Diane's high praises have left me speechless...

"It is such a STRUGGLE fending off compliments to my outfit today... REALLY!!!

...I see that the better I feel about myself, the less likely I am to indulge in an eating marathon.  The clothes you chose and the support you have given me make me feel incredible... having beautiful clothes when I am at my "fullest" has really had a profound positive impact on my self esteem."

People tend to think of fashion as being purely superficial.  But you'd be amazed at the way your appearance can lift/hurt your self-esteem.  Anyone who's ever felt over-weight knows what it feels like to have your outward appearance affect you negatively.  Like Diane (see her "after photo" on the FB page), did you ever stop to think that a wardrobe update might help build your self-esteem?

Not So SHORT Story: Dressing up for summer

Before 1- Kristina's typical summer style

Kristina was in desperate need of an update to her summer wardrobe.  She was tired of the tee-shirt-and-shorts look she had been wearing since, well, high school.  She felt like her look had no real style, and needed help putting together outfits.

Before 2- Kristina wanted to get away from just tees and shorts

We needed to do some serious shopping to get her ready for her trip to the Galapagos Islands next month.  Off to Bloomingdale's to take advantage of their end-of-season sales on summer clothes right now (additional 40-50% off the already reduced prices!!)...

Now you may look at this Aqua brand dress (below) on the website and move right on past it, probably because it doesn't seem very versatile.  Isn't silk too dressy for the day?  Sure Kristina could wear it on her vacation, but how was it going to translate into her day-to-day once she got home?  How do you make an outfit out of a dress?

Image of dress as styled on the Bloomingdale's website

First thing we did was to remove the belt that came with it (simple matching fabric sash style), and replace it with the rich brown Michael Kors woven leather belt.  The elasticized waist and flowy fabric of the dress were calling out for something with a little structure.  We balanced out the heaviness of the belt with this great military green jacket from Guess.  To pull the colors all together and finish off the look, we added dark brown sandals.

Re-styled dress Option 1

To change up the dress some more, we decided to keep the belt (it looked so great already), but soften the look by replacing the military green jacket with this great sleeveless cardigan in an oatmeal/tan color.  We replaced the brown leather sandals with some Marc by Marc Jacobs ballet flats to balance out the structure of the belt, and to bring back that military green color into the outfit.

Re-styled dress Option 2

Kristina left our shopping appointment happy and loaded down with shopping bags full of fresh ideas for her summer wardrobe.

What is your summer style?  How do you make an outfit out of a dress?

Dress image courtesy of Bloomingdales.com

DIY TIPS: Why most people wear 20% of their clothes 80% of the time

Most people only wear 20% of the clothes in their closet 80% of the time.  This statistic explains why we can look into our overflowing closets and say "I have nothing to wear."  Does this sound like you?  Sometimes it's just a lack of organization that makes the morning rush that much crazier. 

Here is a great article that can help you get started organizing your closet at home.

Most people wear 20% of their clothes 80% of the time… That sounds like a bit of a waste doesn’t it? And the reason they tend to do that, is because many people’s closets are over-stuffed and in chaos. How would it feel to open the doors on a well organised wardrobe every morning? Would it save you 5 minutes every day? That adds up to a lot of time in a week or a month, but the benefits of being well organised with your clothes are even greater. Having a well ordered closet can help you feel more confident in what you wear, and get much more use out of the garments you already have.

Everything in your wardrobe should be well loved, fit to wear and easy to find. If it isn’t, your heart is going to quietly sink every time you open it. If you see items that you’re slightly too big for, the fact that you’re bigger than you want to be is going to nag at you below your consciousness. That isn’t a great way to start the day! If the things in your wardrobe don’t really suit you, you’ll feel a sense of frustration with the way you have to ‘fight’ through it to find something you like. That’s another battle you can do without. 

If a lack of organization isn't your problem, it could be an overwhelming/underwhelming amount of clothes in your closet causing problems.  For all of my clients, their in-home wardrobe consultations with me all go through the same process (male and female).  And this is something you can do at home as well.  The next best thing to working with me in-person is to utilize my own strategies when going through your own wardrobes.  Here are my five tips you can do at home to get you started:

1. First go through and try everything on.  If it doesn't fit, donate, consign, sell or toss it.

During a wardrobe consultation with my client, we do a lot of sorting and trying on.  It's not so much organization as it is purging.  By the time we are done, there should be nothing left in your closet but a bunch of great pieces.  My clients hear me say over and over again "It's not good, it's great", or some other variation depending on the item.  Don't settle for anything less than good while aiming for a closet full of great.

2. While trying everything on, use your imagination and mix-n-match items to create new outfit possibilities.

One common trait I find with most of my new clients, is that they have a hard time putting outfits together.  Retailers and merchandisers spend lots of time and energy visually merchandising the store to appeal to you.  Those mannequins dressed up all over are not there to remind you that you'll never be that skinny or tall.  They've been styled to lure you in and show you some of the outfit possibilities.  Don't be afraid to ask a sales associate their opinion on how to change up an outfit.

