99 - Image consultant Ginger Burr transforms wardrobes and lives

🎥⁠Watch the video podcast on YouTube⁠

🌿NEW WEBSITE – THE FLIRTY VEGAN

👉Follow @theflirtyvegan on Instagram

📣Join ⁠The Flirty Vegan Facebook Group⁠

☎️⁠Book a CONNECTION CALL⁠

⭐️Get the ⁠newsletter⁠For over 35 years, Ginger Burr, President of Total Image Consultants, has helped women around the world create a wardrobe they love by connecting with their inner essence. She has been interviewed by Allure Magazine, Worth Magazine, Forbes Magazine and Bloomberg Business Week and was chosen as one of VegNews Magazine’s ’25 Most Fascinating Vegetarians’ for her innovative and groundbreaking work as a vegan image consultant. She is also the author of the book That’s So You! Create a look you love with beauty, style and grace and the creator of the live online course ‘Create Your Personal Style in 6 Weeks! 

Ginger's websiteGinger's InstagramGinger's YouTube

Ginger's book

Ginger's Notes from the Sidelines:

1. We should all have clothing we love. We need to be more discriminating.
2. Veganism is more than what you eat. It's what you wear and the products you use.
3. Wool and silk are not environmentally friendly. Do your research.
4. You can look good in a lot of things, but if you don't feel great, then you won't wear them.
5. A capsule wardrobe doesn't mean white button down and little black dress. It's the streamlined items that you love and can wear interchangeably.
6. Make fashion more manageable, satisfying, fun, and joyful.

**The information provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to constitute legal or medical advice; all information, content, and material on this site are for general informational purposes only. This podcast contains links to other third party websites. Such links are only for the convenience and enjoyment of the user.

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
Hey ladies, my name is Jenny Chaffetz and I am the host of
Sideline Sisters. Are you a busy mom, powerhouse
professional or high achieving go getter?
This show is for no BS women whowant to be inspired to get off
the sidelines of their lives. Ever feel like you're playing
small or safe or just on autopilot?

(00:23):
My guests are relatable women who've gone on a journey,
overcome challenges, and live toshare the lessons that we want
to hear. These conversations will be
funny, sad, scary, wise, encouraging, and most of all,
real. So whether you're driving, doing
chores, exercising, walking the dog, or just laying on the

(00:45):
couch, settle in and enjoy. I want to invite you to take
back your power, reignite your passions, and step off the
sidelines. Let's go.
Hey everyone, happy episode 99. My name is Jenny Chaffetz and I
am welcoming you for the second to last time to the Sideline

(01:05):
Sisters Podcast. Now it is the Wednesday right
before Halloween, so I want to present you with a treat, not a
trick. If you've been.
Paying attention, then you know this show is rebranding to the
Flirty Vegan. Yes, I used the word vegan,
which I know can be very triggering.

(01:25):
Yes, I get that. But I want you to know that the
true foundation of this show, the stories, the human aspect,
is not going to change. I am still bringing on
incredible guests every episode to tell their story of how
finding a vegan lifestyle changed the trajectory of their

(01:47):
lives. So these conversations will be
motivating, heartfelt, shocking,exciting, comforting, and
hopefully super freaking encouraging for you to consider
this lifestyle. So the Flirty Vegan is for you

(02:07):
if you are flirting with the idea of making a change, of
going vegetarian, of going vegan, of doing something
totally radical so that you can live a better life.
Whatever better means for you. Healthier, more energetic,

(02:29):
vibrant, longer but not crappier, more engaged and
connected, more loving and compassionate.
Because all of that is availablethrough a vegan lifestyle today.
Interestingly, I'm bringing on my new friend Ginger Burr, and
Ginger actually straddles the old mission of this show and the

(02:50):
new mission. Now, before I tell you all about
Ginger, I have to ask, how are you feeling?
How are you really feeling? Like in your bones, in your
soul. Because if anything is
suboptimal, you know, I'm talking weight, sleep, stress,

(03:10):
skin, gut, blood pressure, cholesterol, sugar, numbers.
If anything is undesirable, thenlet's get on a free consultation
call. Let's talk about it.
I would love to show you what ispossible for you, what a vegan
lifestyle offers you. So if you tell me you sleep

(03:32):
really poorly, so therefore wakeup exhausted and cranky, and I'm
sure a lot of you can relate to that, then I will tell you on
this call what I think is going on and some suggestions,
strategies that you can easily implement to rectify that
situation. Same goes if you tell me you

(03:54):
have high cholesterol, stomach aches, constant back pain.
I want to hear what's going on for you so that I can offer you
some ideas and tactical approaches to alleviating your
pain. Because you deserve that.
You really do. If you have become complacent to

(04:16):
the things that are going wrong and you've chalked it up to bad
genes or getting older, no, I really want to debunk that for
you right now and let you know that you are entitled to a super
healthy life. You are worthy of feeling
amazing. No matter how old you are or no

(04:38):
matter what you've done up to this point, you're not doomed.
Let's talk about it. So the link is in the show notes
to book this free introductory coaching call, consultation
call, whatever you'd like to call it.
We'll get on Zoom, we'll talk, you'll walk away with some
implementable ideas to feel better.

(04:59):
And then if you're feeling inclined, then we decide to work
together and do more over a longer period of time so that it
really becomes who you are. But let's just get on that first
call to assess what's going on, where you're at physically and
mentally, and we go from there. The link is in the show notes.

(05:21):
Now let me tell you all about mybeautiful friend, Ginger.
For over 35 years, Ginger Burr, President of Total Image
Consultants, has helped women around the world create a
wardrobe they love by connectingwith their inner essence.
She has been interviewed by Allure Magazine, Worth Magazine,

(05:41):
Forbes Magazine and Bloomberg Business Week, and was chosen as
one of Vegnews Magazine's Most Fascinating Vegetarians for her
innovative and groundbreaking work as a vegan image
consultant. He is also the author of the
book That's So You Create a lookyou love with beauty, style and
Grace. And she's the creator of the

(06:03):
live online course Create Your Personal Style in six weeks.
Ginger is an absolutely delightful human being and if
you watch the interview on Spotify or YouTube, you will see
just how stunning she is now. Let's get into episode 99 with
Ginger Burr. Well, I am so pleased to welcome

(06:30):
you, Ginger Bird, to the Silent Sisters Podcast.
Hi. Hi, thank you, Jenny.
I'm here. Well, I'm thrilled to have you
here, although I must admit thatI was a little intimidated
thinking what should I wear? What color lipstick?
Like here's an image consultant that might be one of those
people. Like, you know, you can't shut
your brain off. So are you constantly looking at

(06:51):
people and wanting to help? Is is that like, is that a just
a personality? I don't want to say flaw, but
like a burden that you carry. Well, I guess sort of, although
it did not even occur. You look lovely.
It did not even occur to me, butyou know, if I'm ever watching
like the news or something, I think why did yes that color,

(07:11):
you know I. Think that and you know, this
won't this won't air for a little bit, but at the time that
we're recording the Emmys were last night.
And I mean, that's that's just ripe for all of us to.
I have, I have. I didn't watch it, but I'm I'm
ready to go and just look at thestyles.

