Motel Pansy Dress, $89

Golden Tier Dress, $24.80

Adrianna Papell Beaded Sheath Dress, $298

Silk Tunic With Print, $89.90

Motel Gina Dress, $88

**I purchased the Motel Pansy Dress online for New Years Eve. I’ll let you know if it’s as cute in person.

Edit by Lauren is offering an Early-Spring Special:: Book and pre-pay for a service in March or April and receive $75 off (applies to individual services, not packages.) Purchase any of Edit’s already-discounted Style Packages and receive a $50 Stella & Dot Jewelry Gift Certificate! (Pre-paid services can be redeemed anytime within a year of purchase.)

Not in the Atlanta area? Not a problem! Edit travels nationally…email Lauren at lauren@editbylauren.com for information about Edit coming to you!

Stylishly yours, Lauren www.editbylauren.com

A few tips::

1. Banish each and every item in your wardrobe that you don’t feel fabulous wearing. The ho-hum pieces we struggle to get rid of usually wind up becoming significant stumbling blocks as we get dressed each day. Our eyes inevitably are drawn to these lack-luster items first, focusing on the things we don’t like or feel good in and leading us to the dreadful “I-have-nothing-to wear” syndrome!

2. For every new item you bring into your wardrobe, get rid of another item. Try to eliminate a similar item to the new one you just purchased. For instance, get a new denim jacket that you absolutley love? Then maybe it’s best to retire your past jacket. Buy a few black tee or turtleneck? Since you don’t need two alike, donate the older one.

3. Commit to stop buying items this New Year just because they are on sale or a good deal! Instead of purchasing lots of sale items, take the same amount of money and invest in a smaller amount of quality items. This is particularly important to do for those everyday essentials that you find yourself wearing all the time. Develop a “wish list” of the pieces you’ve been eyeing for months or maybe even years. Maybe it’s a pair of designer jeans. Maybe a pair of Tory Burch flats. Maybe it’s that Coach purse. Whatever it is, big or small, it’s worth saving for. It’s far better to have one pair of jeans that you absolutely LOVE and feel amazing wearing than multiple mediocre pairs.

Since there’s just something about a third-party (and one that isn’t a family member or a close friend) that enables us to be more receptive to critique and honest truth, it’s often extremely tough to take the above steps without the help of a professional.

Consider hiring Edit by Lauren to help get your new year started off on the right foot. Edit by Lauren will develop your personal style, keeping it in line with your unique life style and budget and set you on a path of making smart purchase decisions for the new year. A client recently said this:: “Lauren was like having your best friend come in and tell you what you needed to hear in a really fun way!”

Take advantage of Edit’s Fabulous January Special:: Purchase an Edit Your Wardrobe Consult and receive 2 hours of personal shopping, that can be redeemed anytime! That’s a $200 value, free! (Services must by paid for in the month of January and can be redeemed anytime.)

Not in the Atlanta area? Edit by Lauren is now offering Virtual Consultations. For just $75, you will receive an hour phone consult, a virtual consult and a comprehensive Style File emailed to you, articulating a detailed shopping list plus style tips developed just for you! This can save you loads of money! In the words of a new client, Jennifer, whom I recently worked with, “The ‘Style File’ is  SO helpful! Lauren told me which stores to hit and exactly what to buy. In the long run, using Lauren will save us tons of money because I’m not running in the mall, clueless buying something I may or may not wear a few times that essentially goes with nothing that I already own.”

Contact Lauren at lauren@editbylauren.com with questions or to reserve your consult today!

Stylishly yours, Lauren www.editbylauren.com

]]> http://editbylauren.com/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new/feed/ 0 http://editbylauren.com/what-women-want-this-valentines-day/ http://editbylauren.com/what-women-want-this-valentines-day/#comments Tue, 10 Feb 2009 22:36:00 +0000 lauren http://editbylauren.com/wordpress/what-women-want-this-valentines-day/
Edit by Lauren has recently partnered with personal trainer, Lisa Culling, owner of Make Healthy Choices! It only makes sense that many of Edit’s clients desire more lean, toned bodies to showcase their stylish clothes and I couldn’t be more confident to refer my clients to Lisa. What makes Lisa unique is that she offers in-home personal training for women-only. The implications of this “in-home” service are plentiful: 1. Lisa brings the gym equipment to you 2. you can stay at home with your kids while you work out 3. no gym-fee required and 4. Lisa is a woman (and a mother of two) and understands women’s bodies, and more importantly, the crazy-busy lives that most of us lead! Check out her site at http://www.makehealthychoices.net/…it’s a really great site and worth a visit!

