Hi friends! As promised, here’s the transcript from the Charly Goss episode!!
You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.
Liz Moody:
Hello, friends. And welcome back to the Healthier Together podcast. I’m your host, Liz Moody, and I’m a cookbook author and longtime journalist. We’re taking a little bit of a left turn today with an episode that I am personally am very excited about, which is all about how to look cute. Basically this year I realized how little my clothes reflected or conveyed who I am as a person. And it became my personal mission to figure out this whole style thing, which is how I discovered today’s amazing guest, stylist extraordinaire Charly Goss. If you’re like, wait, what does style have to do with wellness? Well, like I say all the time, wellness in general, and this podcast specifically is about helping you live your healthiest, happiest life. I think that style and the confidence that comes with feeling like your clothes express who you are, can be a really big part of feeling your best, which we talk about in this episode.
Liz Moody:
At the beginning of the episode, Charly shares her two time journey with tongue cancer and her childhood experience of moving to a foreign country. For her, style was more than and fabric on a body, it was a way of communicating, of expressing herself, of feeling confident. It’s a way to be even more you. We get into Charly’s health journey and the remarkable perspective it’s given her in this episode. And then we get into all of my very specific and detailed questions about how the eff to look cute.
Liz Moody:
She shares the one thing people inadvertently do that makes them less stylish, how to find shoes that are fashion forward, but comfortable enough to walk in. A genius tip, to know what trends are going to stick around and are worth investing in, and which are more fleeting. Her specific favorite stores for shoes, bags, trendy items, jeans, and more. The actual difference between pricey jeans and more affordable ones. The five items everyone should have in their closet and so much more.
Liz Moody:
I’m actually so excited to hear your thoughts on this episode, I’ve been absolutely loving our Instagram conversations about style and trends. So please screenshot as you’re listening and share any thoughts, feel reactions, aha moments on Instagram. I am @LizMoody and Charly is @CharlyGoss. If you love the episode, I would also just so appreciate you spreading the word, whether it’s on social or to a bestie in real life. Oh, and like I mentioned, Charly did have tongue cancer twice. They basically rebuilt her tongue, which we talk about in here. She’s perfectly lovely to listen to, super cool and hilarious. Like you’re going to fall in love with her, but if you have a hard time catching a word anywhere, I’m going to put a full transcript of this one on LizMoody.com. So just head over there and click on the post for this episode or click on the direct link in the show notes. All right. That’s it for me? Let’s find out how the dress cute with Charly Goss. All right, Charly. Welcome to the podcast. I’m so excited to have you here today. I have gotten to experience your personal genius and I’m really excited to share it with everybody listening.
Charly Goss:
Thanks for having me. I’m honored to be here.
Liz Moody:
Amazing. Okay. So we’re going to get into like, literally I have so many style questions. Mostly they revolve like, how do I look cute, but also how do I feel like I’m in pajamas at all times whilst looking cute, which is really important to me.
Charly Goss:
The dream. Right.
Liz Moody:
So we’ll get into that a second, but you also have a very compelling personal story that I would like to get into a little bit as well, which is that one of my very favorite chefs actually in the world, have you heard of Alinea?
Charly Goss:
Yeah. Grant Achatz, right?
Liz Moody:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Charly Goss:
Yeah. Yeah.
Liz Moody:
He had tongue cancer as well, which I think is crazy, because he is like a world class chef and then he had cancer and he had this really crazy story about having to like learn how, when his taste came back, he couldn’t taste individual flavors, but he could do like sour, sweet, salty, the basic things.
Charly Goss:
Kind of balancing. Yeah.
Liz Moody:
Yeah. Which I’m sure you have experienced with as well. So like him, you’ve had tongue cancer twice, right?
Charly Goss:
Twice. Yep.
Liz Moody:
Which is crazy.
Charly Goss:
I really went for it hard, yeah?
Liz Moody:
You really did not do it halfway.
Charly Goss:
No.
Liz Moody:
So can you tell me a little bit about that? How did you find out? I remember seeing all your stories you had to demand your dentist or something, like check it out or something like that. How’d you find out in the first place?
Charly Goss:
Yeah. I had sort of a spot on my tongue that wasn’t healing. I’m sure we’ve all had that thing, but you have like a swollen taste bud, kind of, and it’s like bothering you and it goes away in a few days. Mine did not go away. So I went to my doctor and told him I had this sort of spot that was causing a bit of pain and I was shrugged off a few times. And finally we went back and demanded, I’d really like a biopsy this if for no longer reason than to help me sleep at night. And I think about five weeks later I was having half of my tongue removed.
Liz Moody:
Wow.
Charly Goss:
At cancer hospital of downtown Toronto. So yeah. I didn’t go back to that same [inaudible 00:05:11] doctor ever again.
Liz Moody:
Yeah. No kidding. That’s crazy.
Charly Goss:
Yeah.
Liz Moody:
It’s really an argument for advocating for yourself and like trusting. Did you just have that like niggling feeling in your gut? I actually think this is more?
Charly Goss:
Yeah, I knew, I mean, Dr. Google can be both a blessing and a curse, but doing some preliminary Googling about having something on your time that really will not heal, anywhere on your body something that will not heal is a cause for concern. And the fact that nobody listened to me is also a cause for concern. But I knew that something was up and same when it came back, I knew that something was up.
Liz Moody:
Did they give you a reason why you would have tongue cancer twice? Is it in your family? Is there a gene going on? It feels crazy, especially given that you’re so young as well.
Charly Goss:
So young, this is an old man’s disease for mainly men that have been smoking their whole lives. This is typically who would get this type of cancer. There was some interest about me being a woman of my vaguely Celtic and Anglosaxon background and they were doing a study and they asked me to sign a bunch of paperwork. I donated both of my tumors from both surgeries and they took them I think to Boston University to evaluate whether that was a commonality that should be looked into further. They’ve never contacted me since. So I don’t know how valid that concern was, but they gave me no reason. Just bad luck.
Liz Moody:
Were you pissed? Like what is the reaction when your life is going great, you’re married, did you have your babies at that point?
Charly Goss:
No. I had no babies.
Liz Moody:
No babies. But were you married to your husband at that point?
Charly Goss:
I was not married to my hot husband. We had been dating for about a year.
Liz Moody:
Oh wow.
Charly Goss:
And yeah, I had to say to him, are you in or are you out?
Liz Moody:
Oh my gosh.
Charly Goss:
It’s a hard conversation to have at I think I was 23 and he was 24.
Liz Moody:
Wow.
Charly Goss:
So we had to have that sort of discussion. And he was all in, which was amazing. He’s been so supportive through both surgeries, but yeah, I was pissed. I was fucking pissed. I mean, I’m young and I am chatty, I’m British. And all I ever do is talk and talk and talk and talk and I to have my tongue cut out two times.
Liz Moody:
Yeah.
Charly Goss:
Yeah I was pissed.
Liz Moody:
Where are you at with it now? I think about my anxiety is obviously such a different situation, but I’d say five years ago, maybe three years, maybe three or two years ago, I was still like, this is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. I wish I hadn’t had this seizure that’s caused all this PTSD and whatever.
Charly Goss:
Right,.
Liz Moody:
And then now I’m at a place where I love where I am now so much. I wouldn’t want to take anything out of that. So I’m curious how it sits on the course of your life at this point?
Charly Goss:
I got this question … Time was on like an Instagram Q&A and I responded, I see through cancer colored glasses now, everywhere I go, I have to be concerned about, is there something safe to eat? Do I know the people [inaudible 00:08:50] that there’s going to be no question about the way that I speak. If I’m on TV, if I’m on a podcast, am I going to be understood when I’m meeting clients? I think about it all the time.
