Solas by Kara Kurcz

Cleaning Thy Closet: Week 2

So now that you've had more than a week to mull over steps 1-3, it's time to cleanse even deeper my friends. Bust out the sage and strike a match! Today is all about questions 4 and 5 (to refresh your memory, read "A Healthy Closet Means a Healthy You").
4.) Is there anything on the floor of your closet? Oh, how I wish "nothing" was my answer... but, alas, when I am stressed out, feeling lost or depressed, I notice a mound of anxiety start to build on the left side of my closet floor. Mind you,
		I'm not sloppy, nor am I neat; therefore my pile is off to the side and hidden where no guest or husband can see it. Yet still, it's a pile. Usually it's a pile of "I'll wash / organize / dry clean these later". You get the idea; "later" is never good for the soul. "Later" turns into "too late" and eventually births a "never done" sort of feeling. I have been cursed with gift of procrastination my whole life. When I was a little I would wait til the very last minute to tell my poor mother I had a project due.
She would run around like a chicken with her head cut off helping me buy whatever supplies I needed. When I was in college, I would wait until the day before to write my 20 page story for class. And once into adulthood, I waited until about 4 months before the date to plan the wedding of the century- and it was themed, had 250 guests, costume changes, and a wedding party of 24!
	The problem in my life is that I have never been punished for such behavior. In grammer school I always got A's. In college, I could crank out a 20 page story, no problem, and my wedding? Well, it was a huge hit.
In fact I honed my skills so much that I became a television producer and director, where I received accolades for the fact I was an "on the spot" thinker. But the truth is, at home, when I looked in the mirror, all I saw was a frazzled girl looking back at me. I was always tired, I never felt like I had enough time to do anything and I have to be honest, sometimes I felt so overwhelmed, I wouldn't do anything. Which of course lead to having to do everything last minute.
I once met a women who told me the most important thing about your bedroom is what is under your bed. If you sleep above clutter it will seep into who you are and what you ultimately do and do not accomplish. Interesting huh?! Now I've taken that thought a step further... in saying that your closet represents you.
			And if you have a pile of "I'll do it later" in your closet, guess what? You have just started your day with that thought. It's really important that the floor of your closet always be clean. I know this can be difficult, but keeping the closet floor clean is as important as flossing. You may not see the harm in keeping it cluttered, but over time, trust me, the after math is nasty and hard to correct.
For those of you who have the color-coded closets, we will deal with that later. But for this step you get a "get out of jail free" pass. And I commend you for your spotless closet floor! 5.) Do you wear 80% of the items in your closet? This is sort of a trick question because if you answered "Yes, I have a lot of empty hangers in my closet" to question 6, then you most likely answered yes to this question too, BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING IN YOUR CLOSET. An empty closet is not the solution and there are ways to fill it no matter what your budget. Next week we will focus on filling your empty closet, but for this week I want to talk to those of you who have full closets and are not wearing what is inside of them. If you wake up in the morning, look at your closet, and say "I have nothing to wear," you have started your day on the wrong foot again. You are basically saying, "I have nothing in my closet that makes me feel good," which in turn says to the world, "Hey watch out, I am about to have a crappy day because I look and feel crappy!" Listen ladies, we are never going to feel 100% all the time, but your closet is your foundation and support and you have to fill it with healthy reserves.

