Style beyond fashion- my style reflects my values- Marjolijn Vlug

Marjolijn as a career and DEI coach- with years of experience which are the character traits you feel crucial to hone in making a women feel confident.

In big terms: a sense of self, feeling grounded and at home with yourself – warts and all.
In my coaching I often spotlight facts about my coachee’s character and actions that they can simply and truly base their confidence on.
Feeling confident also comes from an awareness of how confidence actually feels in your body. What I support clients in honing is a stronger connection to the wise place that is inside you that is naturally, calmly confident.

Women entrepreneurs (or professionals ) are way harsher and judgmental about their achievements – your thoughts?

For women entrepreneurs, and professionals, who choose to step outside of the beaten path, what seems like impostor syndrome* from external critical voices gets piled on top of the internal critic that we all have, that every human being has. We get more criticism from both the outside and inside, and this goes especially for women of colour. The beauty about women entrepreneurs and professionals is that we are also creative and resourceful. We are capable and whole, and we find our way.
I warmly recommend this article ‘Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome’ 

Do you think we as women often raise the bar too high to judge ourselves and that at times leads to self-doubt and frustrations?

We judge ourselves and others. That’s human nature. As women, we are raised in a world that raises the bar higher for us. It’s easy to buy into that, to keep running around in that hamster wheel. It makes a massive difference for yourself, and for the people around you, to reshape that inner judge into a voice that is not detrimentally judgemental but truly supportive.
One of the richest skills to develop is a sense of self-compassion, a connection to your inner wisdom outside of the hamster wheel. This creates more space to appreciate yourself and others rather than judge and self-doubt.
I’m keenly aware, from both my work and personal experience, that strengthening your connection to your inner wisdom is a valuable ongoing journey in life.

We are a women owned small business- you have supported us a lot – why do you feel its important to support smaller business over the more established names out there?

I care about real, personal, genuine connection. Businesses run by real people, not made-up-by-a-marketing-team branding. And I care about supporting people who are doing meaningful work, rather than big corporates ultimately working for shareholder returns.
When my values and perspective align – like mine do with Urban Medley – I am happy to share my appreciation and support, rather than to think about it but keep it inside. Being an entrepreneur myself, I know from personal experience what difference that makes to good people doing good work.

Style or fashion what’s your take?

I strongly prefer personal style over temporary fashion trends. I tend to think of the pictures of women with huge 80’s hairstyles that we laughed at a couple of decades later, and realise that we’ll be laughing about today’s trends just the same. A coherent personal style is a matter of taste but never out of fashion. That said, I love mixing retro fashion elements into my personal style.

Marjolijn in Silk Scarf Buti

Which are the sustainable fashion brands you admire or engage( buy) with from time to time.

Urban Medley is a favourite, of course. I love Lanius clothing for quality and Alchemist for style. I mainly wear Toms shoes although perhaps they’re not perfect in terms of policy and impact. Berba bags are sustainable and local from Maastricht. I admire Patagonia as a company but have never bought anything of theirs yet. I appreciate Project CeCe as a sustainable fashion search engine; I recently met one of their founders (a woman of colour) and totally fangirled. Fitting with my personal style I like brands with a whiff of vintage/retro, like sustainable items from King Louie (a ubiquitous Dutch brand) and Very Cherry (an amazing local Rotterdam brand).

Marjolijn in our Red Black Cotton wrap on the left and  on the right in Urban Medley wool wrap Bubble Mania 

Do you think consumers are ready to pay a premium for the values a brand represents? Will you?

I do. Personally, I pay more than fast fashion prices, as do other consumers. I do acknowledge not everyone is able to, for various reasons. Moreover, the values that people pay a premium for can be wildly different from mine: status being a prominent example. Status is not one of my values and I don’t care about paying more for that. The values a brand represents can in reality be aspirational rather than truly lived and applied. I care about integrity, authenticity and real impact.

My appearance matters when I enter a room- Yes or No

Yes! Although I’m typing this in sweatpants recovering from a mild flu, so this day and this room are an exception to that rule ????
When picking an outfit, I consider how I’m feeling, what my activities are on that day, and which people I’ll be spending time with. I generally wear something I like and that also connects to the other person’s style rather than something that puzzles them, because I feel that it contributes to the connection I feel with others.
Spending time with a variety of people allows me to wear a variety of styles and outfits, from downplayed (jeans and sweater) to more ‘out there’ (quirky vintage 80s flowery dress).

I wear my values- (pl complete the sentence as maybe the case) ………………………through the style, material and longevity of my clothes and accessories; with great joy, feeling connected to myself.

Marjolijn Vlug is an inclusive career coach who often works with internationals on the Dutch job market, and a personal leadership coach for people who work in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion as a DEI professional, advocate or ally.
Marjolijn loves seeing that sparkle in her clients’ eyes when they talk about the kind of work they really care about. She knows we all deserve that YOU-shaped space where we can be ourselves, feel valued and welcome. That is why she helps her clients get clear on next steps, choose intentionally, have accountability, and make a real difference.
She is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and has travelled, studied in and encountered a wide range of countries and cultures in both her work and personal life.

How to connect with Marjolijn :   Website   LinkedIn    Instagram    Book a chat

Have a listen to Marjolijn’s podcast, Global Inclusion in Practice