LEAVE A COMMENT 2016 December 7

Is your closet filled with clothes you seldom, if ever, wear?

Do you try to keep your wardrobe au courant with the trends, but wind up looking silly?

Are you wearing the same style of clothes you wore 20 years ago, maybe even the exact same clothes?

Have you stopped caring about looking really good, and prefer to stick with sweats and tees because they’re comfortable, and besides who do you need to impress?

Does shopping intimidate, frustrate or depress you?

If you’ve answered yes to even one of these questions, you might want to give Terry Gibralter a call and learn how to choose clothes that make you look–and feel–absolutely terrific.

I was enchanted by Terry’s style the moment I first laid eyes on her–in the elevator of the building where we both lived. She’s what my grandmother used to call a stylish woman: “Put together!” And, if you go shopping with Terry, she’ll help put you together, and she “promises” that the experience will be“more creative, inspiring, quicker and more fun than you can possibly imagine.”

A former stylist for Elle Magazine, and then an advertising executive for many years, Terry realized how much she missed working in the fashion business when she recently helped a friend, who is a “remarkable jewelry designer,” to style models for a couple of video and print shoots. You can learn more about Terry here, and take a “stroll” through her fab online boutique. But first, read about her philosophy of dressing for FOFs and about why her
H*O*T* new shopping service might be the answer to your dressing doldrums.

PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW YOUR SHOPPING SERVICE WORKS AND WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO CREATE IT

“It was sort of a no-brainer because it’s something I’ve done before. The service takes into account every aspect of shopping. We start with your closet and understand what you need, what you don’t need, then you go from there and shop. You shouldn’t go shopping with without a mission. I’ll help you figure out who you are, style wise, and how to build a wardrobe based on that. The process will make it easier to dress in the morning.

“I recently helped a woman in her early fifties. who is the head of account management at an ad agency. She’s always dressed up for work, and is now feeling ‘dated’ in an office where young women dress in pieces like jeans, tees and sweatshirts all the time. She wanted help around her ‘casual’ wardrobe so she could look ‘effortlessly casual.’

“We spent a couple of hours together where I asked her 10 questions about how she sees her style and her life, how she shops, and her budget. I then created style mood boards showing her what to wear with what, and how she could incorporate updated, casual pieces into her wardrobe.

“For another client I spent from 9 to 5 helping her redo her closets because she wanted them to look like mine. OMG, did I throw out stuff. That was easy because I had no emotional attachment to her things.”

CAN AN OLDER WOMAN DRESS YOUNGER?

“No matter how important a young woman’s job is today, she often just throws on jeans and tees and can still look good. When you’re young, you think you’re pretty damn perfect. Things are more forgiving when you’re in your 20s. Young people don’t even realize it when they don’t look good, but because they’re young, they get a pass. When you’re older, dressing becomes more challenging. You might have put on weight, for example, and you can look crazy if you throw on the same type of clothing that young women are wearing.

“Not everyone knows how to make new styles work and how to successfully update their wardrobes. That’s where I can help.”

DO YOU THINK WOMEN IN THEIR MID FORTIES, AND UP, SHOULD MAKE THE EFFORT TO CHANGE THEIR STYLES WITH THE TIMES, EVEN IF THEY’VE STOPPED WORKING?

“You won’t look good if you’re wearing the same clothing and hairstyle that you wore 20 years ago, and don’t update your style. Styles change. I see women in their eighties all the time who still care. It’s life affirming. One woman had nicely cropped white hair, and was wearing a simple white, crisp shirt, a beautiful big necklace, narrow trousers, great sandals and a great little bag in her hand. She looked like she stepped out of a fashion shoot. I understand it’s harder to change your style if you don’t live in an urban environment, and you spend a lot of time in your car and aren’t seen as much as women in big cities.

“I see older women either stop caring about the way they look, or just keep doing what they’ve done for years. Their lives may be difficult and they don’t have the spare time to devote to fashion. I think fashion is very important. It’s how we face the world. It’s what people see before we open own mouths. We’re being judged by how we look. It does matter, even if we say it doesn’t.”