Charly Goss:
It has permeated my entire world view just because it is something that I have to think about all the time, every party I attend, every restaurant I go to every trip we take, I have to think about eating, speaking, drinking safely and comfortably. But that said, yeah, I wouldn’t change it I don’t think now.
Liz Moody:
Really?
Charly Goss:
No, it has given me sort of an existential gratitude that I don’t think I ever would’ve had before that I was pretty reckless in my youth, my brother who has sort of his own mental health challenges was also a reckless kid, not by product with our parents raising us. I think that we were just defiant kids and having cancer gives you a certain shake that I don’t think I would’ve otherwise gotten.
Liz Moody:
Huh. Do you think you’d be doing the job you’re doing now if you hadn’t had cancer?
Charly Goss:
I have no idea. Probably in fashion somewhere because I managed to fuck everything else up. It’s the only thing I’m good at, but I don’t know that I would’ve had the confidence to say screw everything else.
Liz Moody:
I would wonder I think that having to work through the self consciousness, like you said, that would color like meeting to people, going to a restaurant, like all that.
Charly Goss:
Right.
Liz Moody:
If that would just imbue you with this deep personal sense of confidence. Although also it could also like, just get exhausting to constantly be like, I’m great, I’m worthy of being here, this is just part of me, and you have to be cool with it. You know what I mean?
Charly Goss:
I think it’s both.
Liz Moody:
Yeah.
Charly Goss:
I mean, I’ve heard you talk, I hear so much about everybody has imposter syndrome.
Liz Moody:
Yeah.
Charly Goss:
Whatever we call it.
Liz Moody:
Yeah.
Charly Goss:
Everybody has that in every room I’ve ever been into, unless I’m wearing a really good outfit, I’m like, I don’t deserve to be here. Somebody is looking at me. Somebody is talking shit about me, making fun of me, whatever it is, there’s never really for any of us, I mean, I imagine maybe we’re just a special kind of anxious, I don’t know, but there’s no way that you ever walk into a room and you’re like, shit yeah, this is my room. No.
Liz Moody:
So I love that you said, “Unless I’m wearing a really great outfit,” because I think that fashion can be sometimes perceived as very surface level. And why are we paying attention to what we’re wearing? But I think that that gives a little bit of a segue into how fashion can be so much more than something that really surface level. So maybe you can kick us off by being, why do you think fashion is important?
Charly Goss:
Oh my God. From a personal perspective, I moved here from England, I live in Canada right now, in Toronto and moved here from England with my family when I was about 10 and obviously was wearing the very wrong thing. Kids made it known that I was wearing the very wrong thing. And that was absolutely crushing to be 11 and be made fun of not only for your accent, so I was made fun of for the way I speak, even back then.
Liz Moody:
Which just feels so unfair, because I feel like everybody sitting, listening, who doesn’t have an English accent right now when they give their left arm for a cute British accent.
Charly Goss:
Right? They had no idea how cool I was [inaudible 00:13:12].
Liz Moody:
But Donna and Gweneth like went to … when we were living in England, I literally was there and I was like, should I try actively to acquire this accent or will everybody hate me when I come back to the States?
Charly Goss:
Am I committed or not? Yeah, I put on American accent for so long and my parents made fun of me for so hard. I couldn’t win. But clothing for me felt like a really important way to fit in at that time, for lack of the better way to say it. It was the thing that seemingly made me stick out.
Charly Goss:
So I think right that time in my life really solidified my sort of obsession with fashion is a form of confidence and fashion is a way to communicate confidence and to feel great and change sort of the way that they were making me feel about myself. And so now I sort of feel like I help women who are probably at that feeling for some reason in their life. Often it is a body change, a life change, maybe you’ve had kids and you lost yourself or whatever it might be. Usually people are coming to me for a reason to say, I just don’t really have a dress anymore, help. And that’s sort of what we do.
Liz Moody:
Well and I think that what’s really been interesting to me about working with you is we did a wardrobe overhaul.
Charly Goss:
Which is so fun.
Liz Moody:
Close to the end of it, I think. But what’s been really interesting to me about it is that I feel a certain way on the inside and I feel like I am a certain person.
Charly Goss:
Right.
Liz Moody:
And then I feel that was not in a state of alignment with how other people were perceiving me based on how I looked.
Charly Goss:
Right, yes.
Liz Moody:
It’s like knowing you are who you are on the inside and then wanting everybody to be able to perceive you the way you perceive yourself, I think is a really cool role that fashion can play.
Charly Goss:
And I, something that I ask every client, I mean, we’ve done you virtually, but I do a lot of in person overhauls too. So we go into their closet and we tear apart and we laugh and we cry and it’s so fun. But I say to every client, tell me the three things that you love the most about yourself, three positive things about yourself. And it’s often really hard for people to kind of succinctly say it, but we keep that in mind as we touch every item. And we think about like, does this dress from 1999, say confident, powerful, joyful. No. Then it’s garbage, friend.
Liz Moody:
I love that as an exercise too, because it feels so much more helpful. I’ve Kondo’ed a lot. I went through a period where I read Marie Kondo book and then I threw old photographs of Zach and he still hasn’t forgiven, he was like, why did you need to Kondo my old pictures? I was like, I don’t know man I was like on a kick, I was in a groove. I was throwing everything away.
Charly Goss:
None of it matters.
Liz Moody:
But I think the spark joy it’s helpful, but only to an extent, I think there’s something really lovely and specific that people, anybody listening could do at home, of like, well what are my three things that I love the most or want to portray the most to the world. And then as you pick up everything instead of saying, does this spark joy? Saying like, does this do any of those three things?
Charly Goss:
Right.
Liz Moody:
It’s so actionable and useful to think about it that way.
Charly Goss:
And I think that, yeah, sparking joy is great to the point. But if I had my wardrobe full of things that spark joy, my wardrobe would be insane. It would be like sequins and feather, and like crazy town. You have to have … I always sort of start my clients with, this sounds boring, but isn’t, I swear a base of like, let’s say 10 to 15 sort of capsule items. So basic, neutral, very well fitting items you can then add your joy into, to create a really versatile, really workable wardrobe. Otherwise, yeah, you’re going to have a closet full of feathers and sequins.
Liz Moody:
Yeah. I picture that outfit that like Carries wearing at the beginning of Sex in the City with like a tulle skirt.
Charly Goss:
It sparks joy.
Liz Moody:
We’d all be wearing tutus around and maybe we’d all be like honestly like is a world where we’re all wearing fairy wings and tutus around like a bad place to be? I don’t know. [crosstalk 00:18:07].
Liz Moody:
You’re listening to The Healthier Together podcast.
Liz Moody:
We love talking about our gut health here on The Healthier Together podcast, which is why I’m so excited to share the life changing Seed daily symbiotic. I actually discovered Seed back when I was working as an editor, full-time a bottle came across my desk and I was instantly taken by how cute the green glass packaging is. Then I found out that that packaging was actually refillable so that Seed could share its products as sustainably as possible. And then I actually looked into the research behind Seed and well, I was blown away.
Liz Moody:
First of all, Seed is not just a probiotic, it is a symbiotic. That means it contains both pre and probiotics, which is super important. In fact, if you remember my asked the doctor gut health edition, we talked about how prebiotics are one of the most important and often under looked components of great gut health. Let me break it down for you. Probiotics are the live bacteria that are so beneficial to our gut health, but prebiotics are the food that those probiotics need to thrive. If you don’t have ample prebiotics, the probiotics you’re consuming will be undernourished and not be able to help your health in the way that you want.
