Laurie Brucker Amerikaner - You Are The Style!: An Every Girls Guide to Getting Dressed, Building Confidence, and Shining from the Inside Out

This book is dedicated to my son, Ezra.

He is the heartbeat of everything that I do.

acknowledgments

Words cannot express my gratitude for the love and support I have had through this journey of writing a book. Thank you to my parents, Vida and Alex Brucker, who, no matter what, have not just stood by my side but lifted me up, advised me, supported me, believed in me, and pushed me to be my best me every step of the way. The time we shared together over this process is something I cherish as it not only fills me with such love, but it added so much more love to my book. Thank you to my editor Tanner Chau, who from day one has been my cheerleader, coach, and voice of clarity. Even when I had my baby in the middle of the writing process, she allowed me the grace and space to heal and consistently supported me until the end. (And look what we did! High five!) Thank you to my Illustrator Amelia Noyes. I am so grateful for your creative whimsy, artistic style and inclusive vision to help draw my book alive.

And a final thank-you to my husband, Mike, who allowed me to put my heart and soul into this book, while holding our family unit together. I wrote this book newly pregnant, rewrote this book in my third trimester, and rewrote this book yet again as a first-time mom. Through the ups and downs of life, pregnancy, and new motherhood, Mike gave me the space, the compassion, the encouragement, and the motivation to keep going, loving me unconditionally through it all.

preface

We are living in unprecedented times. Throughout the year 2020, Ive sat with a completed book. When our country shut down due to COVID-19, I questioned the relevance of this book. People lost paychecks, jobs, homes, and family members. How could I release a book about clothing and style when people were hurting so deeply? When the civil rights revolution came swinging back to the forefront of our society, I questioned the relevance of my book again. How can I share and promote my new book when there are seemingly more important issues we have to address? Ive struggled with this questioning for months. However, as time carried on, I found new meaning in my life and in my book, transforming myself into a stylist and an activist.

My work as an activist has brought so much more meaning into my life and also helped shine a light on the deeper meanings inside You Are the Style . As youll notice throughout the book, I touch upon spirituality here and there, as I have always seen style as being connected in some way. But in the past year my spiritual journey went from always seeking to deeply understanding and knowing. Throughout that transformation, here is what I reiterated to myself: Change doesnt come from what is happening around us. Change comes from within us. And remembering this truth was when the puzzle pieces came back together for me. I was looking for answers outside of me, when the answers were hidden inside of me.

You will quickly notice that this isnt a book about how to wear a specific item or dress on trend. This book will become a life manual to stepping into your own personal power. Getting dressed is not about the clothing, its about you. Its about taking the deepest, hardest look at your own personal perceptions to discover what is truly underneath it all. The woman who can change it all. The woman of strength. The woman who can walk through the fire. The woman who can be the guiding light force in her own life, as well as in the lives of others.

That is why this book matters. Now more than ever. We as women can do our part every single day to create the world we want to not just see but live in. For ourselves, for children, for generations to come. We can lead the way! And no matter what the future brings, there is one thing that will repeat itself, over and over and over again, every day: you need to get dressed. Getting dressed each day is an energetic magic you bring to your own life as well as the lives of the people you come in contact with. By expressing your style, you are using one of the most powerful tools in your tool beltthe power to step into your best self in any given moment. Ready? Lets go.

authors note

In my work as a personal stylist for the past decade and change, I have met, styled, and connected with many incredible, resilient, inspiring, and dynamic women. Their stories have touched my soul and inspire me daily. They are why I do what I do. For the purposes of You Are the Style , I have modified names, narratives, and details in consideration of my clients privacy and personal journeys.

Our individual style stories are so personal, and this book is filled with advice and experiences that are meant to inspire you to look at your own style journey through a new lens, while maintaining a level of continued privacy for my clients.

introductio n

Have you ever felt like you were meant to do something ? Something much more than where you feel stuck? Do you often wonder whether there is more to life than the one you are living?

Oh yeahI know that feeling too. I mean, I always knew I was meant to do something big, and I had no idea what it was. But whatever it was, it would change the world. However, this little girl with big dreams also had deep, raging insecurities. I wasnt good enough. I wasnt pretty enough. I wasnt tall enough. I wasnt skinny enough. I wasnt cool enough. And I replayed these words over and over again in my head. I let those words stop me from reaching higher. I let those words infiltrate my system. And eventually I let those words be my reality, believing they were true for most of my life.

As the years went by, I walked the thin line of a double identity. On the outside I was a confident, colorfully stylish, badass entrepreneur; but on the inside I was an insecure, personally hypercritical young woman debilitated by my own doing. It was from this fine line I walked that I found my higher purpose: to share the tool that I used day in and day out to change the course of my life.

Its called Stylepowerment. Oh, youve never heard of that before? Well, thats because I made it up! So, lets break it down and make it part of your vocabulary:

Stylepowerment is the big magic I bring to the world. My higher purpose. My passion. My vision for all women. I live and breathe its possibilities every day. Stylepowerment is the core concept that has pulled me out of dark days over and over again as I navigate the continuous evolution of life. It lifts me up when I am down, empowers me when I am insecure, and emboldens me when I am less than confident. Over the years, using Stylepowerment as my north star, my style journey has become a living, breathing representation of my personal empowerment storymy style{powerment} story, if you will.

Hey! You have one too! And we are going to write it together, starting today.

When I wrote the first draft of this book, I had an entirely different introduction. A story of Laurie, living it up in New York City, styled to the nines on the daily, and a walking shell of a woman. On the outside I projected all that was fabulous about fashion, style, and expression, but on the inside I was miserable. I used my wardrobe as my protective armor to fend off the insecurities and distract from the self-deprecating mind games.