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Beauty & Wardrobe by Nancy Goldblatt, Color 1, Personal Image Consultant

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Personal Image Consulting

Nothing to Wear Panic When You Are Getting Ready to Go Out

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What happens when you get invited to a special event?

After you get all “dolled up,” do you look in the mirror and realize you look awful?

  • Does your outfit cling to your body revealing every bulge?

  • Do you look tired, old or washed out?

  • Maybe you don’t know what’s wrong.

But you feel, you look bad.

If you leave your home looking like this, everyone will think, 

              “That poor woman, is over the hill.”

Will they

        Feel sorry for you…

        Talk about you…

                  or

         Avoid you…

You say to yourself…

 “I must find something else to wear.”

  • You go to your closet and begin desperately searching.

  • Before you know it, you have pulled out more than half the clothes in your closet.

  • Clothes are piled everywhere and now you are running late.

  • Still you haven’t found the right outfit to wear.

Your heart starts beating faster and you are perspiring profusely as your panic builds.

  • If you have straight hair it’s hanging limp and wet.

  • If you have curly hair, it has frizzed up into a wild mass, from perspiration.

Your carefully made up face, is now red and blotchy and your makeup has melted away.

You are a wild woman, as you vainly pull more and more pieces of clothing out of your closet and drawers.

The friend waiting for you outside in the car has begun to impatiently honk the horn.

Or the phone is ringing and the hostess is asking,

   “What’s going on, why aren’t you here yet?”

You are in fight or flight mode and can’t talk.

You think to yourself,

   ”I  must find something to wear fast.”

Do you put on that original outfit again and force yourself to leave the house?

Will you hide in a corner, hoping others don’t notice that you are looking fat or frumpy?

Because this has happened before, you know you will be miserable, if you don’t find something to wear that makes you look and feel good.

Do you give up in disgust and call the hostess and say,

  “I’m too sick to attend.”

Now you really do feel sick, as your heart beats faster, panic is racing through your body and you can’t stop perspiring.

Maybe your problem isn’t a special event

Maybe it’s facing your closet everyday.

Do you dread trying to find something to wear to work?

Because

  • You have gained weight.

  • Your shape has changed.

  • Your “old faithfuls,” are threadbare.

  • Or you have a closet stuffed with separates but nothing matches.

Is there something you can do to avoid all of this?

You can call in sick, and hide out while you exercise like crazy, lose a few pounds and then spend lots of money on new clothes.

Even with exercise, weight loss, and new clothes, you will face the same problem, if you don’t learn what colors and styles really flatter you.

You can’t depend on the fashion industry for accurate information on how to choose flattering clothes and accessories.

They are not in the business of teaching you how to understand your unique style.

They want to sell you the latest clothes and accessories.

There is a solution

You can learn to be your own Personal Image Consultant.

Imagine…

  • Having a closet full of mix and match clothes that all look great on you.

Imagine… 

  • Going shopping and knowing what to buy and what to avoid.

This won’t take thousands of dollars or years to do.

You don’t even have to wait till you lose weight to start looking and feeling better.

And you don’t have to buy a whole new wardrobe of clothes.

You can learn to shop your closet and use what you already have. 

Are you ready to learn to be your own “Image Consultant,” and say goodbye to the panic of “Nothing to Wear”?

_______________________________________________________

Contact Personal Image Consultant, Nancy Goldblatt, the “Wardrobe Wizard,” for a 20 minute, no obligation, telephone conversation to see if her reasonably priced services are right for you. 

During this conversation, besides a needs assessment, she will give you a brief guided imagery test to help you determine your “inner fashion personality.”  By learning about your “fashion personality,” you will be able to avoid purchasing styles you don’t feel comfortable in.  

This is the first step in becoming your own Personal Image Consultant. 

No need to live in Baltimore, Md.  Nancy can now do virtual consults online.  Set up an appointment for a complimentary telephone consult to find out how this works.  Of course, Nancy is still available in-person for women in Baltimore and surrounding areas.

Contact: Nancy@WardrobeWiz.com, 410-513-9496, blog.wardrobewiz.com

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Nancy Goldblatt, “The Wardrobe Wizard,” is a “Color 1,” Personal Image Consultant who specializes in working with “women baby-boomers.” whose size and shape has changed and who have too many clothes and “nothing to wear.” After a woman works with “The Wardrobe Wizard,” she will have a wallet of her best colors and styles, and a pared down closet.   She will have learned how to mix and match her best looks so she can get dressed “lickety split,” and look great everyday.

