• Is it important to you to look current and not behind the times?
• Do you need help identifying the key items you’ll need to purchase this Fall to look the part?
• Are you ready to refresh your wardrobe, but don’t wish to spend a fortune?

Accessories are the glue when it comes to confidently wearing a great look and making it your own.  No wardrobe can truly function without a great assortment of stylish accessories that you love!  Sign up for The Art of Accessorizing for Fall 2011 teleseminar, and discover the looks that will be perfect for you.  With a few great purchases you can ensure you look amazing this Fall season without spending a fortune.

Date: Friday, September 30th
Time: 12 p.m. EDT / 9 a.m. PDT
(45 min)

Sign up by clicking HERE

When: September 28th, October 5th & 10th

Time: 6-8pm

Where: Sherwood Recreation Center 10th & Gst NE

Are you an independent designer, fashion entrepreneur, or just love fashion? Then you need to attend Fashionably Business taught by yours truly Robin Fisher! This three day hands-on workshop will teach you: fashion terminology, trend forecasting, market & demographic, merchandising, and much more. For details and to register visit http://ow.ly/61xoP

Need some ideas on how to build that perfect wardrobe? Don’t be afraid to flip through one of the “fashion bibles” (i.e. Vogue, Elle, Vanity Fair, etc.) to spark your interest of the latest fall 2011 trends. Be sure to rip your favorite looks straight from the magazines and get shopping. I know you’re thinking, how am I going to afford these runway looks? Well, you’re just in luck my fellow fashionistas; we have just entered spring/summer 2011 sale season. The key to sale shopping is to know exactly what to buy.

• First, you always need basics. Any chance you have to stock-up on a great white cami to go under that perfect light weight cardigan or black t-shirt to be worn under a boyfriend blazer is a win-win deal.
• Next, under garments, this really should have been first. As we all know the key to a great fitting outfit is to have an exceptional fitting bra and please ladies no panty lines. Boy shorts or thongs are the way to go!
• And lastly, jeans…Ok people stay with me – this is a great time to stock up on designer jeans for half-off. The key is to shop for jeans with an open mind. You are not going to find the perfect sale jean in the first store you go in-so stay positive! This is the kind of item where you have to be on the look-out for.

Now ladies, don’t have too much fun shopping that you end up with a closet full of clothes that you will never wear. Here are three tips to help you in your spring/summer 2011 sale shopping frenzy:

• Don’t compromise fit for price…or fashion for that matter. A garment is only a good deal when you look good in it!
• Don’t buy the hottest summer trend. Guess what?  The summer is almost over and so is that trend. If you don’t have it now you’re too late!
• Don’t buy the season’s hottest colors unless they truly compliment your skin tone.

Happy Shopping!

Want an Image Boost? D.C. Has Consultants for That

Washington, D.C., has never been mistaken for a fashion mecca. It’s a place where a pop of color in the workplace can feel like a faux pas, and an outfit that fits properly is a rarity. But that’s not stopping image consultants across the city from trying to cure D.C. of its fashion ills.

“Most women don’t have a clue,” image consultant Sharon Glickman said. “And Washington is not an easy city — we’re working all the time, we’re in traffic all the time — and we want it to be easy. And it can be, with the right garments. They’ve just got to get out of the box a little bit.”

Image consulting, said Robin Fisher, president and senior stylist for Polished, offers D.C. clientele a way to escape the suit status quo.

“There’s a saturation in D.C. of professional people,” Fisher said. “These people are busy and frankly might not be interested. And they want to be confident in knowing they’re doing it right.”

But at what cost? Image consultant Lynne Glassman — who calls herself the “Doctor of Dress” — said that while price often deters people from getting the fashion aid they need, the services are very affordable. “People think you have to be wealthy to hire a personal shopper, but that’s simply not accurate,” she said. “We always have things in our closet with tags on them — I keep people from making those mistakes.”

The various consultants — all unaffiliated — offer services ranging from style consultations to life-management skills. A popular option is the closet audit, or “closet surgery” as Glassman likes to call it, to assess a client’s current wardrobe, followed up by a personal shopping trip. It’s all about color, shape, fit and that elusive quality: style.

Washington may be a conservative city, but the consultants agreed that dressing for work should never mean just throwing on a standard monochromatic suit. Most importantly, it should always mean that whatever a person wears is tailored to fit.

“Alterations are the rule, not the exception,” Glassman said.

“Since it’s Washington, it’s the Hill, women especially think they have to look very conservative,” Glickman noted. “So they buy a navy suit and that’s all they wear. Now that is fine — having said that, they need to have the jacket, suit and trousers tailored to their bodies. Good tailoring is very important.”

David Baldwin Barnes of Gait consulting, who recently worked on the Hill as the press secretary of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said staffers should consider clothes an important way to showcase their careers and goals. “It’s all about finding a way to express a positive attitude about life through clothes,” Barnes said. And for men, Barnes said, nothing beats a smart, tailored suit.

“A suit makes you feel different, more confident,” he said. “But you can’t let your suit wear you. You need to wear the suit. You could think a suit is traditional and old-fashioned, but flip through GQ — the suit is still the foundation. After all, there’s a limited number of pieces a guy can wear.”

In the all-too-traditional fashion enclave of D.C., the inclination is to dress conservatively. But with consultants out on the town — and delving into closets — D.C. just may be on the verge of a new fashion frontier.

“Rock it your way. It’s all about individuality,” Fisher said. “Being a carbon copy of somebody else is not a way to go it. It’s all about feeling confident and dressing appropriately for who you are today.”

Just make sure to get that outfit tailored.

Check out the D.C. image consultants featured in this story at their websites — Sharon Glickman at sharonglickman.com, Robin Fisher at polishedimageandstyle.com, David Baldwin Barnes at gaitconsulting.com and Lynne Glassman at doctorofdress.com.

Click the cover to view magazine….

Thank you again The District Dish!

I hope you all enjoy the POLISHED Fall/Winter 2010 trend report.  Use it to:

1. Shop looks from your closet of items you currently own

2. Make your fall/winter shopping list

or

3.  Strategically  update your current look, because now you know the hottest trends!

Click to launch full size document: FallWinter Trends

Also, this month I will be launching the POLISHED IMAGE & STYLE Monthly News Letter.  It will be filled with fabulous personal style and image advise that you will not want to miss.

Please subscribe below…

Gucci Fall/Winter 2010

Tailored looks ruled the runways during New York Fashion Week.  So ladies, it’s time to find a trust worthy tailor near you, and invest the time and money into getting a custom fit.  Often women settle on garments that have a less than perfect fit.  We stand in the mirror, and know that the waist should be taken in, and say “This will do”.  Ladies hear me clear, our bodies are not the problem, un-standardized sizing in the fashion industry is the issue.  So let’s take control of how clothes fit our bodies this season.  We need to buy slightly larger garments and have them tailored for a perfect fit.

Many of my clients are surprised to find out that tailoring is not as expensive as they think.  Take a look at some of the average costs in the DC metro area below:

Basic Hem – $12 to $20

Waists – $15 to $20

Seam Repair – $4 and up

So, ladies I know we are in the heat of summer; however I am a firm believer that great personal style cannot be rushed.  Start taking inventory of what’s in your current wardrobe and start building your Fall/Winter 2010 shopping list today!

I absolutely love the Kimi pump, by Rachel Roy. I am not sure if it’s the heavily decorated studded accessories that I saw punk rockers wear growing up in the Bay Area, or the fact that the pump is unexpected for me and I love to throw people for a loop! Whatever the case, I can’t wait to rock this trend with everything from my boyfriend jeans to my classic and edgy business suit…