Corduroy Conundrum

The fashion helper needs fashion help.

I'm not one who lets items fester in my closet. If I'm not going to wear it now or in the future, it's usually outta there pretty quickly - either given to a friend, consigned or donated to a charity.

These corduroy jackets are the exception to the rule. I have these and a few more, which are at least four years old. I don't usually wear corduroy - it's a little too rough-textured and heavy for me. Plus these jackets are pretty boxy and I lose any sense of body shape in them.

I've stopped wearing them as part of an outfit, which I used to do with jeans and a top.

But I'm debating about keeping them around to use as outerwear. Unless it's bitterly cold, I rarely wear a heavy coat since I generally hop right from the car to indoors, so I tend to opt for either a voluminous sweater or lightweight jacket and accessorize with hat, scarf and gloves. I keep a big coat and comfy shoes in the car just in case ;-)

So do I dump the boxy corduroy? I don't have a huge connection to it, except for the leopard (which has more of a shape than the others) and dark turquoise ones. But they are warm and practical and I find myself grabbing them a few times a season. I just know there are better choices out there.

Do I keep them around for next fall and winter or give them away so the temptation to wear something so meh on me is gone for good? But I also feel like I will kick myself if I need one and it's not there.

A Twitter Story

L-R Me, Tammy and Emily

(And no, we didn't plan our outfits!)

If you know me, you know that I always sing the praises of Twitter. Here is a living, breathing experience of why I adore it so much.

I connected with this cool chick, Tammy (@floridagirlindc) on Twitter last spring. In fact, it was on the day of the Kentucky Derby. We were talking about drinking mint juleps and bourbon. She lives in Washington D.C. and quickly became one of my favorite "tweeps" on Twitter.

My lovely friend Emily (@ejhonsa) lives in Cleveland (which is where I am based). I have known her for years*. She was in her last year of law school and was going to be interning in D.C. at NCIS (I'm sure she's sick of Mark Harmon jokes by now).

I told her to make sure she connected with Tammy when she was there. So they connected on Twitter and then on Facebook.

I had no idea that they would become good buddies and I was so delighted to see the two of them together in pictures showing up on Facebook over the summer. Tammy introduced Emily to all kinds of cool people in D.C. and Emily quickly fit into her summer home's social scene.

I was thinking: "I made that happen!" And yes, I patted myself on the back a couple of times.

This past weekend, I got great news - Tammy had a reason to make her first trip to Cleveland - wow, that was so unexpected! - and of course we needed to get together.

So I knew Emily for years, Emily knew Tammy from her summer in D.C., and we all knew each other from Twitter.

I love when different threads of my life mesh like this. Few things are as personally satisfying.

*Four years counts as "years", right?

KK on the Q

Got to talk about fun fall fashion yesterday morning on Wilde & Fee on Q104! I've never done radio before, so I was a little anxious. Turns out it is totally fun. I had the best time!!

I am most proud that I got to mention Prince (thanks to the purple trend) and The Fonz (because I felt like I was dressed like him!).

Here's me flanked by Allan Fee and Rebecca Wilde!
(Is it me or does my head look really small?)

My Celeb Lookalikes!

See? I told you so! This was super fun!Create your own!
http://www.myheritage.com/celebrity-collage

Cheap & Chic at the Salvation Army!

I was excited to do a shoot yesterday for That's Life on Fox 8 at such an unexpected location. For years, I have helped friends of mine - especially those who are single moms with a limited budget - shop for themselves at local thrift stores.

Not only does it help them save money and look great, but it can be really fun!

And with the current state of the economy and with gas prices going crazy, every little bit helps.

That's Life correspondent Rebecca Wilde from Q104 is a true thrift store diva. She really shops at the Strongsville Salvation Army, which is where we were taping, I love that about her - she has a fun and funky sensibility about clothes that matches her personality.

The four tips we highlighted were:

1) Know your days
Yesterday was "Blue Tag Day", where everything with a blue tag was 50% off. Every day of the week has a different tag color. If you shop at any Salvation Army on a Wednesday, you've hit the mother lode - EVERYTHING in the store is 50% off. Whoo-hoo!

(Unique Thrift in the Cleveland area is half-off on Mondays)

2) If you like labels....
They have labels! All in one place. Just look for the "Brand Name Labels" sign. We found Ann Taylor, Talbots, Land's End, Jones NY all on one rack! And you know what's great about that? All those brands are classic. You can wear them anytime and look great. They have a better chance of becoming worn out than going out of style.

