Personal stylist Margo Passadore and I took 8 women of various ages, shapes and color harmonies to Nordstrom in Portland for a “Before and After” photo shoot (overview here). Here’s our third client’s story.

Sabrina is currently a stay-at-home mom with two kids, so her preferred clothing style is casual. She’s 5’10” with a body shape somewhere between rectangular and inverted triangle (bust slightly wider than hips). Her coloring is that of a mostly cool Iridescent Summer. Summer people look best in colors that are muted and softened with gray tones. Bright clear colors tend to overwhelm them. Rough textures and blocky shapes are unsuitable for a Summer’s softness.

Before, on the left:

Orange is a hard color for many people, especially for a Summer. It drains Sabrina’s lovely complexion and “wears her.”
The gathered neckline and short sleeves of the top make her shoulders look more sloped and the sleeve length emphasizes the width of her bust. Also, the tight sleeve elastic will make any arm look bigger.
The top clings too close in the mid section, doing her waist no favors.
Although the shirt tuck makes her hips look wider and balances out her top, against the black jeans her body is still divided 50-50 top and bottom, which is an unflattering proportion.
Skinny or tapered pants can be challenging no matter your body shape. Here the dark color tapering to her ankles adds to the impression of a long oval body shape— no one’s best look.
The dark pants, bare ankles and dark shoes create too many horizontal lines, even for a tall person.

After, on the right:

Alas, the blouse color looks orangish in the photo. It was actually a flattering rose-coral version of her red.
The raglan sleeve gives more structure to her upper body and the open V neckline frames her neck and face, drawing your eye up to her face.
The wrist-length sleeves work because they are longer than the top so there isn’t a straight line drawn across her body
The drape of the blouse creates a soft shape – it shows her chest while floating nicely over her mid section.
The straight leg pants create a better balance of upper and lower body, giving her a nice long line all the way up and down.
Neutral shoes keep the long line going.

Before, on the left:

[Don’t blame Sabrina for this ungainly look. We did it to critique the kind of outfit you often see on the streets.]

Olive green is a bad color for most Summers – for fair Sabrina it’s too dark, heavy and warm (i.e yellow undertones). As mentioned above, the rough fabric and semi-military look kill her soft femininity.
The pockets on the chest emphasize the expanse and make her look super wide, as does the bulkiness of the jacket.
The straight line across the bottom of the jacket, shirt and sleeves only add to the wide, square bulky shape.
The cropped pants and dark shoes shorten her legs

After, on the right:

The top is a mix of soft blush tones and navy flowers, both good colors for her, and we were delighted to find pants in a similar blush tone (rather than the ubiquitous white). It’s a much more feminine look.
The v-neck frames her face and makes the shoulder/chest area look narrower and the dainty pearl necklace has that touch of iridescence that blend so well for Iridescent Summers.
The soft drape of the blouse floats nicely over the mid section.
While the pants are tapered, the light color and neutral shoe create one long line.
The V-cut of the shoes are more flattering than ones with an ankle strap, which cuts a shortening horizontal line.
Two oversights on our part we would correct next time:
- Her sleeves should be pushed up so there isn’t a straight line across her hips (some also say that showing a little wrist takes 10 pounds off… try it looking in your mirror and see what you think)
- The top should be shortened a couple of inches for better proportions of light to dark.

Next week: Packing a carry-on for a 2-week European vacation! We take a week’s break from Before & Afters and learn how Margo creates a capsule wardrobe for travel and still manages to look like a million bucks every day. You can too. If you have suggestions for other topics let us know.

If you enjoyed this post, and missed the first three, read them here:

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Before-After Nordstrom Photo Shoot: Sabrina

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