Liz Moody:
Speaking of your health, there’s also a common misconception that probiotics or symbiotics are for people with gut issues, which is so not true. Like yes, the Seed symbiotic is amazing for your gut health, but your gut health impacts everything and your entire body, your skin, your mental health, your cardiovascular health, your ability to actually assimilate the maximum amount of nutrients from all that healthy food you’re eating. Having a happy gut is critical for all of it. It is hard to narrow down everything else that I love about Seed. I am extremely particular with my supplements and I don’t take many, but Seed is just stellar across the board. It’s been tested and tested and tested, seriously their testing process is bananas to make sure that it has a hundred percent survival through the digestive process, which is so rare. And somehow they do all of that without needing refrigerat-
PART 1 OF 4 ENDS [00:20:04]
Liz Moody:
… which is so rare and somehow they do all of that without needing refrigeration, which is very handy. I find that when I have refrigerated probiotics, I just forget about them and they get buried behind old jars of pasta sauce, whereas I keep these on my bedside table so I’m reminded to take them every single night.
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Liz Moody:
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Liz Moody:
Okay. [crosstalk 00:21:11] Let’s get into specifics. What is one thing that you could add to any outfit or maybe not to any outfit, but that every person should have in their closet to make things more chic or stylish instantly?
Charly Goss:
Either an oversized black blazer or a black moto jacket. You have a great one, it has white stars on it.
Liz Moody:
I know. It was the only thing you asked me what I liked that I owned. And I was like nothing… [crosstalk 00:21:44]
Charly Goss:
And you were like only this.
Liz Moody:
… and then you were like, you have to like something. And I was like, I only like this jacket.
Charly Goss:
Yeah. I think that that jacket is sick. And the way it makes you feel is important. That makes you feel those three things. You’re like, I want to feel sexy. I want to feel edgy. I want to feel cool. It makes you feel those things.
Liz Moody:
Yeah.
Charly Goss:
[inaudible 00:22:10] in this neck of the woods is crucial. It is a pillar of our styling philosophy here. I know that you have Christen and [inaudible 00:22:25] talking about three piece dressing. [inaudible 00:22:28] having a pant and a top, and then you add a layer.
Liz Moody:
[crosstalk 00:22:32] [inaudible 00:22:32].
Charly Goss:
That is a topper. We can do cozy or [inaudible 00:22:40] is a big trend right now. You can do a blazer, a moto jacket, an oversized denim jacket, a great coat. Those are all toppers.
Liz Moody:
Okay. Wait. I asked them this on that episode and I know we’re going into winter in the Northern hemisphere at least, but how do you do three piece dressing when it’s hot?
Charly Goss:
I don’t think you have to do three piece dressing when it’s hot, but same as them. I’ve got a jacket everywhere.
Liz Moody:
Have you been on the subway in New York in the summer?
Charly Goss:
I’ve been on the tube in London in the summer. Does that count?
Liz Moody:
Yeah. Oh my God. I love the tube in London where they’re like, we’re not going to do… There’s signs everywhere that are like, we’re not going to cool anything down. [crosstalk 00:23:24] If you faint, you’re responsible. It’s up to you. Bring your Water, the tube is not going to stop, but just don’t faint on our tube. Thank you so much.
Charly Goss:
I think that it’s happened. Maybe if it’s like, oh, absolutely [inaudible 00:23:39], right? Okay. Maybe I pack it up. But most of the time, a top layer, even it’s a linen blazer on your shoulders is a really great way to pull an outfit together. However, if it’s super hot, let’s three piece it with a dress, a shoe and a bag.
Liz Moody:
Okay.
Charly Goss:
This was something that you and I talked about actually. We talked about how you were saying that you have separate pairs of shoes that you love and you have to do a ton of walking for your job. And I said, are you always walking? And you said, okay, maybe not. And I said to you, there is no way that you can have a variety of this without a variety of things. There just isn’t.
Liz Moody:
Particularly [inaudible 00:24:30] person’s. I told you, I was like, I bought a purse. I found my purse and now I’m done buying purses.
Charly Goss:
Right. I have the purse.
Liz Moody:
And you were like, no. And then I bought two more purses at your guidance. And they weren’t very pricey. And they do make my outfits look really different and I feel like a grownup when I wear them.
Charly Goss:
And that is the difference. That one dress that you have, let’s say it’s a [inaudible 00:24:56] dress. It will feel totally different with this [inaudible 00:24:59] backpack as it would with a [inaudible 00:25:04] beaded bag for night time. Those things change your outfit. You have to have a variety of them to be able to make it feel easy.
Liz Moody:
Okay. What’s one thing that people inadvertently do that you see commonly that makes people look less stylish than we might want to?
Charly Goss:
Dressing like they’re at home.
Liz Moody:
But we are all the time these days.
Charly Goss:
But…
Liz Moody:
It’s the comfort thing though. Do you mean dressing like you’re too comfortable? [crosstalk 00:25:39]
Charly Goss:
[inaudible 00:25:39] too comfortable. I was just talking about this with [inaudible 00:25:44] yesterday, who works with me, that… we were talking about airline travel in the olden times when people used to get dressed up to go on a plane and now you go to the airport and everybody is in their absolute comfiest clothing which I get.
Liz Moody:
Yeah.
Charly Goss:
I’m in a sweatsuit but I’ll be damned if I’;m not wearing a cute shoe and a great jacket and a fun bag. [inaudible 00:26:14] outfit? Always. And I want outfits to be easy for people, for sure. But leggings and a baggy, old t-shirt and a pair of shitty Birkenstocks [inaudible 00:26:29] do not an outfit make. You’re making a face.
Liz Moody:
Yeah. I feel called out because Birkenstocks are my primary shoe. They are so comfortable. And I just got the all black ones. And so I’m like, they’re all black. Thus, they must go with everything because they’re black. They really don’t. I actually think… Shoes is something that I want to get into because I think shoes are where my outfits go to die.
Liz Moody:
I think that shoes are where my outfits are cute and then I have a cute little dress on, and then I just wear my Birkenstocks and I look like a college student or something. You know what I mean? I don’t look chic, but I also do like to be able to… We’ve talked a lot about on this podcast about sneaking in walking and moving and stuff like that into your life. And if I’m wearing uncomfy shoes, I’m not going to do that. And I’m not willing to make that trade-off. Come up with some cute and comfortable shoe options for me. I’d love for you to talk through not physically making women unable to walk very well, but also having their outfit not die at the feet.
Charly Goss:
[inaudible 00:27:44] dying.
Charly Goss:
I think there’s a time [inaudible 00:27:48] average user and comfort, especially considering the past few years are trendy right now. There are so many fun [inaudible 00:28:03] at every price point. There are will [inaudible 00:28:09] Birkenstocks, not the ones with the thong [inaudible 00:28:14] piece.
Liz Moody:
Oh, God. No, no, no.
Charly Goss:
Two strap in a solid color. Cute. [inaudible 00:28:19]. Not those. [inaudible 00:28:27] Those are great. And I get it. A ton of us are out walking the dog and walking with our kids to the park and I don’t think that you have to sacrifice comfort, but I do think that people are attached to a level of comfort that isn’t reasonable at all times.
Liz Moody:
That’s interesting.
