It's all about your lifestyle

Wheels For Samantha winner Nancy Miller

You gotta love it! Free consult and $200 to spend at Macy's! This past Wednesday I met with Nancy Miller, the winner of the "Wheels for Samantha" gift certificate donated by myself and Macy's for her mini shopping spree. What to spend the $200 on? Hmm....how do you begin to decide? Well, for me it would be a no-brainer. It is not going to be housewares, make up, perfume, or lingerie.


I frequently talk about lifestyle dressing. So, as I sat down with Nancy Miller, that’s what we began to talk about. What is her everyday lifestyle like? Here are a few things to think about before shopping:

•    Do you work outside the home and, if so, what is the atmosphere?
•    What do you usually do nights and weekends?
•    Do you like easy care fabrics and will you buy items that need dry cleaning?
•    Do you prefer pants, skirts or dresses?
•    Heels or flats or maybe boots for fall?
•    What is your biggest fashion challenge?

So game on! Nancy has a very casual lifestyle, and works in an office that is very business casual. No jeans are allowed, with the exception of colored jeans, and the office is generally chilly. Nancy mentioned that she would love a pair of jeans. Great, because I love that Macy's carries about 10 different lines from Tommy Hilfiger, Lucky, Calvin Klein, to their own private brand, Style and Co, just to name a few. It was time to man up!

Nancy is loving her new fall jacket.

As we buzzed around the ladies department, we picked up about 8 pairs of jeans, several tops, and a wonderful brush cotton suede teal jacket. When trying on jeans you just gotta got for it. Most brands today actually have a tag that will tell you what the fit will be. An example is the tag description ‘sits below natural waist with flare leg’. Can't get better than that! Here are tips for trying on jeans:


•    Sizes, along with fit, will vary so don't get discouraged about a size
•    Dark washes are always more flattering
•    If you have a larger caboose, avoid back pockets and any details
•    Boot cut or flair leg style jeans helps elongate the legs
•    Lastly, make sure the jean has spandex and lycra for a more comfortable stretch fit

The shopping spree was a hit! Nancy rocked her new jeans, along with a few great tops and her lovely teal jacket. As we headed off to get a pair of boots with her remaining $75 dollars, we both cheered knowing what great values she got. The trick to smart shopping is to take time to evaluate what you need and then start hunting. Buy what you need and not what you want. Prioritize your needs and if you don't find it then go elsewhere!