Just the other day I had to go to an event and all I wanted to was curl up on the couch and watch Lifetime. It was raining outside, I had worked all day, I was PMSing and I just did NOT feel like leaving the house. A friend of mine basically told me to suck it up and put on the outfit that makes me feel the hottest. Thank goodness my closet is stocked every season with at least 5 go-to 911 outfits. I went home, put on the 80's retro music station, which makes me feel like a super star, and started to put on my 5 most fabulous outfits.
In the end I went with a dress I bought at Forever 21 for $12 on sale. I threw on some fantastic jewelry, knee high boots and a hot pink Solas Darling Clutch.
		I have to say I looked like a FOX. And because I FELT like a fox, no one noticed how I was REALLY feeling (like I was bloated with 10 pounds of water weight! Not to mention the huge zit growing on my chin). Instead, I got tons of compliments on how great I looked. I'm glad I fed my closet!
If this were two years ago I would have been tearing through my closet and crying. I would have skipped the event and therefore missed an opportunity to meet new people.
	You have to wear what is in your closet.
	Please DO NOT hold on to old sizes or outfits that you swear you are going to wear "later". It is only holding you back. Who you are today is more than OK. You are fabulous. You have to dress for today if you want to plan tomorrow. It is ok to keep things IF YOU WEAR THEM, but you cannot hold on to the past. I have friends who have 3 or 4 different sizes in their closet. YIKES! HELLO! Do you know how depressing that is? Get rid of them! Post them on EBAY and when you lose the weight or whatever you are holding onto them for, you can buy yourself something new with the money.
	Listen ladies, my thyroid broke, so I know better than anyone the grave sadness of looking at a size 6 pair of jeans when your ass has become a ten. But guess what? I gave those 6's away, and now I am giving my size 10's away also, because I lost the weight.
If I had kept a closet full of 6's, my friend, I would have been riddled with depression and I would be buying a larger size right now instead of going down in size. Who you are is who you are supposed to be. Today: right now. And you need to show the world that you love yourself. The rest will come, I promise. This week, go through your closet and start getting rid of things you have not worn in over a year. I will allow you to keep 10% of those things you pull. You can call this your Wish List-- "I wish this would come back in style," "I wish I wore these $200 pants more often," and "I wish I was the same size I was when I was 14." But you can kiss the rest goodbye! Read March's blog "Resources to sell your old clothes" (click archives) to find places to sell these old items. Another fun way to get rid of old things is to have a Swap Party with your friends. Everyone brings items from their closets and tags them with a price, and you can swap and trade. What is bringing you down can brighten someone's day! For answers to 6-10, click "Archive" then click "March" and read "Closet Quiz Re-Cap". Make sure to read next Tuesday for tips that will make you look and feel great despite heat, humidity, summer food, and the dreaded bathing suit! kk

The Curse of the Closet....