“The Wardrobe Wizard,” also works with younger women and is available to work with men.  She was trained by Joanna Nicholson, founder of Color 1 Associates an International Image & Style Company and has over 20 years of experience as a Personal Image Consultant.

Contact her at Nancy@wardrobewiz.com or 410-513-9496

 

– See more at: http://blog.wardrobewiz.com/nothing-to-wear-panic/#sthash.kr0bVDI3.dpuf

What Did You Learn From Your Mother About Your Appearance?

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Nancy, Wardrobe Wizard

I wonder how many of you were affected by the way your mother felt about her appearance.

Even if your mother did not talk about how she felt about her looks, she may have communicated her insecurities by the way she behaved.

I remember going to the grocery store with my mother when I was a young child.  If she glimpsed a neighbor or friends she would grab my hand and duck down another aisle to avoid them.  She told me this was because she did not have time to stand and chat.  As I got older, she admitted to me that she didn’t want to chat because she did not feel she looked her best.

As a young child, I did not understand my mother’s behavior. When  I became an adolescent I began to understand her behavior when I started having some of the same feelings.

My mother was a beautiful woman, but she did not feel beautiful. She felt her nose was too big and she hated her freckled skin.  She envied her friends who could lay out in the sun until their skin turned leathery brown. Even though she had dark brown hair, she had the skin of a red head. When she tried to lay in the sun, thinking her freckles would blend together to give her a tan, she got sun poisoning.   Ironically, because she had to stay out of the sun, as she got older, her skin stayed beautiful as her friends grew more wrinkled.

They say it’s not what our parents say but what they do that affects us.’

For me it was what my mother said and what she did.  She was highly critical of her own appearance and my appearance.  When I was about 6 years old, I was invited to my best friends ballet recital.  I did not go because I got a stomach ache.   That stomach ache felt real at the time, but I realize now, looking back, that underneath the stomach ache was anxiety because I felt I did not have anything to wear that I felt I looked good in. As I got older, I turned down many invitations, because I felt I did not have anything to wear.

When I became an adult, if I could not avoid going to a special event, I would look in my closet and feel panicked because my “old faithful’s,” were too raggedy to wear.

So I would go out and feel desperate as I shopped for something to wear for the special occasion.  When I did go to the event, I felt self conscious and did not enjoy myself because I felt fat and frumpy.  I would often find myself comparing the way I looked to the way the other women looked.

  I wonder if any of you can relate to this?

I discovered after I got trained as an image consultant that I have the most challenging body shape to dress.

Even when I weighed 112 pounds, I felt I looked fat because I have narrow  hips and a proportionally wide waistline and midsection. ( If you happen to have this body shape, you need to wear tops with undefined waistlines.)  It was hard for me to find clothes that looked good on me because

I did not really understand my body shape or the colors that flattered me.

No matter how much I dieted, my waist stayed wide because of my bone structure.   Because I did not understand which styles or colors were flattering, it would take me forever to find one thing that looked ok and fit me.  Frequently if I found one piece that looked good, there would be nothing to match it and it would just hang in my closet unworn.

Nancy at 112 pounds and still feeling fat

Something  magical happened to me when I learned what silouettes worked best on my body shape and what my most flattering colors were.

Shopping got easier and putting myself together became a breeze.  As I got more and more compliments about my appearance, some of those old feelings of self consciousness and “not looking good enough,” began to melt away.

When I have an important event to go to or I am invited out now, I still have a flash of panic, but it only lasts for a few seconds.

Then I remember that I have the knowledge to put myself together and look good.  When I leave my house, I no longer feel self conscious because I am confident that I know what looks good on me no matter what my shape or weight.

Even if you did not have a self conscious, critical mother or body shape challenges, some of you may be experiencing body shape challenges as you have gotten older.

 Do you understand your body shape and the styles of clothing that most flatter your body?  

Do you know what shades of color really flatter you?

 Do you understand your “Fashion Personality,” and how that affects what you feel comfortable wearing?

