Tip of the Month Archives

Winter Clearance Wonderland: 5 Items to Stock Up on Now

For me, winter here in New England is more enjoyable when I keep busy with work, make time for outdoor winter sports with family and friends and have plenty of spring magazines in my midst to remind me that warm weather is right around the corner. Spring always does arrive no matter how far off it might seem in February!

Winter Clearance Sales & Spring Catalog Tips
Since we also consider shopping a winter sport, I thought we’d share our best advice about what to look for on the winter clearance racks. Our February Q&A offers advice about getting all the catalogs that are undoubtedly piling up at your door this time of year to work better for you. We’ve also included information about how to get off catalog mailing lists that you’d rather not be on so that you can be part of the movement focused on cutting back on the volume of catalogs being produced.

Special Thanks from the Heart
Finally, my February message would not be complete without a special thanks to all of you who helped us support Dress for Success Boston last month. Close to 200 women turned out for our "New Year/New You" lecture for the Needham Women's Club on January 20th. In appreciation for the talk, the Club made a donation in our name to DFS Boston. Many of you also donated to this great cause via the online auction in conjunction with the organization’s annual luncheon held last week at the Fairmont Copley Place in Boston. Pictured here with me at the luncheon are Jacqui Budd and Nancy Schneider. Nancy is a co-founder of DFS Boston and Jacqui is our current Board President. These two women fill their days with enormous love and compassion. It seemed fitting to feature them alongside our February message. After all, February is a month to highlight all things from the heart! Please visit DressForSuccess.org/Boston to learn how you can get involved in furthering this great cause.

We welcome the opportunity to work with you this month. Call me personally at 781-444-0140 if I can answer any questions about our private coaching or corporate services.

Here’s to Dressing Well —

Mary Lou Andre
Editor, dressingwell.com
President & Founder
Organization By Design, Inc.

Winter Clearance Wonderland:
5 Items to Stock Up on Now

An easy way to give yourself an end-of-winter wardrobe lift while cost-effectively building your wardrobe for seasons to come is to take advantage of end-of-winter clearance sales. Here are 5 winter wardrobe staples to look for now:

Cashmere Sweaters & Scarves. Called the Cadillac of all wools, cashmere is more expensive than lambs wool and merino wool with good reason — it lasts longer when cared for properly, can be worn in more than one season and is less itchy than other wools. A few classic cashmere sweaters and scarves can last a lifetime. We always find a few cashmere steals on the clearance racks for our clients this time of year and they thank us repeatedly.

Winter Coats. Merchants are motivated to sell off their coat collections right now to make room for spring collections that are arriving daily. Make their store real estate problem work for you by visiting your coat closet and getting focused on what you’d like to replace or update in your coat collection. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to get what you need when you arrive at the store with a fresh focus. Best part — you won’t feel guilty buying the coat that felt like a splurge at the beginning of the season when it’s up to 70% off!

Classic Leather Basics. When properly coordinated, leather coats, skirts, pants and dresses can add a significant amount of style to a wardrobe. While it is tempting to stock up on leather goods that are on sale, we advise clients against investing in pieces that might go out of style quickly. For example, if you see an A-lined leather skirts with a length that lands at or just below the knee, go for it. The shorter and longer cuts go in and out of style more quickly.

Bright Colored Leather Gloves. Gloves in fun colors like red, fuchsia, turquoise and yellow can add great fun to a wardrobe and become true fashion finds when purchased on sale. When you are buying gloves, particularly late in the season when pickings are slim, err on the side of a bit tight rather than a bit large, as these items always stretch with wear.

Simple, Neutral Tops. We tend to stock up on tops for our clients at the beginning of a season in the “in” colors that are being shown that year. They often sell out quickly and you want to get the most mileage out of them in their best season. If you can find simple knit tops in basic colors (i.e., black, cream, beige or red) during end-of-winter clearance sales, grab them, especially in lightweight wools and season-less silks. Picking up colors such as lilac, apple green and sky blue this time of year can help you get ready to lighten up all of your dark suits for spring.

Last Word
The items you won’t have much luck finding during clearance sales include winter boots, hats and ski jackets. By mid to late February these pieces are well picked-over so you’re probably better off holding these purchases until the following year.

5 Fresh Ideas for Starting 2010 with Style and Confidence

January is always a great time to take stock of your goals and objectives and make a plan for how you are going to accomplish them. With a new decade on the horizon, this year is a particularly poignant time to dream big and dive in.