There is nothing worse than having a cursed closet.  I swear, I clean out the bad spirits of my closet every spring, but come the following winter there are demons lurking in every nook and cranny.  So what is a cursed closet, you may ask?  Well, it is a closet that puts out negative energy - it literally is working against you and  your self-image.   It emits thoughts of failure and guilt and can easily trigger anxiety.  If you are following along with my exercises, you most likely discovered a few things about your closet from last week’s blog.  Today we are just going to tackle questions 1-3 and do a few simple exercises that will help our closet become healthier.
	1.)  How many items in your closet still have the tags on them? If the answer was none, then you can move on to the next item on this list.  If the answer was 2 or more, listen up.  You have one of 3 going on.  You are either: A. A Compulsive Shopper (which we briefly touched on a few weeks back), B. An Impulser Buyer, or C. The Procrastinating Fashionista.
This is the young lady who buys things she will be able to wear “someday,” either when she loses weight, gets a new haircut, or finds the perfect event.  The Procrastinating Fashionista has a million excuses for why she is in denial of her closet.     Why are the 3 of these things a HUGE  problem?  Well, it’s simple.  They make you want to  hide from your closet, and when you ignore your closet, you are denying yourself a chance to express your inner beauty.  When we buy things and feel guilty, we tend to hide them in the back of the closet, or  in a place where we don’t have to look at our “mistake” everyday.
					If you are a Compulsive Buyer you probably know the dreadful feeling of seeing all those shirts lined up in different colors, with most of them still tagged.  You are probably embarrassed and a little shameful.  When I went through my compulsive stage, I h id my closeet from people, which directly affected my self-esteem, how I viewed money and the world around me.  The Procrastinating Fashionista does a huge number on her self worth, every morning she is looking at a pair of pants  or a dress that stares back at her and says, “Haha, you can’t fit into me!”
Rarely do I find that this type of closet actually inspires my friends to lose weight or change their lives.  It is just a constant reminder of what you are NOT, instead of what you ARE.... which is AMAZING no matter what shape you are in physically, financially, or emotionally.  This is no different than when you buy an outfit for a special day.  If that day is an event in 3 weeks, it makes sense.  But if you have a fantastic pair of pants hanging in your closet just waiting for a “special” day, you are basically tellilng the universe, “I am not special enough to wear this today, but someday maybe I will be.”  Every time you open that closet you are staring at a negative message:  “Haha!  You nerd!  You aren’t cool enough to wear me yet!” There is a lot to be done, but for this week, all I want you to do is take everything with tags on it OUT of your closet, unless you will wear it in the immediate future. 2.) Is your closet color-coded?
				If you answered, NO move on.  If you answered YES, let’s chat. Listen, I am all for the idea of neat and orderly.  I believe that organization brings success, reduces anxiety and gives a sense of clarity.  However, you have to decide if the motivation behind your closet is healthy.  Like I said, our closet represents what is going on with us inside.  Again there are several reasons you may have an EXTREMELY
organized closet.  The most common is control.  If you are the type of person who freaks out when a picture frame has been moved slightly left on the mantle, I am guessing your highly organized closet gives you a false sense of serenity.  I am not here to judge you.  In fact, I  could care less if for the rest of your life your living room remains spotless with every knickknack in place - that’s between you and your roomie.  But your closet needs to be liberated.  Why?  Because you are most likely spending way too much time analyzing if your maroon pants should sit with the purple family or the red.  Instead you should be focusing on how hot maroon makes your green eyes look!  You need to start thinking of yourself as a canvas, and every morning when you open your closet there lie your paints and brushes.  You can’t look at your closet as something you need to “control.”  Especially for type A people, a closet needs to be an expressive outlet.  Eventually we will talk about how to organize our closet in a way that positively reflects who we are as Fashoinistas.  But for now I am asking you to not organize you closet for 7 days because I want you to see what you wear the most and what colors you gravitate towards.  Hang all the clothes you wear most ofter in the middle, and next Tuesday we will revisit this.
Another symptom of the organized closet is money guilty.  Believe it or not, the reason the Compulsive Buyer over-buys is the the same reason you don’t buy as much.  Money is a tough subject, but I believe, from the bottom of my heart, when we focus on the fear of failure, we are limiting our ability to achieve happiness and wealth.  Trust me, there are ways to be fashionable and frugal.
Once you know your style and you get excited about it, you won’t have to dislike shopping anymore.
		I want you to get an empty shoebox this week and start cutting out magazine photos of styles you admire and like.  Just collect them, don’t look at the price and don’t feel like you have to pick things in the same category.  Everyday put at least one image in the box and next Tuesday we will discuss them.
3.)  Is your closet outfit-coded?
			Do you plan your outfits and hang them together?  Be sure to read the answer from #2 if you are organized, because doing this allows you to utilize your closet better. Organizing your closet by outfit can be EXTREMLY healthy, as long as your closet doesn’t look like a department store warehouse with clothes that are unworn.   Check back next week to see steps 4-10.  I know this is a slow process, but trust me, it will make you think about your closet and how it reflects back on you - and it will all be worth it in the long run!         kk

Your 7-day prep for the 90-day Fashion Detox... Pt 3

Welcome back!  Now you should be starting to feel great about your fashion, so now it’s time to tackle that closet.  Now, repeat after me: “A healthy closet is a healthy me.”
		Our closet is like a multi-vitamin we are supposed to start taking in our 20s. We walk past the bottle everyday, sometimes we take it, sometimes we forget to take it, and sometimes we are just too tired and lazy to open the lid.  But we need the
		nutrients that are inside of that capsule to help us live a strong and healthy life.  In a way, that vitamin is the foundation of our health.Well guess what? Our closet is the foundation to our fashion-- so stop ignoring what it is telling you.  If it’s color-coded, it doesn’t mean it’s healthy;
it might just be a way of controlling one aspect of your life because you feel you can’t control something else.  If it’s messy and chaotic, I bet it’s because you’re busy lately.
		No time for yourself, huh?  We all  have ailing closets.  The symptoms are all different.  No one is born with a  healthy closet; you build it with time and a little TLC.
So now that we have identified our shopping habits, let’s start with our closet habits.  I want you to look at your closet and take a tally.  Below you will find a list of 10 things to look for.
There are no right or wrong answers.  We are just going to use our closet as a guide; sort of like puzzle pieces that will help us make a map to ourselves and who we are right now and where we can be in the future.  So for one week, I want you to analyze your closet nightly.  Don’t change anything - just observe.
1.)  How many items in your closet still have tags on them? 2.)  Is you closet color-coded? 3.)  Is your closet outfit-coded?  For example: you plan your outfits and hang them together?
4.)  What is on the floor of your closet? 5.)  Do you wear at least 80% of the items in your closet? 6.)  Do you have empty hangers in your closet? 7.)  Is your closet over-stuffed?  Is it hard to see what’s inside? 8.)  Are your shoes and handbags in the same closet as your clothes? 9.)  Is your closet EXTREMELY messy?
10.)  Do you have any trouble deciphering between clean and dirty clothes in your closet? Next Tuesday we will analyze your observations and make simple changes that I guarantee will start to brighten your day.  See you then!

