A Closet Consultation: Three Great Pieces Go A Long Way!

They always say, do what you love.  Dare I say it, but BUY what you love, too!  A dear friend and client of mine, Uma, took that advice to heart.

At Best Foot Forward’s Two Skirts event in San Francisco this past April, Uma invested in a gorgeous Rebecca Taylor jacket that incorporated classic elements (like the tweed material) and silhouette (think Coco Chanel jacket), with edgier elements, such as leather trim, fringe and zippers to reflect her style.  It was definitely an investment piece, but one that could take her to work, dinner with friends, out in the city; and frankly, anywhere in between.

To show Uma the versatility of this piece, we paired it a few ways: (1) with her boyfriend jeans for a more sophisticated casual look; and (2) with black skinny pants for work or out at night for a more polished look.

Though not photographed, we also paired it with skinny jeans for a great day to night look; and though still on the hunt for one, it would pair beautifully with a black pencil skirt.

We also played with her yellow tweed circle skirt, in talking about how to wear voluminous pieces.  When you have a piece with volume, pair it with something tapered to balance out the look and highlight your smallest parts.  Here, we paired the skirt with a simple black shell and her to-die-for black Prada booties. Tucking the top in showed off her amazing physique and her TINY waist!  Though I generally caution against mixing yellow and black (fearing it looks too bumble-bee’ish), this pairing worked and gave her very feminine skirt a very edgy feel:

I then showed Uma the versatility of a great shell, like the one she has on from Best Foot Forward’s Banana Republic Friends and Family event back in March.  Pairing this black conservative top with her black and white printed jeans (a piece which embraces both the printed jeans trend as well as the black and white trend), we create another great pairing — with a pop of pink in her Manolo Blahnik heels; or with those great Prada booties, and her black blazer for a more conservative take on an edgy pairing:

Just goes to show you – buy what you love and let your wardrobe work around that piece! Sometimes, it just takes a simple silk shell to leverage those pieces from special occasion to a wardrobe staple!  Thanks for being SUCH a great model, Uma!