What are you doing as you get older to continue presenting the best version of yourself?  I would love to hear from you.  Please feel free to comment.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Are you ready to save lots of money and look great everyday?  To far away to meet in person.  Think you might be interested in an Online Wardrobe Makeover? Call or e-mail to set up a Complimentary 25 minute telephone consult.  The telephone consult I am currently offering is FREE, with no obligation, but I only have a few of these slots available each week.   The purpose of the telephone consult is to help you determine what your fashion personality is and to help me better understand what your needs  are.    Say goodbye to those, “Nothing to wear moments.” 

Nancy@WardrobeWiz.com, 410-513-9496,  WWW.WardrobeWiz.com

 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nancy Goldblatt, “The Wardrobe Wizard,” is a “Color 1,” Personal Image Consultant who specializes in working with mid-life women whose size and shape has changed and who have too many clothes and “nothing to wear.” After a woman works with “The Wardrobe Wizard,”she will have a wallet of her best colors and styles, and a pared down closet.   She will learn how to mix and match her best looks so she can get dressed “lickety split,” and look great everyday.

“The Wardrobe Wizard,” also works with younger women and is available to work with men.  She was trained by Joanna Nicholson, founder of Color 1 Associates an International Image & Style Company.


 

 

Get Your Closet Ready To Be Shopped, 10 Easy Steps

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Nancy Goldblatt, "The Wardrobe Wizard of Baltimore," Color 1, Personal Image Consultant

 

Is your closet dark and so crowded with clothes that you can’t really see what’s in there? Do you have wire hangers mixed in with plastic hangers  hanging in different directions?  If you have “huggable hangers,” in matching colors, congratulations.

In order to “shop your closet,” you need to clean your closet out first.  Here are 10 easy steps you can take to get your closet ready to be “shopped.”

1. Install a light in your closet so you can see what you have. If there is a fixture someplace for a bulb put one in.  If there is no fixture for a bulb you can install a battery operated light. You can purchase LED battery  operated lights that last a long time.  Battery operated lights for your closet will run you anywhere from $12 to $26.  Go to Amazon.com/ for some choices.  Also,if you room lighting is dim, get a few full spectrum bulbs and put them in table lamps or purchase one or two OTT lights, either desk type style or floor models.  JoAnn Fabrics frequently has them on sale and you can find some good prices online also.

2. Once you have enough light to see what you have, its time to go exploring.  Set aside a few hours to do this exploring.

3.  If you don’t have a portable hanging clothes rack, use a bed or table. Recently, my friend Joy told me about a product she likes a lot that she purchased at QVC called the “Hang Up.”  Its a portable, collapsible rod with 3 arms. (You can use it for storing, drying and sorting clothes.)  Each arm holds a minimum of 30 hangers.  You can get two for $58.26.  The number is M12586 at QVC.com

4. You will need 6 boxes or 6 large garbage bags. Label them, “give away or consign,” “repair or alter,” “needs washing or cleaning,” ” too big or small” “sentimental keepsake,”  and “never worn.”  (Most women have three sizes of clothes in their closets.  Unless you plan to lose or gain a lot of weight, I suggest you only keep clothes that are no more than one size too small or too large.)

5.  The too big or small clothes,” can be stored away for now. You can separate these items into two plastic boxes labeled “too big,” and one labeled “too small.”  If and when you gain or lose weight you can go through these boxes.

6. You can review the clothing that needs washing or cleaning now or later.

7.  Try on the repair or alter items to see if they truly are worth repairing or altering.

8.  Give away items that you can not consign can go to a friend or to Goodwill or Amvets.  If you donate and itemize you can deduct this from your income taxes.

9.  The “sentimental keepsakes,” are items you can’t bear to part with.  Store them in a covered labeled container.

10.  The “never worn items,” need to be evaluated for why you have never worn them. Are they orphans waiting for a second piece? Try to determine why you have not worn the item.  If you think you will never wear it, take it to a consignment shop or donate it and get a tax write off.

You are now ready to evaluate what’s left in your closet. (There may not be much left.) What’s left is probably your “old faithful clothes,” that you wear regularly.  Also, you may have a few “million dollar looks,” in your closet. What is a “million dollar look”? You always get compliments when you wear the piece or outfits.  Because you look terrific, you  feel extremely confident when you wear it.