A Healthy Closet Means a Healthy You.. Pt 2...7 day prep 2

Your 7-day prep for the 90-day Fashion Detox... Pt 2
	Recently, I died my hair dark and decided to dress a little more sophisticated. Why? I have been traveling a lot for business and I kept running into obstacles; things weren’t going the way I wanted them to. I just felt I needed a change. I wanted to tell the universe and those around me, “Hey! I mean business!” I change my fashion all the time. It helps reinvent myself and get a new perspective on things. One of my best friends said to me “Oh, I like this new look! Remember when you were into wearing gold
lamet a few years ago? That was horrific!”
I personally don’t ever regret a fashion choice make, except once, when I let a stylist talk me into wearing a dress on a TV show - my gut said NO, but at the same time, I thought, “she’s a stylist - she knows what she’s talking about!” Never again! I was in tears when I watched it, which just supports my initial statement. Your fashion needs to be YOUR fashion, not someone else’s.
When I was wearing gold sequined tops, I was a young director living in West Hollywood. I had short red
hair and I loved to go dancing- I wanted to stick out in a crowd. Everyone moves to LA and has a dream and I wanted people to say, “Hey, what is she about?” I’m blonde naturally and everyone in LA was blonde. In fact, it was that time of my life where I discovered the power of color and how different colors can help inspire and guide you. Mind you, I would not dress like that now because that is not my fashion style anymore, but, no regrets- my fashion then lead me to my life now, which ultimately lead to the birth of Solas. My point is, it doesn’t matter what other people think. As long as you walk out that door every morning and feel great about you and your fashion. And the first step in feeling great about your fashion, is feeling great about your closet which we will discuss next Tuesday! kk

A Healthy Closet Means a Healthy You...7 day prep

Your 7-day prep for the 90-day Fashion Detox....
	Ok, so now you’ve identified what kind of shopper you are.  If my hunch is correct, you have fallen into two or three of the categories at different times in your life.  Right?  So what does that mean?  Well, believe it or not your shopping habits and your closet’s status is directly related to your self-esteem, your feelings about money and how you view the world.  Sounds crazy, I know, but I can walk into any of my friend’s closets and deduce a lot.  I can also tell how my family or friends are feeling based on what they’re wearing on a given day. Sometimes I have to expand my search to the trunk of their car, or storage closets where they may be hiding items they “intend” to return, but you get the idea.
Think about it.  When you feel hot and sexy, what do you do?  You dress hot and sexy.  And when you feel frantic and crazy, how do dress?  When you feel bloated?  The list goes on, and your closet, believe it or not, is not far off.  The difference with our closet, however, is that 85% of us keep it the same way and have for years, which, unfortunately, is a reflection of deeper emotions and feelings about ourselves, money and the world.
I am not here to organize your closet or revamp your wardrobe, instead, my goal is to make you
feel better about yourself, help closet and help you to never feel fun and it has nothing to do with down the red carpet.  It is about “I’m not into fashion.”  I don’t think not into food.”  We need fashion to colony, but even people there are my kind of fashion, or Kate Holmes’  you say to the universe, “I am not    making an excuse to not celebrate			you have a healthy relationship with your guilty about shopping again.  Fashion is what is on the runway or strutting you. I have had so many people tell me that is possible.  That’s like saying, “I’m live-unless, of course, you live in a nudist fashionable!  You don’t have to be into fashion or Vogue’s fashion.  But when into fashion,” what you are doing is yourself and who you are.
Check back next Tuesday to continue your 7 day prep and learn how to celebrate your own personal fashion! kk

