Behind Closed Doors
How to dress your best - a wardrobe consultant takes charge
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| Trial and error: Wallace-Albert and O’Connor test different color combinations against her skin. |
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| The shoe-in: Cast-off pairs are on the left; shoes to be repaired are on the right. |
STYLE SECRETS
DEFINE YOUR FEATURES “The wrong color will wash the details from your face,” Wallace-Albert says. “To find what colors suit you, go to the men’s tie counter in a department store and see how they work with your skin.”
FEND OF THE FADE “Never put jeans in the dryer, and wash them only when absolutely necessary. People tend to overwash their hair and their jeans.”
TAILOR YOUR TOES “If you find a shoe with a pointy toe that pinches and you love it, go up half a size and get Dr. Scholl’s footpads for the balls of your feet.”
CONSIDER THE LENGTH “Empire dresses should be a little longer than most women are wearing them—at least to the knee. That will make them look taller.”
TAKE CUES FROM MENSWEAR “To punch up a boring suit, men might wear a paisley tie. Women in a corporate environment do not need to wear black shoes. Red, white, brown, and gray look fantastic, and the same is true for handbags.”
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FINDING YOUR MANTRA
Some fashion gurus would be tempted to peg their clients, but Wallace-Albert cleverly poses a question at the end of the session that lets them define their own taste: “Say you were in the bathroom at a party, and you overheard people talking about you, saying you look so something tonight, and it was good. What would that something be?” O’Connor’s response: “Hot and pulled together.” Voilà, a personal- style mantra!
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