Hello everyone! Like it or not, the holidays are coming now, one by one. After Halloween, they are there all in a row: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's and even Valentine's Day. If you are like me, you like to look festive and nice. We all want that, right. So, here are some ideas from your Indianapolis Men's and Women's  Indianapolis Personal Stylist. Holidays with Your Indianapolis Personal Stylist First, think about practical things: what are you doing at this event. Are you cooking? Are you hosting and just greeting people? Are you making a dish and bring it to a big gathering. These particular things will guide you as you pick your outfit. Or are you going to an elegant party where you want to make a statement? Are you sitting in an audience, dancing on the dance floor, standing in a cocktail reception? These things will guide your choices as well. In this blog, I am focusing on the more low-key, family at someone's home events.  You can still dress up but you want to be comfortable. For these gatherings, I lean toward pretty blouses (maybe not billowing sleeves if I am in the kitchen helping) in flattering colors for me such as earth tones, greens, etc., that especially say fall. The colors you pick will depend on your Wow colors. (If you haven't had your Wow Colors done, you need to do it. For me, it was the most important thing I did to establish my style and really set up my closet. I, your Indianapolis Personal Stylist,  had been spending too much money on colors/clothing that was popular but didn't look good on me such as black, olive green, bright pink. I now [...]

Hello Indianapolis Fashionistas, This will go out between two holidays, so I am giving myself a break and doing a lighter topic. We are also moving next week -- in the same zip code -- but nonetheless all the work, joy, etc., of a new home. Since I am an Indianapolis Personal Stylist, not an interior decorator, I have been a little lost picking paint colors for our new house, and deciding what old furniture we keep and what we buy. For starters, the house we are moving into is completely different from the house we live in. That compounds my confusion! LOL..But in some ways, the principles of color and design are the same with interior design. This is what I've learned: Like in your outfit planning, you want to add contrast and pop, right? I ended up consulting with a lady named Teresa who is an interior decorator and a Sherwin Williams consultant. She helped me pick my paint colors and my upholstery colors for my chairs and couches (just covering some existing furniture the cats and Michael love). We ended up picking a very pale grey and pale yellow for the hallway, dining room and other rooms in the first floor. If you are not sure of your furniture/house style, go to Houzz. I added my "pop" in the furniture: I recovered my couches in apple green (not dark though), and then picked a houndstooth print of turquoise and green on cream for one chair and a navy, hunter green, blue and green print for the larger chair. Rug will most likely be neutral. These will pop against the very pale grey walls. The trim is a very bright white. The main objective [...]

Hello Indianapolis Fashionistas, As I had mentioned before -- I am not going to give you tips on what to buy people for Christmas -- beyond my gift certificates, LOL!! Tongue in cheek -- what I'd like to talk about in this blog is a philosophy about how you buy -- a principle that you can think about all year as you buy clothes for yourself and even gift them to others. I did mention in another blog to be careful about "gifting" clothes to loved ones unless you can totally nail their size and style, or have had previous success in buying for others. Accessories -- albeit Winter, cozy accessories -- are always a good idea for gifting. Who doesn't love a cashmere scarf or leather gloves lived in leopard? Or a cozy wool scarf? It's an easy gift but usually much appreciated. That being said -- now more about my styling philosophy. I have to function in the world we live in right now -- and that is a world full of enormous buying options and cheap clothing available more than ever before. Just like cable television, we now have a myriad of buying options for our clothes--online, subscription boxes, consignment, clothing rental and retail stores from high-end to very inexpensive. That doesn't make the job an easier, however. I can tell you the clients I work with are often confused and overwhelmed with all the online options as well as what is in the stores. Part of the problem is that sizing is so different and varies from store to store and medium -- online versus the box store. Did you know that online sizing is slightly larger than what you find [...]

Hello Indianapolis Fashionistas! Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa-la-la-la-la...Okay, not into the spirit yet? For me, Christmas really is about all the beautiful music. I love it. I'm usually in the choir and we do a special Christmas concert. It's fun to dress up and sing. I also like to bake at Christmas. I might make my mom's popular Snowball cookies with lots of butter, powdered sugar and pecans. They are good, and I usually make a rich chocolate fudge, but this year... Anyway, of course, beyond the traditions we all have at the holidays, at the core of it is buying gifts. This can be intimidating to people. I have not always been the best at buying gifts. I will never forget really early in my professional career we had an office gift exchange. I bought my co-worker brown bathroom towels. Now, they are popular, but back then...She was so angry, she wanted me to take the towels back. Not nice (well, she wasn't nice, overall anyway.) Since then, I have improved at personal shopping -- I hope so since I do it for a living. I really think the best gift givers are good listeners. They try to find clues year-round to find the perfect gifts for family and friends. I remember one friend and I discussed Downton Abbey constantly. When our public radio station offered a special gift, I "gifted" it to her. She loved it. Or just keep up with what's popular: my husband is a great gift giver because he see's what's popular and knows someone will want these items. (It's an interesting perspective.) For those on your Christmas list who are more difficult to shop for, I [...]

Hello Indianapolis Fashionistas, We all know bright red is popular around the holidays. We wrap our presents in red wrapping paper, decorate our tree, put out our bright red Poinsettias. But, unlike other years, red is really a hot fashion color this year. I just received three clothing catalogs in the mail--Talbots, Bloomingdales and Banana Republic--and they all had a red item or two on the cover. That's a not-so-subtle way of saying designers love red right now. Did I tell you ...I learned on my recent tour of NYC's Fashion District how a trend is created? A trend is a "trend" when two or more designers do the same thing on a runway such as using red, ruffles or bold stripes. As your Indianapolis Personal Stylist I can confidently say: red is a trend! So....how can you incorporate red into your wardrobe. Before we dive into that deep well Indianapolis, let's consider this: there are several shades of red. You need to find the right one that flatters your skin tone and overall coloring. A quick easy way to figure out your coloring is to look at your wrist: are the veins blue or green? Blue -- you have more cool coloring -- green: you have more warm coloring. I have cool eyes and hair (blonde hair and blue eyes) along with tan, olive skin. I can really wear both. I tend to like a more warmer, true red. Second, tip from your Indianapolis Personal Stylist is to ask yourself: Do I like to stand out, blend in? I like to stand out, that's why I have always worn red and red prints. I even have red pants. If you are less bold, start with an [...]