(07:31):
Yeah, Yeah. Well, I'll circle back with you
offline because there was one person in particular that I, you
know, what am I? What what do we know sitting at
home? But even my husband, you know,
armchair philosopher saying. Who dressed her?
Like, did she, did they not havea mirror?
Were they in the dark? That's just not doing anything

(07:53):
for her. So it it, it was not to shame
her, but it just, I felt like she could have it is.
Interesting. Because you have to wonder, I
mean, did she love it or was shejust going by somebody else's?
Not I'm not having seen it by somebody else's suggestion and
and hey, she might end up on somebody's best dressed list.

(08:14):
You know really when you I look at the best dressed, worst
dressed, which athlete for the worst dressed I.
Know they. Should do that.
But I've sometimes I'm like, really, I would switch them or
whatever, you know, it's God whoput that one on the worst or who
put. It's so weird.
It's so weird. You know, that's why fashion to
a certain extent is subjective. So, yeah, yeah.

(08:36):
Well, I, I love that we're having this conversation today
because this is part of a, a series of episodes that for
people who have been listening know that, that we've done a few
episodes already talking about unique style, personal style,
what fashion means. And it is such an interesting

(08:56):
conversation in this current moment with the fast fashion
debate and. Fair trade.
And the, the cost of things, theeasy access, the click Now, it's
such an interesting conversation.
And I mean, I remember back when, when my father's first

(09:17):
started dating my stepmother, she had really nice clothes.
She still has really nice clothes because she has good
taste. But at the time she was a little
bit, probably a lot bit more. If she's listening.
I, no offense, I think she wouldagree with this.
She was a lot more frugal when they first met.

(09:37):
You know, at the time she was a single mother and now she's not.
So maybe she was a little bit more on budget, but she was a
quality over quantity gal from the moment I met her.
So she had Prada shoes and Calvin Klein dresses, not Calvin
Klein outlet, but like Calvin Klein for my, I don't even know
if there are Calvin Klein storesanymore, but there were 30 years

(09:58):
ago. And so she had these brands that
I looked at as like, aren't we special?
But she didn't have a lot of things.
She would wear the same shift dress over and over again, but
you know, this day with a long necklace, the next day with a
scarf, the next day with a blazer.
And so she, she always had that mindset of buy nice things and

(10:23):
have less of them. But in this world now of, you
know, when she, when she came into my life, there was no
Amazon, there was no Internet. But now with, with the Amazon
and just the blow up of fast fashion, it's, it's so easy to
say, you know, it's, it's only a$12.00 T-shirt.

(10:45):
So I'll get that. And if it tears or fades after a
couple washes, I'll discard it. So what are your thoughts on
fashion today? So many, It's so funny that you
bring this up too, because just this morning I was doing a color
analysis for a client and we were chatting and she's young,

(11:06):
early 20s. And we were talking about, you
know, why she wanted to have a color palette.
And one of the things she says said is I'm not into fast
fashion. I am not going to go to Sheehan.
Yeah, I was like, yes. Wow, you.
Said I want to buy with intention.
Now, I'm going to generalize wildly here, but I've seen that

(11:28):
a lot with the Gen. Z women that I, I work with that
they are more thoughtful in whatthey bring into their wardrobe.
They don't want a huge wardrobe.They don't want to do fast
fashion. They want to be able to wear it
for a while. They want to be able to mix and
match a lot of them, like, you know, consignment or thrift

(11:49):
shopping, those kinds of things.And so it gives me hope that
that's the direction we're goingin.
But then, you know, I hear people say, well, like you said,
I just picked it up at, you know, Amazon and it was $12.00.
I'll wear it once and then that's it.
And, and I'm thinking, you know,if there's a particular reason,

(12:10):
like maybe you, you know, hurt your shoulder and you have a
hard time putting something on and you need something that you
can get into easily. But, you know, I don't know,
there's a lot, you know, there'slots of reasons that maybe that,
but I believe that we all shouldhave clothing that we love.
And if you love that $12.00 T-shirt and you're going to wear
it until, well, it might fall upout faster than you know, but

(12:32):
you know, until it just is embarrassing to wear out any
more than great. But, you know, I like the top
I'm wearing right now. Really.
I've had this top, I don't know,1314 years.
I love this top. I love the color.
I love the way it fits. Yeah.
I'm not getting rid of it till it falls apart, if it ever does.
So I I'm hoping that's where we're moving.

(12:54):
But. And and see I.
Find that really surprising whatyou just said because I would
think, you know, given that my kids are 18 and 20, around the
same age of who you spoke to, not so much my son, but my
daughter. It's TikTok shop all day long.
And so that's what I'm thinking with Gen.