Over the years, many men and women have turned to us as their first step towards taking charge of transforming their careers and lives. When you feel good about yourself, things begin to fall into place rapidly and new opportunities present themselves with much more clarity and purpose.

Pictured here with me is Buster Paris. Buster was introduced to us by our friends at WCVB-TV’s newsmagazine Chronicle during a job search segment. We were brought in to provide interview attire advice. Follow this link to view the segment and get a sense of our coaching style. Helping people develop an organized approach to dress and style that drives personal and professional success has been our mission for close to 18 years.

We welcome the opportunity to help you part with the clothes and accessories that are literally holding you back and then develop a personal and professional road map that will get you out the door faster, feeling better than ever. Make 2010 the year you feel the true power of dressing well. We have never met anyone who has regretted getting this important yet often overlooked part of their life in order.

As we look ahead to the New Year, we are grateful for the opportunity to continue the work we love. From all of us at dressing well, happy New Year — make it your best year ever!

Mary Lou Andre
Editor, dressingwell.com
President & Founder
Organization By Design, Inc.

5 Fresh Ideas for Starting 2010 with Style and Confidence

Out with the old, in with the new. Here are some fresh ideas to help you organize and spiff up your personal and professional image for 2010:

New year, new photo. A professional portrait (often referred to as a "headshot") can serve a multitude of purposes. It can be added to your company's website, posted on social media sites and sent to trade journals, newspapers and associations with press releases touting your latest achievements. If you don’t have one (or if the one you have been using is five or more years old), add having one taken to your list of New Year’s resolutions.

Freshen up your shoe collection. Oftentimes, freshening your shoe collection is the first step to a more well-dressed you. Take some time this week to retire shoes that are uncomfortable, worn out, or just plain out of style. Organize the shoes you do decide to keep so they are easy to locate when you need them. Getting your shoes under control can do wonders for the organizational state of your closet as well as your self-confidence.

Add some color to your wardrobe. There is nothing like bright colors to help cure the mid-winter wardrobe doldrums. Why not give yourself a post-holiday lift by adding a bright, colorful scarf or tie to your wardrobe this month? Colors such as cobalt blue, bright red and sunny yellow look especially crisp and fresh against the winter landscape and can do wonders for your psyche. With winter clearance sales in high gear this month, you can probably find a terrific bargain on a scarf or tie in a hue that makes you happy.

Decorate your closets. Did you ever notice that otherwise common spaces are often transformed into cheerful and highly welcoming places during the holidays just by hanging festive lights, adding bright colors and placing special decorations and fixtures in key areas? Visit your closets this month with the goal of creating a plan to make them more welcoming and cheerful all year long. By decorating your closets with the same creativity you use to decorate a tree or front entrance during the holidays, you can give yourself a present every time you open the closet door!

Revisit your dress code. Is the collective image of the people you manage bringing your company down? January is a great time to revisit your company’s dress code. Add the topic of professional image and its impact on sales and your organization’s overall brand in the marketplace to one of your regularly scheduled staff meetings this month. Don’t have a dress code? We can help you draft one and introduce it to employees. Give us a call at 800-578-3770.

Five Practical December Dressing Ideas

During the month of December, I slow things down a bit and take time to enjoy the true meaning of the holidays. For me that includes quality time with family and friends scheduled around work and a myriad of other responsibilities we all have this time of year. Being organized is one way that will allow you to do the same thing.

Holiday Closet Check-Up

Consider "shopping" in your closet early in the season to be sure you have the outfits you’ll feel great wearing throughout the month, no matter what it entails. When you feel good about yourself, your days will get easier — promise! For those of you who may need a jumpstart to getting your style on track for the month ahead — our featured article this month "5 Practical December Dressing Ideas" will be of interest to you. If you need more hands-on help, give us a call. We are available throughout the month for private coaching and personal shopping and welcome the opportunity to work with you.

Create Your Own Holiday Shopping Stroll

One of my personal favorite ways to celebrate the season is to combine girlfriend time and shopping. When you select an interesting shopping venue that doesn’t include a mall, you can create your own "holiday stroll," eliminating the hustle and bustle often associated with mainstream shopping while allowing you to select one-of-a kind gifts. Our friends at WCVB-TV's Chronicle asked us to create this experience for their viewers at Boston’s historic North End, which has emerged as a hip and fashion-forward neighborhood. Follow this link to view the segment for yourself. Thanks to all the merchants in the piece that graciously allowed us into their establishments to shop while the cameras rolled. Your stores are unique and beautiful.