3) Watch your styles!
There's a lot of great stuff, but you do have to weed through some potentially disastrous choices - like the multicolored bright, boxy jacket with huge shoulder pads or the plethora of Chanel-inspired bouclé jackets that were all the rage like 4 years ago but today just look outdated. An excellent alternative are cute little tailored corduroy jackets. Bec actually bought one that we used as an example.

4) Shop out of season
I was surprised to see that they had the winter coats out. I assume it was because they have a nice big store and there was plenty of space. Well, you know that when it gets cold, the pickins' will be much slimmer, so buy a coat now when you have your pick of the very best! In Cleveland, winter is always in the back of our minds!

I also put together a couple of outfits. (I took these pics with my BlackBerry, so excuse the warped color.)

This one is an example of something that can be worn to work. It's an Ann Taylor Loft suit (off-white) with a print blouse, some cute peeptoe pumps and green mock-croc bag. This outfit came in at under $30, and just imagine how many different ways that suit can be worn!


Below is a navy linen dress. How fun is this?! Pat Field said that the big fashion statement for the Sex and the City movie is the belted waist. So I took off the matching fabric belt and replaced it with a yellow-orange straw belt. A little straw bag in yellow, orange and pink helped tie the bright pink shoes and large orange earrings together.

It can be fun to shop at thrift stores because you never know what you will find! But limit yourself to 45 minutes to an hour because it can become overwhelming.

Remember - even if it's $8 and a designer label, if it doesn't look great on you and you probably won't wear it, it's still $8 out the window.

Looking Thinner

We did a fitness challenge called "Rock the Scales" at Mentor Fitworks based on how much the contestants worked out over a three month period. Cindy was one of the winners. She won two outfits - one that fit her lifestyle and the other to wear to the gym. She got her makeup done - as well as a hot new hairstyle along with some sexy blonde highlights for summer.

I didn't think she looked bad at all before. But when I was looking at the "Before" and "After" pictures, which were taken only four days apart, I realized just how much slimmer she looked when we applied some super simple clothing tricks that anyone can use!

Here are 10 simple tricks you can use - today!

1. Create an unbroken column of color
We did that here with the same color base garments (brown). This will make you look taller and leaner instantly!

2. Avoid clothing that cuts you off visually at your widest point
Notice that her top in the "Before" picture ends right at her hips, which makes everything above and below it look larger. In the "After" picture, her jacket ends just above the hip bone.

3. Use bright or light color strategically
Bright colors advance visually, so they can make you look bigger if you wear them all over - or in the wrong places! They aren't the best colors to wear if you have a few pounds to hide. Here, the coral denim jacket is creating a frame for the brown top to give her a slimmer shape.

4. Watch your sleeve length
In the summertime, this is a tough one! Don't let your sleeve end at a heavy part of your arm. In the "Before" picture, the sleeve ends at an unflattering spot, which makes her look bustier than she is. In the summer, you may not choose to wear a jacket, but be aware that your sleeve length matters. If you have slim arms or aren't busty, by all means go for a tank top or any sleeve length. The rest of us, however, should look for a sleeve that ends just above the bustline, on or a 3/4 length sleeve that ends on the forearm.

5. Be careful about your shoes
In the "Before' pic, Cindy is wearing a strappy sandal that cuts her legs off visually right below the ankle, thus shortening her legs. In order to make your legs looks longer and thinner, avoid wearing a strap on the leg or close to the ankle. Instead, wear a sandal like she is wearing in the "After" picture. Instead of the straps being straight, they criss-cross and are situated lower on the foot. (P.S. Avoid those popular "gladiator" sandals like the plague.)

6. Where do your pants end?
Just like your sleeves, the length of your pants matters. Capris, crops and all their short-pant friends can throw your body proportions off-kilter, which can make you look heavier than you are. And we don't want that! Here are your two rules to remember!

1) A wider-leg pant makes your bottom half look bigger.

2) Don't let your pants end at a wide part of your leg. To rock out a cropped or capri pant, the length is key. They should end:

- Just below the knee
- On a slimmer part of the calf (below the fullest part)
- Just above the ankle

7. Create or define your waist
Since Cindy has a body shape that naturally doesn't have much waist definition, we needed to create a waist for her. We did this with the coral jacket, which had a nice shape to it. With no effort from us, voilà! she has an hourglass figure!

