Q: Macy's, what have you done for me lately? A: A LOT..check it out!

Many of you know that I have a nice working relationship with Macy's, be it shooting TV spots or hosting events in their stores. Truth is, I pursued Macy's a few years back. They surely didn't pursue me...Macy's is busy, folks.

Why did I want to work with Macy's to begin with? It's simple: I had a good shopping experience there once I discovered a couple of my favorite brands: INC and Alfani. I learned how to break down the intimidating department store experience into more of a boutique experience..and in turn wanted to partner with Macy's for my business, Color My Closet.

2009 was a good year for Color My Closet and Macy's. We partnered on more projects and discussed further collaborations in 2010. I'm excited about this year!

What about you, the consumer? Why should YOU choose to do business with Macy's? As responsible consumers and business owners, lots of us like to do what I call "eco-ethical" business.

We look to buy products and services from vendors who are ecologically and/or ethically compatible with us and our values. They put their money where their mouth is, so to speak.

Well, here is our list of 10 ways that Macy's put their money where their mouth was in 2009 to make HUGE social impact. Thank you, Milinda Martin, Macy's VP of Media Relations and Cause Marketing, for pointing me in the right direction here!

1. $1 million donated to Make A Wish chapters through our holiday Believe
campaign.

2. $750,000 donated to Feeding America for those using food banks,
through our Come Together campaign -- this equates to 10 million meals.

3. More than $6.5 million donated to Reading is Fundamental for
multicultural libraries and reading programs in Title 1 schools.

4. More than $6 million donated to the American Heart Assn for the Go Red
campaign, educating women on heart health, including their Por Tu Corazon
program for Latinas.

5. $1 million donated to the National Parks Foundation to protect our
natural treasures.

6. More than $16 million donated through the Macy's Foundation to
non-profits throughout the country -- these are smaller regional
charities.

7. More than $1 million donated to various HIV and AIDS organizations.

8. More than $1 million donated to Boys & Girls Clubs through our Thanks
for Sharing program.

9. More than $500,000 raised for local charities through our national
Shop For A Cause program.

10. More than $250,000 donated to the Family Violence Prevention Fund to
raise awareness of domestic violence.

This only scratches the surface of what Macy's has done for the community....my research uncovered dozens of other initiatives from 2009. These are only the highlights!

Live in color!
Lauren

Patricia Zohn on Walt Disney Animators (March 2010) Entertainment & Culture: vanityfair.com

Patricia Zohn on Walt Disney Animators (March 2010) Entertainment & Culture: vanityfair.com

I so enjoyed reading this article in my March 2010 Vanity Fair magazine, which came in the mail yesterday.

It chronicles the lives of several young women who were responsible for painting the beautiful colors into thousands of "cels", or sheets for filmmaking.

They worked relentlessly and put in at least 16-20 hour days for months at a time just to get the right colors of paint on characters like Mickey Mouse and Snow White.

Speaking of Snow White, they were able to make her otherwise dull black hair come alive with some highlights, and her cheeks were made rosy with a beautiful pink paint flush.

So much of what these ladies did is now digitized, but their artistic talent and precision deserve special accolades and were indeed prized by Walt Disney himself.

In fact, these full color animated pictures could not have been made possible without these colorful gals!

Live in color,
Lauren

Black and gold---Who Dat Nation!

Color My Closet owner and president Lauren Battistini was born and raised in New Orleans, so it is understandable that her latest YouTube video would be dedicated to a mini-analysis of the Saints' team colors: Black and Gold.

See the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRO3hXlYRCk

Behind the scenes on our latest TV shoot

We've been enjoying a nice relationship with the good folks at ABC Live Well HD network's show Mirror/Mirror. This means that we pitch a lot of ideas to them, they ask us to present topics of their choice, etc.

Yesterday I was on location at Macy's Galleria on Sage to tape our 2 latest segments. Now, I cannot spill the beans on the details of the segments, as they have yet to air.



Let me say that each segment covers the topic of certain colors and how to wear them. We had the privilege of working with 5 fantastic models yesterday.

Karen is both stay-at-home mom and part-time business owner. Her industry is scrapbooking!

Amy is also a stay-at-home mom with a quick wit that tells me she may in fact be a member of the elite MENSA group (we'd have to ask her to verify :)...she was a kick to work with)

Vanessa is a student in Houston, Texas, and she is studying Fashion Merchandising if I recall correctly...

Jennifer works as an Assistant Manager of an upscale apartment high-rise in Houston. As our lone redhead on set, Jennifer made her modeling debut and now there's no turning back.

Shandolyn is a buddy of mine who has worked in various aspects of fashion, marketing and event promotions. She was rockin' out all of the looks we put on her.

Big thanks also to Andrea Bonner, stylist/owner of Style On Demand, for helping me behind the scenes.

And last---but never least---are my friends at Macy's. Not only did they provide all of the merchandise as well as locale, but they also provided beautiful gift bags and Macy's Money for my models. Thank you, MACY'S....we love you!

