Kara Alford

"I have nothing to wear!" How many times have you stood in front of your closet and spoken those words? For most, it was probably as recent as this morning. How many times have you come home from an evening of shopping only to find that you don't like anything you picked out? More times than you want to remember, right?

In the working world, looking the part is often the first step towards climbing the corporate ladder. In these tough economic times, dressing professionally is a must. Business casual is going to the way of the dot coms and suits are making a comeback. This trend is slowly taking place in the corporate environment.

Finding your fashion style is not just about the clothes and shoes you wear; it's an inside job too. How you feel about yourself and your body, your attitude, your hairstyle, and your makeup all rolls up into one unique package….You! Aren't you worth the time and effort? Of course!

One of my first clients was a stay-at-home mom who used to be a size four and became a size six. As a result, she had to begin building a core wardrobe again. The first thing I had to do was to convince her to forget the size number and wear clothes that complimented her new body! Next we selected two skirts, two pairs of slacks, and two jackets (one of each in navy and black). We also selected a sweater set and a white blouse that would go with all the separates we selected. She looked and felt great -- better than she did trying to squeeze into things that did not fit her!

Determine how many you have of each of the above items so you won't duplicate purchases. The purpose of this exercise is to build yourself a core wardrobe which you can expand on. Usually one or two black and navy suits with two to three blouses and a sweater set is a good foundation.

The biggest mistake I find that woman make in shopping for clothes is not choosing things that fit them at the size the are TODAY, not what you were a year ago or what you will be in six months (unless you had a baby or some sort of life changing operation) Denial is not just a river in Egypt. Too tight clothes are not cute and do not serve any purpose other than looking silly. Dress for your size! You will look and feel so much better, if it doesn't fit, don't buy it!!!!

The first step is to take a close look at the clothes, shoes and accessories you already own. Promise to be totally honest with yourself in this exercise. Anything you haven't worn in more than a year (keeping in mind whether it's a seasonal item), doesn't fit (and by that I mean you don't have to lay down on the bed and hold your breath to zip it up), has holes or stains, or just all around looks tacky, let it go and get rid of it! Do the same with shoes. Polish them or reheel them if you can, but send them to the shoe graveyard if they are beyond saving. Consider donating clothes that are still in good condition to a place like Goodwill or sending them to a consignment shop.

These websites have some wardrobe organization and image tips:

1. http://carlamathis.com/Image/Wardrobe.asp
2. http://www.dressingwell.com/current.htm
3. http://www.eservice.com.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/eservice/allegro.pl?random.rewell
4. http://yourbestimagepid.com/image_tips.html
5. http://www.wardrobeimage.com/services.htm
6. http://www.personalimagesinc.com/tips.htm

Next take into consideration the type of work you perform. If you work from home and never visit clients' offices, you are not going to need as many suits compared to someone who spends every day in an office. Also, consider your industry. Banks tend to be conservative while anything goes in the fashion world.

Give yourself a pat on the back; the hard part is over! Now arrange your closet in sections by jackets, blouse, dresses, skirts and pants and color code them within sections. To save some space and time in the morning, you may want to put the blouses you wear with a particular jacket on the same hanger. Pay attention to the colors that you seem to purchase the most. For most of us, that would be black, the savior for all our little bumps and ripples. You may want to invest in a Color Analysis to determine what colors look best. The right color brightens your face and hair while to wrong color ages your appearance. During a one-hour consultation, we identify 80-100 colors using a special process that goes way beyond "what season are you?" These colors will help you look radiant (even when you're tired), mix and match easily within your wardrobe, and save you time when you shop. This consultation includes a customized color palette that fits neatly into your purse or glove compartment for those spur-of-the-moment shopping trips.

My favorite place for business attire is Ann Taylor and my favorite casual store is Banana Republic

Here are some style sites:

1. http://www.merchandisemart.com/stylemax/overview.html
2. http://www.wwd.com/
3. http://www.style.com/

When you show up in the morning for work, how do you think people see you? Organized, harried, well put together or just a hot mess. Take control of your image today.

If you need more information or what to get started on your style, email me at kara_alford@hotmail.com or visit my website at www.lafemmewonderworks.com. And remember, image really is everything, be sure that yours is saying what you want to communicate about yourself.