I am a very lucky man. I get to do what I love, and I have the opportunity to work with some great people - my clients. I work with people who are looking to evolve their look - for a new job, for a new phase of life, or just because they are ready.
I recently had the pleasure of working with Katharine. Katharine is a young mom, with the typical challenges of juggling career, kids, husband, etc. She recently moved into the area and started a new job as a healthcare researcher. Her work environment is business casual, which brings it's own difficulties of a vague dress code that needs to balance professional without looking overdressed. She also periodically has speaking engagements - so her work wardrobe needs to function for laid-back office days as well as presentations in front of large groups.
Katharine had a variety of great pieces in her wardrobe - black suiting, structured dresses, jewel-toned sweaters and wool trousers. But her style needed a shot in the arm - to keep it modern and appropriate to a casual dress code, and show off more of her energetic personality. The mission for our work together was pretty straightforward:
- Create a classic wardrobe with an eye toward modern and timeless versatility
- Focus on styles that transition from work to weekend (and beyond)
- Inject lighter and brighter color, prints and updated silhouettes
Katharine is currently enjoying her new wardrobe - she's rediscovered the joy of clothes, and is getting complimented daily. I received my highest compliment from her son, actually, via a recent conversation he had with Katharine at bedtime. Katharine and her son were talking about magic, and he said there is someone he knows who is magic - the man with the silver rack. Katharine asked who that was.
Her son said, "You, know, the one who made you the book with all of the clothes."
Katharine responded, "Oh, Paul! Yes, he is magic!"
To which her son replied, "He made you look so good, mama!"
When a little boy notices the impact I've had on his mom - it makes me love my job even more.
Check out these photos of a few of Katharine's new outfits, and how she's integrating her newfound style into her life.
This is a new work 'uniform' for Katharine - cardigan, printed silk top, casual pants and flats. But what makes it interesting is some print action and unexpected color. Many people are reticent to combine prints - but the black/white print on the pants is more of a texture, and the graphic print of the blouse becomes the focal point. And with black and white prints, a black cardigan and shoes would be an easy default - but a navy cardigan and plum-colored flats are a bit more interesting.
I always work to integrate clients' existing pieces into their new looks - so we combined one of Katharine's black blazers with a new green dress. The scarf ties it all together, and nude heels are the ideal shoe to go with a multitude of skirts/dresses and also do wonders for lengthening her leg line.
Katharine loves dresses - for their ease and the idea of a 'one item' look. Versatility is a big priority for me when working with clients - so I showed her how the same dress works with three different solid cardigans, and all combine famously with a pair of snake-print heels.
Here's a second version of Katharine's daily work 'uniform' of a cardigan, silk top and pants. We used ankle-length pants as the basis of many looks, since they are crazy versatile - they work with flats or any height heels, and there's no worry as to 'do these pants work with these shoes?' And the plum flats are a fun alternative to black, even playing off a fuchsia cardigan
A black and white tweed jacket is super wearable in so many ways - and the moto-jacket silhouette keeps it modern. The tweed is another non-solid solid, so it's easy to pair with a printed silk tank. And I love the way the burgundy pants play off the black and white prints!
Katharine bought a pair of drapey black pants, and wanted to wear them to work. So we achieved this is by adding a structured blazer, to balance the flowiness of the pants. And an animal print shoe never hurts!
If you love Katharine's looks and want to start a style evolution of your own - feel free to email me anytime!
