I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, one of my favorite parts of our site is doing our Discover Goodwill makeovers and meeting all the lovely women who win. Jen was our July winner and not only did we find some fabulous outfits for her, we had fun shopping and visiting. I might have stared at Jen a bit too much but I was in awe of how beautiful her skin is!
Jen said one of her biggest fashion challenges is finding clothes that fit her shape nicely. She said when she tries wearing more fitted items, she feels like they are unflattering so she tends to wear looser clothes, which actually make her look larger than she is. She doesn’t have a lot of confidence in her fashion choices so she tends to stick with her standard “jeans & t-shirts.” Well, she has a perfectly lovely shape and we found a lot of clothes that showed it off without being too tight and took her out of her “jeans and tee rut.”
This “City Triangles” dress ($9.99) looks fabulous on Jen. It’s form-fitting (which showcases her shape), without being tight and the colors look great with her coloring. I’m a huge fan of finding clothes you can wear year-round and this is definitely something Jen can wear now in the warmer months and with a simple addition of tights and boots, would work great in cooler weather.
Jen’s a freelance writer and editor and a stay-at-home mom of two so she wanted outfits that fit her casual lifestyle but still looked fashionable. She also tends to stick to the same colors, as a lot of us do, so we wanted to experiment with a few colors she normally doesn’t wear.
This “Apt 9” dress ($9.99) is a perfect example of something Jen would never have tried on but looks perfect on her! The turquoise color compliments her skin, it (again) shows off her shape but is comfortable, and she can dress it up or down. The jeweled collar draws attention to her creamy complexion and fabulous bone structure…she’s glowing. This is another dress she can wear all year too, adding sandals for a more causal look, strappy sandals would kick it up a notch for a night out. Boots and tights make it winter ready. Love this!
Jen, who was an English teacher before having children, has been married for 12 years and loves to travel. She and her husband have lived in Vermont, British Columbia, Missouri and now Colorado. She grew up in Africa and said she always felt her style was a few years behind the current trends, admitting she “tight-rolled” her jeans well into the 90’s. Even now, she said, she feels like she doesn’t have a strong fashion sense.
At first we couldn’t tell if this was a dress or a long top. I think on someone short like me, it would be a dress but on someone with Jen’s height, it works perfect as a top. She tried it on with her jeans, which looks great, but it would also look good with skinny jeans or leggings. (“Speechless label for $9.99.) We found these fabulous Calvin Klein sandals that looked like they had never been worn for $7.99.
This was one of my favorite outfits on Jen. (She looked great in everything she tried on!) The Parallel skirt was $3.99 and her “M Collection” top was also $3.99. Stylish but comfortable and it fits her perfectly. Love the Montego Bay Club sandals we found for $3.99 (and again, looked like they had never been worn.)
Jen wanted help seeing “outside the box” when it came to colors and wearing outfits that fit her lifestyle and shape…She said it was fun having a “personal shopper” help her do that. She said she would not have tried on most of what we ended up buying because she just assumed she wouldn’t have looked good in them. That’s one of the fun things about this contest, meeting women who you have no idea what they usually wear, and helping them experiment with different styles and colors.
Wow! When Jen came out of the dressing room in this Billabong dress ($9.99) several of the women, including myself, all went “wow!”
I think Jen looks great in everything we found and she saw how more form-fitting clothes could be flattering and actually make her look smaller than the larger, looser styles she usually wears. Everything was stylish yet still comfortable and works with her lifestyle. She was so much fun to shop with and I’m so happy I got to meet yet another fabulous Colorado woman!
We did our shopping at the Discover Goodwill on Circle and as always, we appreciate their help and patience when we do these makeovers. I love how the other women, waiting for dressing rooms, get into the spirit of our “fashion show” and offer positive comments.
Jen, you looked beautiful in everything and I’m so happy I got to meet you!
Ok, so what has Jen done in 24 countries? Used the rest room! (She wasn’t kidding when she said she loves to travel!)