Quiz Answers

How did you do on the Fashionista Quiz? Did you take the Fashionista Quiz from last weeks blog? See what your answers mean here! Read them all for further insight, or just scroll down to A, B, C, D, or E to find your answer.
	For Question #1: If you identified with A, YOU ARE THE LOYAL SHOPPER:
You are the type of gal who falls in love with a product and is utterly convinced nothing else out there will ever make your butt, boobs or your skin look so good. There is an underlying reason for this psychologically, but for today’s purposes, lets stick to the surface issues. Listen, we all hate trying on a pair of jeans that just won’t fit over our hips, or a shirt that makes us have a third boob, but at the end of the day I promise you there is more to life than that one pair of size 30 jeans that you bought back in 2002. Take a deep breath, relinquish control and give me a
little trust. I know I am a complete stranger but I promise, I too have your disease - and I am in total remission. It just takes knowing where to shop, understanding your budget, your body, and your time. WE CAN DO THIS TOGETHER SISTER!
	If you identified with B, YOU ARE THE BARGAIN SHOPPER: This is my favorite type of shopper, because I swear all of my friends from the midwest fall into this category. We love to say, “Look at my $40 shoes, they look just like the Manolos Sarah Jessica Parker wore except they don’t cost as much as my rent!"
Unfortunately, we leave out the bloody blister staining the back of our heels. Last month I went through my closet and found four pairs of shoes that were worn once. WHY? Because they killed my bloody feet! I totaled up the cost of each pair of shoes (that were under 50 bucks mind you), and discovered the four pairs cost as much as my Stuart Wiseman gold heels that I have worn down to the ground because they are so comfy. Now, I am not saying we all have to run out there and buy Prada shoes, plenty of designer shoes are just as painful. What we have to become is smart shoppers. I have some great affordable designers that I will turn onto in the next few weeks, but again, we are going to change the way you think about shopping. Bargains are great but you need to throw out the “NO PAIN, NO GAIN” slogan when it comes to fashion.
				If you identified with C, YOU ARE A COMPULSIVE SHOPPER: This is a Bargain Shopper on crack. Addicted to the sale and the high of feeling she has found a bargain, she overflows her closet, her husband’s closet, and most likely even the trunk of her car, with things she will never wear or share. (Yes we like to tell ourselves it would make a fantastic gift and that is why we are buying it.)
I can say this without guilt because at one point in my life I too have fallen ill to this shoppers addiction. In fact, my family can identify this type of ailment as being hereditary, for sure. The solution is simple; a bargain is not a bargain if it breaks the bank. A bargain is not a bargain if you never wear every single one of those precious white tees over and over again. And most importantly, a bargain is not a bargain if it creates clutter. Clutter creates chaos, which affects how you feel about yourself and those around you.
I believe the origin of this type of shopper came from the great depression. The “stocking syndrome” was necessary for those who survived that era. However, we cannot justify hording a life supply of turtleneck sweaters like our parents and grandparents justified stock piling canned beans.
			If you identified with D, YOU ARE THE TRENDY SHOPPER: The trendy shopper has so many layers to her. She believes it must be fantastic because they sell it at Bloomingdales! She looks forward to her gossip magazines not just to find out who is sleeping with who but who is wearing what. When I got into fashion I think they greatest disappointment I encountered was the discovery that celebrities are human.
			They buy crap and wear crap just like we do. Listen, I would love to believe Cameron Diaz is amazed with
our bags and legitimately wore them over and over because she couldn’t believe how great the quality, idea and prices of our clutches were! The truth is, I will never know. And here at Solas we have been around long enough to get feedback that, yes, the majority of our clientes wear our bags because they love our designs and our ingenuity.
But sometimes celebrities wear something because they love it, sometimes they were it because someone gave it to them for free, sometimes it happens to match their shoes, and sometimes they wear it because someone told them to, like a stylist. Whatever the reason, we don’t buy things just because they are in a magazine or on a TV show. You use the media as a tool. You need to become an investigative shopper. I have found that if I see a product consistently in the press, 9 times out of 10 it is a quality product. But if it is a quick trend that I saw once in a magazine, I am greatly disappointed - like when the chain breaks on my new $100 necklace. If you see something that you like in Neiman’s or In Style magazine, it doesn’t mean it won’t fall apart in the wash. What we are going to work on together is learning more about quality shopping. There is nothing wrong with shopping at Neiman’s or buying what Jessica Simpson wears, just make sure you know the product is right for you, in your budget, and makes you feel fabulous.
If you identified with E, YOU ARE THE IMPULSE BUYER:
		The impulse buyer is a combination of The Trendy Shopper and the Compulsive Shopper, on 8 cups of coffee. Why? Because she is delirious when it comes to her pocket book.
No one needs to buy anything they must put on a pedestal.
Trust me, I learned this the hard way. I have a gorgeous pair of Prada shoes that are orange, brown, and wood. The shoes, worn by J.LO in a magazine, broke the bank AND my feet. My family has a fantastic story they love telling, about the one time I wore the shoes in Miami. I was mad at my sisters so I stormed off in my heels and told everyone I would meet them at the restaurant two blocks away. Well, two blistered feet later, I was wobbling down Ocean Drive with my Dad driving 3 miles an hour next to me, giggling out the window, “I think you should get in the car for your own self preservation.” Damn did those shoes look hot on the shelf and in that magazine, but I have flat feet and I rarely wear ornage, so it was a very expensive lesson.
Listen, if you try on a $1000 bag and you love it and you must have it and you know you will wear it, then save for it. And in the meantime, there are little tips and tricks you can learn that will allow you to satiate your addiction. But buying it when you are not ready, or when it’s not right for you will only leave you feeling like you have just had a bad one night stand.
kk

