I just got home from a wonderful professional women's event organized by the Jewish United Fund, a charity benfitting people of all faiths throughout Chicago. It was an evening with a wardrobe consultant and personal shopper, Julie Watson.
http://juliewatsonstyle.com/
Julie has worked in the fashion industry for close to two decades with experience at several national retailers whose clothing I have purchased often. She spoke so clearly and directly about how to think about your clothing collection in a structured way in order to ensure that you always have garments appropriate for any occasion.
At least, she didn't use those words, but that's what I got out of it. For example, you should always think about the versatility of an item in addition to how it looks on you. If you go voluminous on top, go small on the bottom. If wearing a roomy bottom, go more form-fitting on top. Build your collection on basic fundamentals with a smattering of printed or otherwise special pieces as the icing. And don't be afraid to wear signature pieces all the time - it helps impress your personal style on those who see you.
A lot of this stuff sounds intuitive, but we all find ourselves falling into repetitive shopping habits that cause us to overbuild parts of our wardrobes while ignoring holes that leave us without enough of something else. I found Julie's talk really thought-provoking and relevant for me, as I'm sure the rest of the audience did too. Check out her website! Don't you wish you had a personal wardrobe consultant?
I also found myself trying to relate her skills to mine in the interiors realm. People need just as much help with their homes if they intend to create spaces that express their personal style and "fit" them in terms of the ways they use their home.
Sometimes people furnish a space for one purpose, and discover that they rarely use it for the intended purpose. You might build a desk into your kitchen and then discover it never gets used, or put a chair or loveseat in your child's room because it looks charming, but then discover that your child always lounges in the den and uses the chair only to toss their dirty clothes on. As a designer, it's my job to help you think about the reality of how you live, not just encourage you to buy things that look good in a picture or look like they "should" be there.
Just like with our wardrobes, we may have preconceptions of pieces that "belong" or "should be" in our house or closet, or we may get influenced to buy trendy items based on persuasive merchandising by retailers. We may think we can do it ourselves, but getting professional advice can help define the style we want to communicate to others, avoid costly mistakes, and even repurpose existing items and spaces in ways we may not have thought of.
http://juliewatsonstyle.com/
Julie has worked in the fashion industry for close to two decades with experience at several national retailers whose clothing I have purchased often. She spoke so clearly and directly about how to think about your clothing collection in a structured way in order to ensure that you always have garments appropriate for any occasion.
At least, she didn't use those words, but that's what I got out of it. For example, you should always think about the versatility of an item in addition to how it looks on you. If you go voluminous on top, go small on the bottom. If wearing a roomy bottom, go more form-fitting on top. Build your collection on basic fundamentals with a smattering of printed or otherwise special pieces as the icing. And don't be afraid to wear signature pieces all the time - it helps impress your personal style on those who see you.
A lot of this stuff sounds intuitive, but we all find ourselves falling into repetitive shopping habits that cause us to overbuild parts of our wardrobes while ignoring holes that leave us without enough of something else. I found Julie's talk really thought-provoking and relevant for me, as I'm sure the rest of the audience did too. Check out her website! Don't you wish you had a personal wardrobe consultant?
I also found myself trying to relate her skills to mine in the interiors realm. People need just as much help with their homes if they intend to create spaces that express their personal style and "fit" them in terms of the ways they use their home.
Sometimes people furnish a space for one purpose, and discover that they rarely use it for the intended purpose. You might build a desk into your kitchen and then discover it never gets used, or put a chair or loveseat in your child's room because it looks charming, but then discover that your child always lounges in the den and uses the chair only to toss their dirty clothes on. As a designer, it's my job to help you think about the reality of how you live, not just encourage you to buy things that look good in a picture or look like they "should" be there.
Just like with our wardrobes, we may have preconceptions of pieces that "belong" or "should be" in our house or closet, or we may get influenced to buy trendy items based on persuasive merchandising by retailers. We may think we can do it ourselves, but getting professional advice can help define the style we want to communicate to others, avoid costly mistakes, and even repurpose existing items and spaces in ways we may not have thought of.
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