Let’s start with the end first. I was completely prepared for the actual closet consultation and after it actually happened? I was exhausted. The above pile is all of the clothes I decided to donate elsewhere. And the shirt below was voted Worst Item in My Closet. I mean, the colors are bad enough…but the bows? Wow. I believe this was purchased in a just-had-a-baby, sleep-deprived moment.
Ainslie does a great job at the beginning of the appointment. She reviews your body type and goes over your goals of the session. Then she jumps right in and starts putting outfits together. I pulled out a brown sweater first and assumed she would tell me to get rid of it. Her response was “NO! There’s plenty of life left in it.” I thought it was drab, but learned because I was allowing it to be drab by wearing it with browns and simple gold jewelry. She quickly dressed it up with a white t-shirt, belt and colorful jewelry. I now had two new outfits.
She helped me see that a white jean jacket would be a nice addition to my wardrobe. So many things would go with it.
Ainslie brought a few accessories with her – the white jean jacket, some belts, some jewelry, etc. But 95% of the stuff I put on was from my own closet. She put together some outfits by herself first. Then she asked me what were the items I wanted to be sure we worked with as well. Ainslie took a photo of me in every outfit. She does this so she can email them to you later and you will have your own online collection of all of the creations to refer back to.
We spent two hours playing dress-up. It was a lot of fun. And I really appreciated her knowledge. Mainly to help me better understand what types of clothes to choose for my body shape and to learn not to be afraid of COLOR and mixing items I never would have thought of.
She finished the consultation with a short list of items I should think about purchasing to complete my current wardrobe. These included two jean jackets (one white, one dark), some new necklaces (particulary a chunky white one and a bright yellow one), crop/ankle pants (new thing for me), wide belts, and a new bathing suit.
Stay tuned next week to discover my biggest lesson learned and find out how my shopping went!
What’s your favorite accessory in your closet?
