Let me dress you

I had the fortune of starting Nordies the first week of December. From day one we were busy, busy, busy. LOVE THAT! When I am at work I gotta move, it's always been that way. I remember telling a head hunter in 1990, don't give me a job where I have little to do, I will drive everyone crazy trying to find something to fill my time (pre-Internet era of course!). 

So since the holidays are over, the slow down has hit us! No one is shopping for a hot superbowl outfit these days. Wednesday was another ho hum day, I cleaned everything, re-arraigned clothes, took all the breaks possible, purused all the other departments and nothing to do until Ashley came into my department and said the magic words I love to hear, "I need help". I felt like the trumpets started going off in my head - dah dah! I asked her questions to figure out what she needed. Is this for work or fun, she said "both". Then I asked her what she did, she's a elementary school teacher for special ed kids. OK my heart sank, she must be sweet right? And, not a ton of money, so we had to pick items that could go a long way. She told me her wardrobe was bare, no color (AH HA!), nothing updated, she needed everything and needed to be shown how to wear it. I felt like Clark Kent turned to Superman in an instant.......here we go! 

We picked the basics, 

Black & brown slacks: these were on sale for $40.00 each, they looked fabulous, they flared a bit at the bottom, just enough to thin out and elongate her legs.  Brown & grey dressy cardigans (on sale $20.00 each) and tan casual cardigan (short cardigans for her - she had an adorable bum - of course she did, she's 25!) With the brown cardigan, I picked a yellow ruffle shirt to go under or a pink t-shirt. Yes brown and pink - C.U.T.E. Also, the pink T can be worn with the grey cardigan. She originally loved the ruffle shirt in hot pink, and my motto is if you LOVE something, get it in two colors, at least you won't wear out the one. Plus you'll be happy you did. I also picked a "sweet pea" top. These are great for layering and give a lot of color and fun to an outfit. Can be worn with jeans or slacks. Boot cut jeans (David Kahn's - I highly recommend, they don't show your crack and they are not high waisted either - you still feel cool and look classy). One adorable red jacket a

nd yellow ruffle shirt underneath, this can be worn with her new jeans and gold flats or dressed up with slacks or dressy dark jeans and heals. There was more, but I can't remember everything.....

Ashley was so fun, showing me each outfit as she went along and insisted that I show her how to wear everything and with what shoes. You know I love this!!!! Who me, tell you what to do, Oh stop!!!  

 I remember being in my mid-20's thinking, I can now start buying some staples for my closet, expensive suits, jackets, etc. I realized I was no longer growing (upward that is) and it was time to stop shopping at Contempo Casuals the 80's version of Forever 21 and start shopping at Bebe (this was way back when bebe first started, they carried only suits, that were extremely fashionable and well made).

She came out of the dressing room and brought everything I suggested, except the expensive jeans (she'll be back - we all need one dark, wide leg jeans - for date night!). We exchanged emails and I told her I would send her a link to my blog. See her comments below.

Trade secrete - when wearing a cardigan, or jacket (not ooohhh it's cold outside jacket, but this I am wearing to complete my outfit jacket) button only one or two buttons right under your boobs. Leave the rest undone. This will give you a smaller waist and if you have a print shirt under - it will elongate your torso, the eyes looking at you will be forced to go up and down, not side to side. 

Katya,

You are GREAT! Thank you again so much for all our help yesterday. I can't even tell you how many compliments I got today on my new outfit. Even my students were complementing me. I felt so good and my closet is so happy to finally see color in it. You always kept my budget in mind and were super helpful.... unlike most sales people who are just super pushy and only care about the sale, rather than the customer. I just checked out your blog. I am going to join. I love it....definitely something that I will check often.

I wish you so much luck with your business. I honestly believe that if you follow your passion and believe in yourself anything is possible. I can tell you are the real deal. You have a natural ability for this business..not only do you have excellent fashion sense - you also have a great personality which will take yo so far in this type of business. This will not be the last you hear from me. My Mom wanted to know if you do personal shopping for men as well? 

You are such a beautiful person and I look forward to watching you progress.

Ashley A.

Color color color

Spring is coming and the fun colors are in! I am so happy.....no more black, black, black! Anyone can wear color, tall, short, big and small. I know what you're thinking....."but I look good in black". Well yes, you do. But after a while, it starts to look and feel like a uniform and before you know it, you are trapped into buying only black.

Here's some ideas for the girls with a black only wardrobe: Add in a colorful wrap (I LOVE WRAPS- they fit all sizes and shapes) or a scarf. Wear your black pants and top then add in a colorful cardigan. HOW BOUT THIS, silver and gold are still in (we Persians never knew it went out). You can add in a big crazy silver belt to your jeans, black shirt outfit. 

