My Personal 180°

Stylish outfit and photo courtesy of Jenn Bussell

When The Hill Is Home blogger Liz Festa asked me if I’d like to participate in a makeover story for the blog, I was quick to say yes. Just days before, I had been offered a part-time job with a non-profit organization on the Hill. It had been six months since I worked in an office, and even then I had a hard time finding clothes in my closet that I could wear to work. I needed professional help and Jenn Bussell was my only hope.

Bussell’s Wardrobe 180° treatment is a multi-part process. First, and with Bussell’s help, I edited the clothes in my closet—cleaning the clothes out of my closet that I had grown out of both physically and emotionally—and determined what I needed to add to my wardrobe. Then we shopped for a few wardrobe must haves: a white button down, cardigans, a little black dress and accessories.  However, I knew that if I were to successfully ditch my casual uniform of t-shirts and jeans I’d need help pulling everything together, which brings us to the last part of the process: bringing it home.

I now had a wardrobe filled with classic must-haves—cardigans, a-line skirts, white shirts, little black dresses,  and blazers—and trendy items—scarves, dressy tops, chunky necklaces, but I needed Bussell to take what we discovered in my Ikea wardrobe and mix it with the clothes we purchased at the store. As she sorted through the clothes she suggested that I always wear at least three articles of clothing, not including base layers such as bras, tanks or underwear. Whether it was a skirt, t-shirt and cardigan or a dress, blouse and chunky necklace, I watched as Bussell mixed and matched every new piece I purchased with either something from my closet or something from the shopping bag. In two hours, Bussell created more than 25 outfits. It was something I knew that I could never do on my own.

When I asked Bussell how she does it, she replied, “Either you possess the ability to ‘see’ outfits or you don’t.  My role as a stylist and coach is to educate and enable others to learn how to have a more critical eye when it comes to what’s in their closets and what they put on.  It’s not an overnight project, but practice makes perfect over time.”  Even if we aren’t born with the ability to style ourselves, we can learn.

To help discover my inner stylist, I rearranged my closet, grouping clothes by outfit rather than by article type, which means I spend less time wondering what to wear and more time picking out the perfect accessory to my three-piece ensemble.

I’ve also made a few other changes.  In order to find my inner chic—and empowered—urban mommy, I’m learning to accept and embrace my post-baby body, which I suspect is just what Bussell had in mind when we first sat down on my couch three weeks ago to talk about why I needed to turn my wardrobe around.

“While the services I provide may seem very topical,” says Bussell, “my main goal is to inspire confidence and a heightened sense of self-esteem in my clients.”

And I’m not the first mom that Bussell has helped rediscover herself after baby. “Many of my clients this year were new moms trying to find themselves again after months of focusing on others.  Showing them how to spend only 20-30 minutes on getting ready for the day allows them to be ‘mom’ and fabulous at the same time.”

Look for Bussell online at www.wardrobe180.com or at the upcoming MoTH picnic, where you have a chance to win a consultation with Jenn.