The makeover fun continues!

Meet our next winner, Gwen.  Gwen is a spunky, young-at-heart, never-met-a-stranger woman who has entered a new season of life and needs a wardrobe to match!  She exited the workforce a few years ago and is putting her generous spirit and talents to use in several volunteer organizations, is involved in Toastmasters, AND she rides a Harley!  She was feeling “frumpy and discouraged” so our goal was to show her stylish and feminine side.

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It turned out she and Jonathan – our first makeover winner – knew each other!  Nothing like going through a fun change with familiar faces.

Perhaps one of my favorite parts of my job is getting to know people in a way you don’t normally see through the course of day-to-day life and interaction. Gwen has an adventuresome spirit! We discussed her most flattering colors and how to make the most outfits with a small saddle bag on her Harley when she and her husband take road trips!

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To start we organized by color AND sleeve length.  It makes it easier to find those sleeveless shells and camis you forgot you had when they were hidden by your long-sleeved shirts! Added bonus – when you have to tell a friend/husband/neighbor to run grab you a red shirt there is a higher likelihood they’ll be able to find it for you.

Tip: Use a system that works for you.  If a month after organizing the system has fallen apart, try a different one.

We also edited with weight loss in mind.  Ladies, we can all relate to this! You don’t have to pitch the too tight pieces immediately, but move them out of your line of sight. Picking out something to wear should be as easy as possible and that means not having to spend time deciding whether something fits right now!  Gwen is in the process of trimming down (with many pounds of success under…er… gone from her belt already) so we did two things with the clothes that were tight at the moment – if the pieces were an unreasonably small size, they left, if they just required 5-10 s to fit again, they stayed.  BUT they were banished to the bottom corner of the closet!

After reorganizing and switching to matching hangers in a fun green to match Gwen’s colorful personality, we headed to the scarves. Scarves are beautiful to display but can sometimes take up a lot of space and look cluttered even when organized.  Tame them by
doubling the scarf, send the formed loop through the hanger hole and then send the scarf through the loop.

Tip:  Scarf palettes make for great inspiration if you are trying to determine what colors go together!

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We were now ready for hair and wardrobe!  Working with the dynamic duo of hair, stylist Travis Player and colorist Roi Alan, we updated Gwen’s cut.  Gwen needed a cut that could still work after a day of riding with a helmet and the resulting low maintenance cut, sans back length works great!  The darker color brings in some contrast and makes her beautiful blue eyes pop.  And the best part?  It had an instant weight loss effect!

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To complete Gwen’s look we used color, design, and fit to accentuate Gwen’s figure in this Ann Taylor dress.  We also found some great colorful, printed separates that will go a long way with items she already has in her closet.

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It was such a pleasure working with Gwen and I love that she has already taken what we’ve done together and kept the change train rolling by organizing additional sections of the closet, in addition to finding some great new pieces to add to her new look!

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CREDITS:
Photos: AzulOx Photography and Biyani Photography
Hair: Travis Player
Color:  Roi Alan
Dress: Bold Lace Stripe Dress @ Ann Taylor
Earrings:  Kendra Scott Onyx Chandelier @ Neiman Marcus Last Call
Shoes: Naturalizer Riddle Wedge @ DSW