First "Official Client"

After years of shopping for people I finally decided to sit down and come up with a legit way of getting paid while doing what I enjoy - shopping. Mere days after making this decision and announcing it to friends and family (before I had even decided on a name for my business) my first official client appeared. Funny how finding items for her is normally a breeze, but with the pressure on every thing changed!

Her outfit was to be a gift from her husband, to celebrate an upcoming birthday. As this was not a surprise, he gave me permission to get her idea of the perfect outfit. She showed me a pair of flat, chestnut colored riding boots she had recently purchased but had nothing to wear with them and wanted to branch out from the obvious brown look. She has a nice, athletic shape and I wanted to create a look that was both age-appropriate and yet fun and sexy; a look that could be worn to work on casual Friday, but also versatile enough to mix and match with other basics in her closet. So I went straight to Polyvore and came up with a general idea of what I wanted to see her in. This was my first thought - from a color and silhouette perspective, based on a set I created for a friend who was trying to find the best way to wear black with chestnut/medium brown:

CandyGirl by therealcherish featuring Seven For All Mankind jeans

So I set out to find a few pieces that would work with her husband's budget of $115. Typically, I have my standard places to start with but after not having much luck with my vision, I took a break and popped into Sears to find some batteries for my cordless mouse and VOILA! I see this gray belted blazer by Apostrophe and instantly get a few ideas. I come across a cream ruffled tank, also by Apostrophe, on my way to the register. With a few convenient holiday sale prices the total comes to $55.

Next up are the bottoms. I know she wants a skirt, because she never wears skirts. Because of her height, shape and higher waist, I hesitate on the skirts I see, feeling as though none will really fit her personality or the look she would love. So I step out on a limb and buy her a pair of skinny jeans! Macy's had the Tommy Hilfiger Spirit skinny jeans on sale so they came to an awesome $55!

Imagine my surprise a few days later when I see her out for date night wearing the outfit, except she ditched the flat boots for the last thing I would have expected her to wear - high heel ankle boots! The sexy jeans made her push the limits and I was loving every bit of it, though not nearly as much as I am sure her husband did!

Success Achieved!!

Love, Amata

Welcome to Amata!!

I love fashion, I love shopping, I love math. Shopping is a thrill for me, and yet many people find it to be a challenge. The unorganized racks. Fitting rooms in disarray. Sales people who forgot to drink their morning coffee or didn't have time to take that afternoon smoke break.... This is what I imagine some people instantly envision when you mention the words "shopping", "mall" or "department store". Others cringe at the thought of selecting something to wear, fearing that everything they chose accentuates the wrong parts of their bodies or ages them by decades.

Have no fear! Fortunately for me, a lot of these people are my friends and family and future clients!

Please be sure to sign up as a blog follower and check back often. I will post pics of my great finds and many of the questions I get regularly from people seeking my fashion/shopping advice!

Thanks for stopping by...

Happy Shopping!

Love, Amata