My friend Margaret's Wardrobe Makeover

I'm making this post for my friend Margaret, who reads Angie's blog and is a lurker on the forum, hee. We recently did a total closet makeover because she had kind of gotten into a rut and wanted to start dressing more smartly, but didn't know where to start. She works as a technical writer in a very casual environment. Here are some before photos:

http://www.mathfashionista.com.....efore1.jpg
http://www.mathfashionista.com.....efore2.jpg
http://www.mathfashionista.com.....efore3.jpg

Margaret is a pretty pear, and wears a 12/14 on top, and a 14/16 on bottom. She is also about 5'10". Over the course of a few weekends, we started going through her closet and having her try everything on and then figuring out what was worth keeping and what wasn't. A lot of her stuff was either completely worn out, or unflattering, so we made a list of things to get that would replace the things she was getting rid of, plus a few things I thought she might get a lot of use out of, like a blue and a white denim jacket. Then we went shopping. Margaret was a really good sport since I had her trying things on that she hadn't previously considered. We found out she wears a petite on top in a lot of blouses and a tall on bottom for pants. After Angie blogged about Talbots, both of us wanted to check it out and she got a nice woven button down and a sweater vest there. We also picked up the denim pencil skirt from Ann Taylor that a lot you have, and a black pencil skirt from Nordstrom, among other things from BR and Martin and Osa, and shoes from Zappos. Because she is so tall and curvy on bottom, we went with a slightly longer skirt and dress length. It was really fun. She also got a haircut and some highlights.

Tada!

http://www.mathfashionista.com.....t2.jpg.jpg
http://www.mathfashionista.com.....t1.jpg.jpg
http://www.mathfashionista.com.....t3.jpg.jpg
http://www.mathfashionista.com.....t4.jpg.jpg
http://www.mathfashionista.com.....t5.jpg.jpg

That's her wire fox terrier, Tipper in the last photo. She makes a great accessory.
Margaret is still trying to figure out what her style is, mainly she likes being comfortable and wearing low maintenance clothing (no dry cleaning). She did buy a drying rack and air dries most of her things now. We are currently looking for a sheath dress for her to wear her denim jacket with. She likes a few at Ann Taylor right now.

(Maybe we can get Mags to come out of hiding now, hee hee). Thanks everybody!

16 years ago

marianna

Veteran

Wow Ana, you are an amazing friend. I am amazed at the transformation... you took at least 20 pounds off of Margaret simply due to clothes! AMAZING...

Was Margaret wearing regular length pants before? One of the most important realizations I made (I'm also 5'10") is that I need tall length pants... it makes a huge difference in creating a lean leg line. You've done this perfectly for Margaret!

Margaret, you look so good!

Misia

Great transformation!

Christie

Active Member

Margaret ... you look fab! Love the new hair, shoes, and style. Great job! It sounds like you made quite a closet overhaul. How fun!

I found it interesting to compare the before photo of the red dress to the after photo of the black dress with blue cami. I thought the dresses are somewhat similar, with the gathers at the skirt. The difference is the long line achieved by the black dress because of the slimmer cut bodice, the deep V-neck, and the sleeveless style.

BTW, I like your blog, Ana.

taylor

Margaret...I thought Tipper was a stuffed animal...so adorable:)

You must be very pleased with how this journey has evolved for you!!! You are so pretty and by your smile I can tell that you ARE pleased! how fun for you!!

Of course with Ana your friend guiding you... nothing less than *Amazing*

Laura

(website)

Oh my gosh, this is amazing! More later, but had to say that the adorable terrier in the last photo completely matches Margaret's argyle vest. Too cute!

RoseandJoan

I'm just up (5:00am) with DD2 and you have put the feel good factor into my step for the rest of the day! Mags you look beautiful, please come out of lurkdom.

As Angie stated on your birthday thread, you really do have a heart of gold Ana.