Yellow - this is a big color this year and next in line are bright pink, orange and kelly green (no pastels please - we'll leave these for babies). I love an all white outfit - guess what? It's slimming and looks crisp and fresh, throw in a scarf with white and yellow then add silver, gold or yellow flats. Everyone will comment on how cute you look. Promise.

O.K. one last thing on colors. Stop with the "matchy, matchy, matchy" - meaning my earrings match my bracelet match my purse match my shoes etc. This dates you to ole'lady. You are not an ole'lady. If you have 2 colors in your outfit, I challenge you to add a 3rd or get crazy and add a 4th. Imagine, crisp white pants, white cotton t-shirt, silver ballet flats, cardigan with pink, orange and yellow in the cardigan - the cardigan tied around your shoulders. You'll be ready for spring in no time.

Tips: I love JCREW! Go to their store and try on their chino's. They come in a variety of fits (Favorite, City, Original) and fun colors. Once you figure out your fit, check their on-line sales regularly. Right now the ones I like are $14.99!! Their clothes are high in quality and they go up to a size 16, they carry tall and petite! Also, they have the very best t-shirts, my favorite are the perfect fit t-shirts. They are thick enough that they don't show your bra and everything else underneath. Right now, they are on sale too. I know you'll buy your basic black & white, so I challenge you to buy two more colors!!

PS. If you are "color challenged" I'd love to help you!

 Pic 1 - Here's your basic black pants with SILVER shoes and a yellow top - love it!  Pic 2 - I bet you didn't think orange and pink go well with khaki....and you thought you could only wear white or dark brown with your khaki pants - WRONG!

 Pic 3 - Classic grey pants and white shirt with purple, YES I said it PURPLE shoes and an orange cardigan. 4 colors! who knew!

   Pic 4 - taken from the JCrew catalogue -Chinos. 

My ranting for the day.

I'm just saying....if you have a clothing aficionado in your presence, take her advice! GEEZE. Today I worked from 1 to 9 and attempted to dress dozens of women. See the word "attempted". Now I know my style may not be your style, I get that! I love orange, it may look like crap on you, I get that. 

Example:

More than what you wear - it's the size of what you are wearing. I would say 80% of customers I come in contact with are too large for what they are trying to squeeze into or are smaller people wearing clothes too big. I had a woman who was petite, tiny, tiny and she tried on a medium sweater, it looked like a dress on her, and she wanted to wear it with tailored pants. She looked like a little girl wearing her moms clothes. I had to plead with her to try on the small.....she finally did and bought it - but UGH the persuading I had to do. I mean she looked ridiculous in the medium. 

FYI - Petite does not mean skinny! Please get the word out there! Petite means your limbs are shorter than the regular size clothes. If everything you buy you have to get the pants hemmed, the sleeves are too long, the jacket which is supposed to hit you at the hips is hitting you mid-thigh, well then my friend, you are petite. You can be a size 12 and be petite. 

Then I was approached by a customer who should be shopping in plus size, and she was squeezing into large tops (not XL, nooo she wanted large only). Now look, I once had to shop in the plus shops - it's not fun, it took some time for me to get out of denial and into Layne Bryant, plus everyone I know wants to be smaller than they are (even if they don't need to be) so I do sympathize. BUT acceptance is the key. If you are squeezing into clothes to small, then guess what you look like? You look like you "used" to be smaller and now your clothes don't fit. You are telling the world you have gained weight (you may not have = but this is the message you are sending out) with new clothes!

My point - use another set of honest eyes when trying on clothes and heed their advice.

OK I am done ranting.

This was a fun day!

I am working at Nordstroms in the Topanga Mall. The last time I worked in retail, I was adding shoulder pads to my shirts that already had shoulder pads. I would slide them under my bra strap.....never washed them for fear they would lose shape, so they were greyish in color. NICE! I looked like a line backer - slash -  rocker with hair as big as Jon Bon Jovi. So get how long ago that was????

When I first started this job, I sent an email to everyone letting them know about my new adventure and inviting them to the store. I have the ability to shop the entire store and set items aside for when my clients arrive - as if I am Norstroms personal shopper.  I didn't really expect any of my friends to come shop with me - I mean who wants the pressure, but so far I have been pleasantly surprised. My best guy friend sent me his Santa's list, then came to the store and we knocked out most of his Christmas list. It was fun to see him and I loved that I was able to do this service for him. He's a busy guy and always on the road. Then my a girl friend called wanting some jeans and sweaters. We have some jeans on sale in my dept. that are not super low (you know - the jeans so low they show your va jay jay) and not so high you feel like a dork. So I set aside a dressing room for her, filled it and gave her feedback to help her make her decisions - now this did not feel like work. We chatted and laughed for a bit, you know - it felt like two girl friends shopping. Plus she's happy and I helped - love that!

