HR Trendy: A Day in the Life Sunday

There is something about the number 3. When anything happens to me 3 times it catches my attention. The past 3 months went something like this, I made a decision, someone expressed an opinion and I responded,

"And here I thought I was being trendy."

Not. My personal eye for trend is limited and really, I am hopeless. But, I am getting better with a little help from my friends.

Take a look at the OlovesM yoga mat bags (aka purses). Cute, roomy and durable as all get out. Trendy?

Not. "Buy a real purse and take that one to the gym" is what my dear friends tell me. Is this Michael Kors any better? Does it make my butt look big? Now that I have one, am I HR predictable?

Looking for a gift certificate for one friend on the West Coast, another suggests The Container Store. Now, I've never been to a Container Store myself but if I was a trendy girl, I'd be a customer, right?

Not really. Turns out the nearest store is over an hour away and really not as practical as Target. "We aren't trendy, we're in HR" is what my dear friends tell me.

Looking for new eye glasses, I go straight for the optician certified trendiest pair of Morel's (picture them with black, brown, gold and silver specked rims) in town. The optician said they fit my face and I said they made my nose look big(ger).

There I was, eye to eye with trend and I could not do it. I circled through a ton of frames right back around to Kliik plastics, my tried and true. Where were my dear friends when I needed them?

Hmph. I am slipping on my Fryes, grabbing my iPad and heading to Starbucks accepting that I'm HR, I'm not trendy.

Really, help an out-of-sync HR girl out. What is trendy today?

Photo credit: iStockphoto

Personal Shoppers and Psyches: A Day in the Life Sunday

Years ago, I worked with an image consultant who was tasked with transitioning me <and my closet> from 10 years of camouflage and yoga pants to my new corporate gig in . . .  in 8 hours or less.

Think personal shopper, complete overhaul and a single woman with too much disposable income.  

We started bright and early and purposefully made our way through a small selection of boutiques, designer stores and fashion enclaves in Philadelphia <that would be hard to find for a person less connected> building my new wardrobe. She loved her job and her energy was contagious.

With a smile on my face and my credit card in hand, we didn't stop until I had a new haircut, new glasses and a closet full of new clothes. Think personal colors, designer eye wear and Max Mara.

It was fun.

There's nothing like waking up to a closet full of clothes you love to wear, knowing how make better decisions when shopping and dressing and best of all, feeling more confident and comfortable in your own skin.

Flash forward to today where you find me in the gym locker room utterly annoyed:

Me: This shirt is too freaking big and it won't . . stay. . in. . .my. . pants when I move!

Friend: Don't think of it as big, think of it as . . . blousy, yes, blousy. That's the style these days, you know.

The thing is, I tried the shirt on before I bought it. What size do I think I am anyway? How did I get out of the store with this shirt, in this size and - here's the kicker - with 2 more like it?

As I wake up today with a closet full of nothing to wear, underwhelmed by my clothing choices and lack of shopping savvy and feeling generally blah <and old>, I know that, without a doubt, I want my power and my image consultant (who BTW now provides impression and relationship management programs to businesses) back.

Knowing the shopping spree of long ago is not happening today and short of taking out a second mortgage on the house, how do I reenergize my closet and my psyche?

Do tell, what's worked for you?

Photo credit iStockphoto