Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Budget Fashionista or Recessionista--What is this?


Just when you thought you had heard enough about the recession, the fashion industry had to go and coin some new recessionary terms of their own---budget fashionista and recessionista. Where will it end, I ask?

The whole premise of the recessionista concept is to carefully pick 'safe bet' pieces, ones that can work with the rest of your wardrobe. One fashion article I read showed how to mix high and low, using both couture and budget brands, to get your money's worth. The new budget fashionista colors are safe, practical choices like black, gray, and navy.

Frankly, all of this budget fashionista talk bores me and takes the fun out of wardrobe planning. Just because our pocketbooks are lighter these days doesn't mean that we can't still have a little fun with our shopping. Here are 5 quick ways to bring the fun back into your wardrobe:

1) Add color so that you don't look so depressed about these tough economic times. Speaking of budget, you can buy a colorful scarf for around $10 to use with a simple white T-shirt and jeans. Or how about a new lipstick, gloss or blush? Check out the dollar stores for some funky colors. Even better, come and see me for your personalized color analysis.....you'll never doubt color choices again.

2) Take stock of what you have in your wardrobe already. Pick 5 of your favorite pieces and create some new outfit ideas using those items. This will help you to determine what to add to further complement those 5 pieces.

3) Pick one trend that you really like and buy 1 to 2 pieces this season. You can easily snag cute, trendy stuff at any discount store, especially Target. If that's not recessionista, I don't know what is!

4) Look to magazines for inspiration. Find a celebrity or personality whose style resonates with you, then clip out some pictures of them. Try to recreate one of their outfits with standard department store clothing (A.K.A. recessionista spending).

5) Build a shoe wardrobe. Shoes can really spruce up the most basic of outfits in a flash. We all need 1 dressy pump, 1 dressy flat, some boots, strappy heels, 1 animal print shoe, 1 nude pump, 1 shoe with some color, strappy sandals, and some casual ballet flats.

Try some of these tips and let me know what worked for you!

Live in color,

Lauren

Monday, December 15, 2008

Color My Closet to partner with department store for some cool new projects!

Great news following my lunch with the department store execs! They were very open to my ideas and would love to work with Color My Closet on lots of projects in 2009. The events we put together will be exclusive to the retailer, as I wanted to partner with only one group in Houston.

As soon as I have the final calendar of events, I'll post info both on the blog and my website. These events will equip women with the tools they need to enjoy getting dressed every day--for every occasion. So many women have either forgotten or never learned the basics of dressing. We will also use real women as models for the in-store events.

Real solutions for real women like you and me!

Live in color,
Lauren

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Flying the friendly skies in the name of fashion!

I'm off this weekend to Colorado to help my client, as she put it, make her "outsides match her insides." You see, she is a dynamic and successful speaker, author, and overall facilitator of transformation. She is flying me out to work on her whole look--color, wardrobe and image.

While I'd like to say that we'll be skiing and taking in the Colorado scenery, the reality is that we will be so busy shopping, sifting through clothing, and chatting about wardrobe tips that we'll have time for little else!

What an exciting upcoming trip, though. When I get the Fashion 911 call, ladies, I have to respond.....even if it means flying the friendly skies!

Live in color,

Lauren

Fashion Meets Math TV segment

I was also invited by the same TV show to discuss how the fit of clothing really makes all the difference. We are talking about altering clothing to your exact bone structure, then producing your ideal clothing lengths that are within 1/8 of an inch in accuracy....this formula is amazing.

Part 1 can be found at: http://www.khou.com/greatday/fashion/?nvid=245691

Part 2 can be found at: http://www.khou.com/greatday/fashion/?nvid=245715

TV segment about color

Recently I was invited to appear here on local Houston TV channel KHOU-13, and the topic was how to go gray gracefully. If you'd like to view the segment, please click here: http://www.khou.com/greatday/beauty/?nvid=280379

The next wave of Color My Closet---Operation Retail Shopper!

I'm having lunch tomorrow with two execs from one of the largest department stores in the U.S.! Our meeting is a follow-up to some work I did with them after meeting at a fashion show last year. These savvy business women are open to collaborating on future projects, and the ideas I'll share with them tomorrow can measurably benefit their bottom line!

It's too early to divulge the specifics now, but I'll keep you posted as developments unfold. For now, we're going to call my little plan "Operation Retail Shopper." This plan involves using creativity and innovation to solve customers' main shopping dilemmas and put the fun back into fashion.

My mission here is to help women just like you navigate the scary world of the department store, get the 'warm and fuzzies' while doing it, and actually build an entire wardrobe with the stuff you buy there!

Who knows? You might even hum to the music you hear buzzing in the background as you shop, or get so excited that you break out in song and dance.

Live in color!
Lauren

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

So what is it that you do again?

"What is it that you do again?" When people hear the name Color My Closet they often assume that I am a personal organizer or interior designer. Folks, I am neither, and if you came to my home you'd see why! I call myself a color and wardrobe maven because I teach women how to use color to their advantage and how to build a 100% wearable and unique wardrobe....that they actually love wearing!

According to the Institute for Color Research--yes, these people are color geeks and I love them for it--up to 90% of your appearance is based on color alone. You may already know that within 90 seconds of intial viewing, people are sizing you up. Whether they realize it or not, their perception of you is based on color, so color makes that vital first impression for us.

Color is unmatched as our all-in-one visual face lift, wrinkle reducer, teeth whitener and weight loss agent! The right colors make you appear 10 pounds lighter and 10 years younger on the spot.....without diet or exercise!

Now onto the topic of wardrobe. I teach women a formula for signature style, incorporating all that is unique to them. My conservative estimate is that I save women about $20,000 every 10 years by equipping them with the tools they need to make smart clothing purchases.

The harsh reality is that we spend 9 years of our lives shopping, return about $11 billion (in the U.S.) annually in clothing we don't like, and we wear 20% of our wardrobe 80% of the time. Ladies, we waste both time and money meandering through the malls and dread getting dressed in the mornings!

My services are delivered via individual color and wardrobe consultations, personal shopping, group style workshops, speaking engagements, and television appearances. I have lots of special tricks up my sleeves, too, and look forward to sharing my expansion plans with you as things progress!

For now, I'm signing out.

Live in color,

Lauren