8. Round adds pounds
A crisp v-neck or higher neck line would have been more flattering than the deep scoop neck she was wearing before. Round necklines can make the neck and face look heavier and the shoulders look wider.

9. Vertical Details
The best trick is to keep the eye moving vertically. The buttons on the jacket are creating a subtle but effective vertical line which leads the eye up and down. A long necklace would have had the same effect.

10. Rethink your hairstyle
Did you know that a great hairstyle can slim your face? I mentioned the importance of vertical lines before. Do you see the lines that are framing her face? Even the blonde streaks reinforce the strong verticals of the 'do!


Clothes: Macy's/Great Lakes Mall (Brown outfit: Jones NY/Workout outfit: Style & Co.)
Hair & Makeup: Julia Niedzialek/Jenniffer & Co.
Styled by: Me :)

Season: Deep Autumn
Contrast: Medium to Low-Medium
Body Type: Rectangle
Fashion Personality: Natural Classic

TV Fun Today

I went with my mom, Aunt Carol and Leslie the Search Guru to sit in the audience of That's Life with Robin Swoboda on Fox 8. We had an absolute blast!

L-R Dick Goddard, my mom, Robin, Aunt Carol and me

I especially enjoyed being able to sit there and relax! When I'm in a TV studio, I'm used to being one of the ones on camera!

On the front page of today's News-Herald

That's Q104's Jen Toohey and me shopping this past week.

Check out the article!

Q104's Jen Toohey did the coolest thing today!

She went shopping with me!


Check out her blog of the experience -

What's up with the shocked expre$$ion, Jen?

Really, she got a ton of basics for her on-air role on Fox 8's That's Life.

Special thanks to Yvonne at The Limited at Beachwood Place, who went above and beyond for us.

And kudos to Jen for being a great sport and trying everything on. We just never know what we're going to love and what's going to look fabulous on us. So it's important to try, try, try!!

The News-Herald was there to take a picture of us, so I'll post that when I have it.

Fashion Exorcism on TV

We had so much fun today shooting a real-life Fashion Exorcism today for a segment for That's Life on Fox 8, which will air sometime soon.

When I asked my community for a volunteer who would allow us to "exorcise" their closet, I got a lot of responses, but we ultimately selected the very best one. There was a lot that needed to be exorcised from inside the very small space, namely:

- her high school uniform skirt
- one of the worst pieces of Christmas-theme clothing I've ever seen (with reversible lumberjack print too - ugh!)
- her prom dress
- a looong potato sack "maternity" muumuu
- the first suit she ever owned, circa the early 90's - complete with - what else? - shoulder pads

I knew we had made a breakthrough when Krista, our, um, "victim" tossed the first piece on the floor, saying she was done with it! Good for her!!! We made a nice size pile on the floor.

My diagnosis:
Krista was hanging onto her happy high school years by keeping some of her old clothes in sight. But she now has a husband and three lovely kids. It's time to make some new joyful memories!

She can let her little girls play dress up with the prom dress eventually!!

L-R - Me, our segment host, Q-104's Rebecca Wilde and Krista

These are a few DIY Fashion Exorcism tips:

1) You should enjoy wearing and feel comfortable in your clothes. If you don't, get rid of them! Don't feel guilty - even if it's something you received as a gift.

2) Keep clothing in your closet that fits you NOW - not 20 pounds from now. Some people have their "thin" clothes right out in front, which can be a good motivator - or they can make you beat yourself up because the scale isn't moving in the direction you want.

3) If you can sell the item, try a consignment shop; if it's career clothing, donate it to a charity like Suit Yourself; and if it doesn't fit those two categories, your local Goodwill or Salvation Army will be happy to take it off your hands. Remember, clothing donations are great TAX WRITE-OFFS!

4) If a piece of clothing reminds you of a bad time in your life - a relationship gone wrong, a funeral, divorce, etc - by all means take it out of there. You don't want that negative energy hanging around!

So much going on!

Hi folks,

I've been pretty absent from my blog recently. Regrettably. Things are moving at such a fast pace lately that I just can't keep up. So much client work coming in. I can barely keep track of it all!

