Meeting with Jane – part 2

Jane and I got back together, after our initial meeting. Today’s project was to review the magazine and catalog clippings she has been collecting, and conduct a closet audit.

At our last meeting, we determined that Jane was an inverted triangle…meaning, that her shoulders are wide, and she has narrow hips. The goal with this body shape is to bring balance to the lower ½ of her body. This means a-line skirts, boot cut jeans. In tops, v-neck is best. No bold stripes on her top ½ (brings too much attention to her broad shoulders), no boat necks, steer clear of crew necks.

The magazine clippings Jane had were an array of things that were appropriate for her age, and things that were too mature. Jane is in her mid-40’s. The styles she is currently choosing date her, and make her look late 50’s. By looking at the things she tore out of the magazines, it is clear that her style is classic, with tailored lines. It is interesting, that she also has a flair for some artistic looks. Things that are a little bohemian, a little edgy.

Jane and I went through the clippings; she told me what about each outfit she liked. I explained to her what would be good for her frame and style, and what she would fight with.

Next, we went to Jane’s closet. First, I grouped all the alike items together: tops, pants, skirts, dresses, jackets. Within each section, I organized by color. In going through the organization process, I pulled out the things that I felt were not good for her, or those things we needed to talk about and/or replace.

This allowed us to clearly see what Jane had, and what she didn’t. Initially, Jane told me that she had a lot of various colored t-shirts. Through the closet audit, we see that she has a ton of white t-shirts (most with some kind of motif), and very few other colors. We also see a lot of overalls, and not many jeans, slacks or khaki type pants.

From this step, I sat down with Jane with a ‘shopping list’. This is a list of things every woman needs in her wardrobe. I customize this list based on the client, their lifestyle, and their real needs. For Jane, her needs are casual clothing, with a few pieces that she can dress up if need be. We made a clothing hit-list…based on priority. Top on her clothing priority list is:

• A good pair of dark wash boot cut jeans with no embellishment
• A black a-line skirt
• A pair of khaki colored pants (can be tan or olive, can be cargo style or chino style)
• Clean, crisp white t-shirt (no logos or motif!)
• A jacket – can be black to go with the skirt, or color (I suggest red)
• A blouse (that will compliment the jacket, I suggest something vertically striped – maybe a white with light grey thin subtle stripe)
• A sweater – can be cardigan or pull over. Make sure it isn’t boxy, and has a shape – should be in the color palate of the jacket

If Jane can start with these 7 items, she can create roughly 21 different outfits. With a this foundational start, I will come back and help Jane accessorize these pieces to make the basics – not to basic. This will be a GREAT start on her quest to be the best Jane that she can be!

I have provided Jane with some tools, via a secret place on my website, for her to reference when she shops. This website is uniquely hers…and includes sections like what not to wear, what to wear, your style story, fabric care, your bra size, your measurements. This way, she can quickly and easily reference the info she needs before she heads to the mall.

The next step is to get back together, and review the things she has purchased. Jane has opted to try to shop on her own, rather than to have me help her. If this initial shopping trip does not yield the basics we need, then we’ll shop together.

PHOTO CREDITS: http://www.become-stylish.com/ , http://media.canada.com