Initial Thoughts on "What Not to Wear" Day

Today was the big day I was sort of dreading but excited about...my friend was going with me to Louisville to pick out and try on a new wardrobe (at least the start of one for me).
We kind of had a time-crunch since I had to meet with some other people while there but in the mean time - she picked out all the clothes (off the clearance racks at KOHL'S) while I stared into space and walked the little cart around - all-the-while piling on more and more clothes (it almost tipped over at one point). Occasionally I would look up and say "woah, no way" but otherwise I was willing to try most everything. I kept thinking Stacy or Clinton from "What Not to Wear" on TLC was about to jump out of the racks at me when I did venture off and look at what I thought were "cool" clothes or potentials.

Luckily I did somewhat know my size from previous shopping trips though I never would have picked out even 1/2 or a 1/3 of what she picked out! Purples, greens to name a few. But as I tried on each top and different pair of pants - it was actually fun and a little exciting. This was a first for me.

After two and half hours we exited the store with I think...4 dress pants, and maybe 6 tops? (I'll have to recheck) plus like $150 in savings and then after my meeting ended up at Sears to take home 3 pairs of shoes that automatically fit!! Only one pair of heals mind you and they weren't too bad.

So all in all with discounts, clearance, a gift card and perseverance I now might look like what I know (does that make sense?) -- a professional and with some sort of style. :) Next comes some jewelry which is a hard one for me. I don't know if I can spend some money on "charms" or necklaces.

After that, the hair cut (possible highlights [the first in my life]) and later a more toned body. So it's a start - I'll post a couple of pictures of the venture.

What Not to Wear

I would most definitely be a candidate for the Cable show "What Not to Wear" since my staple clothes are jeans, t-shirts and sweatshirts. It is rare to see me "dressed up" and my dressing up includes nice pants and a nice shirt. So I enlisted my friend Shannan to help me out and one night she and I (mostly she) emptied out half of my closet. There was a huge pile on my bed and I was able to take some to My Best Friend's Closet to get some cash but the majority of the pile was not accepted respectfully (those clothes are not in style at all).

So what I need: clothes that actually fit my body type
* nice slacks * in-style tops * long-sleeve nice tops
* cool jewelry * shoes with actual heels
* some slimming under-layers * did I mention shoes (I HATE shoe-shopping)

Shoe cost waaayyy too much and if they hurt my feet then there is no reason I should be wearing them. Shannan says "style is pain" - now that is dramatic so we'll see.

* shapely sweaters * skirts * hey a new hair-cut would go nicely with it as well!

Now I just have to figure out what I can squeeze out of our budget in order to get some of these items and begin a rebuilding of a wardrobe for professional attire, causal wear, and then at some point "appropriate" sport wear.