 A year ago, I sat at my desk staring at my laptop waiting for something to happen. My hair had been in a messy bun since March, and I had mastered the art of long-conversation with my dog. The pandemic was in full swing, and I was in a crappy funk. I rarely left home. Everything on my calendar had cancelled with no plan to reschedule. I was trying to pivot the way I worked with private clients to make it work in the new virtual world. It was frustrating and exhausting.
When my husband and daughter would get home, all I wanted to do was talk...since they were the only people I saw I wanted to "be with people". Well - by the time they got home from work and school, the last thing they wanted was to "be with people"...me and my chatty self learned to shut up. The crappy funk started to become a depression. Initially, it was fun not having anything on my calendar. I spent a lot of time learning about web marketing, social media advertising and the latest in wrinkle creams. I cleaned, organized...sort of. I mastered the perfect lighting for Zoom meetings in my office (but I had no Zoom meetings on the calendar). I sent friends heartfelt handwritten notes a few times. The past month, things are getting back track. Working with former and new clients, coming up with short and long term plans, I even styled and hosted 3 1-hour live fashion show tv-ish programs(see them here, here and here)...all good stuff. But what really made me rise from the dead was a project I was fortunate to be a part of last week. It started as the kind of inquiry where I think I am getting punked; large scale, last minute, editorial photography project that needed a wardrobe stylist. That thing that makes my heart beat fast. After research and driving 5ish hours to the site of the photoshoot (still not fully convinced I wasn't wasting my time) I found myself part of a team of photogs from all over the world, led by one from LA (who is kinda a big deal). I was working with models whose faces you've all seen...all over the place. I worked for hours HOURS researching and collecting wardrobe for a project I didn't know much about. That 'fear of failure' thing was alive and well...but as the meme says, NOT TODAY SATAN! After sitting in my white chair, at my white desk, in my grey office, while wearing my favorite Lululemon Align pants waiting for something to happen. It was happening. And let me tell you - when that part of you that makes you ALIVE lights up again...it feels like magic. And, the icing on the cake was the team I worked with. We spoke the same language, like we had been working together for years. They loved my work. They instantly trusted me as someone who had been doing 'this' for 20 years. The pandemic funk? It disappeared. I know I'm not the only one who has been sitting waiting for something to happen for the past year and half. Getting out of the funk isn't easy. Getting over the strange social anxiety that the pandemic created and realizing it's OK to be around other people is a mind-bender. Now that we are vaccinated and can safely go about our lives mask-free...just do it. Get out. Live life. Shake off the funk, put on a cute skirt and ditch the workout pants...have a fantastic overpriced glass of wine. The only down side? Your dog will miss you. ...put on your favorite shoes and brightest lipstick AND GO TAKE ON THE DAY!
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Are you ready for Spring? Here are some things I have my eye on from all over the interwebs. Click the image to shop pieces that catch your eye!    from the October 2013 issue of Sassy Magazine
When you get ready for your work day, are you mindful about the image your clothing will project? That outward image not only will enchant some and disenchant others; it can determine your mood for the day. This is something we all need to think about, not just professional career driven women; but even stay-at-home moms, work from home gals, part time job ladies. Are you getting the responses in your job, career, community, kids, family that you want? Maybe it’s time for an image check. Maybe it’s time to polish your image. A study was done by a UK organization that polled 2,491 women. Apparently, we spend an average of 16 minutes every weekday morning, 14 minutes on the weekend, and up to 20 minutes before a night out pondering what to wear. That's a lot of time! Annually, that’s about 6.396 minutes a year, or 106.6 hours. Who has that kind of time? Waiting until the morning to figure out what you are going to wear is too late. The morning can be the most hectic time of our day, especially if we have kids. The additional stress of pulling something to wear out of our closets only to find that it is wrinkled, stained or doesn’t fit isn’t a great start to the day. A better way is to consider your outfit based on the image you want to project. Do this ahead of time in the same way you would approach any organizing project. FIRST – make sure the things in your closet are organized. The way it is organized it up to you. I suggest organizing alike items together by color. In other words, all white shirts together – all black pants together. NEXT – get inspiration. I love Pinterest for this. I browse my favorite stores and pin outfits that I love. Then on those occasions I’m at a loss for what to wear, I head to my Pinterst board and look for an idea. FINALLY – choose your clothing ahead of time. If your schedule and space permits, you might want to do this on Sunday night for the week. If you have kids, this is a great exercise to do together as a family (trust me, it will save a lot of morning arguments about what to wear!). Use a door hook for your outfit combinations. When thinking about your clothes look at your calendar and consider:
OTHER TIPS:
PANTS Black trousers Skinny jean TOPS White blouse Stripe top Print sweater tunic JACKETS Black jacket Red jacket (jean) jacket SKIRTS Black pencil skirt Animal print skirt
  This time of year, all we see is the cold, grey of winter. It’s easy to fall into a grey mood as we patiently (or not so patiently) wait for spring. Here are 2 easy ideas to help you avoid the doldrums:
Brighten up your outfits. When the temperatures outside fall below freezing, it seems we tend to think that means we should be dressing in dark dull colors. Liven up your dark ensembles with pops of bright colors. Things to look for at your local Goodwill Store include scarves, tank tops, belts or other layering pieces. Spring clean – a little early. After the holidays, my office is a disaster. Well, if I am being honest, everything in my house feels cluttered and unorganized. We all have that room in our home that seems to accumulate all the “stuff” over the holidays. Take an afternoon and re-organize that space. Focusing on just one room isn’t as overwhelming as thinking about your entire home. Take all the extra things and duplicate items that you find and donate them to Goodwill. Keep the other rooms of your home free from clutter by not re-storing things you don’t use over the holidays.  Photo by Artem Beliaikin from Pexels I originally wrote this in 2015 - but the advice holds true today.
Over the years, I have helped hundreds of women transform their wardrobes into perfectly functional, fabulous collections of outfit options. There is a common thread to all great wardrobes: a balance between basics and statement pieces. After trying to remember all the things (and reasons why) that make up a great wardrobe, I have compiled a list. This list isn’t intended to be a “run out to the mall now and buy all these things”, but rather it should be viewed as a “work- in-progress checklist”. PANTS
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