Stylist Helps Others Find Their Inner Fashionista

Austin Fashion Week: Do you have difficulty putting an outfit together? Do you have a closet full of clothes, yet think you have nothing to wear?

Join the club. Most women struggle with their wardrobes at some point in their lives.

For me, it was after I had my second child. I’d walk into my closet to find just the right outfit and get a weird, panicky feeling. Uh-oh.

Recently I met Lisa Kennedy, a fashion stylist and hairstylist, at the Fashionably Connected networking event at the Aloft.

Throughout the evening we chatted about fashion, and at one point I finally asked her, “What exactly do you do?” I had a good idea of the services a fashion stylist offers – I mean, I do watch Bravo – but I didn’t know for sure.

She smiled and pulled a small, fabric-covered case out of her stylish handbag. It was her personalized color wheel. It was a small fan with about 75 beautiful, fabric swatches on it and each one represented a color she should be wearing based on her coloring. I looked at it and exclaimed, “I want one!”

Kennedy did a personal color analysis for me, as well as a style analysis. She went through 2,000 color swatches and picked out my 75 best colors, based on my hair color, eye color and skin tone. Who knew army green and mustard yellow, colors I typically never buy, are actually great colors for me?

During the style analysis, she took my measurements to determine my vertical and horizontal body type. Now I know exactly which styles, proportions and fabrics I should be wearing.

I’ve always felt more comfortable in tailored dresses, as opposed to flowy dresses with spaghetti straps, but I never really thought about it. That’s because my body type looks the best in structured fabrics and styles that accentuate my waist.

The truth is you don’t have to be an A-List celebrity to have a stylist. Kennedy’s services are affordable and you have the freedom to pick and choose the ones you want. If you want to dip your stilettos in the water, instead of taking a big plunge, that’s fine. It’s like ordering style a la cart!

I think it’s worth the time and money because Kennedy can help you make the most of the clothes you’ve got. It seems far more costly to spend money on clothes you never wear that just hang in your closet with the tags on them. Plus, if you gain or lose even as little as two inches, that can impact your entire wardrobe. No wonder two pregnancies wreaked such havoc on my poor closet.

And unlike what you see on television, Kennedy isn’t going to walk into your home and say, “Take that off! It’s hideous.” From beginning to end, the process is about solving your specific fashion concerns and understanding how your personality and confidence play such a huge role defining your style.

It was an amazing experience and far more meaningful than I would have imagined. I know I never need to buy another black top. I need to focus on adding more color and adding the right colors. Thanks to my handy color fan, I know exactly which ones to pick and will no longer be overwhelmed and default to black.

Note from Elaine:  “I Thought you would enjoy a success story from the Austin, Texas News 8 blog, about one of my former Stoltz Image Institute students. This is how we can help you also.”