(13:15):
Z is even though it's weird, it's like I I listen to so many
podcasts and while they haven't yet responded to my invitation
to come on this show, I will give a shout out to the
millennial minimalists. They're they're a duo of women
who are fantastic and they talk a lot about, you know, the

(13:36):
capsule wardrobe and just havingenough, not not overdoing it.
Like, why would you need 6 pairsof black boots?
1 is sufficient. And why do you need 32 pairs of
underwear? How aren't you doing laundry
every week? You really only need like 8 to
10 pairs of underwear. Like, it's just a very
thoughtful approach that unless you have a specialized interest

(14:00):
that you're participating in regularly, why would you need
multiple pairs of sneakers? Why do you need basketball
sneakers and tennis sneakers and, you know, fashion sneakers
and. Cleats.
And golf shoes, like, unless you're doing these things
regularly, why have all this stuff?
So they are very conscious of their purchases, their

(14:21):
consumption, their discarding ofthings.
But then I see the whole TikTok shop explosion.
There's there. It's not going to have a long
lifespan. Yes, you know, it's interesting
because you know, given what I do, I have the opportunity if I
wanted to, you know, show clothes from different

(14:45):
designers. And just last week I was or not
last week, a couple weeks ago, Iwas contacted by Spanx.
They said, you know, you know, would you take a look at, you
know, you can choose a few things Da da da.
And, and I looked at their clothes and I thought, oh OK, I
kind of like these things. Chose 4 things and I and there

(15:07):
was no requirement for me to, you know, get on to Instagram
or. Social media, Yeah, yeah.
Promote them, yeah. They wanted my feedback, but I
like pieces, so I showed them. That same week, I was contacted
by another company. I won't mention the name,
although they're a very good company.
But I realized, you know, they're my clients aren't going

(15:28):
to buy their clothes. It's not the right fit for most
of my clients. And to your point a minute ago,
I don't want 4,000,000 things inmy wardrobe.
And I looked at their clothes and a lot of their things are
black and I think some red. And I thought I personally don't
wear either of those colors. So it's something that I would

(15:49):
just be getting to for a while. Why exactly doesn't?
So I, I regularly will turn down.
I don't want a massive wardrobe.I want a wardrobe that fits in
my closet neatly and then where I can see everything that's in
there. So, you know, I think we have to
be more discriminating. But the problem is, I mean, and

(16:11):
we can chat about this if you want, but the problem is a lot
of times, and particularly as weget older, so, you know, women
don't know what they want or what works for them anymore,
particularly if their bodies have shifted those kinds of
things. So they just buy stuff hoping
the next thing will work or because they saw an influencer,
but maybe that influencer had a different body shape, different

(16:33):
coloring, different all those things.
So they end up with this wardrobe of like, good enough
stuff that doesn't really make the heart sing.
Yeah, that's so true. We downsized a few years ago and
I got rid of, I would say sometimes I exaggerate, but I'm
going to try to be accurate. I would say at least 50% of my

(16:58):
wardrobe. I mean, we got rid of most
things in our home completely. So you know, furniture, dishes,
everything. But with the clothing, I looked
and said, and in the last three years since I did that 3 1/2
years, I have only thought abouta couple things that, you know,

(17:18):
that I kind of said maybe I shouldn't have gotten rid of
those shoes. Those were kind of classic like
what do I wear pumps very often?No, but maybe I should have kept
them because they were a really nice like vintage brand and they
were beautiful. But then I thought, but I don't
have A use for them. So maybe someone else will will

(17:41):
wear them with with gusto. It just became a we have a
smaller house, less space. And I, like you had just
mentioned, I don't want to need like a magnifying glass and a
headlamp to find what I'm going to wear today.
I know that's so true. That's too funny.
And well, the other thing we have to think about is sometimes

(18:02):
when we see influencers, they like live in LA where there's
like, as far as I can tell, likeone season now I got I got LA
people going. No, there's not.
It gets really cold at night. I need a parka.
I think it's. Like, you know, 60, right?
You know, now you and I know in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, we
like, I do have a lot of coats. Yeah.

(18:25):
'Cause you know, is it raining, is it cold?
Is it snowing? Is it, you know, muggy?
Is it, you know, what is it doing out here and what do I
need in terms of the coat? One coat or even 2 coats isn't
going to cut it. You know, from September through
April, not going to cut it. So you know there are.
Certain things, that part of it is driven by where you live now.

(18:48):
I love all of my coats. One of my coats.
You may remember being vegan. You may remember this line.
It was Vote Couture. Do you remember Vote Couture?
No. They see that she's been gone.
Leon, who created it, She created this beautiful vegan
coat line when if you wanted a vegan coat, you had to buy a

(19:11):
parka. If you were lucky, you could not
buy a really pretty winter coat.And she made really pretty
winter coats. So I have a coat of hers that I
got, oh, probably 1516 years ago, something like that.
I don't know. And I still wear it.
It's beautiful. So I'm not getting rid of it.

(19:34):
So, you know, I love my coats and I wear them all.
But you know, we have to look atwhere we live as well and what
our needs are. Yeah, it's such an interesting
conversation. Well, I'm glad you mentioned
the, you know, the buzzy word between us, which is vegan.
So what prompted you to go veganis the first question and then

(19:55):
leading into how did that affector transform your business?
Yeah, interesting, because I haven't eaten red meat in 45
years or something like that. Really long time, but I didn't

(20:15):
really know I knew about vegetarianism and I, you know, I
was fairly close. I did eat chicken once in a
while, but other than that, I was, you know, pretty vegetarian
for a very long time. And then one day, I've been
vegan for 20 years now. One day, 20 years ago, I was
reading a book called Plant Roots.

(20:38):
Nobody's ever heard of it, but Istill have it up here on my
shelf because it's so transformative for me.
Plant roots. And what they talked about was
if you eat dairy, you are directly contributing to the
veal industry now. I did not eat veal.
I hadn't eaten veal in 25 years.I would not catch it.

(21:00):
You know, it was horrifying to me that I ate that still.
It is so, and I apologize for the interruption.
It is fascinating. And I want to, I want to just,
you know, give grace to all the listeners who are not vegan
because that's probably most of them them in that you and I are
admitting that at one point for me more recently than you, we

(21:22):
ate me. But the ability to
compartmentalize and and make these like categoric
determinations about what's appropriate, what's food, what's
not. I grew up during those very
profound and effective anti vealcommercials.

(21:47):
So, you know, while, while many people don't watch the vegan
documentaries, they don't want to see the factory farming and
confinement lots and all that, alot of us did see the veal
commercials because you'd be watching your favorite show and
then on comes the confined baby calf.
And so we, we saw that, we processed that and made a

(22:10):
decision not to eat veal. Many of us, I know, I think my
husband and I both, while we were meat eaters, we're not veal
eaters, right? Because that troubled us.
Right. But but not comprehending that
while it was definitely wrong toeat the baby, we could eat the
parents. I know, really I know it and it,

(22:31):
and you're right, it is easy. We do compartmentalize and
although this has changed somewhat now, but there was no
support out there for introducing people to OK, so
you're not eating veal. Well, what about the adult?
Nobody talked about that. They didn't talk about that.
And growing up, of course, I, we, I just ate meat.
That's what served. We ate it.

