“Fashion is fickle. And that’s why I love it,” stylist and personal shopper Julie Watson said in our Michigan Avenue store last night, as she ended her presentation. Watson, who’s worked in fashion for almost two decades knows trends well, but knows everlasting style even better - which is why she was such a great choice to present at Mark Shale.

Last night, returning and new Mark Shale customers learned how to build a sustainable wardrobe from Julie Watson during our shopping event for Bridge For Success. It was an obvious pairing since Watson helps clean out closets for a living and Bridge For Success re-appropriates donated clothing to 500 unemployed young adults, women, and men a year. Watson helped us delineate sentimental and invisible clutter, as she showed us which pieces we needed via Mark Shale’s merchandise.

As 70 or 80 women stood closely across the store, Watson generously doled out pointers like “define your style personality,” “your tops to pants ratio should be 3:1,” and “find a tonality of color that works when mixing, and play off that.” Holding up a pale pink Joseph knit, she explained that the neutral colors in our wardrobes should be more diverse than black and white, but match to to each person’s own color palette. Other essentials she presented were Rene Lezard trousers in a neutral beige, but woven with hints of silver thread - which she lovingly called “the best party pants.” Though they were in fact basics that could be worn to the office, she explained the Rene pants transitioned well into evening and their versatility was another point she touched on.

Demystifying what fashion and shopping are, Watson taught us the value of shopping with a methodology and emphasized the convenience of building your wardrobe at Mark Shale. With our integrity to design and perceived value, manageable store size, and helpful balance of essentials and trend pieces, we have the architecture to fill your closet for longer than a season.

-- Marissa Muller, Marketing Coordinator