On a typical day, here’s how you’ll find me dressed:
The unofficial official stay-at-home mom uniform: yoga pants, sports bra, tank top and sneakers. Despite how unglamorous this outfit is, I stand behind it; versatile, functional, comfy.
Last October, I wrote a post called What Not To Wear, where I lamented about the awful state of my closet and my need for an overhaul. In my post I mentioned my friend, Nancy, the best-dressed, most stylish person I know.
Nine months ago, Nancy was contemplating the idea of starting her own personal stylist business. Well, she’s done it and I was lucky enough to be one of her first projects clients!
With a closet full of every size under the sun, clothes that didn’t go with my SAHM lifestyle and client meetings, date nights and blog conferences that I longed to “dress up” for, I needed some major help. In other words, I was in need of some style of my own.
Nancy’s company, Inside Out, Wardrobe Rehab entails a three-phase process: 1) Closet Overhaul, 2) Shopping and 3) Putting It All Together. My experience spanned from March – July and honestly, I’ve never felt or dressed better.
1) Closet Overhaul was my favorite part. I love purging! It was so great having someone there with me as I tried on articles of clothing that have been in my closet for far too long and getting a second set of (honest) eyes to confirm that it was time to let go. I ended up donating nearly 50 items!
2) The Shopping phase was the most difficult for me because I’m not a big fan of clothes shopping in general and it was difficult for me to see what Nancy was seeing with some of the selections, but I trusted her and ended with some fabulous pieces that are timeless and will last forever.
3) Putting It All Together consisted of just that; creating complete outfits with what I already had in my wardrobe paired with my newly purchased items.
Here are a couple of my new looks:
Thank you for helping me bring my inner fashionista out, Nancy!
Among many of the fashion tips and tricks Nancy taught me, my four best take-aways were:
- Find a good tailor! All pockets can be sewn shut or removed completely and pants can (and often times should) be hemmed.
- I look really good in bright colors, something I would have normally avoided.
- A blazer and a necklace can do wonders for any outfit.
- Nancy is awesome! Well, actually I already knew this, but her business, professionalism and fashion sense are amazing and I know, if she can help me, she can help anyone with their own wardrobe rehab.
If you have any questions about the clothes pictured above or my experience, feel free to ask.
Stay tuned for an upcoming post on some of the outfits Nancy has helped me put together for BlogHer ’11… God bless her!
And meanwhile, please check out Inside Out, Wardrobe Rehab’s Website/blog, follow her on Twitter and Facebook for great fashion tips and advice on everything from finding the perfect dress to wear to a wedding, dressing for an interview and packing for your summer vacation.
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You look great Tonya!! I love the first look, it says business, yet can be casual and flirty. Like! Very much!
You look wonderful! I love your new wardrobe.
How lucky are you? Funny, I was just reading The Empress talking on the same topic today. I could so go for an overhaul. And I definitely need a tailor. These short genes don't always make shopping easy.
You look awesome! I absolutely love the first outfit!
I desperately need to clean out my closet. Maybe once the weather cools down I'll take a stab at it.
Awesome! I love your outfits…and I can't wait to see some of your cool looks at BlogHer!
I love to purge too, which can be a problem. Because when I saw that you donated 50 things? I may not have 50 things left in my closet right now!
Whoa! You look awesome! I mean, you did anyway, but I totally love the new looks. And you do look good in bright colours.
I'm so bad with tailors. I could use some tailoring to fix a few things that don't fit quite right but I just can't be bothered.
You look gorgeous in all of those outfits, I love the orangey-red. 🙂
I love purging too….PURGE, PURGE…then you look AMAZING 🙂
Oh I love this idea! My closet is so outdated. Packed full and yet I have nothing to wear!
PS Love yur blog!
You look great even in the yoga pants! I so need this! My problem is I'm too cheap to shop for myself and I hate shopping for clothes because I get all bent out of shape over the prices! I'm going to go check them out.
tksharp@yahoo.com
Totally agree about having everything tailored.
Love the white slacks/jeans…..you look smashing!
Tonya, thank you so much for writing about your experience with me. It is much appreciated and I LOVE working with you.
How cute are you?! I love the ruffled top with the jeans. Can't wait to see what you are wearing!
You look great!! And how fun to have a fashion overhaul! 🙂
I love it! I especially love the first outfit. I love the way that blazers look but I never have any. I can't wait to see your outfit post for BlogHer since I won't be there.
I LOVE the idea! I have so much stuff that I need to give away too. I have all sizes in my closet and yet nothing to wear! I LOVE the white jeans with the red top! Bright colours DO REALLY suit you! How lucky you are to have such a friend to help you out! Look forward to seeing other photos!
Wow! You look amazing! The hardest part for me is seeing different pieces in the stores and not knowing how to put everything together to get the desired effect.
Amazing! But did you get to keep the yoga pants?
You look amazing, Tonya! I recently purged my closet, but there are just some things I can't let go of! Also, I haven't replaced them with hip outfits like yours!
Oh, love the new outfits.
P.S. I'm in the process of helping Nancy with her site.
You will be smashing!
And – SERIOUSLY – you look SO much like Jill from Glamamom! Have you been to her site?
woo hoo, hot mama! I love that little white blazer. Seriously adorable. I love jewelry and accesories of all kinds of dress up an outfit..I have to say one benefit of being a working mom is being able to dress up (although my weekend uniform is yoga pants and my sports bra 🙂 )
These pictures look familiar! Oh wait, I took them! Haha! You are looking as fabulous as always Tonya. I love what Nancy has done for you and I think that I could use some help too. I just don't know what staples I should and shouldn't have. I even contacted her today via Twitter. I'll let you know when we get together. : ) Thanks for the tip!
Those are just… Wow. I have no words. I’m amazed that someone thought to even create some of those, so I’d be floored if someone else actually wore them.
Pretty! This was an extremely wonderful article.
Many thanks for providing these details.