The verdict is in. Her husband is thrilled! She's wearing her new black sweater dress and the turquoise jacket today, and she feels totally fab.
I do realize that this looks like a totally over-the-top shopping explosion, but it's the best way for her to do it. She works 12-16 hours per day and has multiple weekend work events plus a family to take care of. Style/fashion is not her thing, so massive trips like this make her life easier and eliminate the stress of figuring out what to wear. Putting together the outfits for her is crucial. She wrote all of the combinations down (many of which included items she already owns), assigned them to categories (when/where she will wear them), and will put them in her spreadsheet this week.
She has so many more must-attend events in her current position, that she just didn't have enough clothes to cover everything, and in many cases, she didn't have the right clothes.
For those of you concerned about the impact on her budget, not to worry. With sales, coupons and mostly outlet shopping, this was less than 1% of her annual income. We are both serious bargain hunters:-)
As for the decision-making, it's actually not that hard when we each have our "jobs". Her criteria was whether or not an item would meet a need and whether or not she felt totally fab in it. Mine was to focus on fit, style and outfit building. If anything got a negative reaction from either of us, it was out. We do this a couple times a year, so we're a pretty good team by now. This was more than we usually buy, but she needed more this time.
I also have to say that I did my role much better this time because of everything I've learned here, so I have to thank all of you!