(22:52):
And then in my 20s, I'm like, no, I don't think so.
And so when I found out that I had still been eating dairy for
25 years, how many little baby calves did I send to the
slaughterhouse? I went vegan overnight.
That was it. Boom, done.
That's just my nature. And I did the same thing.

(23:13):
But can you just and and I know we're, we're, this was, you
know, I lured people in on the conversation of fashion.
And now, now we're getting all you know.
Fashion part admitted for sure. Right.
We're right. We'll get back to fashion,
people. Just hang with us.
What is it? Can you can you define?
What is it about eating dairy that means you're contributing

(23:34):
to the veal industry? Oh well.
You know when the the dairy cow gives birth, it'll be either a
girl or a boy. And if it's a girl, she becomes
a dairy cow. If it's a boy taken away from
the mother within like 24 hours,something horrible.
And people say Oh well, in theselittle family farms, well, it's
still eventually taken away. Taken away, mother screaming,

(23:55):
taken away, baby screaming. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so
graphic but it just breaks my heart it.
It no, it is, it is a horrific. And when I interviewed again,
sorry for the interruption, Jasmine Singer, who you probably
know from, you know, vegan icon,she said be being vegan is a
feminist issue for her. And she talked about the And so
I have tried to use that explanation to people that it

(24:19):
is, you know, I said in our country, we don't RIP newborns
away from mothers and then, you know, sell them or chop them up
and eat that. Like that's that's
unconscionable amongst humans, but yet we do that to other
sentient beings. And yes, cows feel a maternal
bond, feel attachment, feel the horrific emotions that would be

(24:44):
associated in that situation. But you know, yeah.
So so yes, we don't want to get graphic.
But this is the reality. Of the industry so you know,
just be informed and be informedpurchasers.
Heartbreaking to me. I couldn't bear it.
And I knew that they were being shipped off, put in a little pen
and killed after a few months. You know, for that nice tender
baby meat. And I could not bear that,

(25:06):
particularly with the fact that I had so consciously not eaten,
you know, meat for so many years.
So dairy gone. And this was even before there
were so many vegan substitutes and there are so many dairy
options now. Like I.
Know, it's like not even, not even an issue.
And again, I'm interrupting you.I had interviewed Nicole, Nicole

(25:31):
Foster, who you may not know, but she owns, She's the CEO,
founder of a vegan ice cream company called Cashew Creamery.
They're based out of Baltimore, but they ship.
And not only is it cashew based ice cream, it's very clean.
Like, so I look, I, I, I love a good vegan ice cream.

(25:54):
You know, if it's vegan, I, you know, and someone's especially
if someone's going to provide that to me at A, at a social
gathering, I appreciate the gesture, even if it is off the
supermarket shelf. However, the Cashew Creamery
ingredients, I mean, there's like 4, yeah, 5 five ingredients
compared to your like Planet O or Ben and Jerry's, which I

(26:17):
applaud them for their efforts. So no shade here.
Actually, I mean, there, there are so many options now.
And so, you know, I am the kind of person that when I decide
something, that's it. Boom, done.
I know not everybody's like that.
My my wife, it took her two years because we were reading
the same book and she just kept saying, but eggs really, you

(26:40):
know, I understand. My very good friend of mine was
like ginger. Tell me again about eggs.
Right, right. I know I get the I get the egg
comment all the time and you know while on eggs, like my
brother has chickens and he saidbut how can you argue with the
unfertilized eggs? Chickens just produce eggs so he

(27:01):
doesn't have a rooster. They're not fertilized eggs.
So how do you argue with egg consumption when it's not an
actual future chicken? Well, I mean, I'm probably
Jasmine could answer that betterthan me because they have like a
bazillion chickens up there, youknow, in, in her sanctuary.
But you know, first of all, I don't believe in confining any

(27:23):
animals and, and I don't care ifthey're in the backyard or not,
or a zoo or aquarium, God forbid.
You know, all of those things I think are horrible.
So first of all, even before we get to the egg problem, we've
got a chicken problem, I think. See, it's it's not the chicken
or the egg, it's the chicken. Right.
I know that's right. Exactly.
All my understanding is that thechickens eat those eggs, but

(27:46):
again, I'm I don't know, I'm nota chicken person.
Yeah, yeah. And I wasn't, I wasn't trying to
like put you on the spot for an answer, but I that was one that
I said, I don't know, it just tome represents animal.
So whether whether it can grow into a future animal or not, it
just it's an animal by product and it seems wrong to me.

(28:07):
Right. Yeah.
No, I, I I'm right there with you.
And and then, you know, I went vegan, you know, did I think
about what that would do for my business?
Because I had already been an image consultant for 18 years at
that point. And I thought, oh, my God, you
know, now, because veganism is more than just, you know, not

(28:30):
eating those things. In fact, those have nothing but
you eat has nothing to do with, you know, your wardrobe, but it
has to do with what you wear andyour beauty products and all
those kinds of. And I had a moment of panic
where I just thought, I mean, I wasn't going to go back, but I
thought, Oh my gosh, what will happen?
And then I, I took a breath. I said, give yourself 15 minutes

(28:52):
to worry about this and then let's make it an adventure.
That was, we're going to make this an adventure.
And when I looked at my closet, I realized I had almost no wool
because I, I always found wool very itchy.
Never particularly liked wool. Silk.
I didn't have a ton of silk because silk, you know, it's too
fragile. Forget it.
Yeah. And so the big thing that I had

(29:13):
was leather. Yep, you know, for my shoes and
handbags. And I thought, OK, well, you
know what, we'll just figure this out.
And then I thought, OK, but that's, you know, because I
wanted to still feel like I looked good, You know, I, you
know, I, my business is very visual.
So how I present myself, it's islike my call, one of my calling
cards. And I realized I could still do

(29:35):
it because most of my clothes are all vegan.
And then I thought, but what about when clients, when I do
any shopping or whatever with clients And, and that's, that's
been a little, you know, trickier.
I have to say I when I'm doing any of my classes or I'm showing
examples of things or you see meon Instagram or wherever, any
examples of anything that I evershow is vegan anything.

