Monique Marco

Style Savvy Testimonial I

I always admire people who speak in front of a crowd so effortlessly.

It was a good presentation. I think your fees are very reasonable. I will keep you in mind if I hear of anyone who needs your services. It was great that you made us put down what we thought was our best feature. It was also nice to hear the from the inside out.

If you had more time…you could talk more about how you do people’s colors and if there is a certain theory you follow.

You were very bright and energetic and fun….which translates into people having a good time while you are going through their closets!

Look forward to seeing you again

all the best
Claudia

This past week, along with Monica Rayes, of the SBDC in Santa Monica, I presented a talk entitled,
“Savvy Style to Promote Your Profession”. Wow, what a motivated, stylish and creative group of
women. There was such a great energy and enthusiasm for being entrepreneurial, nobody needed
encouragement to connect and network.

Yet despite all this overflowing talent and professionalism, I noticed an interesting and disappointing yet
not surprising reaction to a self-love exercise I gave them.

At the beginning of the talk I passed out lavender paper heart cut-outs and asked each woman to write
down her favorite body part or feature on one side and her name on the other. Some asked “Whose body part/
feature?” I clarified, “Not what you like about our waiter! Or someone else. YOUR own body part!” Some others
said disappointingly “Really? Um, I don’t know. I’m not sure”.

I noticed it took a little while for a few to think of something. I encouraged them to write two or three if they could.
At the end I read all of the hearts out loud and only one woman out of 15 listed three body part/features she loved.
Imagine all of these driven, successful beautiful women and yet for some it was a challenge to come up with just one thing
they loved, let alone three! Sadly I have a feeling this is a typical response from women and I’m encouraging
women I work with to really love themselves from the inside out and celebrate their fabulousness.

Learn how to green your style and you’ll conserve everyone’s resources. Here are some top tips:

• Put some soul into your sole- re-heel and re-sole your shoes as soon as you buy them
• Shop in your own closet first
• Re-purpose, repair, redesign and tailor your clothing (just changing buttons can have a major impact)
  
• Swap and shop with friends
• Go green and buy second hand and vintage first. Then buy organic, Fair Trade or sustainable fashion
• Selection, not acquisition- plan ahead and carefully think about what you need. Invest in the best and choose wisely, buy quality before quantity and before trendy

Physically, dress for who you are RIGHT NOW! Don’t get hung up on the size of your clothing. What’s most important is how your clothing fits. A perfect fit is like a secret weapon, it makes you look fitter, more stylish and highly professional. But spiritually and emotionally dress for the FUTURE! Dress for who you want to be and where you want to go in your career and your life.

Yup, it’s true people are looking at you. They hear what you say and how you say it, but non-verbal cues count even more. A UCLA study about effective communication concluded the following:

• 55% of communication is non-verbal
  
• 38% of communication is how you say it
• 7%  of communication is actually what you say

So take advantage of this knowledge and learn how to visually present yourself in the best way possible by understanding who you are and how to enhance your assets.

Positively Green Launches New Magazine, We Gush // Archives // ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip.

Stain removers are key in a busy fashionista’s life and I need to find a great eco-friendly version. So, please help! I recently had a mishap with a sun-dried tomato and olive tapenade which leaked out of my lunch bag, in my backpack, all over the bum of my, yes, WHITE linen skort. Disaster!! Well, I used Goo Be Gone with repeated applications and miraculously it was virtually gone. But I felt guilty using a chemical stain remover, even though it was an emergency. So I believe in it, but I’m hoping to find an alternative. It’s definitely a worthy quest…

Last week I went to a launch party for the new magazine, “Positively Green”. It’s a positively super idea, because the more green media, the better, I say. It’s not a fashion magazine per se, <boo- hoo > but more of a general green lifestyle magazine. It’s meant to appeal to the average American and I think it will, because it’s certainly not edgy or radical, but that’s the point I guess! It’s just about everyday green living for everyone…

I liked the green fashion section, as it showed highly wearable ensembles and showcased green fashion as modern and classy, not crunchy or hippie. Some of my favorite featured brands were, Emily Katz, Charmone, and Terra Plana. I especially like Terra Plana shoes because they look good and are really comfortable- you can walk NYC blocks in those shoes, which is always my litmus test.

There was also a profile on Deborah Lindquist, who is one of the front runners in the eco-fashion movement. I know Deborah personally and can say that she is highly creative and innovative, plus her new shop in North Hollywood, CA is a cozy little place decked out in some items from her own home.

What does “sustainable” mean? There are many different organizations that have defined it, but the basic idea is a resource that is renewable and can be produced continually without depleting it.

How do I relate this to fashion? In terms of “sustainable style”, consider my philosophy, “selection, not acquistion“. This is part of my ecoLove program and means that you should carefully select what you want to wear according to your lifestyle, hair and eye color, skintone, body type, budget and what already exists in your wardrobe. If you can buy clothing that is recycled, Fair Trade or made from organic fabric, that’s fabulous, but it’s icing on the cake.

“Selection, not acquisition” means you should make deliberate and thoughtful purchases and not randomly buy clothing just because it’s on sale or buy it on a whim. Go for absolute quality and even invest in expert tailoring so you can wear items for a long time. Clothing that perfectly suits you in every way and integrates seamlessly into your wardrobe is a green choice, because it’s sustainability will be proven over time.

Gucci Spring 2009 Men’s: Menswear Fashion Collections on men.style.com

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