Live in color,
Lauren

New intern Allen to begin blogging "Color from a Dude's Perspective"

Hey everyone of Color My Closet!

I’d like to introduce myself. I’m the new intern, Allen Salinas. Just to give you a little background on myself, I’m a 29 year old single male. I am a swim coach on a nationally recognized swim team in the Northwest Houston Area.

You may be asking yourself: Why would a young, very attractive hetero male like me get involved with Color My Closet? The answer is quite simple: the women of course! No, I’m just kidding, well only half kidding :).

Now, my knowledge of fashion and most specifically color is limited (I wear a red Speedo for goodness sake), but I am always eager to learn skills that may enhance my own worth to the opposite sex. Though I’m dashingly handsome, I hope to learn to use color to further enhance my image, as well as the image of that very necessary accessory on my arm—a girlfriend.

In my search for love, I hope to find a woman who is up with fashion, color, and style. If I for my part can help her out with these things, then I think she’d find me to be more than just a great face with a rockin’ bod.

So join me on my exploration of color and I’ll give you a dude’s perspective that can ultimately help all of us—male and female—on our individual style journeys.

Why we do what we do

To my pals in the blogosphere:

2010 is a year for Color My Closet to truly define what we do and why we do it. We have always known what we are about, but this message is not always easy to convey in simple terms for everyone.

We believe first and foremost that every woman should have a color analysis, but why? The "why" is what potential clients want to know about.

Why color? Color analysis was popularized decades ago but lost its appeal somehow. People bored of hearing about the 4 color categories, or seasons. Like other trends, color came and went.

This generation of young women doesn't even know what color analysis is, much less why color is so important.

We witness some miraculous things every time we perform a color analysis on a client. This affirms what we know about color and its importance.

So after much rambling, here it is.....why color is so important:

1) You physically feel better in your best colors

2) People react more favorably to you when you are wearing them

3) You make a much better first impression on others when colors harmonize with skin

4) Knowing your colors simplifies your shopping (never again do you buy the wrong lipstick or shirt color)

5) Your skin looks glowing and smoothed in the right colors

6) The WRONG color can make you look 10 years older, and skin look sickly

7) The WRONG color can visually add 10-15 pounds

8) Teeth appear whiter in the right colors

9) Your eyes sparkle in your best colors

10) Your whole wardrobe mixes & matches perfectly when you know your color palette

11) Getting dressed in the morning becomes fun, not tedious

12) Everyone and his grandmother will give compliments when you wear your colors!

13) Studies show that color accounts for up to 90% of our total look

14) The science of color has evolved to include 12 (not just 4) color categories to more fully encompass the full range of skin tones found in all ethnicities

15) No amount of plastic surgery, skincare serums, or Botox can reverse the awful effects of wearing the wrong colors!

If you have any questions about color analysis, please email us at colormycloset@prodigy.net. We are here to educate you on color and how valuable it is to your life and appearance.

Live in color!
Lauren

Color My Closet mourns the untimely passing of our greatest mentor--Kathryn "Kitty" Kalisz

Dear blog friends & followers:

Thank you for tuning in. It is with deep grief and sadness that I write this evening, as my mentor and dear friend Kathryn "Kitty" Kalisz has suddenly passed away. More specifically, Kathryn's life was taken from her in a violent way.

Kathryn was founder of the company Sci\ART, the leader in the field of color analysis, education, training materials and supplies. Kathryn, together with her 3 grown daughters and 2 other staff members, ran the business.

I am especially sad to report that Kathryn's office manager Debbie's life was also taken, and that Kathryn's youngest daughter Manessa was shot, injured and is now recovering in the hospital. Yet another employee Amy was shot and has also been hospitalized.

I simply cannot focus on any other details of these deaths. It is too tragic and painful.

In this blog post, I want to let you all know who Kathryn was to me, and how much of an impact she has had on my work as a professional color analyst.

Kathryn trained me individually for both Color Analysis certification and an advanced course called Color Mixing & Matching. We formed a bond in that we were both entrepreneurs, had a strong love of color, and were mothers of 3 children (though Kathryn's girls are grown now).

Kathryn was not only my mentor, but certainly one of my biggest cheerleaders. I would lean on her not only for business advice but for emotional support in the ups and downs of running my own business.

The pain of not being able to pick up the phone right now to call Kathryn is almost unbearable. There's so much to tell her....so much to catch up on....so many things happening in our business that she'd be extremely proud of.

One thing brings me comfort, though. Kathryn's daughters Louanna, Suzie and Manessa plan to continue running the Sci\ART company once they've had time to heal and put together their plan of action. They all wish to carry on their mother's legacy.

I am deeply touched that Kathryn's last blog post was dedicated to the time she and I recently spent together on Color Mixing & Matching. When I learned of her death, I frantically searched for a photo of us together....something at least to hold onto.

Imagine my surprise when a fellow color analyst forwarded me this link to Kitty's last post: http://blog.coloranalysis.com/?p=109

My prayers go out to the Sci\ART family right now in the wake of these terrible losses of life.

Lauren