Last week I started sharing about my experience hiring a fashion consultant. I prepped for the appointment and survived the consultation. But then I had homework. Although most of the outfits we put together were straight from my own closet and accessories, there were still some things on the suggested “to buy” list to complete my wardrobe. Andy gave me a budget and I was ready to go shopping. BUT I hate going shopping. For me. I never know if I’m picking out the right thing.

This is where Ainslie saves the day. First, she gave me a very detailed list of what to buy and where to buy it. Some items even had direct links so there was no confusion about the exact swimsuit she had in mind for me. Still I needed one more crutch. Ainslie has many different service packages available and you can see her standard services listed on her website. However, there are still difficult complicated insecure shoppers like me who just need some simple confirmation that my purchases are correct. I didn’t need the whole 3-hr shopping experience, I just needed a nod of “yes” or “no” on a few items that I had to pick out myself. Therefore, this occurred a few times:

My package with Ainslie included a time frame of “text shopping”. I can send her texts and she will give input when she’s available. You can see at the very beginning of this post some of the photos I’ve sent to her recently! For those of you who are not local, Ainslie does offer her services from a distance and is great via text and email.

I decided to go ahead and look for most of the items she suggested. I found a great buy-one-get-one 1/2 off deal on belts at Target. Then Old Navy had all of their crop denim jackets for $20. So watch for sales! I splurged on the swim suit from Athleta. And then the jewelry at Charming Charlie’s is already very reasonably priced. I bought a yellow necklace/earring set for only $15. I just get overwhelmed in there…hence the photos above of necklace options I sent to Ainslie for “approval”.

After my consultation and shopping experience (with her just one text away), I felt like I was getting an idea of what to look for when shopping for ME. I was even able to put together an outfit all on my own for our neighborhood couples night. AND it didn’t have grey or black in it!

I have one closet facelift post left (for this week). Come back to find out my #1 lesson learned. And at some point soon Ainslie is going to visit me one last time to throw together a few more outfits with the focus being to include the new items I purchased. Because, yes, I bought the suggested chambray shirt, but no, I have don’t have any idea what to do with it!

Does your closet need a facelift?