(29:59):
Now what about and I heard a beautiful podcast interview with
the actress Emily Deschanel and you know, she's she's a openly
proud vegan and I heard her talkabout thrifting.
As you mentioned before, it's sopopular, especially among the

(30:19):
younger said it just seems to have like this rebirth right
now. What about wearing older
vintage? You know, if you already had
leather or I know it sounds crazy fur in your closet,
wouldn't that just be so disrespectful to discard all
those items? And isn't it doing almost like a

(30:45):
like a sacred a ceremony, like doing some sort of ceremony by
purchasing that leather jacket you see in the thrift shop
because you, being the vegan, will appreciate that more than
the next customer? What are your thoughts on that?
It's all, it's a little complicated and there are
different schools of thought on,on the whole thrifting aspect of

(31:08):
it. And for anybody who is
interested in the fur controversy, I happened, I
recently was invited to the board of Friends of Animals and
in this month's, and you can look at it online in this
month's newsletter, they have a whole thing on fur.
So I recommend, you know, peoplego in and read that.
They do great work. So yeah, it is one of some

(31:30):
people will say I couldn't just get rid of the leather shoes.
I'm going to wear them till theywear out and then I'll buy vegan
ones. I did not do that for a couple
of reasons. One is I thought someone else
will get these at the second hand place.
And also I did not want someone to say, but you're wearing

(31:52):
leather shoes. And particularly given my, my
kind of work, but even just I was once at AI used to do makeup
for weddings and that kind of thing.
And I was at a seminar workshop and I and asked a question about
their makeup brushes that they had.
And I said, are they synthetic or are they animal hair?

(32:15):
And she's, I said because I'm vegan.
And she looked at me and she said, but you're wearing leather
shoes because The thing is that even vegan shoes look like
leather. Of course, no, they're not
leather. So that kind of like, oh, OK, so
and they were, she was trying tomake it OK that they were not
synthetic fibers, which now there's so many makeup brushes

(32:38):
out there that are synthetic andthey're fabulous.
But I even when I buy faux fur, which I don't buy a lot of it,
but if I do, I make sure as muchas I can that it doesn't look
real. I don't, I don't want it to look
real. I don't want anybody mistaking.
And I do have a faux fur scarf that I wear.

(32:58):
I have a little button on it that just says faux.
Yeah, I, I don't know it maybe it's whatever.
I just had to do that. So yeah, it's so there are some
people who are like, you know, what, if I go and thrift it,
that's fine. You know, I'm not buying
something new. But eventually, if the whole
world goes vegan, which is sort of my right.

(33:18):
I hope I know, I know, I say it all the time.
Yeah, those things will even be in the second hand stores.
Never mine regular stores, but yeah, it's, you know, whatever
someone wants to do is fine. I just encourage people to, to
go vegan to learn more about this.
I'm happy to talk to anybody who's on the fence about it.

(33:39):
But it, you know, I had a momentin my business where I'm just
like, will I be able to still dothis with integrity and that,
you know, and style? I mean, that's what I do.
And I feel like I have now. If I'm shopping for someone, you
know, a private client and I'm shopping for them and they, you
know, are looking for shoes and they wear leather, I will show

(33:59):
them leather shoes. But if I'm doing something where
I'm teaching a class or whatever, my examples are always
vegan. Always, always, always.
Sorry to interrupt this incredible interview, but I have
to tell you guys about vegan lifestyle coaching.
Veganism is my passion. Yes, you've heard me say that,
but so is health and helping people feel their best.

(34:22):
We have become so complacent andtolerant of feeling crappy that
it's mind blowing. And we have also accepted that
we are all going to grow old andget sick.
That mentality has to stop because it's not true.
It doesn't have to be the inevitable course, whether
you've strongly thought about going vegan or it's just kind of

(34:45):
come up in passing, doesn't matter.
I would love the opportunity to get on a call with you to hear
what's stopping you from going all the way and see if we can
strategize together because thisreally is the healthiest, most
joy filled, abundant way of eating and living.
So be sure to check the show notes and you'll see a link to
book this free call. Share it with your friends.

(35:05):
And now let's get back to the episode.
It's incredible how many new designers and new stores are
popping up that are playing withdifferent kinds of fibers and
different kinds of creations. Like when I hear about banana
leaf or coconut this or pineapple something, it's like

(35:28):
that is so innovative. Well, do you know about the
Materials Innovation Initiative?I think it is Mii.
No. Oh my gosh.
They, they, they really work on connecting brands and new fibers
together to make those clothes and, or shoes or whatever.

(35:50):
And, and recently I just saw somebody, I mean, this is in
fashion, but I saw somebody who built a boat out of mushrooms
that went like a lot of miles out of mushrooms.
Amazing what we can do out there.
You're right. Apples, mushrooms, kombucha, tea
leaves. I mean, there's all kinds of
things pineapple they're using. There are lots of of, there's

(36:12):
lots of innovation out there. So yeah, it's and the other
thing, and again, we don't have to get into this because I know
we've been talking about veganism for quite a while, but
people like to think that thingslike wool and silk are super,
you know, environmentally friendly.
No, they are not. They are not.
And we don't need to get into that.
But I just encourage people to do a little bit of research on

(36:33):
that because even though they call them natural fibers, they
are very processed, very processed.
Well, I mean, it's like you could you could take that
argument and go in so many different directions.
Like cocaine is kind of a natural product, But are we are,
are we promoting that on, on every corner?
Come on. I mean, there are things that

(36:55):
have shown up in natural ways that are just not aligned with
values. Right, right.
It's, you know, I know a lot of people get very bent out of
shape about some of this conversation because it's a hard
1. You know, it's how sometimes
we've lived for decades a certain way.
And then to hear that, oh, but that causes harm.

(37:17):
It hurt my heart when I learned,you know, started, you know,
doing research into this. So I, I know that it does.
So I I get it. I get it.
Yeah, yeah. I mean, I'm not trying to
trigger anyone, but it's it's real.
And we've just become very adeptat shutting that part of our

(37:39):
vision and brain off. Because we're not encouraged.
We're not encouraged to, you know.
Well, I mean so many of us wouldn't wouldn't function on a
day. To day basis, if we thought
about human trafficking all day long, if we thought about
various injustices around the world would keep us in the fetal
position. So this is just another one that

(38:00):
it's easy to say, Nope, I just get thee to a steakhouse and put
my blinders on. Yeah.
Yeah, it is a tricky conversation, but you know, it's
the thing I learned in all of this was that I could still
maintain the style that I wantedto maintain and and my veganism

(38:21):
and support my veganism as well,that the two went hand in hand.
I was determined to find a way and it wasn't as hard as I
thought it was going to be so. And that's the best part of all
that, that that that is. The the greatest thing you could
have said? Totally.
Yeah. So for the listeners to to calm
their nerves right now, we'll just shift a time.

