From Monday, April 12, 2010 until Friday, April 30, 2010, owners Maggie & Jennifer Gelber will be offering a special incentive for stopping into the store – a free, eco-friendly canvas tote with purchase!

It’s never been so easy (and affordable) to add a little green into your life. Perfect for toting books, laptops, groceries, clothing or shoes, the eco-fab bag will keep you looking stylish and sustainable this spring! Stop by the store anytime during April to grab one for yourself – and while you’re there make sure to check out the just-in spring and summer style essentials.

Spend your money wisely. The average manager-level professional spends $5,000 annually on wardrobe. With a consultant you could cut your budget and get more bang for your buck. Find out what you don’t need, how to shop with purpose and buy only the items you need.

Discover what you don’t need to buy
How often do you stare at a full closet, convinced you have nothing to wear? A wardrobe consultant can take an objective look and find the pieces that work for you. “I probably saved thousands before we left my closet for our shopping outing. I thought I needed to buy suits. It was the last thing I needed,” says Tricia Kendall, Cigna Senior Sales Executive.

Fill out a client profile in advance so your “fashion therapist” can enter your closet and work with you to weed out the items that no longer represent you. Then, build from there. Your consultant will help you create a balance of essentials, novelty items and trend pieces — and teach you about shapes and colors that are right for you. Dusty and still-tagged items alike will be reinvented into outfits you never knew you had. Your return on investment will double as cross-over outfits transition work attire to casual. You’ll also understand the savings benefits of tailoring vs. buying new.

Not just for ladies
Many men rarely shop, but when they do, they spend a lot. Let’s compare the cost of a menswear-suiting outfit — without and with a wardrobe consultant.

• •Without Consultant: Suit $700, dress shirt $80, silk tie $75, leather belt $105, socks $12, shoes $150 = $1,122.
• •With WC: Reinvented belt and socks $0, tailoring suit $80, cobbler shoe repair $20, $375 3-hour session fee = $475. Balance of new items: dress shirt: $80, silk tie $75, socks $12 = $167. $475+$167 = $642.
• •$480 savings!

Let’s not forgot the two dozen “new” outfits created from existing wardrobe. Go back to your calculator; that’s more than $10,000 in savings.

By the end of your session, your closet will resemble a boutique — allowing for easy dressing even when that alarm goes off at 5:30am. And you’ll have a strategic shopping list. Shortly afterward, you’ll also receive a personalized wardrobe binder with outfit photos, session recap and educational material. It’s the perfect reference piece to keep you from getting rusty.

Shop with a purpose
Your days of dazed, aimless shopping are over. The objective of the client profile and closet session is to show you a wardrobe strategy with balance. Too many essentials and you’re lost in a sea of black suits. Too many novelties and you’ll have difficulty making memorable outfits. Too many trends and inevitably you’re shopping for a costly new wardrobe each season. You’ll know when to invest in an essential and when to pony up for a trend. You’ll also learn a return on investment calculation to help you make wise pricing choices.

“Clare is the Edward Scissorhands of shopping! I have never seen someone shop a clothing rack with such speed and accuracy. Callosum relieved me of the shopping stress and taught me to do it again on my own. In just two times out, I learned how to shop with style on a budget,” shares Sarah Squires, Former Director of Wellness Focused Health Solution.

If you stick to the plan and honor your dos and don’ts, you’ll have strong statement-making outfits that will last for years.

Buy the right things
Now you’re ready to shop, but are you buying the right things? You have a list, but simply buying off the list without consideration to proper silhouette and color get you what you had before — the wrong stuff!

“Clare has a gift of signature pieces and accessories that ‘make’ the outfit. She can turn an outfit from really good into ‘popping’ and you’ve gone from 0 to 60 in a second! Now when I shop, I often find myself thinking about the one thing that can not only take a current outfit to the next level, but also leverage my ever-changing look and varied wardrobe,“ boasts Kathleen St. Louis, Program Investments Manager, The Chicago Public Education Fund.

A wardrobe consultant will educate you on the different body shapes, teaching you the best silhouettes for you. You’ll learn the how and why to choosing a flattering color. Building on your new knowledge, you’ll choose a ‘style muse’ for the purpose of mimicking shape/color. A savings smart tip, you’ll understand how to assess your wardrobe for gaps and the proper balance of essentials, novelties and trend items.

