124/2012

Right Place Wrong Outfit

Posted in Uncategorized

What to Do When You Show Up Wearing the Wrong Thing

A couple of weeks ago I had plans to meet up with a friend for a beer and some catch-up conversation. I headed to a local joint in jeans, a sweater, and some crazy, furry boots that I scored at a clothing swap. I was comfy and wearing a great outfit for an easy evening out.

When I got there my friend was waiting with one of his coworkers who had another idea. She suggested that we go to a fancy-shmancy party that guaranteed many DC A-list artsy people would be in attendance. I stood there in my jeans and had a mild panic attack. Normally I would be totally down for a fun adventure, but I knew I would stand out like a sore thumb.

And, I would have to answer the inevitable DC question of, “What do you do?” with the words, “I’m a fashion consultant.”

But, I did the opposite of my first impulse. I said, “Yes, let’s go!” I decided in that moment to just show up and see what happened.

We went to the event. I was ridiculously under-dressed. I decided not to do any explaining and not make any excuses. (Although when I first got to the party I had this impulse to stand on a chair and yell, “I didn’t know I was going to be here tonight! I love dressing up! I could have been dressed up!”) I met interesting people, had some cocktails, and had a great conversation in with my friend. Basically, I got out of my own way so I could just be present in the moment.

Since that evening I’ve been doing some thinking about what happened. SO, I created some quick rules to follow if you show up in the right place with the wrong outfit.

Quick Rules If You Show up in the Wrong Outfit

1. Breathe.

You will not die from this experience.

2. Make a decision and commit.

Will you stay or will you go? It’s up to you. Sometimes, though, just showing up is the most alive choice.

3. Realize that very few people will recognize that you are in the wrong clothes.

Seriously. Most people are so concerned about how they are looking / sounding / doing socially that they won’t notice.

4. Realize that even fewer people will remember.

Quick, name what 5 people were wearing at the last party you attended. Can you think of anyone?

5. Invest in others.

Meet people. Ask them questions. Sincere questions about who they are. You may not get a lot of time to invest in someone at a party, but really try to see people for who they are. It will shift your focus to what’s really important and you might make a new friend.

Have you ever shown up to an event in the wrong outfit? What happened?

123/2012

The Hardest Question

Posted in Closet Caucus

The #1 Question Clients Have a Problem Answering

When I book a new client I schedule a phone call and ask lots of questions. This is so I can get a sense of the client’s personality and so we can focus in on their style goals. The questions are quite fun – some are just surface questions that tell me a little about a person’s particular taste (i.e. “What’s your favorite movie?” “What’s your favorite color to wear?”). But, I have one question that people stumble over EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Here is the question:

What do you like most about your body?

100% of the time there is a pause. Sometimes I get an answer. Most of the time I don’t.

To be fair, I think if someone asked me the same question out of the blue I might stumble with my answer too.

The big thing is this: We are used to seeing imperfections and “problem areas” (which I really don’t believe in, by the way). The language we use to talk about our bodies is overwhelmingly negative. So, pausing to think about what we love feels odd and quite foreign. But, it’s amazingly, astoundingly important.

So, I will ask you. What do you like best about your body?

Do some thinking about it this week.

120/2012

It’s Swap Time!

Posted in Fashion Event

Swap Day 2012

Are you ready to swap till you drop?

The Goodwill Fashionista is hosting a fab event in honor of World Swap Day tomorrow, January 21st, at the Arlington Goodwill store. Tickets are still available and are only $5.00 (with a small eventbrite fee of $1.27). Click here to get a ticket and find out more information!

Arlington Goodwill

10 S. Glebe Rd.

Arlington, VA 22204

10:30AM to 2:00PM

119/2011

Clothing Swap!

Posted in Fashion Event

DC Clothing Swap Event

Ooooh, how much to I love clothing swaps? So. Much. Love. Swaps are great for our planet, wardrobes, and wallets.

You can get in on the fabulous swap action this Saturday, November 12th, from 2:00-5:00pm at the Hillyer Art Space (9 Hillyer Court, NW, near Dupont Circle). The event is put on by dewdropDC and tickets are only $10 if you come with 5 items to swap. You can RSVP here.

Go out and get yourself some wonderful new clothes!

In the words of Tom Haverford – Treat Yo Self.

114/2011

Refinery29 Launch

Posted in Fashion Event

Refinery29 Launch Party at Madewell

Last night was the Refinery29 launch party at Madewell in Georgetown. All haters beware – DC is in the middle of a fashion revolution.

It was a great time to check out some of the latest Madewell merch.

This is Brittany. I ran into her last summer and just loved her style.

I love how she combined a sparkly skirt with a denim shirt and a pop of color with her purse. Lovely as always!

I also met Winter, who was wearing an AMAZING Chanel necklace.

Here is a close up:

It’s chunky and bling-y with lots of individual elements that make one BIG fantastic necklace. Love it.

Welcome to DC, Refinery29! We are so glad you are here!

111/2011

Let’s Celebrate!