Are you still unsure what to let go of or what you need to add to fill in the gaps in your wardrobe? You can try on everything left in your closet on and do the “Blink Test,” see Blog “Do You Feel Like A Beauty or A Beast?”  Part 2. http://wardrobewiz.com/?p=1880/

Are you still unsure what is really flattering? Wondering what you need to add to look current.  Tired of wasting time and money on clothes that don’t work for you?  Want more “million dollar looks,” in your closet?

Time to contact the Wardrobe Wizard, Nancy Goldblatt, at Nancy@WardrobeWiz.com or call 410-513-9496. Personal Image Consultant.  She is a Color 1 Associate, with over 20 years of experience helping women whose size and shape has changed, to shop in their closets.  She is now offering online consulting to long distance customers.   WWW.WardrobeWiz.com. 410-513-9496, Nancy@WardrobeWiz.com/

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Wardrobe Clutter: Why Do You Have So Many Unworn Clothes?

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Nancy Goldblatt, "The Wardrobe Wizard of Baltimore,"

 

Why do you have so many unworn pieces of clothing? ( Part 1 of 2 parts)

When I was a little girl, I secretly believed I was a princess.   I was very “sensitive,” and when the school librarian read, ‘The Princess and the Pea,’ to us, I knew I must  be a princess in disguise.

When I was twenty years old, many years before I became an Image Consultant, that little girl part of me that still believed I was a princess in disguise finally found “the dress.”  I was living in Chicago and I spotted the dress in Marshall Fields.   I bought it thinking I would lose a few pounds and be transformed by the dress.  I put it on many times, but when I looked in the mirror, I had to take it off.  I was never able to wear it out of the house.

Maybe some of you can relate to this. I called it my princess dress because it reminded me of the dress Disney’s princess in the Sleeping Beauty movie wore.  It was a dark blue velvet dress, with princess darts and a deep v neckline.  “Princess Fiona,” from the movie Shrek wore a similar  dress.

I loved that dress but it did not love me.   In my “princess dress,” I looked more like the version of  Princess Fiona after she kissed Shrek and turned into an Ogre.

The dress was my size, but even after I toned up with exercise, I never looked good in it.   It hung in my closet for several years unworn. Finally, I gave it to a friend who was the same height and weight as me.   The minute she pulled it over her head she looked fabulous in it.  She looked like a ” true princess,” in the dress.

Why did it look so wonderful on her and so terrible on me?

Let me help you answer this.  The answer is shape. The dress was shaped like my friend who had a small waist and wide hips.  I have narrow hips and a wide rib cage.  Even at my thinnest, because of the structure of my bones, my waist was never small.  The dress hid my narrow parts and emphasized my wide parts.  The dress complimented my friends shape because it was shaped like her.

Here is a simple but important rule to remember.   Buy clothing that widens where you widen and narrows where you narrow.  (This rule can also be applied to buying shoes.)

Most women wear only 20 % of what they own.  So how many items do you own that you do not wear?  Do you find yourself putting something on and taking it off ?

Why can’t you wear it?   There  are 7 reasons why you can’t wear it.     to find out see part 2 “Why Do You Have So Many Unworn Clothes?” and discover some possible solutions.

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Nancy Goldblatt, Wardrobe Wizard of Baltimore, is a Color 1 Associate.  For over twenty years, she has been helping women whose size and shape has changed, to shop their closets.

 She specializes in color analysis , and  face and body shape analysis.   After a client works with “The Wardrobe Wizard”,  she will have a pared down closet with “mix and match pieces,” and the ability to put her own best looks together.

Nancy works with clients in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area as well as long distance customers.  She can now do online consults.  To find out more: Contact the Wardrobe Wizard at nancy@wardrobewiz.com/ or call 410-513-9496 for a complimentary, no obligation 20 minute telephone consultation to discover your fashion personality and find out what “The Wardrobe Wizard,” can do for you.

 

 

 


Do You Have Gremlins, That Prevent You From Following Your Dreams? I Did

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Nancy Goldblatt, “The Wardrobe Wizard of Baltimore,” Color 1 Associate

Do you have dreams of things you want to do but  your automatic negative thoughts have prevented you from following through?

  I call these  automatic negative thoughts, gremlins.    For over 10 years I thought about becoming an Image Consultant and my “gremlins,” almost prevented me from following my dream.

Here is the story of how I overcame (my gremlins) those negative beliefs we all have, that prevent us from following our dreams.