Charly Goss:
The fact that so many of us feel like [inaudible 00:28:54] because they’re so comfortable…it’s as if we’ve completely forgotten how to wear her pants or shoes [inaudible 00:29:04].
Liz Moody:
There’s also interesting studies around when you are super comfortable, like sweatsuit comfortable, you don’t perform as well on tests and stuff like that as you do when you dress up a little bit. They did tests where they had kids wear suits and dresses to school, and they actually perform better on tests than when they were in a more comfortable clothes. I do think there’s an interesting… [crosstalk 00:29:28]
Charly Goss:
Oh, that’s so interesting. Yeah.
Liz Moody:
… benefits. I think comfortable is still really important. I’m literally sitting here in a jump suit.
Charly Goss:
I’m in a sweatshirt. I’m comfy and I totally… I never want to be uncomfortable ever. I don’t want to be uncomfortable, but we all know that feeling of putting an outfit on and feeling more like ourselves.
Liz Moody:
Yeah.
Charly Goss:
Feeling [inaudible 00:29:58] a ritual of mine. I’m sure we all have them. You get up, you brush your teeth, you put your makeup on, whatever it may be. For me getting dressed for a day makes me feel prepared to tackle it.
Liz Moody:
I also like that when you picked out shoes for me, you took things that didn’t feel stylish inherently like loafers. And then you got me one that had a big chunky sole and that made it feel cool and then same with lug sole boots. I think there’s a way of taking shoes that feel really comfy and cozy and then elevating them. Is it just a lug sole? Now that I’m saying both of those examples is that the secret?
Charly Goss:
A lug sole is a hot tip. Yeah.
Liz Moody:
Okay.
Charly Goss:
But thinking about the saying that something is comfortable and then seeing what else is available in terms of trends. A sneaker is not that [inaudible 00:31:01] from a loafer. It really isn’t. Even in Oxford, those even lace up and they both have flat soles, but one is brown leather. And one is [inaudible 00:31:15] Nike mesh running shoe. Those things completely change your outfit.
Liz Moody:
Yeah. That’s fair. Okay. Well, just to put a pin on our comfort conversation, is there pieces that you think have the highest cute-to-comfort coefficient. You’re wearing an oversized sweatshirt and I know you wear leather leggings so what are the things in your wardrobe that are the most stylish that are the most comfortable?
Charly Goss:
Most stylish, most comfortable. Leather legging. High ranking.
Liz Moody:
Okay. Okay. Do you have brands you like for leather leggings?
Charly Goss:
The [inaudible 00:31:53] pant is my fave, fave, fave. Super high waist, big chunky waistbands so it’s a bit of a sucking in. We love that. The Spanx faux leather legging, those are a really good brand and they have extended sizing. [inaudible 00:32:11] about those too. Oversized sweatshirts right now, for sure. We are so lucky that sweat suits are hot. You can put a sweat suit on and a sick pair of sneakers and a blazer or a motorcycle jacket. That’s an outfit. You’re wearing your pajamas.
Liz Moody:
Are there brands you’re loving for sweatsuits?
Charly Goss:
H&M actually has incredibly affordable, good quality sweats. They sell so fast. You have to check back and to try to find the matching set would be a bit challenge, but worth it if you can. The [inaudible 00:33:02] ones are a bit more expensive, but those are really good. And [inaudible 00:33:07] they have a bunch of different kinds of [inaudible 00:33:11] of the three so you can get an airier, lighter, free [inaudible 00:33:15] some may lay heavier [inaudible 00:33:17] if you run [inaudible 00:33:20].
Liz Moody:
I do think that matching sets are a really great style secret because it makes you look put together, even when you aren’t. It just is that it’s made of the same material.
Charly Goss:
Absolutely. Yeah. That and they’re so on trend. They’ve been around for a couple of years, but you can get them in variety of shapes. If you’re feeling more feminine, you can do like a knit skirt with a matching cardigan. They even have a sweater set now that you can have a little bralette and a matching cardigan. And it makes your outfit feel tied together without you having to do anything.
Liz Moody:
Yeah. Very, very intentional. And then just to point out, you mentioned again with the sweatsuits, we’re adding those extra pieces to pull it together. It’s about the shoe. It’s about the topper, probably about the bag.
Charly Goss:
Probably about the bag.
Liz Moody:
Okay.
Charly Goss:
Yeah. I think that you always have to be thinking about your outfit. You can put on your comfy stuff, even if, frankly, it is leggings and a white t-shirt. You can make that look cute. Grab an oversized denim jacket and a great tote bag [inaudible 00:34:42] trendy sneaker. Outfit.
Liz Moody:
All right. We talked about this a little bit when I was having my initial call with you, but I’m really curious about the idea of dressing for certain body types and the advice that we’re given around that. As a short person, I have been told for my entire life that I should wear long lines, all the same color to trick people into somehow thinking I’m taller, which I’m not sure how they’ll be tricked when they’re looking physically down at me. And then I also remember advice about using proportions to distract from my pear shape. Do you think when we’re dressing, are we distracting from our apples or pears? Or these body type rules, do you find them helpful?
Charly Goss:
How did I say this diplomatically? I hate them. I hate them so much. And maybe it’s an unpopular opinion. I have to be aware that I’m speaking from a thin body, but I think that so much of it is bullshit. So much of it is steeped in patriarchy too. The idea that smaller is better, especially for women, doesn’t end at our bodies. It’s also about our minds and our opinions and the [inaudible 00:36:03] volume of our voices. And that to me is so frustrating. It’s probably very frustrating to my husband because I say stop interrupting me all the time. But it’s something that I think about so, so much when my clients are telling me but doesn’t that makes me look bigger? Doesn’t that make me look wider, accentuate my XYZ? I hate it. I always say [inaudible 00:36:32] fuck flattering. I hate the word flattering.
Liz Moody:
Interesting.
Charly Goss:
What are we flattering? What does that mean? Flattering for who? For your eyes, for male attention, for who? If you want to wear an outfit that is body hugging, body accentuating one day, go for it. If that’s what you feel like wearing that day, if you feel like flattering your ass today, let’s do that. But if you feel like wearing something oversized and crazy and fashion forward that isn’t traditionally flattering, also do that. Also play with that. Also have fun with that. We are losing the joy in our clothing when we limit ourselves to only flattering our bodies. And I say often, we can see you. I can see that you are five feet tall. I see that. There is no [inaudible 00:37:43] [crosstalk 00:37:43].
Liz Moody:
I’m five foot one and a half. I just want to make it clear that Charly is not talking about me individually because I am taller than that.
Charly Goss:
Yeah. I am five foot two. I am practically immortal.
Liz Moody:
But you’re not fooling people essentially. [crosstalk 00:38:00]
Charly Goss:
Right. Right.
Liz Moody:
And you’re just telling yourself mentally that you should be fooling people, but you’re also not doing it. It’s a double whammy of a negative.
Charly Goss:
Right. You’re not fooling anyone and you are making yourself feel like you have to.
Liz Moody:
Yeah. You’re listening to the Healthier Together podcast. You all already know that I’m obsessed with these. They’ve been my trail and life companion for literally years. I honestly don’t think that I’ve taken a single hike in the last, maybe three years without a GoMacro bar. I also have one in my purse at all times. They are so delicious. And they’re one of the only bars out there that actually makes me feel full and not all sugar high, jittery. We’ll get into my favorite flavors in a second and I have very strong feelings about this. But first a bit about GoMacro. They’re a mother-daughter owned company, which I love and all of their products are made with a hundred percent renewable energy and sustainably sourced ingredients, which I quite possibly love even more. Macro bars are made from a hundred percent plant-based ingredients and they’re certified organic, vegan, gluten-free, kosher, non-GMO, clean, raw, and soy-free.
