Summer Shorts

Hello everyone! When I think of summer, I think of warm days and the occasional times I wear shorts. I have a camouflage shorts, bright pink and blue shorts with an elephant print from Lilly Pulitzer, and a pair of cut-off denim shorts I love to wear with a white Boho top. I, your Image Consultant, like to pair shorts with metallic sandals or some casual tennis shoes — my rose-gold Kate Spade shoes with glitter. Fun!

Favorite Looks from Your Personal Image Consultant

Anyone, carrying on the theme, this blog is about short tips I’ve gathered during my busy summer. I have had the privilege to work with some great clients: a 28-year-old guy dressing for a birthday party (wore a grey suit with a patterned T; a 40-something finding the perfect blazer and jeans; a woman cleaning out her closet (her clothes are beautiful); and a commercial job dressing two professional women for a video and professional presentations; and finally, shopping for a long-time client at the Nordstrom Anniversary. I found a beautiful bright turquoise Top Shop pants I selected for my client. I specifically love the pleats, and since this client is very straight and slim, she looked amazing in them:

Pleated Trousers

I also like the deconstructed sweaters, particularly this stripe version:

Cashmere Sweater

The one thing that I bought in this sale is a shoe I’ve been thinking about. I like the look of a white bootie, but I thought it would quickly go out of style. I also like a mule but have trouble wearing them due to my narrow foot. I tried on this bone–not white–mule from AGL that has a very comfortable 2-inch chunky heel. They are so comfortable. The “pointy-toe mule” also comes in black:

Pointy Toe Mule

What I have learned is how important it is to really pinpoint style in the very first appointment. This is key to finding the clothes you think work but that the client wants to wear. I always, however, find the surprise outfit or two. This is really the fun part of the job since the client says I would never have picked this, but I love it!

Another fun sale out there is really different and has an element of surprise: It’s ModCloth’s Stylish Surprise. You pick the category, put it in your sale basket, and you’ll get a great sale item delivered to you. I have done this once, and the dress I received what actually so pretty, and something I would wear. It’s fun! And it’s not a huge investment, “Surprises start at $10 and go up to $25.”

The last part of our blog is about traveling…one of my favorite things to do when we go on a road trips to people watch, Of course, I am analyzing outfits. Most recently, we drove to Pittsburgh, PA, and stayed in Hampton Inn along the way. Breakfast is always crowded there, so I had a chance to see many outfits. I was most enchanted with a shorts outfit one of the ladies wore. She was a young mother with a nice figure, but certainly not model-thin. Probably a size 8 or 10. Anyway, it was a printed shirt in dusty blue and green, sleeveless and slight sheer, with some chambray shorts and metallic sandals. It looked os comfortable but chic at the same time. It’s sometimes hard to wear a shorts outfit that doesn’t look like it came from The Bachelorette TV show or Forever 21. This outfit was a perfect balance. It was something like these outfits:

Point Sur Seaside Short in Chambray

Chambray City Shorts

Ariel Scallop Hem Tank

Plus Size Pleated Print Blouse

 

Another lady, who was older–probably a grandmother–since she and her husband were with very small children looked just as chic. She was a plus size, had short dark curly hair and wore a black/white, sheer long tunic with some black cropped pants and sandals. She looked wonderful. Very cool but put together. The outfit was something like this one:

Finally, something I noticed, as I always do, were the number of small children wearing pajamas and night clothes in public (during breakfast). Of course the girls looked adorable, but I would worry about my girl looking too revealing. I think anything that covers well is fine. It’s just my bias!

Keep it sassy, Indy.

Beth Divine,

Personal Stylist and AICI Certified Image Consultant