You’ve Outgrown the Belair…
What a Corvette taught me about brand evolution, identity, and the reactions we try to talk ourselves out of.
*this blog is a continuation of a LinkedIn post you can find here.
After buying my new-to-me Stingray…..
On the day I snapped at my friend, over what was honestly a throwaway comment—“This one suits you better than the Belair”—it wasn’t really about the car.
It was about me.
That comment revealed something I hadn’t yet claimed out loud:
I’d already evolved. But I was still walking around wearing my past branding.
I saw the Belair as an extension of who I was. I loved her. She was soft-edged vintage glam. She was community. She was part of how people recognized me. But the truth is, I’d outgrown that identity—quietly, steadily, without realizing it.
That Corvette? The red, unapologetic, tight-cornering, slightly absurd 1976 Corvette?
It wasn’t aspirational.
It was aligned.
So, what does this have to do with branding?
Everything.
Here’s what that moment taught me—about personal brand, professional identity, and what to do with overreactions that feel too big:
🔥 1. Rebranding isn’t reinvention. It’s realignment.
I didn’t become someone new. I just finally recognized who I’d grown into. The Corvette wasn’t a costume—it was a mirror.
💡 2. Emotional reactions are brand data.
That flare of “NO WAY” wasn’t just anger. It was resistance bumping up against truth. When you overreact to something small, ask: What am I defending? What am I afraid to admit has changed?
🧠 3. Old identities are comforting—but they can hold you back.
Just because it once fit perfectly doesn’t mean it still does. Nostalgia is not the same as resonance.
🧭 4. Brand is perception + expression.
Your brand isn’t just what you think—it’s what others reflect back to you. And sometimes, someone else’s observation can show you who you are becoming before you’ve claimed it yourself.
TL;DR
You’re allowed to outgrow your old aesthetic.
You’re allowed to evolve.
You’re allowed to cringe at a mirror before you recognize it’s you.
And when you finally do?
Update the brand.
Your next chapter deserves to look like you now.
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🚗 Want to read how I translated this moment into my actual brand platform? [Click here for Part 2 →]
Are you in your own Belair-to-Corvette era and want help wrapping your head around it? Drop me a note!