Etcetera Clothing

Last week, I gave a workshop with a good friend of mine, Patrice Barber, of Taylor Made Wealth Coaching. It was titled The Millionaire Mindset--Look like a Million, Think like a Millionaire. For my portion of the workshop, I shared my Top 10 Professional Shopping tips, and how to create a wardrobe that can make you look like a million bucks. The main premise of the workshop was that if you want to look like a million bucks and become like a millionaire, you have to plan. It doesn't just happen.

If you'd like to find out when the next workshop will be, click here to sign up for my e-Style Tip of the Month. (I'll also have my website remodel done in a couple of months, hopefully. There will be all kinds of great info on it continually!)

One of my tips was to pay attention to quality. You're never going to look like a million bucks by shopping for your clothes at Target. Besides, do you really want someone to recognize your outfit they saw when they were grocery shopping?

On Friday, I went to see the Spring '08 Etcetera collection. I first started buying Etcetera clothing a few years ago. I only buy a couple of pieces at each show, but I can truly say, I love them all! While I try to buy good lines at the stores, it can still sometimes be hit or miss, but my Etcetera clothes have held up absolutely beautifully.

Typically I buy suiting, since I think it's hard to find suits that are classic yet unusual. Since I'd just bought a suit the previous week, I opted for a printed knit top and skirt that can be worn as a dress or separately. It can be worn with a white jacket or sweater. I also bought a contrasting knit top.

I'll say it again. It's expensive, but barring any stains or laundry mishaps, they'll be the kind of things I can wear for years. I know this because they're not only cute and classic, but they're comfortable. I continually hear from my clients that they want clothing that's comfortable. When you find wonderful quality like this, it can be extremely comfortable.

The more times you wear something, the cost per wearing goes down, leading to VALUE. And you also get the intangible aspect of loving your clothes and feeling fantastic wearing them.

Where do you shop?

If you live anywhere in Colorado, and you're updating your wardrobe for a season and want to have the very best selection of clothing, you need to visit Cherry Creek Mall or Park Meadows Mall. Forget about convenience! I live closest to Westminster mall, but they don't have the stores I like, and because the chain stores there are considered 'C' stores, they have very little merchandise. On the other hand, if you're looking for a bargain, perhaps something you've seen at one of the larger stores and now it's on sale and gone, you might try one of these outlying stores.

Ann Taylor at Cherry Creek by far has the most merchandise. They get the best selection and a lot of it. I was at this store on Friday with a client. There was a ton to choose from and they had my client's size in everything! I popped in the Ann Taylor in Park Meadows on Saturday and saw several things I'd seen at CC, but I was astounded at much less they had. (In their defense, it appeared they'd had a busy day and probably had sold a lot.) One more tip I should share about A.Taylor is that many times they mark items down, but the pieces don't automatically go on the sale rack. If you typically head for the sale racks, slow down and look through the whole store. You're missing bargains!

Dillard's at Park Meadows mall has more suits and suiting separates than I've seen anywhere else. A sales associate told me they're the Antonio Melani store, meaning you'll find the whole line there and most likely only clearance items at their other stores.

I've also found that Park Meadows as a whole seems to be a "suit mall." Macy's has a lot of suits also...far more than Cherry Creek.

Last but not least...Nordstrom! Although I love the new Cherry Creek store and have been there several times already, I for the most part prefer Park Meadows. Park Meadows is a much bigger store, and like the rest of the mall, they have a lot of suiting and other professional clothing. On the other hand, what makes Cherry Creek's Nordstrom special is the they have many designers that aren't in their other stores. One department I've got my eye on is called Via C. It's an area with up and coming designers such as Vince and Philip Lim.