Perhaps my story will encourage you to become aware of, and tame the gremlins that are preventing you from following your dreams.

My passion has always been to help people make the most of their strengths and overcome their challenges.

My challenge, since I was a little girl, was feeling self-conscious about my appearance.

I believe this was related to my mother being very critical of herself and me, her oldest daughter. Maybe some of you can relate to this.

The way I dealt with my challenge, was to seek information in self-help books.

I devoured psychology books on self esteem and books on improving how I looked.

In the early 1980’s I thought I found a “pot of gold,” when I learned wearing the right colors could make me appear more attractive and make it easier to shop.  I read about various color analysis systems, but they all seemed too difficult for me to understand and the trainings were expensive and too far away.

The more I read about appearance and its effects on self esteem, the more I thought about becoming an image consultant.

But a little voice inside kept repeating,” You can’t be an image consultant, because  you are not tall, or thin and you don’t look like a model.”

The first time I read Joanna Nicholson’s book “Color Wonderful,” I did not fully understand the Color 1 system of color analysis.

When I took this book out of the library a second time, I read it more thoroughly and the “Color 1 ” approach began making sense to me.

I found a 1-800 number at the end of the book and discovered “Color 1” was located only one hour away from me and a training was scheduled in a few weeks.

This was in 1990.   I had been working with psychiatric patients at a half-way house for over 9 years.

Just as I was starting to feel “burnt out,” I got laid off.  While I was trying to determine how I could use my skills in a new career, I joined a “Master-Mind Group.”

I had been telling the Master-Mind group about my “ideal career.”  I told them,” I don’t want to just sell makeup, or just be a personal shopper, I want to do it all.”

I wanted to use all my skills, from my 3 previous careers as a teacher, photographer and social worker to become a “holistic image consultant” and help my clients to learn to love how they looked.

But those little gremlins in my head kept saying to me,”Who do you think you are. You are short, plump and too old to become an image consultant.”

 (I was in my forties by this time) “How can you help others to love the way they look, when you don’t even love the way you look.”

 I felt defeated by my inner gremlins.  I decided I would give up my dream of becoming an image consultant.   I would not be signing up for the “Color 1” training.

Fortunately, my “Master-Mind” group had  been listening to me and they were  ready to tame my gremlins. 

They reminded me of what I had been telling them. “The Color 1 training sounds exactly like what you have been telling us you want to do, and you have the time and money to do it now.  If you don’t do it now, when will you do it.“

That last sentence still echos in my head now, when I put off doing something I really want.“If you don’t do it now, when will you do it.” My gremlins were outnumbered and the rest is history.

 

Wardrobe Wizard doing a makeover at On Purpose Networking, Dec 2010

It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.  An amazing transformation took place both inside and outside of me, when I took the “Color 1,” training and learned that I didn’t have to be tall, young or thin to look good.

Looking good is about looking visually balanced. This is done by understanding how to combine your best color clarities, choosing flattering styles of clothing for your shape and using accessories in a way that makes your head and body look balanced.

As I learned to make the most of my own appearance, and learned to like how I looked, my self consciousness slowly began to disappear.

I have been able to say goodbye to the panic of those “nothing to wear moments,” and  I have helped hundreds of women over the last 20 years to do the same.

How do I work with clients now? The first thing I do is try to understand a clients fashion personality and their figure or size challenges.  I also take into consideration budget, lifestyle and age.   So I can reach out to more women, I have been writing a blog.  Now I am able to do image consulting over the internet.

Want more information about the Color 1 approach?

Purchase Joanna Nicholson’s most recent books, “Dressing Smart for Women,” and “Dressing Smart for Men,”  from Leslie Stott, the color lady  at Leslie@thecolorlady.com

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Think you might be ready for a virtual makeover?  It doesn’t matter where you live. Nancy is now able to do makeovers virtually.  Contact her at 410-513-9496 or write to her at Nancy@wardrobewiz.com for more information.

Nancy Goldblatt, “The Wardrobe Wizard of Baltimore,”and Color 1 Associate, specializes in working with mid-life women whose size or shape has changed and who have lots of clothes and nothing to wear.  She also works with younger women, as well as men.  Contact her at Nancy@wardrobewiz.com or 410-513-9496, her website is WWW.WardrobeWiz.com