You Can Get More From Your Wardrobe. You Just Don’t Know It

It’s great to be back after taking a few weeks off from blogging.  I have to admit, I really enjoyed my downtime.  I love blogging and connecting with all of you regularly but, man, I really needed a break.

The last few weeks weren’t really a vacation, I still saw clients and caught up on other work and personal projects that needed my attention and just enjoyed the freedom of not having a blogging deadline hanging over my head.   I also celebrated a milestone.  This September marks my 13th year in business as a personal stylist.  That’s right, I started Bridgette Raes Style Group 13 years ago this month when I was a very naive 28 years old.  I’m having a hard time wrapping my brain around this.  In some ways it feels like only yesterday that I threw all caution to the wind and started my business.  Yet, when I look back and think of all the women I have worked with, all the ups and downs of building my business and career, and all the things I have done, it feels like I have been doing this forever.

The very best thing about my work is not the fashion, it’s the clients, the women whom I have worked with over the years who I feel so grateful for.  There have been times these 13 years where I wondered how long I want to keep doing this.  How many closets can I clean, shopping trips with a client I can make and how many times I can revamp someone’s style before I’m just done with it.   But then I think about my clients, these amazing women who I have worked with over the years who are, hands down, some of the most incredible women I have ever met and feel privileged to know and it just sucks me back in.   Hands down, the most rewarding part of my job has been watching these women change, transform and grow.  The bonds I have developed with many of my clients is, by far, the most cherished part about what I do.  Without them I wouldn’t have a business (literally) and if it weren’t for them, the true heart and soul of what I do wouldn’t exist.  So to all of you who I have worked with, I thank you for giving my business the meaning that it has for me.

Speaking of my clients, as you know, I have a very strict policy of not revealing information about the women I work with unless I have their permission.  A few weeks ago, while styling and photographing looks with a client, I told her that she didn’t have to worry, none of the photos would wind up on my blog.  Her response?  “Oh, you can use them if you want to.”  I became excited when she said this because her photos really illustrate how you can get more from your wardrobe, you just don’t know it.  Like most women, my client has a client a closet full of clothes that she didn’t know how to use as effectively as she could.  In today’s post I am going to show you what I did with her to hopefully inspire you to get more with less.

When I feature clients on this blog I never use their faces and I always give them fake names that describe them perfectly.  I have featured clients on this blog like, Ms. Chic, Mrs. Hottie, Mrs. Fabulous and now this client who I have decided to name Ms. Lovely, because lovely is the best way to describe her.  She’s younger than most of my clients (she was in high school when I started my business. Yikes!!) but is wise beyond her years.  Like most of my clients, I cherish my time with her.  She is gracious, smart and just…lovely.  Without revealing too much, she is currently  doing her medical residency in Psychiatry.  Loving the psychological side of my work, you can only imagine the types of conversations Ms. Lovely and I have.   I am learning just as much from her as she is learning from me.

When I work with clients in person, most of them go through several steps.  It starts in the closet where we purge and edit, we go shopping together and we also do outfit styling sessions where I help clients put looks together and photograph them for reference.  The below photos are from this session.  Ms. Lovely and I had done just a few hours of shopping a few weeks earlier and I wanted to get back in her closet to put looks together and assess what else we needed to purchase.

Outfits from my session with Ms. Lovely

At the start of an outfit session I always ask a client to pull a piece from their wardrobe that they want to start working with.  These pieces are usually ones that the client doesn’t know what to do with or wants to get more use from.  Ms. Lovely pulled these patterned navy pants from Ann Taylor that she bought on her own, liked, but was having a hard time styling.  She barely finished her sentence about her issues with these pants and I was already pulling a bunch of tops from her closet to wear with them.  When we start with one piece I always like to create multiple outfits to show how to mix-and-match and get more looks.

Navy Patterned Pants Outfit #1

The first top I used was this soft coral top.  We purchased it together at Lord & Taylor and I wish I could find it online or remember who it is by.  I suggested these nude kitten heel pumps to wear with the outfit and, as a flatter alternative, this pair of burgundy ballerinas from Ivanka Trump.  As we finished the look, I grabbed a scarf that Ms. Lovely had purchased on her own.  It worked perfectly and added a beautiful finish.  The benefit of these pants with a small pattern is they can be treated like solid navy pants making all the outfit options quite limitless.  The small pattern even work with bold prints like the scarf.

Navy Patterned Pants Outfit #2

In this next look, using the same Ann Taylor pants, I used an ivory sleeveless top from T Tahari and navy Ivanka Trump blazer to create this outfit.  Another scarf that Ms. Lovely had on hand was this red patterned one that worked perfectly with these Sam Edelman kitten heeled pumps.

Navy Patterned Pants Outfit #3

Next, I removed the jacket.  Of course, Ms. Lovely can throw it on if she needs to.  Using the same scarf as the first look, I picked up the burgundy in the scarf and offered these two shoe suggestions, including this burgundy pair from Vince Camuto.  Ms. Lovely and I haven’t had a chance to shop for jewelry yet, but she had these two earrings options on hand.  For work I told her she could go simpler and for fun she could break out the bolder purple pair.

