Maximizing the pieces in your wardrobe means wearing everything with everything else. But eventually, you will come to a point where you can’t possibly pair two things — a print blouse, say, and a different print skirt. Or CAN you?

Blouse available at Talbots

I love the idea of mixing prints; it gives depth and visual interest to an outfit. But you can’t mix things willy-nilly; you need to have a strategy, otherwise you will look like your kindergartener. Or MY kindergartener (he’s not the snappiest dresser).

When you think about mixing prints, think about three things: color, scale and style.

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Stara has a question about suiting:

As you may have noticed (not at all due to my incessant mentioning of this fact), I am an attorney. And I have been informed by an inside contact that I will likely soon be contacted by an ultra conservative employer regarding an interview. For which I honestly need a new suit. The last “interview” suit I bought was nearly 6 years ago, and it is showing it’s age.

My query is this- I am 27. How do I buy an interview suit that is both job appropriate and does not betray my age? I don’t particularly want to plop down $400 on a suit I will never want to wear again. I’m willing to spend a fair amount of cash so long as it is on something I actually like, and not something I feel forced into buying.

I think Stara has exactly the right attitude here: she wants a suit that will make her look professional and competent, but she doesn’t want to go into the interview pretending to be someone she’s not. And she absolutely wants to come out of this with a new job AND a suit that she can actually WEAR to the new job, something that will work with her current closet.

That sounds like a big request, but it’s actually fairly simple, as long as she keeps a few things in mind as she shops.

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I am a recent college grad who is about to interview for The Dream Job. I
currently work in a call center, where we can wear jeans and non-revealing tops to work. Therefore, my professional wear is limited. I have five button down tops - four are long sleeved, one is short sleeved and came from the junior’s section - but is a color better suited to my skin tone. I have two pair of black slacks and one black jacket, that is nicely fitted. I also have black flats, black pointy kitten heels and animal print flats.

I want to dress to impress, and I need help. I know that I need to nail the interview, but I want to dress for confidence. The interview isn’t until the 17th, so I have plenty of time to prepare and put together the perfect outfit.

Rachael already has some good basics; she’s got a great jacket and terrific shoes. She needs three more pieces to be completely interview ready.

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An embarassingly long time ago, I had this very nice e-mail from Jaime.

I have lately begun to buy all my clothes from the Lands’ End catalog because it makes dressing myself a total no-brainer in the morning. (I am not a morning person and neither are my two girls, ages 1 and 3.) Plus–I’m embarrassed to admit this–but I HATE to shop. Yikes! I know–I am so missing the girlie genes! So, I have ended up with a closet full of Lands End’s 7-day chinos and button down collar dress shirts in all colors. Sort of like a guy’s closet. Occasionally I will throw on a dress from J.Crew just to shake things up a little. I work in the local Farm Bureau office, so I don’t need to “dress up” very much. I also am completely hopeless with the iron, so clothing that doesn’t need pressing is very appealing to me. Especially since we don’t have a dry cleaners here in the small town where I live. (I am in a very rural part of Missouri.)

What can I do to make my wardrobe more “girlie” without losing any of the versatility that I have now? I frequently walk or bike the 2 miles to work. I would like to add accessories, but I’m clueless about what kind. I don’t own any belts and I almost never wear earrings or even a watch–mostly because I never know what to buy. I get sort of overwhelmed anytime I step near a jewelry counter.

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