At the end of the day, you have saved thousands. Just as important, you look and feel polished, confident and ready to conquer the world. You are your personal brand. Invest in yourself.

* * *

Clare J. Hefferren is President and Founder of Callosum Creative Ltd. With a background in marketing and fashion in corporate and entrepreneurial sectors, she specializes in strategic brand alignment. Callosum Creative helps mid-size service-based companies improve staff presentation and delivery through its primary service, People-First BrandingSM. Professional development of inter-personal skills — speaker skills, client relation, wardrobe and etiquette — results in increased customer satisfaction and sales. Callosum also offers select wardrobe consulting services directly to consumers. For more information about building your business or personal brand, e-mail info@callosumcreative.com.

See more pictures on TheWorkingWardrobe.com Facebook fan page!

Photos: Style.com

This was the introduction to the run of show placed on the seats during the United Bamboo runway show that took place during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York. I have to say, I have never read a more entertaining run of show in my entire history of fashion. And to my delight, the clothing lived up to its literary predecessor. Designers Miho Aoki & Thuy Pham stated that their Fall 2010 collection was inspired by the women of the 1930’s – particularly ”by the masculine part of feminine and the feminine part of masculine“. As a working woman, I can’t come up with a better description of a wardrobe collection that depicts the type of clothing I’d want to wear during the workday. And the clothing from United Bamboo definitely worked the part.

See more pictures on TheWorkingWardrobe.com Facebook fan page!

Photos: New York Magazine

See more pictures on TheWorkingWardrobe.com Facebook fan page!

Photos: Style.com

Presentation is extremely important even if you think that it is just a ‘casual’ Interview. When in doubt always remember that it is always best to over dress than under dress. Still this doesn’t mean dressing up to the nines in the latest, most expensive ‘designer’ gear. This is about you looking polished. Put together. Successful. Your outfit will make you project an air of confidence, no matter how inadequate you may be feeling at the time!

When in doubt think conservative. As boring as this may sound, a Job Interview is not the time nor the place to show your flair for the outrageous. The best thing you can do is invest in a well fitting pantsuit. If you do not wish to wear a suit, a nice tailored skirt and blouse combo or a tailored dress – both teamed with a sharp blazer – will work too. Never wear jeans. Ever.

Click HERE to read some tips brought to you by Elsie Kassis of Diary of a Fashion Muse.

“Hello? Anyone out there? Anyone? Anyone? I spend (almost) all day, (almost) every day by myself. Alone. No people. Sometimes even no talking. Or very little of it. I. am. going. nuts,” Janna Santoro wrote on her blog, http://jannamarlies.blogspot.com.

It was late 2007 when Santoro began a freelancing career as an editor of high-traffic blogs, becoming a white-collar free agent in control of her own career and professional creativity.

In the beginning, Santoro said the gig was perfect—that is, until dirty-laundry piles demanded attention or her cat decided to take a nap on the keyboard each time she needed to work.

Yet these small hurdles were nothing compared to the loneliness.

“I’m an extrovert, and I hated being by myself all day long. I was going stir-crazy. It’s very isolating to work at home,” Santoro said.

So she did something about it. Santoro reached out to Sacramento residents Brandon Weber and James Pierini to create a co-working space in Midtown called The Urban Hive, which officially opened in July.

“Co-working is basically a movement that’s happening globally, where people who are self-employed, or independent in some way with their work arrangements, have started to get together and share workspace,” Santoro explained. Similar co-working spaces have been successful in cities such as New York, San Francisco and Santa Cruz.

Click HERE to read more on co-working and the art of working alone from Jenn Kistler of News Review.

“I had always thought in my mind that I would have my own resale boutique,” Johnson said. “I said, ‘Let’s just go for it now.’ ”

Today, she opens the doors to Urban Exchange, a consignment shop for “fashion-driven women.”

Located in the former home of Baribeau’s Jewelry Hospital at 926 E. Fulton St., the shop features hip, high-quality, name-brand fashions for professional women.


Paul L. Newby II | The Grand Rapids Press

Click HERE to read what else Cami Reister of The Grand Rapids Press reveals about Stephanie Johnson’s working success.