The 80′s definitely influenced my wardrobe decisions, until recently thanks to Indigo Zuri the Colour Gurl herself of p2styles. More on that a chance encounter a little later.*
The OMGs (Original Mean Girls)
After my fashion faux pas in Mrs. Ellis’ second grade class things would never be the same again. My very fashionable seamstress mother managed to mismatch brands and had me in a pair of adorable hand-me-down Jordache jeans and a super cute plaid Osh-Kosh B’Gosh shirt.
Somehow we didn’t get the memo that wearing more than one name brand was an offense that deserved to be pointed out by the pseudo-fashion police Latricia and Nakia (looking back their outfits were tired). Ring leader Latricia made it a point to tell the class that I was perping, and everyone laughed at me (even my secret crush Dashon laughed). Really!?! Well considering I was the n.k.o.t.b. and she had like a hundred sisters. I let it slide, but that event changed the way I dressed. That was until Ms. Indigo came along and freed me from my perped-out fashion prison.
She told me that it was AOK to mix and match brands, and that being matchy matchy was a little sanitized (my words, but you get the point). I’ve been learning how to dress my body the size it is now, instead of the size it was before. It was hard because my eyes are drawn to the 6-8′s, and I never really paid the 12-14′s much attention.
What I’ve learned from this lady is that every well dressed person has a wardrobe with purpose. Something that is premeditated, planned out in advance. Strategy…Then a light went off in my head, once she put things in business terms I could totally understand. According to Indigo here are the top five things every wardrobe must have
- Little Black Dress or LBD as she affectionately calls it
- blazer
- black skirt or pants
- crisp white blouse
- pumps
Your Bonus 5
Open neckline tee-shirt, cardigan, dark jeans, great coat, leather jacket
Get A Second Opinion
*How I met Indigo. In 2009 I was one of the hosts to a Beauty & Fashion Tweetup, and Indigo came to event. It was funny because just the day before I’d met with another image consultant after winning a gift certificate from a networking event. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the diagnosis from the other consultant. It was pretty bleak, and I felt like total poop after I left my consultation. For two reasons…
- I knew that I wasn’t her target demographic
- my money was hilarious at the time.
So the next day when Indigo mentioned that she was an image consultant. I went in hard on her, mostly because my ego was a bloody mangled mess from the day before, and I’m kinda hard headed and have my own ideas. She stood her ground, was knowledgeable and could see that I was deeply hurt by the previous experience. I appreciated her willingness to take me by the hand and walk me through the process, and That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
Worked with an image consultant? Share your story.
