SAVING CLOSET ORPHANS FROM THE DONATION BOX

The second meeting of the Fashion Club was held on October 5th at Talbots with 14 women in attendance.   Our topic was Closet Orphans; clothing  items that hang in your closet unworn because you are unsure of how to style them. The stylists at Talbots provided many ideas on new and different ways to wear our closet orphans using clothing that members brought from their own closets.  Everyone was amazed by Talbot stylists Cathy and Joan's creativity in putting together colors, fabrics and prints.   The presentation started off with a yellow jacket that I had picked as one of my favorite pieces from the new fall collection (jacket below).  Cathy and Joan  showed us how the jacket can be worn for a casual or dressy style.  Each look was totally different all while using the same jacket.  They proceeded to do the same with tweed pants while also explaining the different pant fits Talbots offers.  Moving onto closet orphans we saw them transform a light green/creme/grey wool jacket into a wardrobe foundation piece by pairing it with a great grey cotton sweater and grey pants.   An animal print pullover sweater was updated  by putting a crisp white blouse under it and popping the collar and cuffs. A patent leather bow belt in either black or the unexpected pink would add another dimension to the look.  A crepe accordion pleated black skirt with an attached pink gross grain belt was instantly transformed from an orphan to a "cannot wait to wear it" w/the simple addition of a white blouse (the one they recommended had pearl buttons which just added a extra special touch to the outfit) that highlighted the pink belt and pleats in the skirt. Another member brought in a brown/white/black tweed vest with fur trim that she had in her closet for at least a year and had never worn.  It was paired with a simple black sweater dress with 3/4 sleeves and became a stunning look. A member pointed out it could also go over a more casual chocolate brown cotton dress for a totally different but equally wearable look.  We learned not only how to wear our own closet orphans but also new ways to wear many other wardrobe pieces, both old and new. 

Talbots mustard yellow jacket

Talbots pants, Hollywood fit