Since Lisa and I are both women (obviously), we know that there are probably more men out there than would like to admit that have absolutely no idea what they are going to give their sweetheart this coming Saturday for Valentines Day. We put our head’s together and thought we might be able to help out these men and their special ladies in one fair swoop. How? Men can purchase a stylishly packaged gift-certificate for perfect combination of services from both Edit and Making Healthy Choices and all you women can actually get a gift that will look a whole lot better on your thighs and around your tummy’s than a box of chocolates! So if you are a woman reading this, you might want to forward this idea to the man in your life. And men, just contact Lauren (lauren@editbylauren.com) or Lisa (culling@bellsouth.net) this week and we will do whatever it takes to get this cute little gift in your hands in time for Heart Day!

There are two packages to choose from:

1. The Ultimate Valentines Day Sweetheart Special:

• Four 1-hour training sessions and a complimentary 1-hour fitness analysis and goal setting session from Make Healthy Choices PLUS a 2-hour complete wardrobe/closet consult and 2 hours of personal shopping from Edit by Lauren. $500 ($650 value)

2. Valentines Day Sweetheart Special:

• Four 1-hour training sessions and a complimentary 1-hour fitness analysis and goal-setting session from Make Healthy Choices PLUS a 2-hour wardrobe/closet consult. $350 ($450 value)

Happy (early) Heart Day to you!
Lauren
http://www.editbylauren.com/

New Year, New Closet!

Why do most all of us have a closet full of clothes and wake up, most days, feeling like we have nothing to wear?

I believe we feel this way for two primary reasons: one, we keep thinking we’ll find something “new” inside the closet; and two, we are all terrified at getting rid of anything. We’re all packrats at heart, afraid that as soon as we give away something, it will come back in style; or we’ll suddenly lose the 10 pounds we’ve been trying to lose for two decades and that “perfect” pair of jeans will finally fit.

So we keep our closets jam-packed with sentimental sweaters, jeans that have been through at least two presidential administrations, bright colored cocktail dresses that we’re certain will come back in fashion in another year…or two…or ten. Then as we attempt to pick out an outfit in the morning, we open our closet doors to the mass quantity of clothes that just no longer work for us. The “good” clothes are stifled out by the “bad.”

Ever heard the saying “less is more?” Well maybe we should all begin using that mindset when it comes to our wardrobe. I firmly believe that doing a closet audit, even if it means ridding yourself of half your clothes, will make you feel that you actually have more clothes and more things to wear.

Why? Simple: the articles hanging there will fit, be stylish and be more visible. This is a difficult task and many of you will not be able to do it on your own. Just like it is difficult to push yourself in a gym workout without a trainer or a friend, it may be harder than you think to say goodbye to clothes that have lived with you for a long time. So grab a fashion-forward, honest friend (who can say “yes, your butt really does look big in those pants!”) or a professional to help cull through the trash to get to the treasures.

You will need to try nearly everything on, so have a full length mirror, good lighting, and a few hours to complete the task. Here are some tips to make it simpler.

Rules of Good Riddance:

• If you haven’t worn it in a year, get rid of it.

• If it doesn’t fit you right now, get rid of it. (Unless you have just had a baby, you can keep it until you get that baby weight off!)

• If you don’t love it, get rid of it.

• If someone gave it to you as a gift and you hate it but are keeping it out of guilt, get rid of it.

• If you don’t feel fabulous in it, get rid of it.

• If you bought it because it was on a great sale, but have never worn it, get rid of it.

What to do with the banished goods:

• If it is a designer brand item, consider selling it on eBay. You just might be surprised by what the price a bid-war might get your item up to!

• If it is good quality, take it to a local consignment store.

• Take the rest (or the above, too, if you don’t feel like messing with it) and donate it to your favorite local charity.

Your reward will be the feeling of having more to wear and a maybe even a little extra padding in your wallet; either from what you sell or from the tax receipt you’ll receive when you donate. That’s a win, win! Just be sure to spend the newly earned money on something you really LOVE and feel fabulous wearing.

Here’s to the new year!
Lauren
www.editbylauren.com