(38:45):
Let's just talk about fashion again and tell me, you know
what, what is your opinion or what are your thoughts about
individual style? How has yours shifted over the
years of your life? Talk about, talk about that.
Talk about an individual's style.
Well, you know, it's really interesting because I, I've

(39:07):
worked with, you know, so many women and a lot of them will say
things to me like, you know what, when I was 20, I could put
on anything and I looked great. And now, you know, my body has
shifted and whatever and things don't look as good as they used
to. I was one of those people who I
struggled in my teens and my 20s.
I, I rarely felt like I looked the way I wanted to look.

(39:31):
Or I'd put, I look at a friend of mine, I'd put on an outfit
that she was wearing. And I think, well, how come it
looks like 1000 times better on her and I look so good.
You know, I'm people probably didn't think that, but I thought
that. And and then when I was in my
just turning 30, I met someone who was offering a workshop, a
three day workshop called Fashion, color and image.

(39:53):
And I thought, oh, that sounds fun.
I'm going to go take that, MaybeI'll get some answers.
And it was mind blowing. I mean, absolutely, this woman
was able to help me identify, orat least begin to identify the
areas where I was frustrated when it came to color or for me,
makeup. I mean, I'm a redhead.

(40:15):
My eyebrows are actually so blonde you can't even see them.
So are my eyelashes. So when people would put makeup
on me, I would look like a clown.
She taught me how to be able to do makeup so that it looked
natural. And she told me about style.
And I'm like, oh, that answers that question and that question
and that question. And sure, I had to practice and
all of that. But I realized through that,

(40:38):
that I couldn't be the only woman who was struggling with
this issue. And I was picking up the, the
concepts very quickly. And I, I knew I could make a
difference in women's lives. And so I asked this woman, her
name was Navina. I asked her to train me and she
said yes. And so that that was it.
From there, I just realized thatI wanted to keep learning about

(41:03):
it. I knew, you know, you and I were
talking a little bit about this before we actually started
recording. But the the world of fashion is
it's a jungle out there. And it also can be very
subjective and, and so there aren't as many really hard and
fast tools. And so it can be hard, you know,

(41:24):
feel like you're guessing a lot of times at how to make choices
that really work for you. And so basically I have three
tools that I work with every oneof my clients on, because those
can begin to help you home in onthe areas and, and, or just sort
of narrow down the number of variables, if you will.

(41:45):
And so 1 is a color palette so that you know what colors look
really, really good on you. That makes it easier to shop and
put outfits together. The other one is something
called the fashion fit formula, which helps to identify the
perfect lengths for you. Tops, coats, skirts, sleeves,
whatever it is. And the last one, and this is to
me, one of the most important, and that is who are you?

(42:08):
Because what we want to do is beable to choose a wardrobe for
you that reflects who you are onthe inside.
Absolutely. I call your inner beauty.
How do we identify what your inner beauty is?
What makes you you? And you know, I've done inner
beauty consultations with hundreds and hundreds and
hundreds, I don't know, maybe thousands of women and I have

(42:31):
everyone's inner beauty words except very few in the very
beginning. And no to women have ever had
exactly the same inner beauty words because that's how unique
every one of us is. And that information is critical
to be able to choose a wardrobe because you can look good in a
lot of things, but if you don't feel great in what you have on

(42:52):
your body, even if it looks good, you're not going to want
to wear it. It's going to feel off.
And so figuring out who you are in the inside index and then
learning how to express that in the clothing options that you
make, that's the third tool. And those are the things that
I've worked with clients on for decades.
I. Love that.
Now are there rules like what isyour perspective on the fashion

(43:18):
rules that we encounter? You know there are you mentioned
color palette, what colors look best?
Is there really such thing as don't wear that color?
You don't look good in red, you don't look good in white or
don't wear that pattern. You should never wear Argyle.
You shouldn't wear Paisley. That's too busy for you.
You know what? What are your thoughts on the

(43:39):
rules that we hear? So depending on who you talk to,
you may get different rules. And that's part of what makes it
so complicated. But one of the things that I've
done is that, you know, as women, we're kind of trained to
believe that getting dressed should be easy, effortless.
And I'll tell you right now, it's not particularly as we get

(44:02):
older and, you know, have to work with a, a fashion industry
that, you know, really creates fashions for, you know, 20 year
olds, not for someone who's 40 or 50 or 60 or 70 and for those
bodies, you know, a lot of times.
And so we have to be able to learn to assess for ourselves.

(44:24):
So what I, what happened when the pandemic hit and I was no
longer able, at least for a little while, to be able to see
anyone in person, I thought, well, you know, I've always
wanted to create an online classwhere I'm online teaching it.
And I looked at where are the areas that people struggle, that
my clients struggle. And I, I created six different
classes that identified those areas so that we could, I could

(44:48):
help the people in the class to learn how to be able to assess
things for them. So one is who are you?
The whole inner beauty aspect 1 is how do you create a
foundation? Because if you've ever gone
shopping and you thought, oh, I really love this.
And then you get, you get home and you're like, what do I wear
it with often? Well, there can be a number of

(45:08):
reasons, but many times it's because it, you don't have the
foundational, you haven't built a foundation in your wardrobe.
So when you bring things in, youcan actually create an outfit.
How do you, what you just talkedto a minute ago, how do you
choose a print? How do you look at the contrast
level? The, the, the different shapes
that are that come in prints, the scale of the prints, all

(45:32):
those kinds of things. How do you identify them?
How do you pick shoes? How do you pick jewelry?
All of those kinds of things. Because each of us is unique.
And I, you know, yes, there are trends that happen out there and
they'll say, Oh my gosh, you can't wear.
And right now, I was told not too long ago, OK, the Gen.
ZS are not wearing ankle socks. They're wearing crew socks.

(45:54):
So if you wear ankle socks, you are so out of style.
I just think, Oh my God, you're going to make a mental and all
these friends. So, you know, I look at the
bigger picture with people and help them to be able to assess
things for them and that's what's really important.

