I finally remembered to not only bring my camera to work today, but to actually snap a few pictures. Sorry it took me so long.

Pic 1 is our beautiful free boutique

Pic 2 is the make up counter, the conference room (for networking groups, mock interviews, etc.) and you can see a few of the mannequins in the front window. If they ever let me dress one of these I will think I've died and gone to heaven!

Pics 3/4 is D, one of the beautiful clients I got to dress today. Don't worry, I have her permission to post her photo.

Pic 5/6 is WIW today. Taking cues from my director, I've determined that we don't have to wear hose (Hallelujah!) and bright color is okay. Three of us had on hot pink today--but I was the only one wearing it on the bottom!

Pic 7 is a bonus prom picture of my son and his date (I couldn't resist). They both had peacock feathers woven into their flowers. Prom theme was Rio Carnivale.

The Story:

When I got to work today, there was a flurry of activity and the shop was crowded. One client was already waiting for me in a fitting room. I soon learned that one of our referring agencies was having a Dress For Success fashion show and we were going to dress the models, fun! There were beautiful women in all shapes and sizes and they all knew each other, so it was a party atmosphere. Every fitting room was filled and all hands were on deck as we had to dress them all ASAP and then send them directly to the venue.

The first client I had was not part of the fashion show. She had recently gotten a job as an activities director at a nursing home and was back for her free week's worth of mix and match ensembles. Someone had already started with her, but I finished helping her pick out 5 tops and a jacket that she will probably only wear at her desk. She wore a size medium and was easy to fit. For her job, she needed practical, washable clothing and rubber soled shoes. The person helping her before me had tried to get her in suits with white tennis shoes (???) but I found her a great zippered jacket that was on the casual side, pretty tops that she loved and some great loafers to go with the slacks she had already selected. Very MOTG, actually, and perfect for her job. She was happy; I was happy. Next!

My next victim--err client had an apple shaped figure and wore a size 16. She knew what she wanted and what looked good on her. She was one of the models for the fashion show (but not the one pictured below). Like most of the women I dress, she wanted trousers. I'm learning how to run my hands over the pants selection and find the ones with the modern cuts and the good, stretchy-drape-y fabric quickly. We found some dark grey ones that fit her like a dream and moved on to jackets. She really wanted color and we found a lavender blazer that she loved. Finding a blouse was tricky, because she wanted something a little longer to cover the fullest part of her midsection, but not something cut like a square. We eventually settled on a pretty printed pussy bow blouse that had the wrinkled, broomstick texture to it. When we popped it on her, it clung to her narrowest part underneath the bustline and really flattered her figure. It was essentially the same color value as the slacks, and with the open blazer on top, we got a nice column effect. For shoes, she was very particular. Not too high, not flat, not pointy, not square. After a few tries, I determined that she really loved the rounded 40's style toe. Not promising anything, I delved into the piles of donated shoes in the stock room and miraculously turned up a brown patent sling-backed pair in her size. She was ecstatic. A little jewelry, and we were done. I was racing because I could see two more clients waiting and I really wanted to dress one more before I had to leave for the day.

Next was "D" who was also going to be in the fashion show. She had an hourglass figure, but had gained some weight after an unsuccessful knee surgery. I listened to her story and noticed how young and beautiful she was. As you can see from the photo, she had lovely dark hair and a Snow White complexion. She was adamant about wanting pants, since her knees had some scarring and her legs had swollen. She also wanted to wear all black, but didn't mind a colorful blouse. Well I looked and looked, but we didn't have a single pants suit in her size (20W). None of the trouser separates in her size were black. She was a good sport and tried on light pants, but they were too snug and revealed every lump and bump. I hate to say it, but we really didn't have much of a selection for her. I tried get her in a skirt, but she wouldn't even let me see it on her. I tried stretchy wrap dresses, but they were too short for her comfort level. She was starting to feel discouraged. Then I found this aubergine skirt suit that was a little longer. The jacket was short and shaped, without being overly fitted. A few minutes later, the curtain opened and she was standing there, just beaming. I gasped at how lovely she looked. It was a perfect fit and the color was outstanding on her. We found a modern silk scarf that had eggplant and some brighter colors, like lime green to make her suit look more spring-y and she loved it. All the other women in the dressing room were ooo-ing and ahh-ing over how great she looked and I just had to snap a picture to give you a small sliver of my happiness today. Doesn't she look amazing? She didn't cry but I did! I did get a hug from her though. I had to race home to my kids, but how I wished I could have gone to that fashion show!

In case you've never heard of DFS, where I volunteer once a week, here's a link:

http://www.dressforsuccess.org

Thanks for reading!