Out With the Old, In With The Classics

March 2007

Marie Green, Merchandise Manager for The RealReal, is a fashion stylist and writer from San Diego, California who specializes in image consulting. Marie has appeared on television, on radio, in newspapers and in magazines in Phoenix, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego. She is a member of the Women Presidents' Organization and Fashion Group International. Marie is also the co-founder of SheWants.com.

“I really need that” is what I hear most after telling people I love organizing closets as part of my job. Recently, I flew to Phoenix to do a television segment with the NBC affiliate on closet organization. Lauren, the friend I was staying with, made her request for a closet edit two hours before I had to leave for the airport. My television appearance must have inspired her! I had been telling her about spring trends for the previous three days, so she wanted to make room for her impending purchases. We quickly filled three boxes with things she no longer wanted (or I made her give away).

We organized her wardrobe then grouped by color. As we were doing the edit, I told her, as I tell others, to keep the following items:

  1. Classic designer pieces: Louis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel, Gucci, etc. are a beautiful investment.
  2. Patent leather because it is always in style.
  3. Leopard print, which is cyclical. It always comes back.
  4. Pointy toed shoes are always stylish, even if the current emphasis is on a different shape.
  5. Quality leather goods like belts and jackets, as long as they are in good shape.

Lauren and I finished up with just ten minutes to spare. On our way out, her husband commented how great the room looked and added, “You did mine too, right?”“Well, maybe next time….Bye!”

Is your wardrobe in need of a spring shape up? Here are 10 Ways to Update Your Look:

  1. Make sure your jeans are either skinny, straight legged or cropped. I stocked up at the new denim bar in The Back Room in Del Mar. They have an amazing selection of the hottest brands.
  2. Get a trench coat or tailor the one you have to above the knee. The new ones are short and come in many stylish colors. Old Navy has cute ones at a great price.
  3. Dresses are the most essential wardrobe item for spring and summer. The easiest way to get dressed is to put on a dress. Most every boutique in the area has them.
  4. The hemlines are rising. To look current, keep your skirts and dresses at the knee or above. Virtually all the spring fashion magazines say to store your longer ones.
  5. Cropped and short jackets are a classic way to dress up an outfit. Nieman Marcus even put them on book marks in their latest catalogue.
  6. Use a clutch purse, especially for evening. We saw many of these on the red carpet at the Academy Awards. Madison Leather in Flower Hill has a gorgeous selection of purses.
  7. Wear large or aviator sunglasses. Also, white sunglasses are a big trend for spring and summer, according to Denise, the manager at Dr. Michael Foyle’s Optometric Images in Solana Beach.
  8. Layer your shirts-it gives your outfit dimension. Del Mar Kids has a huge selection of great layering t-shirts (for kids and adults).
  9. Wear a wide belt at the waist. The metallic ones are hot this year. The Rare Earth at Flower Hill has beautiful belts and accessories.
  10. Mix it up. It’s very stylish to mix designer pieces with fun ones from your favorite local stores. It is my favorite way to put an outfit together.

Most importantly, know what looks good on you and feel great about your own personal style. Reese Witherspoon just confessed to a major closet purge as contributing to her new style transformation in USA Today. She said, “I recently put a big pile of clothes on the floor of my closet, and I looked at a lot of the stuff and thought, ‘That’s not me at all. What was I thinking?’ ”

Football Fashion Show: There was a fashion show put on by the San Diego Chargers on Wednesday, March 14 to unveil their “bold new tradition” uniforms (the last change was in 1988). The new uniforms feature a dark and powder blue lined bolt around the shoulders and down the pants leg. The players love the modern uniforms and say the material is harder for the opponent to grab. “Aggressive and progressive” is how center Nick Hardwick described them. Charger players LaDainian Tomlinson, Shawne Merriman, Kasim Osgood and Lorenzo Neal prowled the catwalk, carrying their sparkling new pearl-white helmets in a show my husband and I equally enjoyed! The new jerseys and logo items will be available after April 26 at Champs Sports and Chargersproshop.com.