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Have you ever added up the cost
of the clothing that hangs unworn in the back
of your closet? The amount of money is scary
isn’t it? Yet, I bet you never went into a
store and said “Give me something ugly to buy?”
No, of course you didn’t. Yet if you are like
the typical woman you only wear approximately
20 to 30% of your wardrobe.
It’s time to evaluate your
clothing and end Closet Guilt! You need a
full length mirror. Take one outfit at a
time. Is the color flattering? If the answer
is no, evaluate it. Can you wear it with a
scarf that would bring a more flattering color
near your face? If the answer is no again –
get rid of it. You can fix a lot of things but
color isn’t one of them.
If it is one size too tight,
take it out of your everyday closet and store
it until you have lost weight. On the other
hand if the item is too large, then examine it
closely. Is it made of good fabric? Do you
like the style and color? Does it go with
other things in your closet? If the answer to
all of these questions is yes then consider if
the alterations to fix it would cost less than
half the price of a new garment? If the answer
is no (except for a sentimental attachment),
get rid of it!
The hardcore problems are the
outfits that have a great color and fabric but
you just don’t “feel” right when you wear them.
Most likely the proportion is wrong for your
body. Compare the unworn clothing to your
favorites. What is the same and what is
different?
In
art class they teach that
the perfectly proportioned figure is eight
head lengths long. Of course each designer has
his or her own standard.
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For one, the perfect
model might be 5 foot 6 inches for another 5
foot 8 inches and so forth. No wonder clothing
sizes between designers vary.
In an art class I tried to
paint a life size portrait of myself for my
mother. I had a friend measure my head,
stretched out the canvas and measured out 8
head lengths. The only problem was that the
body in the sketch was 5 foot 7 inches but I
was only 5 foot 2 inches!
Immediately, I realized that
those missing 5 inches were the reason that
clothes didn’t look as good on me as they did
on the models in magazines. Since figures and
clothing have similar math components I set
about trying to develop a mathematical formula
which would put clothing in perfect proportion
for my figure. It took about a year and a half
but finally I had it. I knew the exact
mathematical hem lines for skirts, dresses,
shorts, capris, jacket lengths for me! When I
tried the formula on my friend’s measurements
it worked for them as well without fail.
Although I didn’t know it at
the time, the results of the formula are
independent of weight gain and loss. Thirty-five
years later, although I am heavier my vertical
measurements are the same. After I retired
from a successful corporate career, I joined
in partnership with Kathy McFadden to form
Pivotal Impressions and help every woman look
her best through linear proportion. End Closet
Guilt forever!
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