Liz Moody:
They also have three nut-free flavors, including oatmeal chocolate chip, maple sea salt, and sunflower butter and chocolate and nine certified FODMAP friendly flavors. No matter what your dietary needs are, you can find a bar for you. Okay, let’s talk about flavors. I am truly obsessed with the oatmeal chocolate chip. It has these little oat flakes in it that are crunchy and so satisfying. I crave these. I’d choose to eat one for dessert if it was on the menu at a restaurant. My other favorite is the double chocolate with the peanut butter chips because the peanut butter chips are life giving. And Zach of course likes the, you guessed it, mocha one. If you like your bars to have a fruity vibe, they also have a cherries plus berries bar. And as an added bonus, a percentage of net proceeds from October sales of that bar will be donated to the Keep Abreast Foundation.
PART 2 OF 4 ENDS [00:40:04]
Liz Moody:
…of that bar, will be donated to the Keep A Breast Foundation, whose mission is to empower young people around the world with breast health education and support. Truly, these bars have ruined most other bars for me. If you want to try GoMacro’s Macro Bars for yourself, you can get a whopping 30% off your order of $50 or more, plus free shipping, by going to gomacro.com and using the code HealthierTogether. Again, that’s gomacro.com, and the code is HealthierTogether. Stock up on the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, or check out the Cherries Plus Berries bar, to make your dollar do even more good. Now, let’s get back to the episode.
Liz Moody:
What do you tell clients when they come to you? I got a million questions when I asked for questions about, how do I dress my larger chest and not look boxy, or how do I style, so that my stomach doesn’t have visible rolls and things like that? What do you do when clients come to you with body-specific issues, that they feel they need to hide or dress around, not even hide?
Charly Goss:
Yeah. See, that’s the word that I hate. I’m not going to help you hide anything. I’m just not. If you want a stylist that is willing to help you hide your body, then you’ve come to the wrong person. You talk sometimes about body-neutral feelings or body-loving feelings. I’m here to help with clothing that I think fits your body.
Charly Goss:
I don’t want you to have anything that fits poorly, but I do want you to have things that have a variety of shapes, and if you’re large-chested, I think that sometimes a cool boxy cardigan with a wide-leg pant, would look amazing, and we’ll try it on and 8 times out of 10, they’ll be like, “Oh shit, it kind of does.” I want people to try different things. Often, they’re very shocked that, in fact, it doesn’t make them look bigger, wider, whatever, and also, I point out that everybody has something. If I dressed to hide all of the things that I don’t particularly find my favorite things about myself, I would never leave the house.
Liz Moody:
If we’re switching that narrative, though, is it just dressing? When I’m trying stuff on in the mirror, if I’m not dressing to look taller or to balance my pear shape, am I literally… What should I be thinking as I’m dressing, to know if I like something?
Charly Goss:
Just that. Do I like it? Does this feel like it’s communicating fun, confidence, and [inaudible 00:42:47] fashion. Are you participating in a trend, because you wanted to? Are you wearing… Right now, skinny jeans are the big hub-bub. Everybody’s freaking out about skinny jeans, and we’re doing a straight by pant, and so many of my clients are, “My husband says, I look blank, blank, blank, but I love them.” Why, why, why, why do we care, if we like it?
Liz Moody:
Yeah. I think it’s a muscle though. I think it’s hard to even know what you like, after so long of being told, this is what you should wear, this is how you stress for your body, this is how you should dress for the male gaze, et cetera, et cetera. It’s really hard to push through all of that and be like, “What do I actually want to look like?”
Charly Goss:
I think that there’s a lot of unlearning to do, about all of the fashion rules that we’ve been told, and a lot of it came from stuff that I graciously read when I was young, like Cosmo. You remember it being, 15 fashion rules to flatter your figure. God, looking back at it now, half of that is absolute bullshit and something I think, you’re totally right about it being a muscle that you have to flex.
Charly Goss:
I think that it’s really important for people to try stuff on. The assumption that anybody stylish, didn’t try on 50 outfits to get there, is incorrect. I again, have the awareness I’m speaking from a thin body, but if you don’t think that I don’t try on probably eight pairs of jeans at Zara, before I find one that I maybe like, or wear different sizes at different stores, or sometimes at the same store. I do. We all do. You have to try stuff on, flex that muscle, see what you like. Go on Pinterest, follow people on Instagram that you think are stylish, and see if there are commonalities to what you
Liz Moody:
I also loved, you did a Pinterest tip that I thought was such a hot tip, where you were like, “Don’t search cute fall outfit, search cute fall outfits 2021,” because it puts it in, I don’t know, most popular. You could be getting served stuff from 10 years ago.
Charly Goss:
Yeah. Pinterest isn’t chronological. That is such a good tip. If you’re searching vacation outfits, you might be getting vacation outfits from 2001. That ain’t cute.
Liz Moody:
Which might be cute again these days. I feel like that’s what the kids are wearing these days.
Charly Goss:
[crosstalk 00:45:50] But putting in the year. Yeah, for sure or putting in street style, or fashion leak, then you can really get probably some more extreme outfits, but you can take cues from them and be like, “Oh, I see a ton of oversized dresses, or a ton of letterman jackets, or a ton of [inaudible 00:46:17] and then you can start to understand the fashion vocabulary, that is relevant for that season and then you’re shopping, you’ll be able to be in H&M or Zara and say, “Oh, there’s that thing I saw and I’m going to try it, and see if I hate it.”
Liz Moody:
How do you approach trends? Do you recommend, clients not you, because I’m sure you buy more than I would buy, but how would you recommend clients approach trends, in terms of how many different things to buy every season, so that they feel they’re keeping up, but also they’re keeping their core long term style?
Charly Goss:
I think it’s a bit to do with that awareness piece. Following people whose style you admire, seeing what they are doing, following your favorite brands, browsing the website, seeing those commonalities again, and then thinking about what feels applicable to you and to your life, and what do you like, and then picking one or two of those things every season and advocating your budget accordingly.
Charly Goss:
If it feels like a really, gimmicky, [inaudible 00:47:38] trend, then don’t allocate a ton of funds, but if it feels like something that might be sticking around, the wider leg jean, maybe you want to invest in really beautiful pair of denim, but maybe you don’t want to invest in a little beaded Gen Z necklace, that you can get on Amazon. That, you don’t have to invest in.
Liz Moody:
I was feeling really sad one night during the pandemic in February and I bought one of those beaded… I was sad and drunk to be clear, and I bought one of those beaded necklaces, and I bought it from a very trendy designer Dua Lipa, has her necklace and Jo Jonas, and I spent $200 on this beaded necklace, and I woke up the next morning and I was like, “That’s literally the stupidest thing you have ever done in your life. I cannot believe you,” and I regretted it instantly, but she was already making it, I’d done the order. I’m like, “Okay, you supported a small business. Good for you.”
Charly Goss:
Okay. Yeah. You did your part.
Liz Moody:
I did a buying freeze though, after that. I was just trying to atone for my… and then every friend who sees it is like, “Yeah, that’s a cute necklace, did your niece make that for you?”
Charly Goss:
Yes she did.
Liz Moody:
No she didn’t. Yeah. No, it’s interesting. I think it’s hard, when you say it, it feels obvious, but I think it can be hard to know, are those crisscross jeans, going to be around for a while? It’s hard to identify, which are the things that are going to stick around and are worth investing in, and which are the beaded necklaces, or I feel like those brightly colored checkered outfits are not going to be around forever, but I think it can be hard to identify that. Do you have a trick knowing what’s going to stay, versus what’s brief?
