When Your Style Stops Working It's Time for a Strategic Shift
- emsteinbrink
- Jul 20
- 7 min read
Staring at a closet full of clothes but feeling like you have nothing to wear? If your style suddenly feels "off" or disconnected from who you're becoming, this isn't a wardrobe crisis—it's a growth signal.
In this premiere episode of The Visibility Shift, I'm pulling back the curtain on why traditional style advice falls short and sharing my inside-out approach to building authentic, magnetic presence. Because when your internal identity aligns with your external expression, everything shifts.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
1:00 – The breakthrough moment that changed how I approach style transformation
3:44 – Who The Visibility Shift is for and why your growth phase requires a new stra
tegy
6:02 – What you'll hear each week (and why we're not talking about trends)
8:01 – Where you’ll find the real transformation you’re looking for
Mentioned In When Your Style Stops Working It's Time for a Strategic Shift
Full Transcript
Welcome to The Visibility Shift, the podcast where style becomes your most powerful strategy for being seen, standing out, and leading boldly. I'm Ellie Steinbrink, stylist and personal brand coach, and if you've ever thought, "My style just isn't working anymore," take this as your sign. You're ready for your next level. And instead of launching into a panicked shopping spree, what you really need is a strategy. A style strategy that reflects where you're headed, not who you used to be or who you think you need to be to fit in.
Because when your style aligns with your brand and your vision, everything shifts. You lead with more presence, you attract the right opportunities and clients, and you fully step into the woman you're becoming. Because showing up as yourself, that's the most strategic thing you can do. Now let's get visible.
Welcome to The Visibility Shift Podcast. I'm so glad you're here. I'm Ellie Steinbrink, a stylist, personal brand coach, and speaker working with entrepreneurial women and leaders who are looking to get to that next level in a very aligned way.
And while I love putting together an incredible outfit—I love the creativity involved in shopping and styling—I've learned that what truly moves the needle in your presence isn't in your closet or even in the store. At least that's not your first step. It's in your mindset and fully stepping into this woman that you're becoming.
Years ago, when I started doing this work, I was noticing that something deeper was happening. My shopping and styling sessions were turning into mindset sessions. As soon as I met a client, I could pretty easily get a sense of her shape, her proportions, her colors, and would easily be able to style them in something that looked amazing on them.
But without their insight into their vision and their challenges, the outfit always seemed to fall flat. Sometimes even a woman that I would work with would say she wanted to go bold or she wanted to make a dramatic change, and I would show her things and put things in front of her that would encourage her to do so based on her goals.
But I could tell once we actually put those things on—when it became real, when she thought about stepping into a room or stepping into a meeting or stepping on stage—that her energy and her identity hadn't quite caught up yet with that new external version she was wanting to step into.
It wasn't actually about the shopping, about buying the outfit, about getting instant confidence through an outfit. It was about her coming into her next level on the inside and then, once that work is done, translating that on the outside. That's when it clicked.
Style isn't this frivolous thing. It's not self-indulgent. It's not about runways or chasing trends. Style is a foundational tool that you can use to get to your next level. I've actually known that style transformed me since I was a little girl.
I remember putting on an outfit—probably a twirly dress—and feeling like I could do anything. Style really matters because it changes how we show up and the results that we get every day. It's not about just being seen or putting together the perfectly polished outfit that will get the most compliments or putting on a show in a performative way, it's about seeing yourself more clearly and letting that inform the change that happens then on the outside.
The Visibility Shift podcast is for the woman who is evolving. Maybe you're a founder, a speaker, a leader, or someone who's just becoming more and more visible in your role. The opportunities are more exciting, the stages are getting bigger, the dream client meetings are happening, they're showing up in your calendar, and now, you're sensing a shift.
When you walk into your closet, you suddenly feel off, like you've outgrown it, like it represents a past version of you. You know, that's not a bad thing. It's, "Thank you old version of me for getting me here," but somehow it just doesn't feel relevant anymore. It doesn't feel big enough. It doesn't feel true enough to get you to that next level.
