because you wanna feel like you’re in control and you’re going on a date. If you’re single, you showing off a little bit of skin is probably giving you the confidence as a woman to feel sexy. And so I really believe that people can look at fashion as being this very vain part of life.

 

But in reality, it is so much a part of mental health. And even during the height of COVID, when I didn’t go out for over a year, every day, I still put those skills on, like I talked about in the beginning of my book. So it’s really all about what works for you. And for me, how I originally got into fashion was when I grew up in New York City. I was one of the rare kind of people who didn’t grow up in Long Island or New Jersey or Westchester. I was in the city. So on my way to school, every day, I was passing by the stores of some of the most incredible designers and brands from around the world. I grew up in a family where my grandmother and my mom always were put together. I don’t think to this day, my mother owns a pair of flats or a pair of sweatpants, We’re different in that way. But there was always this idea of feeling and looking your best. So for me, it’s generational, it’s professional, and it’s just something that I feel very strongly about. I also like to say that fashion is totally subjective. So what one person thinks doesn’t look good or they’re insecure about how they look, it’s all about what’s good for you. I don’t dress for anyone else, but myself. And if anyone else tries to tell you out there to do otherwise, they’re wrong.

 

The connection between confidence and setting high standards for yourself. 

 

I connect with what you’re saying, because, throughout the pandemic, I was still wearing my jeans every day and putting my perfume on. And I was thinking to myself, like, there’s literally nobody here and I’m still going to do it because it makes me feel good. I had a phase in my career when I started speaking, I would wear these corporate dresses. And it really wasn’t me. So I would wear them and I would be kind of reserved. And then I remember the first time I went on stage and I wore a crazy button-down shirt that I really loved. And all of a sudden, my whole body language changed.

 

Like my gestures became bigger and I became more dramatic. How you feel about your clothes and then how it impacts the way you carry yourself is huge.

 

What if I don’t have a lot of money, but I want to feel good about myself?

 

When I go on television, there is nothing that I put on air that is above $100. And mostly everything is under $50. So I am a firm believer that it doesn’t matter how much money you spend, style doesn’t come with a price tag. It comes from within. If you look at my Instagram, I do have my Dior bag, my Prada shoes, but that is not the core of my wardrobe. I shop at Forever21, Zara., and all budget friendly clothing. I don’t believe in spending money unnecessarily. I think it’s also really important to look at your closet as a place to shop. You can look at pieces and feel like I’ve worn this dress a hundred times. That might be true, but you can totally spice it up with a $5 pair of earrings that you get from target. And it can look totally new. You can layer outerwear, you can change up the shoes, but again, you really don’t have to spend money to get trends. I know tons of people who go to the Salvation Army and you can find really cool pieces. And they look expensive. So it’s just about tricking yourself as the shopper to really look at every item that you’re wearing as luxury, even if it doesn’t have that price set.

Getting dressed in a certain way, carrying yourself in a certain way is a manifestation of how you perceive yourself.

Aim high is totally to me a mindset of life. And it’s really about putting your best self out there to achieve exactly what you want out of life. And I feel like today, we’re always trying to please other people and it can get so noisy with the news and with what’s going on in the world. But if you have that internal strength and that thing that excites you to get dressed up in the morning, that’s just all helping you build up to getting that final product. My book is also really for the person who’s on the journey, no matter how old you are. You constantly, in parts of your life, want to do new things. Many women, especially when they come into new decades, they want to reinvent their style.

 

Three things you can do tomorrow to start carrying yourself better

 

I think the first thing is go on Instagram and go look at women whose style you admire, what was it about their style? Is it the silhouettes that they’re wearing? Is it the brands? Is it the confidence that you see is coming out in their pictures because of what they’re wearing, basically set out your mood board and figure out what do I want to essentially look like, and how can I make this seem a little bit more relatable for myself. Then I would either go into a store or go online and just look at pieces that you like, it doesn’t have to be, you know, a science. It truly just comes down to what are pieces here that I’m gravitating towards.

How am I gonna style them? Right. This is really when you can go to a family member, go to a friend, yes. Try on pieces, show them what you’re doing. And ask for advice. I used to do that all the time with sales associates at stores. And it’s a little different now with COVID. I know not everyone is comfortable doing that. So go to your friends and your loved ones and make them people that, you know, you trust to give guidance to as well. But in the book, you’ll find lots of different tips and tricks, easy ways of really developing your style. If it’s too intimidating to go, you know, just for the wardrobe, even putting on a bold lipstick, shade is an easy way to incorporate color into your, you know, wardrobe. If you’re someone who loves your white t-shirt and you don’t wanna get rid of it, go look at great jewelry trends and incorporate one of them. Start with things that feel attainable to you.

I just think it’s the overall sort of umbrella that I keep over my head that can never settle. I was like that when I was looking for agents for my broadcast career, I was meeting with so many of them big and small and it never felt right. And I think most people in life when they’re so ready for something, they settle. When it comes to dating. I’m single, I’ve gone out with a lot of different guys from all different walks of life, location, and career. And none of those people have honestly felt right. And I feel like there’s just this internal pressure that so many of us put on ourselves to do everything we want in our career immediately to meet our prince charming. And so I really think it’s also to say not to settle. That’s also what aim high means that you deserve the absolute best. Don’t just settle out of convenience, wait for the right thing.

 

Life can be so challenging and everybody has all kinds of things on their plate. Aiming high is about carrying yourself in the best, possible way through everything.