Posted in Closet Caucus

4 Years and Counting!

Do you know what today is? Today is the FOURTH anniversary of my fashion consulting business, Closet Caucus! Yeah!

Four years ago today I set out to create a business that would encourage and support people. It’s such a blessing to still be here.

I couldn’t do this job without the help of my friends and family. A business grows with the input and love of other people. For those of you who have helped through kind words, solid business advise, and giving me pep talks when I really needed them – THANK YOU! You helped build my dream.

xoxo,

1028/2011

Challenge for Today

Posted in Closet Caucus

Have Some Fun!

Anyone out there feel overworked and stressed?

I think a lot of people are.

It’s so, so important to build some fun into our schedules. Especially when life gets tough. Especially when the economy stinks. Especially when everyone is worried about money.

Building fun into our schedules is a way of combating all of that. Joy changes everything.

Game Night Options!

Tonight I’m going to Game Night. A group of us get together once a month to eat, drink wine, and play board games. It’s old fashioned and SO MUCH FUN. Most of the evening is spent catching up on stories and howling at the ridiculousness of how we play games. It’s our way of scheduling in some fun.

How about you? What have you done recently that is silly? Do you schedule in fun? Do tell!

xoxo,

1026/2011

Today’s Challenge

Posted in Closet Caucus

Be Concerned with Progress, not Perfection

Most days on Twitter I issue a daily challenge. Usually it is based on something I’m personally working on or thinking about. I thought it might be interesting to chat about those challenges every now and then. So, here are my thoughts on today’s challenge!

One of the best and worst things about my personality is that I’m a perfectionist. It works in my favor because it helps me produce products that are well done, polished, and feel complete. It makes me work hard and pushes me to excel.

It also completely gets in my way and is self-sabotaging.

Learning how to build versus wanting everything perfect instantly!

Perfectionism places me in a false mindset that if I can’t do it “just so” I can’t do it at all. This manifests itself in two ways:

1. I work on something so long that I miss an opportunity.

2. I cut myself off at the knees before I get started. For example – I try to find the perfect workout routine and the perfect time of day to do it instead of just going out and exercising.

Recently I’ve been listening to the Accidental Creative podcast, and a frequent topic of discussion is how our ideas are not precious. Our responsibility is to get our ideas out into the world so they can change, grow, and be molded into something. If they are treated with fragility many times they won’t reach their full potential. We have to trust ourselves – we will come up with more ideas if one completely goes bust.

So, right now I’m learning about slow progress and allowing my ideas to grow and take shape, even if they aren’t perfect the minute they come out of my head.

My guess is that I’m not alone in this. Are there other perfectionists out there? How does being a perfectionist help you? Hurt you?

xoxo

1017/2011

The Fall / Summer Skirt

Posted in Style Story

What I’m Wearing Today

I’ve been inspired by nail polish (of all things!) lately. I’ve especially enjoyed the bright neon hues that are sticking around this fall. I wanted to see if one of those summer colors could make the transition into a complete fall outfit. Below is a pic of me wearing a skirt that would usually be relegated to July and August paired with traditional fall wear:

Outfit Breakdown

Skirt: JCrew – it came out looking a bit orange in this photo, but in person it’s bright coral

Tights: Target

Top: Banana Republic (A basic I’ve had in my closet for forever)

Necklace: Obtained at a clothing swap!

Heels: Stuart Weitzman

Ring: Don’t think you can see it in this picture, but I have on bright orange / coral ring from Gossip on 23rd

This has been SUCH a fun outfit to wear. I went shopping with a client this morning and got stopped a dozen times by people asking questions about the skirt. It was such a fun surprise! I’m now inspired to go back into my closet to see if I have any more bright hues to wear during the remainder of this fall.

How about you? Have you tried wearing summer clothes into the fall? Have you enjoyed neon colors this season?

1013/2011

DIY Scarf

Posted in Uncategorized

DIY Scarf Made Out of an Old T-Shirt

This is SUCH a fun project. It’s quick, easy, and I actually use the final product. Here is a tutorial on how to make a scarf out of an old t-shirt! Yeah!

Final Product! Fun & Funky Scarf!

(Just to let you know, I didn’t come up with this myself. I found this project on Pinterest and traced it back to the blog A Pretty Penny.)

First, get an old t-shirt. The one below was involved in an unfortunate kitchen accident. The damage was bad enough that it couldn’t be worn anymore so it was the perfect candidate for upcycling

Next, cut strips of fabric going from one side of the shirt to the other.

I ended up cutting the arms off the shirt for later on.

I also made small cuts in the fabric so the strips would be roughly the same size. You really can’t mess this up, so don’t worry about being precise. Just eyeball it and keep on going.

Next, stretch out the bands. The above picture shows the difference in length between a band that has been stretched a bit and one that hasn’t been stretched at all. The length just gives you more options when you wear it. You can put on the scarf in one long loop or you can wrap it around your neck twice.

After cutting the bands an interesting thing happened with the fabric. It actually rolled into itself. It meant there were no frayed ends showing! The shirt was 100% cotton – I’m curious if the same thing would happen with a cotton blend.