Meet Michelle Moquin, a friend and client, certified personal stylist and fashion maven! Michelle has been a creative force in the fashion industry for over 20 years. She began her career as a fashion designer, for San Francisco Bay Area companies such as Wilkes Bashford, Jessica McClintock, Joe Boxer, and Byer of California. She designed under her own labels, “Michelle Moquin,” and “MAM” selling her sportswear and sleepwear collections to boutiques and department stores throughout the United States.Today, Michelle is committed to her clients’ success. She also conducts fashion presentations and style seminars in business settings for men and women to help them improve their professional image and achieve the results they want in their careers.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Michelle personally, and I refer my clients to her all the time. Her work has an incredible impact.  I think the most important thing I’ve learned from Michelle is understanding which colors work for me.  This changes everything!  And when prepping for a photo shoot, she is an invaluable resource.  Most people call me with no idea of what to wear; after working with Michelle, they come in ready for their own personal runway.  Truly a game changer.

As a guest blogger on my site, Michelle will help us unravel the mysteries of style!  Let’s start by getting to know her and finding out her tips for successfully cleaning out our closets (…don’t tell me this isn’t on your list for January?!?  I can’t be the only one…)

-Nancy

What is your main goal as a personal stylist? My goal is to see everyone, not just looking as good as they want to look, but as good as the right style will enable them to look. I want to show others how to use the power of color to reach their goals, meet and impress that special someone, and to make their lives, and the lives of others more enjoyable.  I want everyone to feel like my clients do after learning the POWER of style and color.  My goal is to have everyone say, “I can NOT thank you enough for opening my eyes to the amazing world of color and fit!” 

What is your favorite piece in your wardrobe? Right now I am loving my knit Missoni midi skirt in black, white, coral and green stripes! I can wear it during the summer with a basic tee and colorful sandals, and I can wear it in the winter with my short boots, a cashmere sweater and leather jacket.

What current trend do you love? I always filter trends ruthlessly and I suggest the same for my clients. Wearing clothing that enhances your body type, its symmetry and color scheme while complimenting your personality is ALWAYS stylish.

Who’s your favorite designer? Ohh…that is tough because I am a bit of a fashion maverick and I wear many different designers. So, I can’t say that I am loyal to any one designer. But let me say this, my favorite designer is anyone whose styles are well made, fits my Body-Type, enhances my best features, and makes me feel wonderful when I put them on!

And most importantly, what is the best process for cleaning out our closets for a fresh start to the New Year? I always recommend hiring a professional stylist to conduct a closet audit. However, a wardrobe that truly works for you begins with discovering and defining your style first.

I never do a closet audit until I first conduct an Initial Consultation, where we use professional stylist tools to discover and define my client’s style. Once it’s finished, my clients are crystal clear on what works best for their body type, its symmetry and personal coloring. When a person understands how and why that works best, they can make intelligent choices based on their personality and lifestyle requirements.

After the consultation it becomes much easier to clean out the closet. When we are deciding on what to keep from items that work well, we consider 5 important things:

1. If you haven’t worn it in a year for whatever reason, you aren’t drawn to wearing it, so you must not love it enough to wear it. Give it to someone who you know will wear it and love it, (You’ll love seeing it on them!) or donate it.
2. Even if you are wearing it, but it is an item that you do not love, find a piece that you do love to replace it. Life is too short to wear items that you don’t absolutely love!
3. If the item is too dated, worn, or stained, know that you loved it well and donate it.
4. If the item doesn’t fit right, take it to a tailor and have it altered to fit you. If it’s too big to alter, give it away or donate it. If it is too small because you’ve put on a few pounds, yet you still love it, box up the item(s) and store them somewhere else other than your closet. After 6 months, if you haven’t lost the weight, give the item(s) away or donate them.
5. If you have too many of one thing, say white T-shirts, find the one, two or few, that you always wear and love, and are in the best shape (see point 3 above), and donate the rest.

One final closet tip that I learned from Michelle:  flip all of your hangers to face the opposite direction from your normal layout.  When you wear a piece, turn the hanger back to the normal direction.  At the end of a year, have a look to see which hangers are still turned backwards; these are the clothes you aren’t wearing.  Consider sending them on to a new life in someone else’s closet!

Next guest post with Michelle will address how getting back to basics in 2015 can make it your best style year yet!