You may not know this = but we are all on straight commission at Nordys, so some days it feels like I am a clothes pusher, getting strangers in the dressing room and bombarding them with items hoping they'll buy something. It's a struggle, because I am brutally honest. If it does not look good and you ask me, I am telling. I may not get the sale, but I'll have my integrity.  I can't spend my days at work obsessing about my sales, it sucks the energy out of me, and that's not why I am there.

SO the super fun day:

I have another girl friend, we've been friends for a long time! When I first told her about this job she said she'd come to shop. I thought she was just being nice. She called this week and scheduled an appointment with me to come the following day. She was looking to dress up her wardrobe which is mostly cute jeans, sexy tops, juicy sweats and t-shirts. It is so helpful when I know what you already have = and when she told me the look she was going for "Country Club / Dating attire" I knew we needed to up the antie a bit. She has a knock out figure and not much looks bad on her (don't hate her). So off I went......every department like money was no object, pulling adorable tops, flowing tops, almost all colors and a few black slacks to really dress it up instead of jeans. At the end of the day I got in my car and thought, "she's going to see all I picked out and feel the pressure to purchase." I felt so uncomfortable.  I called her and let her know "if you leave with nothing, it's really ok, no pressure". She told me not to worry.  Well the next day came and she was there when I got to work (love that). Again, it felt like two girls shopping, was I really working?? We ran around the store, picked up some more clothes and headed straight to the dressing room. Some of the tops were PERFECTO, and the black slacks HOT! Exactly the look I was going for.....and she liked it. We updated her look, made it more sophisticated, but still hot, and I gave her some other ideas on what to purchase outside of Nordys. I was meant to do this. I could feel it! It brings me so much joy to get you to try things you might not normally try and love the new look I have given you. It's a control thing for sure! I love being the boss of you! OK so it was now tally time. We go off to the register and I start ringing and the total starts growing $200 then $500 then $800, ok final with tax just under $1000. I'm thinking, she's going to kill me, return everything later, or start taking items off the bill, what did I do - I pushed to hard! Then I hear "GREAT I was hoping to keep it around $1000". I laughed so hard, REALLY under $1000 is good??? At that moment I said "you are now in my blog!". 

What am I doing here??

Let me begin by telling you - copying is the sincerest form of flattery. A friend suggested a few months ago I should start a fashion blog......and I thought that was a novel idea but I'm already emailing, reluctantly getting texts on my phone, I'm on linkedin and facebook....so another computer thing - no way!

Well here I am! 

This last year has been about change, change and more change. I am 40 and wondering what I want to do when I grow up. So you'll be following my journey with me and see what God has in store for this new year.

So from the title - in my mind, I have always been a Persian Princess, no really. My father was born and raised in Iran (they like to call it Persia) his mother is from Russia and swears we have "blue blood" we are royalty! My father met my Danish mother in London and years later they were married and had me in Denmark. We moved to North Hollywood when I was in 1st grade. All the Persian's followed my dad to California, and so I was raised Persian. I believe this is where the little fashionista in me began.  When I was 12 or 13 my uncle Sebou came here from Paris, he was a well known hair dresser, very flamboyant, and swore he was straight (right!). PS there are no gay Persian men - per Dad.  Anywhoo - he came to stay with us and thus began my quest to look fabulous. He taught me how to put on make-up, did my hair, and took me shopping. We bought pink and green espadrilles, a matching bag and a pink summer dress. From this moment on.....I was hooked. Who knew you could feel so good from looking good. I know it sounds a bit vain, but hey look around. Who's walking around in a potato sack?? We like to look good, right? 

Just to give you a little background on growing up Persian in LA, here's a few things that stand out in my mind:

Going to a family funeral and realizing 90% of the women were in Chanel suits and from the youngest to the oldest everyone's hair and make-up was PERFECT, as if they just came from the salon. Young or old, pretty or not, every Persian woman is "done". Whether they are going to the market, the funeral, or an evening out - they are done! 

Don't get me wrong, I love being Persian. I love our quirks, family craziness, beliefs, strong accents (I can imitate a Persian living in Sherman Oaks perfectly and will do so at any given time) food, customs and more. 

So here I am blogging, sharing with you my journey into the fashion world plus what ever else comes my way.

My first tip:

Pants (jeans or slacks): If they are smaller at the ankle than they are at the knee......unless you are a size 0-2, if you put them on, you now look like a pear, and not a slim one either.  OR If your pants don't brush/lean on your shoes, if they are flooding, toss them out......you wear them and you now look like a box with ankles and feet.  Boot cut, wide leg (not crazy wide) this is the way to go! This goes for all pants, sweats, slacks, jeans, etc. This goes for all heights, weights and shapes. Trust me. I've dressed enough people to know.