Today we’d like to introduce you to Lilly Beltran.
Hi Lilly, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story starts with always noticing clothes first; how someone carried themselves or what made them light up in an outfit. Becoming a mom changed that for me in a different way. I went through the stretch so many moms know, where you’re so busy taking care of everyone else that you lose track of what makes you feel like you. I didn’t want to stay there. That’s how Creating Looks by Lilly came to be in 2022: what started as me sharing outfit ideas turned into a full styling business built specifically for moms who want to feel put-together and like themselves again, without it being complicated.
Today I work with clients one-on-one and share a lot of the process on Instagram and my Substack. The wins, the real talk about postpartum identity, all of it. I get to spend my days doing what I actually love: helping women feel like themselves again.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been a straight line, honestly. Building a business while raising kids means the hours you’d normally pour into growth: content, outreach, planning, have to get carved out of whatever’s left in the day. Consistency has been one of the hardest parts; there are stretches where I’m reposting old content instead of creating new because life simply took priority and staying visible on social media while the algorithm keeps shifting is its own constant learning curve.
There’s also the slower, less visible grind of pitching brands, chasing partnerships and building relationships with companies that don’t always write back. A lot of that work happens with no guarantee it’ll turn into anything. And because I’m building this alongside other income streams to support my family, there’s real pressure to make it work financially, not just creatively. But every obstacle has pushed me to get more resourceful and more intentional about what I’m building, which I think has ultimately made the business stronger.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in personal styling for moms. Helping them rebuild a wardrobe and a sense of personal style after the identity shifts that come with motherhood. Through Creating Looks by Lilly, I work with clients one-on-one on everything from closet edits to full wardrobe curation and I share a lot of that process on Instagram and my Substack, where I write about postpartum identity and style.
What I’m most proud of is the community that’s grown around it. Moms who tell me they feel like themselves again after working with me, which is really the whole point. What sets me apart is that I’m not just styling from the outside in; I bring real retail and visual styling experience into how I curate looks but I lead with empathy first because I’ve lived the exact transition my clients are going through.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I don’t think of myself as a natural risk-taker but building this business has meant taking one anyway. Stepping away from the identity and routine of being a stay-at-home mom to build something of my own, with no guarantee it would work, was the biggest risk I’ve taken. There’s no roadmap for it. You’re figuring out branding, content, client relationships and income all at once. Often while juggling family responsibilities at the same time.
My view on risk is that it doesn’t have to be reckless to be real. I try to take calculated risks; testing a new content direction, pitching a brand that feels like a stretch, saying yes to a client project outside my comfort zone and treating the setbacks as information rather than failure. Building Creating Looks by Lilly has taught me that staying still is its own kind of risk; the biggest one would have been not trying at all.
Pricing:
- Mini Wardrobe Refresh – 2 hr – $350
- Closet Purge – 3 hr – $400
- Shop Your Closet – 3 hr – $550
- Complete Wardrobe Overhaul Package – 8 hr – $1,400
- Curated Wardrobe Guide – 5 hr – $600
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.creatinglooksbylilly.com
- Instagram: @creating_looksbylilly
- Other: https://open.substack.com/pub/creatinglooksbylilly