(46:14):
Yeah, it's, it's like, you know how you walk into HomeGoods and
you want everything? You're like, oh, I didn't know I
needed pillows shaped like ghosts until I saw them at
HomeGoods and thought, wow, that's clever.
Or, or you know, all the gadgets, like, who would have
thought that I needed something to cut a pineapple a certain
way? And, and just you shop and

(46:36):
you're like, I need all of it. And there's the home, home
decor, home item area and then there's clothing.
And you you go into a departmentstore or a mall or a virtual
store like. Say Amazon.
And it's, yes, it's, it's like, I want all of it.

(46:57):
I want none of it. I don't know.
I I none of this is how is therenot an A piece of clothing on
the entire Amazon site that appeals to me or that I think
would look good on me? This is overwhelming.
It's also, and even when I used to shop, excuse me, used to shop
in stores, I now do all my shopping virtually for my

(47:17):
clients, which I used to do evenbefore the pandemic.
But when I used to go in I couldtell the second client walked
into like Lord and Taylor, whichit's used to be my favorite.
Or IP. And, you know, I could watch
their eyes go, oh, my God, there's too much stuff.
Yeah. Like, take a breath.

(47:39):
That's why I'm here. Do you have your color palette
with you? You know, let's, let's start to
make this more manageable for you.
Because it is, it's, it's overwhelming.
And it's so funny because I mean, I'm good at being able to
navigate through a clothing store.
But in order for me to understand exactly what my
clients go through, those who don't like to shop and who are

(48:01):
overwhelmed by going into a department store or TJ Maxx or
something like that, put me in Home Depot and I'm like, Get Me
Out of here. Like, what is all this?
How come there are like 400,000 screws?
I mean, I don't know what those are for.
I don't know where's the one I want, you know?

(48:22):
And I know that's how my clientsfeel when they go into stores.
And so my job is to make that more manageable, either because
I'm doing shopping for them or giving them the tools that they
need to be able to more easily assess things and say no, no,
no, want to go look at. That are you a believer that all
women should have certain staples?

(48:44):
Because I remember getting a book when I was in college.
You know the smart woman. 'S.
Guide to wardrobe or something. I I don't even I I think a
magazine might have put out thishardcover.
It was a beautiful book on how to create outfits that I got
when I was 20. And it was.
It was. I like reading a fairy tale

(49:05):
book. I'd flip through these pictures
and I'm like, oh, isn't that cute?
That little nautical themed outfit?
That's nice. I like the way the Navy blazer
and the striped shirt. Oh, but it also has a Parisian
look to it and things that I must have.
And then you go and collect themand you're like, why did I get
this Navy blazer with the gold buttons and the beret?

(49:25):
I look like a moron. You're funny.
No, I don't believe in those at all.
I can tell you right now they'llthey'll have a little black
dress in there. They'll have a white button down
shirt. They'll have a pair of, you
know, black knee high boots. I do have those only because for
a long time you couldn't find brown.
I prefer brown, but now Browns out brown is.

(49:47):
I've even heard brown is the newblack.
Not everybody will agree, but I don't have a little black dress.
I never wear black. I.
Was going to say I don't have a white button down.
I don't think. I think I had three or four
before we moved and I got rid ofall of them because I said when
am I wearing a white button down?
You know, I'm not, you know, they might say you need a pair
of loafers. Well, I've tried to find a pair

(50:10):
of loafers that I like. I, I will still look, but I have
as yet, you know, I have clientswho love loafers and rock them.
I have yet to find a pair of loafers that I feel, you know,
feel good in and represent my inner beauty words.
So, you know, it's, I don't believe in those lists.
I I think it's more personalizedthan we need to be more

(50:30):
personalized than that. That's refreshing to hear
because I feel like, you know, most people, especially with the
talk of the capsule wardrobe, it's like you need to have these
10 things and then you can create 100,000 different outfits
with them. Well, you know, it's interesting
because yeah, they, they do tendto do that.

(50:52):
I, one of the things I, I work with clients on, and I do it in
that six week class too, is capsule wardrobes.
But there are a lot of differentways you can create a capsule
wardrobe. It does not have to have the
little black dress and the whitebutton down or whatever else
they tell you is supposed to be in these things.
No, you create one that makes sense for your lifestyle, very

(51:13):
important, your personality, your inner beauty, what you do,
you know your budget, you know where you live.
There's like a million differentthings.
You know, you create it for you and, and that is what I think
makes it fun. I don't want to be dressing like
everybody else. And, and my clients don't

(51:33):
either. And I don't, I would have gone
out of business a long time ago if my goal was to dress
everybody like me. Boring, boring, boring.
You know, I want to get in your head, figure out who are you,
and then let's create a wardrobethat makes your heart sing.
So besides working with you directly, what little Nuggets of

(51:55):
wisdom could you offer the listener who's thinking I have
no style, or my closet's a disaster?
I have pieces of everybody else's personality.
How do I find my own look? Yeah, yeah.
So, well, one thing that's really easy, I did write a book
called. That's how you create a look you

(52:15):
love with beauty, style and grace.
And this can walk you through some of those steps to get you
started. And it comes in a, you know,
Kindle version too. So beautiful, inexpensive way to
do it. Another way is go to my website,
go to my blog. I have years worth of articles
on there on every imaginable topic.

(52:39):
So go and explore those. Go go to my YouTube channel.
I have like a ton of videos on there, you know, sharing some of
my tips and, and, and styles that I've seen that I like and
all those kinds of things. You can just go on and review
all of that. Get on my mailing list.
I mean, what I'm working on right now is something called

(53:00):
the Bewitched bothered and bewildered fashion trend update
for the fall. And what I do is I take them,
people who are old enough and remember that song know what I'm
about. But I take the, the fashions
that I see out there, the trendsthat I see out there and I put
them either into, you know, bewitched, bothered or whoever
thought that was a good idea. And, and I give you tons of

(53:23):
suggestions, like 100 different suggestions within those
different trends that'll be coming out soon.
Or I don't know when this is being released the podcast.
So even if it if it's already been out, you can find it on my
You'll be able to find it on my blog.
That sounds fantastic. There's so many ways that you
can go and explore the differentpossibilities and start getting

(53:46):
the answers that you're looking for to move you forward.
So what are your identity, your personal beauty words?
Yeah. So mine are quietly exquisite,
controlled fire, you know, beinga redhead, I am fiery, but I'm
also a Virgo. And I know you can't tell here,

(54:10):
but I'm actually am an introvert.
So I'm not like, you know, out there screaming and yelling.
I, I'm controlled fire. I am seriously determined.
So very straightforward in that way.
And I'm kindly diplomatic. So those are my inner beauty
words. And that's what I always use
when I get dressed. Always, always.

