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| "Before attending Gilly's courses I had a vague idea of what colours I thought suited me but absolutely no clue as to what my style should be. I now understand what I should be wearing and how to look my best in any situation. It has saved me a fortune on clothes that I wear once and then throw away because they just don't feel right. I feel more confident, more attractive and it feels great expressing more of my personality. It's also a very warm and nurturing experience at Gilly's lovely retreat." Debs TESTIMONIAL – COLOUR & STYLE – April 2004 “I had so many judgements about what a ‘Colour and Style’ course would involve that it took me several weeks to even put the deposit cheque in the post – and even then I seriously wondered what I had let myself in for! Was it going to be a bunch of women sitting around chatting about frocks? Or gleefully wrapping each other in pink Chiffon??? This is my idea of hell on earth…but my combat pants had finally sprung a hole for the last time and I knew it was time to find out if I had any style hiding on my person at all. So I was relieved when I arrived at The Orchard Rooms, near Glastonbury on the first day and joined a group of friendly looking, relaxed, casually dressed women of all ages – and no sign of Chiffon anywhere. Gilly Montgomery, the course leader has a relaxed and professional approach, which allows participants to feel supported and comfortable throughout the training. She has combined her extensive experience with healing through breath and body work, with the colour and style programme, to create a superbly fresh and informative workshop. This isn’t just about finding out if you look good in hipsters (I don’t), but also about discovering more of who you are as a person, and giving yourself permission to really take your place in the world. So, you might wonder how these lofty heights get reached by applying a Coral lipstick and eye shadow number 67? So, what have I gained? Like many women of the 21st Century I have been in shop changing rooms, on more occasions than I care to mention, close to tears due to ‘too tight’ ‘too long’ ‘too short’ ‘too horrid’ syndrome. This pain and confusion is immediately taken out of the shopping experience once you know what you are actually looking for – and you can immediately dismiss everything else. This saves time, energy and a monumental beating for your self-esteem. The course gets you clear on what shape, style and colour range suits you…and from there it is like falling off a slippery log in wet sandals. Included on the course is a day in ‘The Mall’ which was one of the few positive shopping experiences I remember having in my life – a frisson of scurrying around shops with an excellent group of women, sharing thoughts and laughter in every changing room. And guess what – the pink Chiffon turned up – and is now quietly nestling in my new look wardrobe! Who would ever have thought? I would recommend this course to anybody with two arms, two legs, a body and a head. Get out your cheque book and get to it.” Natalia Bennett – April 2004 "The
best workshop that I have ever done . . . . . and I've done loads!"
From
Rags to Riches "For years I wore what felt comfortable: generally what had been given to me for Birthdays and Christmas. I found shopping for my own clothes a painful and bewildering experience, and shops an impenetrable and hostile mix of styles and fashions. Buyers appeared to me fraudulent peddlers of contrived self-esteem and the embodiment of commercial greed. I was lucky enough, I suppose, to look presentable in most clothes, having a slim, petite physique. I knew about colour co-ordination, so that things matched, and I knew that large prints and outrageous shapes would look silly on a small frame. I bought a lot of clothes from children's shops. I would boast about wearing a shirt that I had bought twenty years before as a student - not realising how inappropriate it was and how I was curtailing my potential as a result. Gilly's colour and style workshops provided the breakthrough I needed. Through the process I came to understand what I had to do to identify my own nature, feel comfortable with myself and project powerfully the person I needed to be in my professional life. Previously, I had no problems in making the arguments or providing the solutions in my work - but getting the appropriate recognition for my work had eluded me. The consequences of the workshops are many and ongoing, but best illustrated by a recent story. I had had one of the worst journeys imaginable: I was offloaded from my outward bound flight, which meant that my meetings in Stuttgart had to be rescheduled and some cancelled. On the return flight, an emergency landing ahead of us on the runway delayed the plane by two hours so that my connection in Amsterdam was missed. Rude staff and increasing frustrations left me overnight in Amsterdam having spent a full day waiting for flights - tired, frustrated and angry. The following day I needed to be in London: a meeting to decide the short-list for the UK European Capital of Culture. On arrival in London, wearing the same casual clothes I had worn for the last 36 hours, I learned that my baggage was lost: no clothes for the big meeting! I knew I had to buy a complete wardrobe - suit, bag, shoes, belt, knickers, tights - and it was 4 p.m. I headed for one large department store and established that it closed at 7 p.m., so got my haircut between 4 and 5. Time to think and to focus my strategy. I am 'Classic Gamine and Winter'. This year, the shops are dominated by brown frills, layered Romany-style skirts, lace, leather and texture. Black, white, sharp, neat was all I could look for. It was not going to be easy! I headed straight for the first floor of the department store. A jacket was the priority: I cut a swathe through all the flounces; turned my head away from the soft curves and low round necks were cast to one side.
I did not wait for the response and went straight to the shoe department, focused straight away on the one pair of court shoes black with white stitching. "Size 4?" I asked. I tried on one pair said, "Yes," and paid for them. On the way back to the suit boutique, I saw a plain, white vest - not cream - no appliqué, but with a crisp detail of stitching. I picked it up from the rack without altering the pace of my step and arrived at the suit desk - yes they had found a size 8 skirt. I bought that and the shirt at once. I raced across to the store to buy knickers and tights - my bra would have to do - it would take too long to find the right size - and sped downstairs to find a bag. Nothing suitable - only soft brown squashy shapes. A backpack came the closest but I knew it was wrong for this kind of meeting. I walked out of the shop and passed another department store. From the street I could see a small, boxy, black bag with white stitching. The time, 6.30 p.m. I got back to the hotel by 7 p.m. and could relax, have dinner and prepare for my meeting the next day. The meeting went well, Cardiff is on the short-list and feedback on my contribution included the words 'powerhouse' and 'inspirational'. I felt fantastic! Without the training, I would never have been able to buy a complete outfit in an hour. I would have had to try endless combinations to see what worked for me, what worked together, and probably I would have bought what was most dominant in the shops - brown, lacy-and-layered. I would have looked awful and felt worse, and would never have worn the outfit again. As it is, it is my favourite suit and I have had more compliments when I wear it than any of my other clothes. Gilly's workshops enabled me to understand what I needed to do to realise my potential; to move from acceptable to impressive; from appropriate to powerful and from useful to indispensable. I had been content to 'pass in a crowd', and wanted my talents and worth to speak for themselves. Now I want to be recognised for the entirety of my self - my appearance, my power and my talents. Gilly's workshops have put me on that path." Yvette
Vaughan-Jones
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Colour
and Style is about creating a healing space where you can experiment with
different ways of being you. All the time you have the support, encouragement
and company of other women doing the same thing – and it is amazingly
encouraging to see other people ‘blossom’ in front of your eyes…real life
‘before/after’ stories. As the work develops participants are more able
to let go of negative thoughts and experiences which have been holding
them back from expressing themselves fully and creatively in their lives.
The trainers are exceptionally experienced in a range of healing arts
and creative activities, and at all times it felt safe to express whatever
was going on for me. During the course we learned some Turkish belly dancing,
meditated and practiced yoga in the beautiful gardens of the house and
did some rebirthing breathwork, as well as the colour and style content
in the course. In the morning we could be seen, dressed in glorious attire
chopping the wood pile! Who says you can’t wear hot pants and a halter
neck to chop the wood! 
I
saw a classic, neat suit, black with white dots, size 8 jacket and size
10 skirt. I bought the jacket, thinking that, at a push, I could wear
the jacket over the black trousers I had been wearing for two days, and
asked if they had a size 8 skirt.
