The night air is brisk … the days are comfortable as they peak 20 degrees cooler than last month … Fall is definitely in the air.  Now is a great time get your wardrobe ready for those cooler months.  You will have flattering clothes to wear each day, helping you to feel good about how you present yourself.  All it takes is three simple steps:

1. Sort your cool weather clothes. Be sure to try them on with a critical eye for their ability to enhance your figure, and flatter your coloring.   If an item doesn’t ‘pop’ and make you feel good about how you look, determine why not.  If the cut or color is just not flattering – put it in the donate pile; those things will not change.  We all make clothing purchase errors, just get past it and donate to someone else who could benefit.  If you just need a slight alteration to have an item flatter better, put it in the ‘tailor’ pile, and take your tailor now, to have it ready to wear as soon as possible.  If items fit and are not outdated, put them in the keep pile; outdated clothing should be donated.
2. Find out what’s missing. Review your ‘keeper’ items for incomplete outfits.  Consider garments that are just a one-off, or jackets with no (or just 1) complementary shirt.  These are wardrobe gaps, and a key place to start when expanding your Fall line-up. Simple, classic cut jackets and sweaters can accommodate a wide variety of shirts; this is where you can have fun with cut, color and pattern when building a wardrobe on a budget. If you have the basics and are a ‘jacket’ enthusiast like me – love having color and design details in your jacket – I recommend keeping the rest of your outfit super simple.  Unless you are tall and thin, a monochromatic scheme under the jacket can be really helpful.  Not only does the base layer allow the jacket to take center stage, it provides a continuous line, elongating and slimming your torso.  If this is you, the clean simple base pieces are where you may find your gaps.
3. Start strategic shopping. Prioritizing wardrobe gaps first, since they will reap the biggest reward.  Between the myriad retail sales and prevalence of consignment stores available, now is a great time to buy Fall and Winter clothing.  Most of your cool, weather wardrobe should be able to be obtained at a pretty good price, especially now that we are in September.  If basics are what you need, then start there, staying with clean lines and classic cuts to better leverage each piece.  Trendy clothing comes and goes, so keep it to a minimum if you are on a tight budget.

Tip: Make use of wardrobe photos.  It takes a little time up front, but taking pictures of your outfits can be VERY effective.  They can help with daily clothing choices, strategic shopping, accessorizing… It is so easy to quickly see what you have and get a sense of what you need.  You can just keep them in a folder in your phone photos.

Need help with any/all of the above, call me at 651-707-6053 and I can help.