Charly Goss:
I think that things that involve a big shape or proportion change, are more likely to have some longevity than something like a color or a texture.
Liz Moody:
From skinny to straight leg or mom jeans, is more likely to stick around, than the crazy pattern things?
Charly Goss:
Right, or a shape of a shoe. Rounded toes have receded and now we’re into square and pointy. Things that involve the big shape or proportion change, those are ones that I think that you should be paying attention to, and the other noisier stuff, like patterns, and colors, and beaded necklaces, crisscross flys, that stuff is fun and passing, and if you want to participate, great, but if you don’t, then I think you can probably rest assured, that in [crosstalk 00:50:38] months, it’s not going to matter.
Liz Moody:
I really want the beaded necklace trend to just stay around forever. I’m hoping that just becomes a classic.
Charly Goss:
Well, you’ve invested now, yeah.
Liz Moody:
Yeah. I will insist that it stays around forever. I use every bit of my influence or power to be like, “Guys, beaded necklace [crosstalk 00:50:54].”
Charly Goss:
Have you heard about beaded necklaces?
Liz Moody:
Oh, actually I was going to quiz you on stores, but I forgot, I have one question and I mostly want to use this to argue with my mother. We’ll see how it goes, but she’s been telling me that I’m a winter my whole life and that I need to wear bright colors, because I’m a winter and I’m curious if you’re a winter or a summer. I don’t know if there’s fall and spring, or if you’re just winters, but if you believe there’s colors that fit a person and they should stick to that palette, or if that’s total bullshit.
Charly Goss:
I think it’s total bullshit. That’s my answer.
Liz Moody:
I hope my mom’s listening to this episode.
Charly Goss:
I think that’s crazy. I get if you have a color that you feel looks best on you, or makes you feel your best, amazing, keep that in your back pocket, but the thing that I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, is much of what we’ve talked about here. These god damned rules, that stop us from trying shit on, from having any fucking fun with our clothing, and from getting to know what we like. How are we supposed to know what we like, if every time we go into Zara, [inaudible 00:52:15]. I can’t wear wide leg pants. I can’t wear blue. I can’t wear green. I can’t do a tight top. Pink isn’t for me. You’re limiting yourself so much. Go in there, try what you want, experiment, and don’t take advice from people, you wouldn’t want advice from.
Liz Moody:
Who you wouldn’t want to look like. I think that’s one of the biggest life rules that people forget, is if you don’t want your life to look like that person’s, in whatever way they’re giving advice, it doesn’t need to be universal. If you don’t want your hair to look like your hair stylist, if you don’t like her hair, don’t have her be your hair stylist. If you don’t like the shape of somebody’s career, don’t go to them for career advice, and I think especially with friends, I feel like we’re so, “What would my friend say about this dating situation?” And you wouldn’t want your dating life to look like that friends.
Charly Goss:
Yeah, I think [inaudible 00:53:11] from people and places, that they’ve never been, or something like that, and that’s so true. Oh, your husband doesn’t like your jeans? Well, your husband is wearing man sandals. You know what? Fuck him. My husband, is not where I go for fashion advice. He just isn’t.
Liz Moody:
It’s such a good point. It’s such a good point.
Liz Moody:
You’re listening to the Healthier Together podcast.
Liz Moody:
When I worked as a magazine editor, I wrote more than a thousand articles about turmeric, because pretty much all of the doctors that I used as sources, kept recommending it or citing it, as one of the supplements that they would personally take. Here’s the background. Turmeric is one of the most powerful ways to fight inflammation. In a nutshell, there are two types of inflammation, acute and chronic. Acute inflammation can actually be a good thing. It’s one of the ways that your body heals and repairs itself, but when that system goes haywire, we get chronic inflammation, which essentially makes your body feel like it’s constantly under attack.
Liz Moody:
The vast majority of doctors I work with, cite chronic inflammation as one of the root causes of so many of our modern ailments, and research links inflammation with Heart Disease, Diabetes, Autoimmune Conditions, Cancer, Arthritis, and gut issues like Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis.
Liz Moody:
I am never going to sit around and tell you that a supplement will cure everything that ails you, but if you’re looking for a turmeric supplement to help get your inflammation under control, I am extremely impressed with Paleo Valleys. To increase the bio availability of turmeric, you need to consume it with black pepper, which most people know and fat, which many people forget about. Paleo Valley’s turmeric complex has black pepper and coconut oil to maximize absorption and three other powerful anti-inflammatories, Ginger, Rosemary, and Clove, for maximum synergistic response.
Liz Moody:
It also has no fillers, binders, or preservatives, and is made with all organic ingredients, in just a veggie capsule. Finally, it’s third party tested, which is something I always look for in supplements, as extra assurance of their quality. I’ve had my uncle taking this for about three months and he’s gone from having debilitating back pain, due to an autoimmune condition, to being almost completely pain free.
Liz Moody:
Paleo Valley has a number of other incredibly high quality food derived supplements, including a Vitamin C that I adore. Vitamin C is my ultimate favorite supplement for skin health, and a Neuro Effect Mushroom Powder that Zach loves for increasing energy and focus. Definitely explore their website. If you’d like to the Turmeric Complex, the Vitamin C, the Neuro Effect, or any of paleo Valley’s other amazing products, head over to paleovalley.com and use the code LizM for 15% off. That’s paleo valley.com and code LizM for 15% off your order and if you have any questions, feel free to hit me up on Instagram.
Liz Moody:
I love chatting about this stuff. Now let’s get back to the episode.
Liz Moody:
I’ve got to ask. I feel like anybody who’s familiar with your Instagram is going to be like, “But she’s giving us rules all the time. She’s telling us what’s cool and not cool.” Why are those rules helpful, and these other rules not helpful?
Charly Goss:
I try not to give you rules about how to dress, but I am going to tell you about things that are outdated.
Liz Moody:
Okay. If you want to try this wardrobe approach, here’s the cool way to do it versus the not cool way to do it, but this approach is open to anybody and it’s not off limits to anybody, basically.
Charly Goss:
For sure. All people are welcome to be stylish, stylish is for everybody. It’s for everybody, but I don’t know. Is that true that I don’t give people rules? Probably not, but I’m always doing it in the interest of better style. I don’t like rules that are exclusionary, saying that something isn’t for you, because of your body, because of your skin tone. That feels insane. It might not be for you, because it’s from 2008, but it’s not because it’s red.
Liz Moody:
Okay. That’s interesting.
Charly Goss:
And I do on my Instagram, is definitely from a general sense. I try to do as much widely received fashion knowledge as possible, but we do have a [inaudible 00:57:55]. If you want more specific help, if you are really struggling with your exact body type, if you had a particular life change, or something that has happened and you need help from me, or from our team, then we’ve got personal shopping. We’ve got [inaudible 00:58:16] hauls. We are here to help people with those specific problems. If they can’t find me, [inaudible 00:58:22] in Instagram stories.
Liz Moody:
Well, and I love the cool, not cool, because it almost feels like you’re helping me learn a language where I’m like, ” Something is off about this and I don’t know why,” and then you explain why, and I like something about this, but I don’t know what, and then you explain that.
Charly Goss:
Yeah, you and I talked about, we had a celebrity theory, or you have a celebrity theory about tight, baggy or something. What was it?