I was in NYC over the weekend. So much great stuff happened there. Got to see a little of Fashion Week, we did some shopping, spent a day at the Met. I was there to take a class from the FABULOUS author and image consultant Brenda Kinsel at FIT. Here's a pic of Brenda and me ~

And this is Brenda's latest book:

It's a must-have for any woman of style - or for one who wants to learn! (I have a feeling my mom will be getting it for her birthday on President's Day which we'll probably celebrate on Sunday, although I haven't heard anything yet. It will be added to her purse and scarf. Her daughter has such fabulous taste!)

I'm quoted this week in Crain's. Nothing related to style or image. In fact, it's all about a scam someone tried to pull on me. But I thwarted that by contacting the FBI, who verified that it was indeed a scam. HA! It wasn't your normal, everyday email scam. I can't post a link for the next couple of weeks, but I'll make it available when I can.

(There was something very Scooby Doo about that whole experience...)

Looks like I'm going to be a teacher! That was once probably my greatest fear - having to go back to school! But now, I am absolutely exhilarated about the possibilities being offered to me. More details to come once I firm everything up in the next week or two. Looks like I will be teaching Fashion Consulting and Accessories at a local fashion college. Amazing!

In addition, my buddies Joelle and Leslie and I (along with several others) are working on an ebook Challenge! We are writing our ebooks in the month of March. It's exciting to me because unlike my conventional book, writing an ebook is a low-stress exercise with a definite beginning and end. My ebook is called The Style Spy: Kristen's Top Secrets for Image, Fashion & Style Success. Totally exciting!!

So even though I've been absent from the blog, life has been crazy and fun! I promise to do a better job of keeping everyone posted!

P.S. I am frightened that Cleveland.com's blog watchers picked up that previous Muppet fur post. Is that newsworthy - or just plain stupid?

A good time last night

I just wanted to quickly share a pic from my fun little party last night at D'vine. Most of them were too dark (darn you D'vine and your romantic candlelight!)

Clockwise from left top, Lisa Schutt, me, Coach Joelle and Monika Moss.

(The big news of the night - Monika started a publishing company AND finished her first book. I am a jealous, jealous girl!!!)

I love having beautiful and successful friends!

Cheers to us!!!

I'm allowed to brag, aren't I?

It's my blog, so the answer is "YES!"

As president of the Association of Image Consultants OH/PA Chapter (I am fiercely proud of this chapter I have helped build), we have lots of members engaged and active here in Ohio, but didn't have any participating from PA. Most of them live in the Philadelphia area, which is admittedly pretty far from our meetings in Columbus. So I put out a call to ask if anyone was interested in putting together a Philly-area meeting, and Renu Dalal answered!

Here's a pic from the first-ever AICI Delaware Valley Satellite Meeting! (Thanks to Brian Lipstein at mens store Henry Davidsen for hosting the event!)

Great job, guys!! I'm really proud of you!!!

What a Difference a Year Makes

I decided to crop everyone else out of the AICI board photo and use it as my new blogger pic. It's more representative of how I look now. My hair is much longer and blonder (I was doing a gradual fade to brown last winter for some reason). And my clothing choices....well, they speak for themselves, no doubt.

This made me realize I need some new head shots. Ugh...it's that time again....

KK's Crazy Life

Whew!

It has been a really wild week for yours truly - culminating with an AICI board meeting in Columbus on Sunday. We've never had a board-only meeting before, and it has been needed for a long time. Since I'm the prez, I can do these kinds of things (I'm mad with power, I tell ya!). I got to see three of my fellow board members and great friends - the lovely LisaMarie Luccioni, Erica Torres-Dudziak and Jill Haney. If you want to see three super sharp, intelligent and beautiful women, here they are. Love those girls.

Here's a pic of us at Bon Vie Bistro at Easton Town Center:

(Wow, I look like a wild woman compared to them! Maybe I am - hehe :)

Lisa and I had a chance to practice our rudimentary français - and we did okay. Comme ci, comme ça. Between us, we probably have 12 years of French classes, and all we could do was tell each other we looked good. Well, c'est la vie for image experts! We're so self-congratulatory!!

I did a little shopping at Polaris Mall after the meeting. Nothing too great - I bought an interesting necklace at Forever 21.

Here it is -

Orange and unusual. I had to have it!

I'm such a goofball - I realized how predictable I truly am. I was holding up a leopard print sweater in a mirror to see how it would look on me and I couldn't really tell and I couldn't figure out why. And then - duh! - I realized the leopard print on the sweater was clashing with the leopard print on my jacket.
How silly :P

Well, I've decided that this girl deserves some rest after the wild week. Catch ya later!