Angie

Fashion Stylist

Ooohhh! Brilliant! I'm much impressed. Margaret looks AMAZING! She’s a good sport and you did an outstanding job, Ana. The last picture with Tipper is KILLER.

mummy2thea

Oh the dog makes the perfect accessory for the final outfit! What a great friend Margaret has there! She looks really great as well.

Louise

Margaret you are so lucky to have the fab ana for a friend. You look fantastic in your new outfits. Please come out of lurkdom and join us x

rute

WOW love your post! What a great transformations!

Margaret is lovely but the final result was amazing, what a difference .. she looks so much slimmer!

Queen Mum

Margaret- you look great! I love every outfit!
Ana, if your career in math doesn't work out, you can always go into business as a fashion consultant You did a great job.

Sarah

Nice work, Ana! She looks great.

mags

Thanks everyone for all the nice comments. I'm really enjoying figuring out my style. Thanks for all the help Ana!

Ana

Margaret, I'm so happy you chimed in!

Thank you so much for your comments, everyone! It was really more fun than work for me. I'm always amazed at what a difference the fit of an item of clothing makes. I think that is very important, and it's also sometimes hard to get right. I struggle with it, too. Since Margaret didn't have a good idea of what would suit her and what her style might be, we tried to stick to basics that she could wear for a long time, and maybe add accessories to in the future that would make it more personal. She definitely knew what her style was not, which is trendy or dramatic, so we steered clear of those things. With the exception of a few items, she wore a lot of pale colors and faded earth tones before, which washed her out, so the brighter colors were a big step for her. Like I said above though, she was a really good sport, and usually once she had something on, she could see why it might be good or not so good for her.

Marianne, she was wearing regular length pants and jeans before and also drying them in the dryer, so they were very short. New jeans were at the top of her "To Buy" list.

Cricket, thanks for checking out my blog! It's been fun and challenging figuring it all out. I'm so happy that people actually enjoy reading it.

Queenie, thanks for your observation, I'm very flattered.

Thanks again, everybody!

Anonymous

I am so impressed with you both Margaret and Ana. Margaret the change is beautiful. You look so curvey and long and lean with the proper fitting jeans. Awe! Great job Ana. Thankyou for sharing this. It is a true testimony to the power of a proper fit and style for ones body. I love it!

echo

Mags, you look like a different person in the "after" pics! Great job!
Ana, what a good friend you are to help Mags out. I have a friend from college who is into fashion and would love to help me out with my look, but she lives so far away now...I guess I will need to rely on this forum to help me up my style!

velvetychocolate

Wow - very impressive.

I had the same thought as Marianna did - it's like there's been a change in shape or weight loss.

Plus, I love the deeper colours - the blue top and the rich green top - very nice on you Margaret! Hair's gorgeous and you look fabulous

Hope you have loads of fun discovering your style.

Tanya

Wow, how truly incredibly inspiring!

Ana, you are a wonderful fried and your did such a great job.

Margaret, you look amazing and welcome to the forum.

Sihaya

Great job Ana and Mags! What a great transformation and Tipper is too cute to boot. I love all the colors and how much clothing that is cut for you, has an impact on how you look.

Wow, thank you so much everyone!

Kristen

This is REALLY cool -- Ana, you are a great friend for helping her get going like this, and Margaret I hope you're really enjoying yourself in your transformation. My pal Shopping Friend did this for me about 3 years ago, which got the ball rolling for me and is largely responsible for where I am fashion-wise now.

In terms of figuring out your style, I would say the first hurdle is figuring out what shapes look best on you -- and it looks like you've gotten her off to a great start with that! I would encourage Margaret to keep taking photos of her outfits; it seems like such a narcissistic thing to do at first, but it really REALLY helps you see your body as it is and how clothes drape on it. Totally different than what the mirror says, trust me. And in a good way.

Keep it up, and I hope you start posting here, Margaret! I would love to see you continue to bloom...

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