And no, it's not because you don't have anything to wear. I'm pretty sure you have a closet stuffed full of options. Most women tell me they do. It's because you're becoming something and someone new.
Maybe things feel off because you're just tired. You're tired of checking all the boxes and overanalyzing what to wear and worrying about how you show up. I gotta tell you, I've been there and I've been there more than once.
In fact, every time I hit a new level in my business, I seem to have a closet crisis. For example, I would get invited to a big event or I'd speak on the biggest stage that I had spoken on to date in my business. Suddenly, I find that I'm panic shopping and I'm second guessing everything and I'm asking my friends and business besties and polling Instagram about what to wear.
But here's the truth. The issue isn't your wardrobe or that you need to do more shopping or be a better shopper, it's that you don't have a style strategy for the woman you're becoming. What worked for you in the past isn't working anymore.
And we haven't stopped to think about what is going to work for me moving forward. And honestly, we've probably never been taught how to create a style that's actually self-led. The Visibility Shift podcast is where we're going to pull back the curtains and talk about what it really takes to build a style strategy that ladders up to a deeply authentic and powerful presence.
So here's what you can expect each week. Honest conversations. We're going to get into it about what it takes to elevate your personal presence and brand, even when it feels uncomfortable and vulnerable to be more authentic. We're going to talk about what it takes to be fully seen in bigger, more visible spaces and on bigger stages.
We're going to talk about the subtle mindset traps—people-pleasing, perfectionism, fitting in, or relying on others to validate your choices—that ultimately block your self-expression. And we're going to get into the real reasons that your closet feels full and stuffed, but totally uninspiring.
Guess what? It's not because you're addicted to shopping or even that you're a bad shopper. We're not going to be talking about trends. I'm not going to be talking about where to find the best jeans or the best button-up shirt or even what's in or out for this season.
We're here to talk about self-leadership through style, to talk about what it takes to create a style strategy that is unique to you without losing yourself along the way. Honestly, if you're someone who wants to become a magnetic and dynamic leader, this is something that's essential.
So if you're listening and nodding your head and you're feeling a shift happening, is something about your style or your brand or the presence or how you feel when you show up on stage or how you feel when you show up in meetings doesn't feel aligned anymore? That's not a bad thing.
In fact, nothing has gone wrong. It's a sign that you're growing. It's a signpost that you are ready to dig deeper, and I'm going to tell you that more shopping or trying out a new subscription service, or following a different style blogger or influencer, that's not the solution.
The real transformation that you're looking for, it comes when you learn to trust yourself again, as opposed to leaning on others. It comes when you have the courage to take up space and to stop following the rules that were never made for this new version of you.
This is style from the inside out and I'm not going to sugarcoat this and tell you that it's always easy, because it's not. But I can tell you that this way of defining your style is what you're craving. It is the pathway to be magnetic. It is the pathway to have a distinct personal brand that people cannot ignore.
It's the pathway to that energy that is undeniable. When you walk in a room, this transformation feels of freedom and it's entirely within your reach. So if this resonates with you, I'd love for you to stick around.
In fact, not only just stick around, but please subscribe. Leave me a review at ratethispodcast.com/visibilityshift. And even more so, if this is resonating and you're thinking about a business bestie or a female friend who is also running her own business and also elevating to the next level, I'd love for you to share this with her so that she, too can grow into her next most powerful presence. With that, I'll see you in the next episode.
Thanks for joining me on The Visibility Shift. If something in today's episode made you pause, rethink, or gave you permission to stop playing small, it would mean so much to me if you'd leave a review at ratethispodcast.com/visibilityshift.
If you're ready to stop second-guessing and start showing up as the leader you are from the inside out, The Visibility Edit is where that shift begins. Head to elliesteinbrink.com to learn more and join the next round. Because the next version of you, she's not waiting for permission. She's waiting for you. Let's make it visible.
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