I received a complimentary closet cleanse and girl’s day shopping trip in exchange for this post. All purchase during the shopping trip were my own expense. Opinions are my own.
I think I used to be stylish, I used to be hip and up with the times, and then – kids hit. And when we started having our family, the kids came one after another with no break to remember I was still in there somewhere. With my body changing every few months from pregnancy and then post pregnancy, I held on to whatever clothes fit at the time, no matter if they didn’t fit quite right or the right style for my shape. When I had the opportunity to work with The Mommy and The Model, I was beyond thrilled! I knew it was time to finally tackle my closet!
The Mommy & The Model is a local small business here in Arizona ran by two sisters – Nanda and Devi. They have both worked in fashion in many different capacities and have great expertise in the styling. Before they arrived, I was picturing I would be the star of my own personal “What Not to Wear” episode. You know, a big ol trash can where they tell me how horrid my style was while throwing away everything I own. I was so very impressed with Nanda and Devi, though. They were nothing like the show and were very warm and understanding. We started by sitting down to talk about what I expected from the day and what I was hoping from it as well. Then, we talked about body shapes and color tones and about how we can use colors and clothing to slim us and make us feel confident and happy in our own skin. Then, it was time to head into the closet…
Before we started the closet cleanse I had a very full and disorganized closet. I even had an enormous, and completely overflowing, bucket of clothes in a range of sizes that was taking up a big portion of my closet. We began by pulling all my clothing out of the closet and stacking it onto the bed. Then, the sisters would go through the clothing and select a few key items that they wanted to talk about. They would ask me what I thought about it and if the article was something I liked. Sometimes, it may have been a favorite top and they would agree that this was a great piece and explain to me how the particular color was perfect for me or the cut and style would really accentuate my body type. Other times, they would explain why the color would make me washed out or the pattern wasn’t quite right, whatever it might be for the style. They’d assemble a pile of ten or so as they went through them and double check that it was okay that these old tops went to the donation pile. I really appreciated that they took me into consideration through the whole process. They didn’t just toss my clothes but made sure I understood what works and what doesn’t and the why that made me completely fine with passing clothes on that weren’t right for me. I ended up with three full garbage bags full of donations. After the sisters left, my husband and I tackled his clothes as well and my pajama drawer and we ended up with a total of 7 trash bags full of clothes to donate!!
As they would go through my clothes, they organized them back into my clothes by short sleeve, long sleeve, sweaters, dresses, pant, and active wear. Then, they sorted them by color. I’ve kept my closet organized just as they had set it up and really love the ease of finding a fun top to wear with them sorted out by colors. It has been so incredibly nice to wake up in the morning, know exactly where everything was in my closet, and also not fret over what to wear. Literally, everything left in my closet is something I like and feel good wearing so it’s easy to just grab basically any top and any bottom and create an outfit! Of course, still matching and pairing place a part, but it is truly so much easier and less stressful to get dressed each day.
The great part to me was to see that I still had a lot of really great clothes in my closet by just keeping the colors that suit me. You can see The Mommy & The Model above showing off one of the outfits they paired together from my current closet. We also made a list of the items my closet was really missing – black, white and red tops, a couple of maxi skirts, and a good pair of brown dress shoes. We would be getting together again early the next week for a shopping trip together.
That next week, we met at a local mall and together we stopped in at several stores looking only for items that my closet needed. Rather than just stopping to look at anything cute, we went into the store with a purpose and it made it easier to shop and get in and out of the stores.
It was so great going to the store with Devi and Nanda to shop. They explained to me as we shopped what worked and what didn’t. I even tried on some styles that were things I never would have picked up off the shelf myself. Some I ended up really liking, others I wasn’t quite ready to be that bold and go with yet. Still, it pushed me out of my comfort zone. Like the zebra skirt I tried on. It’s not a style I would have considered but it’s such a fun skirt and I got SO many compliments when I wore it to church! I ended up with purchasing three maxi skirts, a black tank top, three great tops, two pairs of shoes, and an awesome jacket! Plus, we stayed under our budget of $200! Here’s a look at me wearing two of my new outfits!
I love my updated wardrobe and feel more confident in my own skin with clothes that make me feel comfortable and good to wear. I loved everything about my experience working with The Mommy & The Model. They were professional, caring, and easy to work with. The whole experience was very educational and I feel like I have a much better idea of how to shop and search for styles for the future.
If you’re local in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area and want to feel confident with your style, The Mommy and The Model are available to book and will come directly to your own home to help you with your style! Visit www.themommyandthemodel.com to find out more and book them!