Aida's Three Words

Aida+flower+dress+2.jpg

Name: Aida Sykes

Profession: Gender & Inclusive Business Specialist

How I describe myself in Three Words: Optimistic, Bright, Sincere

How I express my Three Words through my style: My style has a wide range – from crisp and tailored for work, to soft and flowy for pleasure, and a lot in between. My wardrobe is split equally between what I’ve bought and what I’ve had made. One fun benefit of living in Africa is that wherever I go I can find talented, affordable tailors. I love getting clothes made, because that’s as personal as style can get: being inspired by fabric, thinking of a design, getting measured, alternately cajoling and arguing with the tailor, getting fitted, cajoling and arguing some more, and then finally wearing the piece. In another life, I would have studied design and tailoring, and maybe I will one day, just to reduce the amount of time I spend chasing tailors!

My favorite clothes to wear are pretty dresses, even at work, and fortunately African workplaces are welcoming to expressions of personal style. I’ve always worked in male-dominated fields, so wearing dresses has consciously or sub-consciously helped me stay connected to my femininity in those settings and perhaps made it easier for me to tap into feminine leadership traits like empathy, collaboration, bridge-building. What we wear affects our energy, and as someone who is friendly and approachable yet also assertive and driven, my style is one way that I find balance between my nurturing side and my hunting side.

Aida+boart.jpg

Aida%2Bpurple.jpg

Words of advice on how to develop the confidence to be who you are: Before you can be confident in who you are, you have to know who you are. The best investment I have made in myself in the last decade has been in doing the inner work to understand the root causes of my insecurities, whether it’s been in appearance, love, work, friendship, or family contexts. I can’t say I’m done, and I may never be done, but along the way I’ve gotten to know myself better and truly befriended myself. As a result, my confidence comes from liking who I am, trusting that I can face whatever comes my way, and knowing for sure that I’m worthy of happiness whether I succeed at something or not. Of course, we are all worthy of happiness. It’s just that the inner work helps us believe it.