By Martha Thomas
Karen Lucas always loved fashion. Her mother worked as a fashion illustrator and would take her daughter shopping on Friday afternoons. After getting a degree in textiles and apparel, Lucas worked in retail, but the
stores “kept going out of business,” she says. So Lucas opted for job security by going back to school for a second bachelor’s in systems management and got a job with the federal government.
Since retiring in 2013 from her job as deputy director at the Department of Agriculture, Lucas has plunged back into her passion by starting a small business. Your Style IQ helps women to edit, organize and accessorize their wardrobes.
“Women may have a lot of pieces in their closet, but only know how to put them together in one way,” she says. “I encourage them to mix and match. That’s where we begin.”
Last summer, Lucas helped me to pack for a vacation I was planning with my new beau. The trip would include time on the coast of Maine – with kayaking, hiking and porch sitting – as well as a few days in Quebec City, Canada, where we’d dine out, visit museums and explore. Weather was unpredictable.
Lucas assessed my clothing, began placing tank tops with skirts, layered with light cotton blouses and wraps. She’d switch out a pair of white slacks or jeans, pair the tank with hiking shorts. “If you press your pants with a crease, they always look dressy,” she told me. She dug through my jewelry box to unearth whimsical costume jewelry, laying pieces on the outfits.
By the end of our session, I had assembled a handful of mix-and-match pieces, plus one dressy dress for a big night out in Quebec City. Everything (along with shoes and toiletries) fit neatly into my medium-sized suitcase. “It’s not about volume,” she told me, “but about how many ways you can wear it.” With one additional purchase – a maxi skirt Lucas suggested, sending me a link to one at Nordstrom Rack the following day – I felt as if I had a new, workable wardrobe. The maxi, it turned out, was perfect for both porch sitting and restaurant eating.
Lucas offers several services; the most popular is Let’s go Shopping in your Closet ($225 for a 3-hour session). During this session, she will review with you the best styles for your body type and then show you how to use what is already in your closet to create new outfits. See yourstyleiq.com.
Coco Chanel invented the Little Black Dress in 1926, dubbed by French Vogue as “Chanel’s Ford” for its practicality and marketability. She is credited with popularizing the concept of costume jewelry in the 1920s, with her seasonal jewelry that mixed fake pearls with real stones. When Coco passed away in 1971 at age 88, only three outfits were found in her Rue Cambon apartment in Paris.
From 40plusstyle.com and teacupsandcouture.com
According to a study by Frank Bernieri, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology at Oregon State University, an interviewer will assess whether or not you’re right for the job within 10 seconds. The polished and pulled together are more likely to be hired than those who are perceived as putting in less effort.
According to Planet Aid, each person in the U.S. throws away 68 pounds of clothing, shoes and textiles every year.