Liz Moody:
Courtney Kardashian. I like her style a lot. Say what you will about the Kardashians, but I love her style and I do like the Kardashians for what it’s worth.
Charly Goss:
Yeah, I do too.
Liz Moody:
I like them. I think they’re entertaining and I also think that we, as a society, need to stop elevating people onto platforms and then getting mad at them for having platforms, because we put them there. That’s on us. That’s a reflection of us and if we don’t like who we’re elevating, I think as a society, we need to take a good, long, hard look in the mirror and then maybe we can talk about things more.
Charly Goss:
We have some re evaluating to do. Yeah.
Liz Moody:
But, I noticed that when she’s wearing tight on bottom, she’s wearing really baggy on top and then if she’s wearing really tight on top, she’s wearing quite baggy on bottom and I called it, ‘no medium dressing’, when I talked to you about it, because I feel like I wear things that fit me, medium. Like a sweater that’s not oversized, but not fitted. A pant that’s not oversized, but not fitted, and then you talk to me about juxtaposition and proportions.
Charly Goss:
Right. You’re totally right. Not medium dressing. Oh God, now I’m going to talk about that on Instagram. I call it, ‘I give up dressing’. It happens a lot to new moms, and no judgment, because I’ve been there.
PART 3 OF 4 ENDS [01:00:04]
Charly Goss:
And no judgment, because I’ve been there. I’ve been there twice. And it was so easy to lose yourself in a million sort of life-stages, but particularly in new motherhood, and feel strains about the big change that your body has just gone through, and you end up marrying those [inaudible 01:00:25], or the slumpy legging, t- shirt, cardigan combination. And by the time your kids are in kindergarten, you realize that you’re still wearing it. And very often women at that very point are coming to me and saying, “What the hell happened to me?” And it is that medium dressing. That is hard to nail, let’s say. So that juxtaposition thing that we were talking about, and that you totally understood without that knowing that you understood it, is that proportion play; the very slim with the very oversized, the heavily textured with a cotton basic, the masculine with the feminine. The juxtaposition is what makes fashion interesting, it’s what makes an outfit interesting. It’s what brings dimension. And you’ll notice it everywhere the more you start thinking about it.
Liz Moody:
Well, and the thing that brought it home for me was even in home design, we’re looking for that.
Charly Goss:
Right.
Liz Moody:
We are looking for hard and soft, or it looks chic when you have a farmhouse decor, but then you bring in these modern elements. Not all one thing, you want things to contrast.
Charly Goss:
Right. Exactly. It’s why people [inaudible 01:01:47] and Joanna Gaines. Modern farmhouse. Those things are opposite. And the reason they work, the reason they feel stylish, and fresh, and dimensional is the juxtaposition of those two things.
Liz Moody:
All right, let’s do some quick fire, particularly let’s do some quick fire around stores and places to shop. What are your favorite places to shop for trendy pieces? For mixing those really on-trend things into our wardrobe?
Charly Goss:
Zara is amazing. Every week there’s something new at Zara, and you can always find cheaper version of a big fat trend at Zara.
Liz Moody:
What are your favorite places to shop for high-quality basics?
Charly Goss:
In Canada, we have [inaudible 01:02:30] . So in the states it would probably be somewhere like Nordstrom, Sax, [inaudible 01:02:38] those higher end brands for a really good quality [inaudible 01:02:44] or cotton basic.
Liz Moody:
And are those for basics that you think we should be having in our wardrobe? Are those jeans, white t-shirts, are that blazer that you mentioned earlier? That should be probably high quality because that’s going to be around forever.
Charly Goss:
I mean, disagree, partly.
Liz Moody:
Okay.
Charly Goss:
I really believe that spending money even on a basic is going to increase their longevity, especially if you’re wearing it a ton, you’re probably washing it a ton. And frankly, some of the most expensive things that I have bought they last the same amount of time. Like I spent a ton of money on a knit from a fancy store and it lasted as long as my Zara knits from that season’s [crosstalk 01:03:32]. So something that I really focus on is affordable, attainable fashion, like you don’t have to spend a ton of money, I don’t think on anything if you like to, but if you are assigning big dollars, it should be your bags and coats.
Liz Moody:
Oh okay. That makes sense.
Charly Goss:
Yeah
Liz Moody:
They do last so much longer.
Charly Goss:
Right.
Liz Moody:
And you’re not washing them.
Charly Goss:
And you’re wearing them kind of on the outside of outfits, right. And you’re not washing and wearing them each time.
Liz Moody:
What are your favorite places to shop for shoes?
Charly Goss:
Here we have Aldo and Call It Spring. Did we get you a couple pairs of shoes from Ojo?
Liz Moody:
No, but we have Aldo here.
Charly Goss:
Okay. I love Aldo.
Liz Moody:
But we did DSW for me and Nine West for my chunky loafer.
Charly Goss:
Yeah. Aldo, and Spring are really good for super affordable shoes. Step up would be like Steve Madden. And then for something beautiful and quality that should last a really long time Stuart Weisman has beautiful shoes.
Liz Moody:
Are these all comfortable-ish?
Charly Goss:
Relatively.
Liz Moody:
I also have decided, I don’t know your thoughts on this, I’m going to take the heels that you had me buy and I’m just going to go get the most comfortable orthopedic inserts that I can get.
Charly Goss:
Yeah, yeah.
Liz Moody:
And just put them in the heel.
Charly Goss:
Correct.
Liz Moody:
Okay.
Charly Goss:
Do that.
Liz Moody:
Yeah. I feel like, because that’s often what you’re paying for in some of the stuff.
Charly Goss:
Right.
Liz Moody:
So if you can get a pair of Steve Madden shoes and then just get that orthopedic insert, you’re like golden.
Charly Goss:
Especially if you can’t see it, like a loafer or a sneaker, a pump with the back. Yeah, put an insert in there, even if you have to size up half the size.
Liz Moody:
Right.
Charly Goss:
Perfect.
Liz Moody:
So we’ve mentioned the handbags a lot. Where would you shop on the affordable end for handbags? And then where would you shop if you wanted to invest in a handbag?
Charly Goss:
Favorite place right now for affordable handbags is Mango. They are managing to do really expensive looking trendy and sort of staple pieces that when they arrive, they arrive and you’re like, oh man, this is heavy. The leather is beautiful. The hardware is textured. Those bags that they are putting out are very incredible. Obviously Zara and H&M, they always have a great collection of the accessories. And then if you’re looking for something more high end you should be looking at your favorite designers. This is a place where you can kind of bring in sustainability and you can shop secondhand. Poshmark is amazing. I’m sure whatever city you’re in, you probably have a haute consignment or a luxury reseller. I love Mine and Yours. They’re at Vancouver. And they have like, oh God, just swoon worthy handbags at like half the price, and then you can sell your gently used, actually a nice way to kind of make fashion a bit more [inaudible 01:06:42] but otherwise, yeah, your beautiful, luxury designer stores. Go in there and invest.
Liz Moody:
What about favorite places to shop for jeans? Particularly jeans that are size inclusive?
Charly Goss:
Jeans is tricky. Probably the trickiest thing to buy for everybody I would say. Jeans at the mall are made for one body type, and it doesn’t matter who you are, it never feels like it’s you. Okay so yeah, they have denim forum in [inaudible 01:07:19], they are really beautiful. Prodigy denim, it is only straight sizing. I think they go up to 14, maybe 16. [inaudible 01:07:28] for plus size, they have really great denim. Torrid has some really good denim. Abercrombie for curvier girls, they’ve done some really innovative stuff for denim. I’ve heard that the in store experience hasn’t changed [crosstalk 01:07:49]
Liz Moody:
It still smells like you’re in high school.
