So, you think you can style?

It was early one Saturday morning, I was taking my dogs for a walk. I stopped by my sister’s house to see what they were up to. Little did I know… the crazy competitive, super social, type A attorney attacked me with one of her determined ideas.

Kathy: ” JEAN, I just read about this contest. It’s called “So, you think you can style?” You have to do it! All you need to do is send some of your looks, and 100 words about yourself. You’re doing it!!

Me: “Don’t you think this is a contest for teenagers? Or super young girls who like to play with clothing?”

Kathy: “Who cares. It will get your name out there. You’re doing it.

Me: “If I end up doing this thing next to Suzy from Hillcrest High school… I will kill you!!!

Finalist

I made it to the final 3.
Now, I had to go to Neiman Marcus, and style 8 looks from trends that were pre-determined.
The looks:

• Green
• Pantsuit
• Lace
• The Cozy
• Military
• Capes
• Fur or feathers
• leopard.

I ran around Neiman’s for 3 days pulling clothes, bags, shoes, jewelry, sunglasses etc. I felt confident.

that night

Lions and tiger and bears Oh My!!!

As I crossed the threshold to the stylist area, I wasn’t sure how to interpret what I saw. The other two stylists had pulled some great looks, but they weren’t looks I would ever have put together.

I started to wonder if my looks were too New York for the Dallas crowd. In my eyes they were sophisticated, and elegant. I tried to mimic what I saw on the New York runways year after year. I didn’t overdo anything. I kept the focus on the beauty of the clothing. Jewelry was minimal, one or two pieces to accentuate the look.

Now, imagine the absolute opposite of that. The other stylists had hats, tons of jewelry, sequins everywhere, head to toe leopard, and they were mixing the trends in an interesting way. I loved seeing how they pulled it together. As a stylist, you appreciate seeing how other stylists work. Their looks were funky, and fun to watch – but .. would they win?

show time

I had three models, and eight looks to get out on the runway. The time between each look was about a minute. The models had to be fast. Clothing worth thousands of dollars was being thrown, there was no time!

leopard walked

The last look walked down the runway.

It’s over, that’s it.

It felt like an instant, and now the judges would determine the winner.

My heart was pounding. I was thinking “please just don’t let me come in 3rd place!”
I heard them say “In third place … ”
Phew, it wasn’t me!

“In second place … ”

Phew, that wasn’t me!

WAIT … that means I WON!!!!!! Thank you God!

I walked out to take my place center stage. There were tons of people, camera flashes, judges to thank, but most importantly … I saw my boys running toward me.

“MOM, you won! I can’t believe you won.”

It was at that moment that I realized why I did it. The looks on their faces made the whole experience worth it. They were so excited, and proud of me.

“Guys, lets go get something to eat.”

We skipped off, and left the chaos behind.

A big Thank You to My sister Kathy for pushing me – but let’s not get any more crazy ideas
Also a big Thank You to Neiman Marcus & FD LUXE for a fun experience!