(54:33):
What is a kindly diplomatic? Outfit.
It does. Look like, you know what is
compassionate is one of my innerbeauty words.
So those kinds of softer words, you're going to often do either
slightly softer colors within your color palette.
So that can mean different things to different people.

(54:54):
Softer fabrics, something a little more flowing, nothing
really jarring or super highly structured.
Or if it is highly structured, it's going to be in a softer
fabric. There has to be something that's
softer about whatever's going on.
If you have those kinds of empathetic or compassionate or
kind or caring or would have gentle or whatever those words

(55:17):
might be as part of your inner beauty words, when you express
that part, you will need those things I just mentioned.
But an inner beauty word doesn'tjust operate all by itself.
It's influenced by at least one other of your inner beauty
words. So you have to keep that in mind
as well. So for instance, controlled
fire, I've got controlled fire on right now with this color got

(55:40):
softer flowing fabric, which speaks to the kindly diplomatic.
And then I have my, I think these are exquisite.
So these are my quietly exquisite controlled fire
earrings. So yeah, yeah, it's all fun.
Yeah, I was just going to say, now you're taking the overwhelm
out of it and bringing in the fun.
That's exactly. Right, exactly.

(56:01):
That's the goal, is to make it more manageable and more
satisfying and hopefully more fun and joyful.
That's so good. Oh, Ginger.
This is this is such a treat. I I have so left this
conversation. Oh my goodness, you're a blast
to talk to. Oh.

(56:22):
Too kind. And that was just just plain
kind. Not, I wouldn't say finally
diplomatic. That was like fiery kind.
I'd love it. Yeah, there you go.
I love it. Can you please tell the
listeners where to find and follow?
You sure you can find my websiteis Total image consultants.com
and it does have an S at the endConsultants you can find me on

(56:45):
all social media. Ginger Burr I'm everywhere,
although I haven't been doing asmuch on TikTok lately and you
can I have a YouTube channel which you can either find by
going to my website and there's a little thing you can click on
or in YouTube. I'm ginger bird TIC, which
stands for total image consultants.
You can find my YouTube channel there, and if ever you can't
find anything, just shoot me an e-mail or message me or whatever

(57:09):
and I'll I'll help you find whatit is you need to find.
But yeah, thank you. Thank you.
And I'll have all the links in the show notes so everyone can
just click easily and not even have to do a deep dive there.
You go. Thank you.
I appreciate that. All right.
Well, on this note, I would liketo invite you to.
Raise a glass. There we go, There we go.

(57:31):
I know I love it. I'm like we've got a a
controlled fire drink there. I know that's.
Right. Nice, and let's say cheers to
making fashion manageable, fun and hopefully cruelty free.
Absolutely. I raised my glass to that.
Cheers. Lovely.
Thank you Ginger for this beautiful conversation.

(57:54):
I love what you're doing and I just want everyone to go check
out your business and and see what they can learn from you and
hire you. Thank you, Jenny.
I really appreciate it. It's been a pleasure.
How great is Ginger Now? If you were listening to this
interview on a traditional podcast app, I want to encourage
you to follow this show on my YouTube channel and the link is

(58:17):
in the show notes. The name is Sideline Sisters and
gentle Coaching. But very soon it will just be
the flirty vegan. By watching an interview, you
get more of your senses involved.
You get to see. As well as.
Hear and seeing someone like Ginger is just so delightful.
So check that out. And what I loved about this

(58:39):
conversation is that Ginger hit upon all of the things that are
important to me that I want to showcase here on this podcast.
She brought her deep values intoher work, and she stands by them
and doesn't let being vegan interfere or hide in her work.

(59:00):
She's able to bridge her compassion for animals and the
planet and her love of fashion. Now let's get into Ginger's
notes from the sidelines #1 we should all have clothing we
love, and for that we need to bemore discriminating #2 veganism
is more than what you eat. So many people think it's just a

(59:22):
food thing. But it really is.
About what you wear and what youuse #3 Wool and silk are not
environmentally friendly so please do your research.
Natural fibers can actually meanvery processed.
And side note, there is a lot ofinformation out there if you

(59:43):
wanted to go down the path of learning more about the wool
industry. It's actually quite horrifying
and it has completely changed myperspective on that fiber now
that I know the torture and cruelty involved in producing
wool for clothing and rugs. It's just really devastating.

(01:00:07):
So it's something to look into if all you thought was sheep
getting a haircut. It's just not so #4.
You can look good in a lot of things, but if you don't feel
great then you're not going to wear them.
In which case having those things is very wasteful #5.
The concept of a capsule wardrobe does not have to mean

(01:00:30):
specific basics like the white button down or little black
dress. It simply means having a
tighter, more streamlined wardrobe.
Less pieces, but they can completely jive with your
personality. So a pink and purple Plaid
blazer might be part of your capsule wardrobe if it's
something that can mix and matchwith other items in your capsule

(01:00:53):
wardrobe. Does that make sense?
All right, and finally, number six, let's make fashion more
manageable, satisfying, fun, andjoyful.
And for help and inspiration with that, go ahead and check
out Ginger's content, read her book, check her blog, follow her
YouTube videos. There's so much out there.

(01:01:14):
So again, I want to say thank you to Ginger.
This has been a phenomenal fashion series and I'm thrilled
to have concluded with our conversation.
And thank you to you for tuning in.
I found this conversation so interesting and uplifting, so I
encourage. You to share it.
With all your friends who have. A little bit of.

(01:01:37):
Twinkle when it comes to fashion.
I want to remind you to check the show notes for the link for
a free introductory coaching session with me as I rebrand
into the Flirty Vegan and focus my business on connecting with
women who are flirting with the idea of vegan vegetarian, really

(01:01:57):
just shaking things up so that you can look and feel your best
and also do your best for the planet.
So that link is in the show notes along with Gingers.
And I'm so grateful that you're here with me for this journey
and excited for next week's 100th episode where I will be
joined by legendary Boston news anchor Liz Bruner.

(01:02:20):
I'm so honored and thrilled to share that conversation with
you. So please tune in.
Have an amazing week and cheers to you.