Wardrobe Planning Hits and Misses Volume 1 Week 8

It was great having stylist stylist Jodi Skorupski of Style Success Wardrobe Planning back in my closet last week under much more pleasant circumstances than last time (see Getting Dressed After a Disaster).  My business coach Dr. Bob Stecker suggested a theme which Jodi seized on – clothes that energize you.  Before we got started, Jodi wanted to know what “energizing clothes” meant to me – fair question.  My answer was clothes that make me feel athletic, fit fairly well so that they encourage me to use good posture, but not so tight that they impede movement.  The previous week, Misti Pace Krahl had been drawn to skirts (see Wardrobe Planning Hits & Misses Volume 1 Week 7), but Jodi went with all pants – interesting!  Let’s see how it turned out.

Monday Jodi had me try something new – wearing a scarf more like a blouse.  I still had a camisole on underneath, but with my Brooks Brother blazer in place, the scarf looked pretty much like a blouse and stayed in place much better than I expected.  We folded the scarf on the diagonal and then left the big point in back and tucked the other two into the front of my pants.  I’ve worn a lot of pink, black, and white this spring and summer, but this outfit was yet another variation – I wasn’t sure I had any left at this point. I’m loving these comfortable yet flattering pink pants from White House Black Market which is also where I got the scarf.  I also really enjoyed scrunching up my jacket sleeves – great casual and trendy look that helped camouflage the jacket being a bit too long for me.  With some of my favorite colors, Chloe Di Leao and Kendra Scott jewelry, and my favorite black Tamara Mellon pumps, I did indeed feel energized in this outfit!  And once again, my pink pearls got an outing.

Tuesday was a super busy day with a lot going on at my client office and then evening plans with my friend Dionne Peters who filmed this week’s wardrobe planning session with me early so that she could scoot out of town for a much needed surprise vacation.  But in my Ann Taylor animal print blouse and favorite White House Black Market black pants, I was ready to meet the challenge.  I even survived bargain shopping in 3 different discount stores wearing my Stuart Weitzman high heeled sandals!  I’m showing only 9,542 steps on my FitBit Versa application, but 20 flights of stairs and a little over 2000 calories burned – how is that for feeling energized?  I loved the way the gold jewelry Jodi picked popped against the leopard print and the light colored cardigan brightened the dark colors up a bit for summer.  These black pants are absolutely my favorite go to pants – they have just enough give not to be confining, but a sleek cut that always feels flattering.  And who doesn’t feel like they can take on the world when they’re channeling a leopard?  So once again, I definitely was feeling the energy in this ensemble

Wednesday would normally be work from home day, but we had a lot going on at my client office so I swapped home office day for Thursday.  I’m really enjoying being able to mix and match suit blazers with bottoms that aren’t part of the suit and are even different colors, textures, etc.  Seems like that was a no-no for a long time, but it certainly adds a lot of options to my wardrobe.  This light tan Anne Klein suit blazer worked very well with my navy Anne Klein pants – I actually bought them at the same time, but never dreamed of wearing them together.  Go figure.  The real star of this outfit though was the beautiful scarf that my friend Joe brought me back from Cambodia a few years ago.  My friends and family mean the world to me so wearing gifts is always energizing, but I’ve struggled with how to wear this scarf.  It has both silver and bronze metallic threads weaving a lovely pattern throughout and is big enough that it can double as a shawl in a pinch, but it can also be a little bulky.  Jodi tied a perfect knot that kept the scarf compact, but in place completely covering the casual t-shirt I wore under my jacket.  I was comfortable in the chilly office, but could then slip my jacket off for the ride home in the Houston heat.  Speaking of which, Jodi pointed out that these jacket sleeves were also a bit long so for most of the day I wore them tucked under.  I really do need to visit her tailor soon!  My navy blue suede Charles David t-strap pumps along with my grandmother’s ring rounded out the outfit nicely.

Thursday and Friday were totally hang out in sweat pants or work out clothes days. But I still felt energized in the my “mom blogger” t-shirt from the Mom 2.0 Summit.  Blue Host which has hosted my original blog Arrow-Tips.com for years handed these out at the conference and I’ve been living in it ever since.  The color (greatly lacking in my closet), the message (always provokes a comment), and the comfort are very energizing.  Sometimes the best things in life really are for free!

Friday outfit, my friend Shelly & her girls in the pool at her wedding reception, Mom’s friend Jan jumping in

But this little cap provides a special kind of energy.  The cap came from a trip to Belize where I attended a wedding for my dear friend Shelly.  This wedding was hands down my favorite one ever because even though Shelly and Jason were the ones getting married, I got the best gift.  During the reception, my then 80 year old mother and her life long friend Jan jumped in the pool at the reception.  No, they are not suffering from an old age condition – quite the contrary.  Shelly decided that we should all jump in the pool starting with her (in her exquisite gown with her professionally styled hair and makeup) so all 60 something guests dutifully complied.  I can’t tell you how proud of Mom I was when Shelly got out of the pool and took her hand to jump in with her.  So this hat does have a special kind of energy – the kind that tells you you’ve got I’ll-still-be-spontaneous-and-fearless-at-80 genes.

Saturday was the baby shower for a good friend’s step daughter that I had been looking forward to since I got the invitation.  Jodi dressed me in a new xx blouse that I picked up during my Montreal trip in June and my go to Black House White Market jeans.  But she left me with three options for shoes – my Aldo rose gold metallic pumps, my Jack Rogers wedge sandals, or my Chinese Laundry cork sandals.  I tried all three on posted a picture on Instagram where several followers were kinds enough to give me feedback.  Before I put them on, I assumed I would likely go with the Chinese laundry sandals (#3).  As it turned out, this was a fairly casual event at my friend’s home so the Jack Rogers (middle) probably would have been more appropriate, but I just loved the way the rose gold Aldo pumps looked with the outfit so I went with them.  My Kendra Scott jewelry rounded out the look – and what a fun event!  I’m always so excited for a new mom and dad not to mention checking out all the amazing gadgets that are available for babies these days – where was this stuff when mine were little?  And of course, choosing from all the adorable baby outfits is painful – you want to buy them all!

So that was last week.  Another big thank you to my guest stylist Jodi Skorupski of Style Success and please check out our video on YouTube if you want to hear more about her choices!  She also was this week’s guest quick tipper so be sure to check that video out too for more of her great tips.

This past Sunday, my friend and fabulous fashionista Dionne Peters joined me to help with this week’s wardrobe.  She took me on a short shopping spree at a few discount stores to show me how to find diamonds in the rough – very helpful since I usually feel completely overwhelmed in those stores!  I’ve also posted a link to that video – please watch and let us know what you think!  In the mean time – have an inspired and energized week!