Holiday Gift Certificates

Finally, I wanted to remind you all that we offer some great holiday gift certificate packages. Over the years, we have met many wonderful people who have been introduced to us by receiving a gift certificate. We'd love to meet your family members and friends too. We can also work with you to customize your ideas. An organized approach to dress and shopping is a gift that truly lasts a lifetime. We look forward to hearing from you!

Enjoy the season ahead. Here's to dressing well.

Mary Lou Andre
Editor, dressingwell.com
President & Founder
Organization By Design, Inc.

Five Practical December Dressing Ideas

Here are a few classic ideas that never go out of style:

• Stick with the Basics. Black suits, pants, skirts and dresses are typically the easiest items to dress up in your wardrobe. Get years of versatile December/holiday usage out of these items by purchasing the best you can afford in classic styles such as a-line skirts, simple shift dresses, slightly boot-cut pants and single-button blazers.
  
  
• Versatile Velvet. If you live in an area of the world which gets cooler this time of year, velvet jeans are a good investment. If you have a fairly casual lifestyle but like to step things up a bit for the holidays, top your velvet jeans off with embellished sweaters. Ankle boots with a variety of heel heights as well as ballet flats look great with this type of jean.
  
  
• Add Warmth. If your lightest weight wool pants are feeling too cold right now, wear tights underneath for extra warmth. This is one way our budget-conscious clients maximize their wardrobe dollars for year-round wear, especially during the holidays when they may find themselves at outdoor events with family and friends. Jeans won’t keep you warm caroling, ice skating or shopping at an outdoor mall in frigid climates!
  
  
• Trim Wisely. Choose coats, suits, jackets, dresses and tops with detachable faux fur collars if you would like to try these trimmings for the holidays without committing to them for the rest of the winter season. Be sure to store the collars properly so that you can take them out and use them again for many seasons ahead. Plastic shoe boxes are a good storage solution for these items.
  
  
• Protect Yourself. Scuff the bottoms of dressy shoes before wearing them for the first time to feel more secure and to avoid an embarrassing fall and/or injury at holiday parties. A driveway or other cement-like surface serves as a great scuff zone. In fact, we advise doing this to any shoe or boot that you will be wearing indoors or outdoors this time of year.
  
  

Remember, an organized approach to dressing never goes out of style. Shop in your own closet first, make a list (and check it twice!) and then head to the store focused on only what you need to feel your personal best this season and beyond.

Your Visual Resume: Three Tips to Land (and Keep!)
Your Dream Job

Whether currently employed or looking for a job, professionals operating in today’s competitive business world are wise to consider every day a job interview. How you choose to dress shapes not only your own mind set (how you feel about yourself) but also the reaction of others to you.

This week we worked with the producers at Chronicle — WCVB-TV Boston’s award winning newsmagazine — to help a recently laid off marketing professional update his image for job interviews. The results were subtle yet significant, and we made a friend for life! You can catch the piece tonight — Thursday, November 5th — starting at 7:30 pm on Channel 5.

For those of you who can’t tune in, here are three of the tips that will be featured on the program. We consistently give this advice to all the men and women who turn to us for help creating strong visual resumes, especially for interviews:

• Dress at or above industry standards. You don’t want to go overboard and up stage the person you are interviewing with, but you do want to be instantly perceived as competent. When you show up at an interview extra well groomed and impeccably dressed, it is easier for people to picture you as a leader in your field (and within their company!)
  
  
• Fit in while standing out. Yes, wear a suit but give yourself a signature look with interesting textures, colors, and accessories — you can be memorable and appropriate at the same time. Men, try a designer suit with a colored shirt and well coordinated tie that lets them know you have an eye for details. Women, opt for suiting beyond standard black and navy. For instance, a well-fitted chocolate brown pantsuit with a lilac shell can soften your look while giving you style beyond a standard dark suit with a cream or white top.
  
  
• Appear effortlessly pulled together at all times. Some of the best dressed men and women we know spend a significant amount of time behind the scenes so that they show up at any meeting (including interviews) more relaxed and confident, which allows them to connect more easily with others. While you don’t necessarily want to look like you spent all day pruning, developing an organized approach to dress, which includes having a good handle on what works in your closet and then developing good relationships with cobblers, tailors and the like is how you stay on top of your game.
  
  

Last Word

When you invest in yourself, it is easy for others to invest back in you! We welcome the opportunity to work with you to create memorable first and lasting impressions. Give our office a call at 800-578-3770 to learn more about our private coaching services.

© 2010 Organization By Design, Inc. / Wardrobe Management & Fashion Consulting
No portion of this article can be used without permission.
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