NEW WEBSITE!!!

The long awaited update of the Solas Fashion website is here!  Make sure to check our updated photos, press, and visit the new Spring online store (click on the "What's New" tab).  We are very excited about the launch of our website and I would love to hear what you think.

Also, make sure to sign up for our Newsletter if you haven't already! You don't want to miss out on additional Solas info, discounts, and FREE GIVEAWAYS of some of the hottest new Solas handbags.

Since the blog has been on a bit of a hiatus as we've been updating our site, I've decided to re-post some of older blogs so everyone can freshen up, get on the same page, and we can start moving forward together toward a healthy closet and a healthy, happy you!   This week we  will start to determine what kind of shopper you are with a quick fun quiz.  If you've already taken this, see if your answers are the same, or if you've changed your habits.  If this is your first time, enjoy!  And make sure everyone checks back next Tuesday for the answers.

kk

What Kind of Shopper Am I?

Retail therapy is like going to any other type of counseling. First, we must figure out who we are in respect to the world of shopping. Second, what is our roll in the retail universe?

The first thing you need to do is take inventory of your closet. What do you have, want to keep, and what do you wear the most often?

I want you to scan and see what you have more of: shoes, pants, sweaters, hats,

jewelry or dresses? What kind of shape are they in? For example: Do you have a lot of shoes but you avoid

wearing most of them because they tired out quickly and look worn? Do you have a lot of fancy jeans that you wear all the time that are still in great shape?

Or do you have purses that look pristine only because you never take them out to see the light of day? Once you have spent time getting re-aquainted with your closet, answer the following questions: 1.) I CRY HARDEST WHEN.... A.) My favorite jeans have fallen apart in the wash for the LAST time and the designer has discontinued the line. B.) My brand new 40 dollar shoes from the Shoe Depot are making my toes blister. C.) My white juicy tee shirt was just died pink by my new love interest (although I have four just like it sitting in my closet because they were on sale). D.) My fabulously over-priced necklace from Neiman’s is unwearable because the clasp has broken off.

E.) My Chloe bag (the one I took a second mortage out on the house for) spends more time on my shelf than on my shoulder. 2.) WHEN IT COMES TO CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO ME IS.....

1.) Comfort 2.) Quality 3.) Price 4.) Being Trendy 5.) Looking sexy CHECK BACK NEXT TUESDAY TO SEE WHERE YOU FIT IN THE FASHION SPECTRUM AND HOW TO GET A NEW LEASE ON YOUR SHOPPING LIFE! kk

Catch of the Day

Shoe Time