Charly Goss:
Yeah. Yeah. It smells like the high store prom in there. Nobody’s going to talk to you, but bottom line, they had a whole range of denim that they’re calling Curve Love, and so it has more fabric in the hip and a tighter waist band.
Liz Moody:
That’s my thing. A hundred percent.
Charly Goss:
Yeah.
Liz Moody:
If it fits my butt, it’s gaping at my waist guaranteed.
Charly Goss:
Mm-hmm (affirmative), mm-hmm (affirmative). And a lot of women have that problem. And the multitude of others with denim and I say to tailor your jeans. I am again in a pretty thin body, but I tailor every pair of jeans I have. Every pair.
Liz Moody:
You buy them. And how do you know when it’s good enough to tailor? If it fits in my hips, but it’s gapping at my waist. Is that what I’m looking for? And then I bring it in and they make it tighter at my waist? Or do I just buy something that’s overall bigger, everywhere. And they make it fit me?
Charly Goss:
No, no. For your body shape, yes. So you’re going to fit generally the biggest part of you and then tailor what needs to be tailored down.
Liz Moody:
Okay.
Charly Goss:
Easier to tailor down than up. Right? So for you, you’d be fitting your thigh and your bum, and then maybe able to sink in at the back.
Liz Moody:
Okay.
Charly Goss:
But for another girl that maybe carries more of her weight in her stomach, she’d be fitting her waist and then potentially tailoring through the hip.
Liz Moody:
So fit your largest part, and when you love the fit on your largest part, then you tailor the rest to match that?
Charly Goss:
Right, Yeah, exactly.
Liz Moody:
Okay cool. All right. This is a question that a listener had that I thought was really interesting. What’s the difference when I’m paying $200 jeans versus like $100 jeans, am I getting a different quality of jean?
Charly Goss:
It depends where you’re shopping. Sometimes, no, sometimes, yes. Usually a really cheap pair of jeans is usually ton of stretch in it. Those super elastically jeans are not going to have a very long life. Those elasticy properties break down very easily, if you can stretch them out. You can put them in hot water to wash them and physically break those pieces of stretch. So often you’ll find that higher quality jeans has a bit of a stiffer texture because it doesn’t have as high an elastin content. So sometimes you are paying for a much higher probably denim, sometimes you’re just paying for a label. It really depends. I think that you can get a really good quality pair of jeans for under $100.
Liz Moody:
And then can you just end us on five items that you think every single person should have in their closet? And that’s our excellent base.
Charly Goss:
Ooh. Yeah. Okay. A white scoop neck body suit.
Liz Moody:
Oh.
Liz Moody:
I’ll get back to the other four. You single handedly converted me to body suits.
Charly Goss:
Oh.
Liz Moody:
I’d used to buy body suits sometimes, and then just cut off, I don’t know the vagina snaps? I don’t know what those are called. I was just like, why am I having this thing strapped around my butt and stuff if I don’t have to, if I could just tuck it in. And then you were like, you’re never going to get the lines with a tucked in shirt that you’re going to get with a body suit.
Charly Goss:
Right.
Liz Moody:
And I started paying attention to that. And I was like, oh my gosh, right? It’s a completely different the way it sits. And it doesn’t bunch or wrinkle.
Charly Goss:
Right. The hold that you get on that nice tight body suit is so different than like shoving a long tank top into into your jeans.
Liz Moody:
And a body suit versus a tucked and top, because you’re looking for that pull, which is giving … your vagina’s acting as a beautiful anchor for [crosstalk 01:11:49]
Charly Goss:
Your vagina as always is acting as a beautiful anchor. Yeah.
Liz Moody:
Okay. So what are the other four?
Charly Goss:
So a white scoop neck bodysuit. I think you have to have a really great black blazer, whether it is sort of an oversized, boxy vibe, or if it’s something a bit slimmer in proportion, I think you have to have a great blazer black. That will go over a dress for a wedding, and it would go over a pair of jeans. Amazing. I think you have to have one perfect pair of denim, and that means perfect for you. It can be a pair of skinnies, if those are your favorite or it can be a pair of lime, your pair of straight [traps 01:12:34], something in a really beautiful blue, not too much distressing, something classic. I think everybody should have a pair of nude pumps. Just like the pair of shoes that you put on when you can’t fucking figure out a pair of shoes to wear me.
Charly Goss:
The pair of shoes. Aldo has a great pair of nude pumps that they do every year, I think they’re call like the Stessy? They’re a Louis Vuitton knock off, perfect. And lastly, I think, I don’t want to say a little black dress, but your dress. Your dress that you put on that makes you feel great, whether it makes you feel feminine or badass or stylist or whatever it is, a dress is the easiest thing to wear. I think it is just one and done. And that way you can throw that dress on with your black blazer and a pair of sneakers, out the door.
Liz Moody:
Good to go, all right. If people want to follow you on Instagram or find out more about your styling, where should they go?
Charly Goss:
They can go to www.CharlyGoss.com or you can find me on Instagram @CharlyGoss.
Liz Moody:
We’ve danced around some of the different stuff you do. But do you want to just kind of briefly talk about what you do over on Charly Goss, Charly with no E, C-H-A-R-L-Y, Goss.com.
Charly Goss:
Right. Yup, used to be just me, but now it’s a team. We are wardrobe and fashion stylists and we also do interior projects. So kind of helping women find their style however we can, a lot of women we dress don’t feel like they have the confidence to do it on their own. So that’s where we come in. I’m also sort of the fashion educator by accident on Instagram. And that’s what we do over there. We talk about what is cool, but is not cool, how to make outfits amazing. The mistakes that you might be making, how to fix them. I show you what I’m buying, what I’m wearing. What’s new in store. All of the things.
Liz Moody:
Love that. Love that I highly recommend following you on Instagram. I feel like I learn something new every single day. Honestly, it’s been very for me.
Charly Goss:
Thanks, that is so sweet.
Liz Moody:
And I really appreciate you sharing all this wisdom with us here. I’m so excited to go tell my mom that her color theory is not relevant. Yes. That I’m going to go wear the summer colors and I’m going to look fabulous doing it.
Charly Goss:
Yeah, you are. Okay, but thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. It’s been so fun working together and hope to chat again soon.
Liz Moody:
I hope you loved this episode with Charly. I’m just like in love with her. I think she’s so cool. So awesome. And she’s honestly just changed how I approach my own style in my life. And I feel so much more confident since I started working with her, since I started following her and all of that. So I hope you were imbued with a little bit of her wisdom with a little bit of her confidence. Remember, you can find her on Instagram, she’s @CharlyGoss. I would love to hear your thoughts, feedback, reaction. I want to see any cute outfits that you put together after listening to this episode. So definitely screenshot, take pictures of yourself, go shopping and take pictures of yourself and tag me on Instagram. I am @LizMoody, also tag Charly. She would love to see, I’m sure.
Liz Moody:
And if you did love the episode, I would so appreciate a quick rating or review on whatever podcast platform that you listen to takes two seconds. I promise. I try to do it like once a month. I go through to all the podcasts that I’m listening to at the moment, and I do a quick rating review because it’s free to me and it helps the content creators so, so much. So if you do do that, or if you have done that in the past, I appreciate you from the bottom of my heart. All right. I hope you love this episode and I will see you on the next episode of the Healthier Together podcast next Wednesday, have a great day.
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