Before-After Nordstrom Photo Shoot: Sally

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

Sally is a fun-loving gal who favors classic and romantic stylings in her clothes. She is triangle-shaped, with a small bust and larger hips. At first glance we thought Sally might be a cool Winter, but her skin tones, eye and hair color proved too muted for Winter’s sharpness. Instead she turned out to be a Twilight Summer (like Ashley Judd, Julianna Margulies or Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Mis-typing a season at first glance is not uncommon; an accurate designation usually requires a careful color analysis process.

Before-After #1

Sally arrived at our Nordstrom photo-shoot in a color-blocked top in primary colors, a style best suited for Springs and some Winters. We felt it “wore her,” so we put her in much softer colors and styles.

Before:

• Both top and pants fit properly, and the black shoes don’t interrupt the length of her legs. However…
• The colors and pattern in the top are too bold and geometric for a Summer, and the black-lined crew neck chops off her head.
• The tapered jeans accentuate her hips.
• Black isn’t in her color palette. (In fact black is too stark a dark neutral for most people; there are many more flattering substitutes, depending on your coloring.)

After-1:

• The soft blush top, with a gentle paisley pattern, suits the romantic side of her personality and makes her much more approachable.
• The V-neck is more flattering and leads the focus up to her face.
• The scooped hemline and length helps by not drawing a line across her hips.
• When you have great arms, it’s nice to be able to show them off.
• Some think that white pants make you look bigger, but that’s not always the case. It is more about fit and the fabric than the color. These pants have a slightly tapered leg, but not skinny, which creates a long line from her hips down.
• The subtle metallic shoe is a nice way to finish off the outfit and not draw attention down.

After-2 Navy silk shirt (same slacks and shoes)

• Twilight Summers have quite a few dark colors in their palettes, which some find problematic in the warm season, when stores seem to carry only pastels. It’s fine to wear dark colors in the summer, but seek them out in light-weight fabrics like this sleeveless silk blouse. Summers look more integrated wearing less contrast between top and bottom (as in After-1), so blue jeans (as in the photo below) would reduce the crispness.
• The v-neck and long necklace create an extended line which makes her look taller and also draws the eye up to her face, which is what we want clothes to do.
• The navy shirt was more fitted than it appears in the photo and showed off her waist. (Proportionately, it was about 3″ too long; it should be altered to hit just above the crotch.)

Above: After-3 (blush top on left) 

• Skin tones (blush) have been very popular in stores for the past two or three years, and for most people are much more flattering than white. Now is the time to stock up, because the fashion industry will replace this color with who knows what next season.
• Soft detailing on the blouse draws your eye up and reflects one of her secondary style personalities – romantic. It also makes her bust look bigger and helps balance her hips.
• Tucking the top on one side shortens it and avoids drawing a horizontal line across her hips.

Above: After-4 (on right)

• While this roughly casual outfit is not totally in line with the soft stylings of a Summer, we still loved its sauciness.
• The key to wearing skinny jeans when you have hips is to balance the top half. In this case the wide collar and bust detail help to visually increase the shoulder and chest area.
• The drawstring in the waist pulls in the jacket to give it more of an hourglass shape and shows off Sally’s small waist.  If you don’t have a waist, a drawstring can create the illusion that you do.
• Rolling up the sleeves keeps the jacket from feeling too heavy on her petite frame.
• The jacket hits just below her hips so the line is not at her widest part.

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

1. About Color + Style: The 1-2 Punch
2. Before-After Nordstrom Photo Shoot: Kate

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