Jewelry is a balancing act.  It’s all about size, scale, and proportion.  If you’re wearing huge earrings, skip the necklace and go for a fabulous bracelet or ring instead.  If you’ve got an exquisite necklace on, go small with the earrings and maybe just do a cocktail ring.  If an arm full of bracelets is your thing, counter balance them with fabulous earrings.  You get the idea.  You’re better off having one focal point, and one or two important pieces of jewelry than a smattering of small, meaningless pieces.   

You also want to keep scale in mind when choosing accessories.  If you are a very petite, small boned, 5 foot tall woman, you don’t want to over power yourself in a super wide cuff bracelet, or a very large, chunky necklace.  Your delicate features are going to need more delicate pieces.  Same goes with a very tall or large woman.  You will need accessories that are more substantial to look in proportion to your body.  If you put a very thin, delicate bracelet on your wrist, it will look ridiculously small compared to your larger limbs.  This is one of the most basic tips, but I’m telling you, most people don’t know it. 

Are you looking to get started in a career as a stylist, image consultant, or personal shopper? Well here’s your chance.

Erin Stafford, former celebrity stylist and Orange County’s top image consultant and personal shopper is offering a comprehensive two day training program for aspiring fashionistas.

You will learn:

The key components of styling:
How to build your portfolio, where to shop, how to shop strategically, building your contact base, how to work a photo shoot (how to set up, what to do, where to begin, and how to do it quickly), pulling clothes, returns, fittings, basic tailoring, and building your kit.

The key components of image consulting:
Basic color and style analysis, body type analysis, wardrobe planning, personal shopping, working with a variety of clients, creating product for increased sales, and developing strategic alliances.

General business components:
How to start your business from the ground up, learn how to market yourself and find a niche, learn about the different revenue streams available to stylists and image consultants.

Walk away with the tools and confidence to start your own successful personal styling business.

Upcoming Class Schedule:
November 14-15, Costa Mesa
December 12-13, Costa Mesa
January 16-17, Costa Mesa
More classes will be added soon!

Fee:
$1200 per two day training
Includes instruction and materials

Spots are filling up. Call today to sign up for this invaluable, small group training and get your career jumpstarted today. Email for full course description and more information.

I look forward to helping you discover this fabulous, rewarding, and profitable career.

Erin Stafford
erin@erinstafford.com
www.erinstafford.com

Excessive Detailing – The more detail you find on an inexpensive item, the cheaper it will look.  Most top designers are very subtle with their detailing on their ready to wear garments.  Obviously they go nuts with their couture lines, but their day to day items are normally very sleek.  For some reason, when you enter the inexpensive stores, they have gone overboard with their detailing.  Keep the details simple and no one will know that it’s Forever 21.

Bad Seams – Pay careful attention to the construction of the garment.  If the seams are uneven or busting, the garment will never fit properly.  One of the quickest ways to tell how well a garment is made is to look at the seams, buttons, and zippers.  You will be able to instantly tell if the garment is even worth trying on.  Don’t bother buying an item with bad seams, it will never look right and it’s not worth the price of redoing the seams.

In this economy, we are all watching every penny very carefully.  Although the wealthy are probably able to continue their healthy shopping habits, most of us are seriously reigning in our spending habits, especially on non-essentials like clothing. Yes, Of course we all need some clothes, but you know as well as I do, that we don’t need ALL the clothes in our closets.

Our economy is in the tank, and our pocket books are tighter, but our image is still a very important piece of our personal and professional image.  Over the next week I am going to be talking about a few things to avoid when dressing on a dime.

Shiny Fabrics
Shiny, inexpensive fabrics always looks cheaper than shiny, expensive fabrics. So if you are shopping at inexpensive stores, steer clear of shiny fabrics.  As you can see in the images above, the picture on the left looks cheap, cheap, cheap.  The picture on the right, however, looks beautiful and luxurious.  The cheaper the fabric, the more matte it should be.  Keep this in mind at all times when shopping on a dime.