Navy Patterned Pants Outfit #4

In this next look, I grabbed this red sleeveless top, styled it with the pants and and layered the navy blazer over it.  I don’t think the top photographed as well as it looked in person.  For this look we kept it more classic and I gave her the options of grey kitten heel pumps, these gorgeous tan flats with laser cut outs or nude pumps.  Lastly, the look was finished with a pair of gold earrings she had on hand.

Navy Patterned Pants Outfit #5

Lastly for these pants, I grabbed this hot pink sleeveless top.  We could have gone on with even more tops but needed to move on.  Here, again, I gave her several shoe options, for comfort and to change up the looks, including these metallic blue flats from Sam Edelman when her feet really hurt, and finished the outfits with two layering options– the navy blazer or a softer white cropped cardigan.  For jewelry, I used what Ms. Lovely already had on hand.  Once we go jewelry shopping she will have more options, but these work just fine.

Cobalt Pencil Skirt Outfit #1

Next, Ms. Lovely pulled out a cobalt blue Boden pencil skirt that she already owned and wanted help styling.  When I worked with her during her closet edit we had already put some looks together using this skirt and with new things purchased I wanted to see how bold Ms. Lovely was willing to go.  I was delighted when she seemed enthusiastic when I paired this skirt with a bright coral top.  As luck would have it, the same scarf we had used previously worked perfectly.  It always amuses me when a client has the perfect components sitting right there in their closets and don’t see it.  When Ms. Lovely purchased this scarf she had no idea what a vital piece it would be.  I finished this outfit with her nude and grey kitten heel pumps.

Cobalt Pencil Skirt Outfit #2

Knowing that Ms. Lovely is not afraid of color, I kept pushing.  Here, the same sleeveless pink top I used with the navy patterned pants was used with this cobalt pencil skirt.  In addition to the grey and nude pumps, I threw in these black and white Louise et Cie heels that Ms. Lovely fell in love with at the store.  Lastly, as I am dressing Ms. Lovely, I looked at her earrings and found this pair just sitting there.  I just love it when something so perfect is just sitting there waiting for me to use it.

Cobalt Pencil Skirt Outfit #3

I took the brightness down a notch in this last look down using this soft pink blouse.  The color of the top is a bit too light for Ms. Lovely so we added this key scarf to the mix.  Finishing the outfit,  I just love the way her burgundy shoes look .

Grey pants Outfit #1

Ms. Lovely has had these grey pants in her wardrobe for some time.  The pants have this slight texture to them and they fit her great.  Until we worked together she was wearing them in a “just okay” way.  Little did she know that she had all these fabulous options to consider.  For a more classic look, I added a sleeveless blouse and grabbed a tweed blazer that she already owned.  For a pop, I used her Sam Edelman red suede heels and her red printed scarf.  Clean, classic, but definitely not boring.

Grey pants Outfit #2

Next, to change things up ever so slightly, I simply swapped out the tweed blazer and added the navy one.  I also suggested she give these lace-up wedge booties a try once the weather gets cooler.

Grey pants Outfit #3

Ms. Lovely has this simple tan blouse just hanging in her closet that, on its own, is sort of just basic but I knew it would look great with her grey pants for a softer look.  Here it is with the same navy blazer, her burgundy or tan flats and finished with that standby scarf and simple gold necklace.  And don’t you just love that bag?  Ms. Lovely got it during Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale for under $50!

Grey pants Outfit #4

This outfit is exactly the same as the previous one.  The only change is the layering piece, this rusty relaxed cardigan that Ms. Lovely had already owned before working with me.  And there is that scarf, yet again, working so perfectly.  How beautiful are those burgundy flats with that rust cardigan?  I bet that is a color combination you hadn’t thought of before.  I know Ms. Lovely didn’t.

Grey pants Outfit #5

Same cardigan, same grey pants, only this time we put the ivory blouse back on.  Of course, the tan top (in the previous photo) would look just as good.  For this look I toned down the outfit with a different scarf and took away the burgundy flats.  And in case you’re wondering, that red shoe just happened to make it in the photo.  It’s not a suggested shoe to wear with the outfit.

Grey pants Outfit #6

Here the same grey pants are again.  This time they look much sleeker with this blouse, relaxed blazer and, for a pop, red or burgundy shoes.  I think it was at this point that Ms. Lovely questioned if she’d ever need to buy a pair of black shoes again.

Grey pants Outfit #7

Going back to the soft pink blouse used earlier.  Here the grey pants are styled with a very cool Ivanka Trump cardigan and this variety of shoe options.

If you break down all the pieces used in these outfits it’s a pretty small assortment.  It’s the mixing-and-matching that matters along with a keen understanding about how to put looks together.  Instead of going out and buying more clothes that will not necessarily solve the problem, work on creating looks by shopping in your closet.

I thank Ms. Lovely tremendously for allowing me to share her photos with all of you.