Warming Up, Looking totally HOT

We taped our little fashion show extravaganza today for That's Life on Fox-8 at Westfield South Park Mall in Strongsville. That was totally fun. I can try to control these situations as much as possible, but something still always seems to go awry.

This time it wasn't too bad - the Macy's people put two of the models in a different fitting room, so I didn't know they were there. Otherwise, all went smoothly.

You can see us on the show Nov. 16. We'll be on sometime between 10-11am.

Here's me and Q104's Jen Toohey (check out her blog!), who hosted the segment (a fellow JCU gal!).

And here's us with the models.


(L-R) Heidi Hooper, DeLiska McGhee, Jen, Katrina Lallo, me, Candi Bradfield, Tracy Washington

Fun on Friday

Went out last night with fellow image consultant Erica Torres-Dudziak. We started out at D'vine and then went to the Best of Cleveland party at the Map Room. I toasted Kel's birthday with a glass of sangria at D'vine and then a Washington Apple. The latter is my drink of choice in the fall. It just feels like fall to me. I didn't drink enough margaritas this summer, and now it's time for the fall drink already.

I haven't been partying like I should be. This is not good. (I have vowed to make up for it this summer. I have promised myself.)

Saw Kelly Wiggins, who works for Cleveland Magazine, who was throwing the happy hour Map Room event.

Dee didn't show. What's up with that?

Anyway, Erica ate, I drank. It was a good night :)

ALCS :(

Terrible game last night. Groan. Win it already, Tribe!

And happy birthday to Kel in NYC. Love ya, girl!

ClevelandWomen.com Future Leaders

Two Fridays ago, I had the opportunity to return to my alma mater, John Carroll for the inaugural ClevelandWomen.com Future Leaders event.

Here's what it said on the event recap:

Kristen Kaleal, image and style expert for ClevelandWomen.com gave a presentation entitled "Learning to Shine."

Kristen gave fashion and style tips culled from her speaking engagements across the country. Her "Before and After" images and Fall fashion trends drew comment and debate from the excited crowd.

ClevelandWomen.Com and Kristen will be announcing a makeover opportunity for members of the 2007 Future Leaders Class so stay tuned.

(We've been talking about doing ClevelandWomen.com makeovers, so we'll see if that happens.)

Here's a pic of me and Marybeth Mack from Hillcrest Hospital.

Notes from Labor Day

I didn't do too much today. Good thing. I feel like I am getting sick. Thanks, mom. I don't get to see my mom or grandparents terribly often (my fault - they all live less than 10 miles away), but I went out to dinner with them on Friday night. My mom felt a cold coming on, and by last night, I was getting it too. Ugh.

Fast forward to today and I have been drinking tea and eating Cold-eeze like candy. I am trying like crazy to keep it away.

Spoke with LisaMarie tonight. Lots of stuff that makes one want to say "GRRRRR" going on down in Cincy. A little anxiety and frustration. But it's always good to connect with my dear friend. She is one of the few people with whom I actively seek out phone conversations. I know, I'm a girl, right, I'm supposed to love talking on the phone. I am definitely one of the exceptions.

Maybe it's the out of town factor. I had a long conversation with Kel last night because she is far away again. Back at FIT in NYC. When she's here in town, we usually connect over coffee.

I gave her a mantra that she is using in her senior year: Last year, last year, last year (keep repeating...)

She can't wait for this school year to end.

I wish Lisa lived closer. Ugh. Seeing her a handful of times every year just doesn't cut it :(

Look at how cute we are partying it up at Sunset Lounge a couple of weeks ago!
KK & LML: Both born at Fairview General Hospital! A very strange coincidence since Lisa's family is from PA (as is my Gram) and she has lived all her life in Cincinnati! Go figure....

And now back to me actively seeking out video from Dateline: To Catch a Predator online (it's not on right now on MSNBC).

It's not like I have a book or articles to write or anything....disgusting predators come first!

By the way, I have caught a couple of episodes recently of the Style network's "Life in the Fab Lane" with Kimora Lee Simmons.

I find myself disliking her intensely. Part of me says it is just her playing to the cameras, but I really do believe we are seeing her and her world fairly accurately. For all of us future magnates out there, this is clearly NOT the way to behave - whether there are cameras following us around or not. I am all for being rich and fabulous, but I don't think one needs to be a diva and loudmouth to be influential and feel important.

Some of us still respect class and dignity.