Shopping with Angie at You Look Fab

I am frugal. I know, you may not have realized that from reading my blog but truly, I hate to waste money. For years, my wardrobe consisted primarily of white, black, brown and cream with the occasional spot of colour thrown in because I thought that was the most classic way to dress. Then I started this blog, and suddenly colour became a huge part of my image and I found myself struggling with how much colour to buy and how to wear it, etc.

Angie and I met this summer the week I was moving! Read her post here.

As a consultant myself, I truly believe that if you find the right expert, you will save money or make money depending on what kind of consultant you need. And love what you end up with, whether it’s your clothes, colours, furniture, tile, house, business, the list goes on.

She was in town for a wedding, this was outfit number one!

What bothers me the most about clothes shopping is that I pretty much end up wearing only 20% of what I buy 80% of the time. So I decided if I add up all the mistakes I make each season buying the wrong items, sometimes in the wrong size (I didn’t know that premium denim does NOT stretch), or simply clothes that aren’t me, that money easily pays for a fashion stylist. So, the following is the story of my shopping day with Angie at You Look Fab.

I’ve been following Angie’s blog since the Spring when I was first introduced to it. I instantly fell in love with her style, her personality, and all her amazing advice which landed in my in-box every morning. A daily subscription to You Look Fab is certainly the first step in becoming more fashionable.

We met for lunch on Sunday for a quick wardrobe review (I’m a bit star-struck here, being a huge fan). I had taken pictures with my iphone of my shoes, jackets, bags, etc (since we were doing this long distance). Angie asked me to bring a Pashmina scarf because I told her I have a boatload of scarves and needed to figure out what to do with them. She said the problem with most scarves is that they are too small and/or skinny. That was my first of many lessons I learned.

Then she said “Do you like fringe?” For someone that ALWAYS has an instant opinion on all things design and colour related I found myself stuck for an answer. It either comes with a scarf or it doesn’t–doesn’t it? Apparently fringe is more bohemian (which I’m not) and Angie says she cuts it off (just make sure you leave 1/4 of an inch).

We then discussed my denim situation and Angie decided we should get a few basics before we started the full shopping day on Monday.

First stop, camisoles. A great layering piece (who knew?) I bought 2 white, 2 black, 1 cream, 1 pink and 1 coral. Angie said I could get more of my colours in the Spring. She said to wear one the next day when we went shopping. In general you can wear a colour peeking out from the bottom of a sweater or underneath a shirt (for example) and are also a great layering piece if you are a cold person—which I am.

Next stop, premium denim. Within approximately 8 minutes, I had already tried them on and owned a fabulous pair of boot cuts (when was the last time you bought a perfect pair of jeans in under 10 minutes?). And we were on to the next department. Shoes. . .

Here we debated the colour of these cute oxfords and I ended up with the black and white ones. Next a quick trip to the Gap for skinny jeans. . .

Here I am testing out the Forever skinnies. This pair I bought!

Here, worried that my size is not available in the straight skinnies, but I’m in luck.

She said the Bebe jeans I was wearing with the studded back pockets were *gasp* OUT, because we are layering now so they add too much bulk.

At the cash desk, clutching my two pairs, one (real skinny) to tuck into boots and the other with regular shoes! The shoes I’m wearing I’ve had for 5 years because I couldn’t find a more comfortable pair. That all changed on this trip!

Day two, Here I’m wearing my new skinny jeans, chestnut boots (from Macys), new yellow bag (love) polka dot blouse with a new necklace and scarf. Angie says pattern mixing is totally cool and it’s more edgy to mix up colours and not be so fussed with matching everything. Since I’m Ms. Undertones-need-to-relate, this is all new for me. I just loved Angie’s outfit, look at that hose!

Here we are back in the shoe department.

I still needed black boots and had not found comfortable ones at that point. Angie does not believe in buying sitting shoes! When we got to Ann Taylor Loft, we struck the jackpot with some great colours in layering sweaters and 2 fabulous scarves.

I really loved this navy, purple and turquoise scarf. Turquoise is my colour.

If you would like your home to fill you with happiness every time you walk in, contact me for on-line or in-person decorating and colour.