3. Create a shopping list for yourself based on the holes you've found in your wardrobe.

Are you short on trousers?  Pardon the pun, but this doesn't just mean quantity :)  Do you have enough pairs of jeans to complete your wardrobe (medium/dark wash denim, short for flats, long for heels, jeggings for boots, etc).  Do you have a ton of cardigans but lack enough tops to layer under them?  If the one suit you own for the limited number of weddings and funerals you attend, has dust on it, consider whether or not the it still fits and is still in style before getting rid of it and buying a new one.

4. Once you have decided what you are going to keep, organize the closet in such a way that you can track the wear of your items.

You should be doing a regular inventory of your wardrobe and keep it as organized as possible.

5. Finally, I suggest organizing your closet in terms of the type of clothes, rather than its color.  Closets that are organized by color are beautiful, but not so easy to pair outfits by.  Putting all of your like items together- pants, shirts, jackets, etc- will help you add that little extra your outfit could be missing.  For example, if you've already got your jeans and top picked out, but want to add a cardigan layer, it's harder to remember what cardigans you have if they are all organized by color.  but by having all of the cardigans together, no matter what color you choose, you will clearly be able to see what cardigans you have to choose from.





Image(s) courtesy of Clutter Control Freak Blog

Tips to Maximize Your Closet Without Spending a Dime

This vary gracious client of mine allowed me to post her pics, but kindly requested I didn't identify her (fair enough).  These photos were taken during her in-home wardrobe consultaton.  Here are a few of the outfits we put together for her, using two black dresses and various layering techniques.  All items we pieces she already had in her closet... So much for "having nothing to wear".

You can't see it very well in these photos (my apologies), but we used her black vest and paired it with a couple of her jersey dresses.  In this first picture (left) the jersey dress was quite shapeless and looked like a sack on her nice frame.  By layering the fitted vest, it re-defined her waist line and accentuated her nicely shaped arms.  The necklace and black boots helped to complete the look.

The dress on the right was more of a sweater knot, and quite fitted.  The vest is layered on top added visual interest and dressed up a plain black sweater dress.  Obviously there were many other options we could have done with a great staple like a black sweater dress, but that's for another posting :)

We took the same black jersey dress (above left) and layered a gray wrap sweater on top.  Just like the vest, layering something more fitted on top of a shapeless dress can bring your wait line out of hiding.

In this last picture, the black sweater dress was belted and we threw a sweater coat on top.  The belt accentuates her nice waistline, and the sweater coat give the outfit a bit of ta-dah.  The beauty of this is that she can take the coat off and still look more put together than if she had just worn the dress alone.

What she learned most from this experience (and I've heard this many times before), is that she needs to be more open minded and creative with how she pairs items in her closet.  Any closet maximizes exponentially if you know how to layer and accessorize properly.  Don't limit yourself to the possibilities you may not even know you have in your closet already.



Images taken by Jennifer Held

Tips for Maximizing Your Closet

I previously blogged about the "closet clean out" process I go through with my clients, and how I help them maximize their current wardrobe.  How do I do this?  I take key pieces that are multi-functional and put them together into as many outfit possibilities as possible.  These pictures are from my client Lisa's wardrobe analysis.  I took the purple BCBG wrap sweater and completed three separate outfit ideas for her.

Lisa works from home, and has many occasions to wear jeans.  She wanted to update her look to have some more style.  It was more than just changing the tops and the shoes she paired with it.  Wrapping the sweater (image 2) and having it tie in the back added some visual interest.  Placing a black turtleneck sweater, pearls, and velvet pumps gives this outfit a bit more warmth.  The other two looks (images 1 and 3) are a bit more summery.

Lisa loved all three looks and will feel more than comfortable in any of them.

Image taken by Jennifer Held

Put Myself in Your Shoes: A Trip Through My Personal Wardrobe Consultation

More often than not, as soon as I walk into a client's closet, one of the first things out of their mouths is, "Well I don't have a lot of stuff." And most times they are surprised at what they actually do have. Amazing how we forget the things we have when we gut stuck in the "I have nothing to wear" mentality. Truth be told, even I fall into that myself sometimes. Part of ,my problem is that I have a lot of clothes, and don't always remember what I have because I haven't been able to see it!

So I'm moving. Having to downsize into smaller temporary housing before my boyfriend and I get married. I am having to choose which items I need for the next three months, and which items can be stored at my boyfriends place. All-in-all, I have to downsize, MAJORLY.

I can't believe I crammed so much stuff into my closet. Granted it's a walk-in and this is only one side of it... And the scary thing is, I wear most of it (at least 90% depending on my current weight). Keep in mind that some of it is seasonal and can't be worn year round. Case-in-point: the pink-belted snowboard pants on the left.
Once I started pulling everything out, I had two of these rolling racks filled with clothes!!!
These are the items I have set aside to give to Dress for Success San Francisco, and to send out for consignment for cash to help with moving expenses (and maybe a new pair of shoes). I usually take my consignment pieces to JLSF's Next-to-New Boutique.These are the items I have partially set aside and partially folded to go out for donation to the Salvation Army.

And I couldn't make this blog post without mentioning the brave efforts and patience of my fabulous boyfriend for sitting through 4+ hours of listening to me talk about the memories I had of the last time I wore something he hadn't seen before.


So I have all of the hanging stuff sorted through, at least "round 1" anyway. I think I am going to skip over the folded items (mostly gym clothes and jeans) and head straight to the shoes...
...and this isn't even half of them :) More to come, stay tuned.