The best part of my job is the clients. I’m serious. Clothes and fashion are fun, but they’re just clothes. Meaning from my work comes from the women I get to work with. Heck, if it was just about clothes I’d still be a fashion designer.
Saks has been a store I have shopped regularly since starting my business. I have worked with the salesperson, Carole, for 15 years. She is now a valued friend. I even get to shop in the store before it opens and have also been able to get clients in early too. So, when the Saks Friends & Family sale was announced, I knew that some clients would want to take advantage. This past weekend, both Mrs. Wonderful and Mrs. Refined came into town just to shop. I am sharing what they purchased with you in today’s post.
Mrs. Refined and Mrs. Wonderful are two of whom I call my triplets. Ms. Chic is the other one. I call them the triplets because, even though they have very different lives and don’t even live in the same states, their purchases often overlap. Mrs. Wonderful is a CEO and lives in North Carolina, Mrs. Refined is in the global governance and corporate affairs division of a major corporation and lives in Washington DC, and Ms. Chic is in finance in NYC. Unfortunately, Ms. Chic was on a business trip and couldn’t shop the sale, but I have already sent her a link to one jacket that both Mrs. Wonderful and Mrs. Refined purchased. The triplets have never met one another. I do often wonder what that would be like.
Saks Friends & Family Sale Client Purchases
After two days of starting my day at the crack of dawn, pulling rolling racks worth of clothes and soaking my feet with Epsom salt at the end of the day, I am sharing some of the amazing purchases my Mrs. Refined and Mrs. Wonderful picked up at the Saks Friends & Family sale so you can do some shopping of your own.
A few observations about my selections
Before I share what my clients purchased, a few observations about what I saw in the store.
Color
First, color. I actually didn’t pull one black piece with the exception of a casual hooded dress (you can see it below), and if it came in another color I would have selected it instead. This was not intentional and I have certainly pulled a lot of black for clients in the past. It just seems like this spring/summer will be all about color.
Plaid
Plaid was everywhere and my clients bought a lot of it this season, probably more than any other season in 16 years. You’ll see it in cotton, workwear wools, and more.
Where are the jumpsuits?
Much to my surprise, I didn’t see a lot of jumpsuits. This is not to say they are over. I don’t think they are, not when women are finally embracing them. They’re still around, but perhaps fashion has finally figured out how not to beat a trend to death so everyone gets sick of it. Instead of being over jumpsuits, I found myself wanting more.
wide leg cropped pants are still a big deal
This trend is showing now signs of slowing down. I’m happy about this. And, for what it’s worth, I recently put a wide leg jumpsuit on a 5′ client and it looked great. Wide leg cropped pants for everyone, I say!
Not a lot of living coral
Living coral is supposed to be the color of the year. Well, you wouldn’t know it from what was at Saks. What there was a lot of was green, turquoise, navy and bright pink.
Okay, let’s move on and check out what my clients purchased. I found just about everything they purchased online, if not at Saks, somewhere else.
Jackets and cardigans
I am starting with jackets as they are a part of each of one of these client’s wardrobes. I love the jackets they bought.
My go-to labels for these clients is always Akris Punto and Max Mara, which is where the majority of these jackets are from. The leather mesh jacket, however, was a stunning surprise from Alice + Olivia. While it looks specific, this jacket works over a sheath dress and can also be worn on the weekends with jeans. The green and pink plaid blazer from Akris Punto was also a favorite by both clients and the one I also told Ms. Chic she needs to own. I also need to point out the Max Mara striped trench that is reversible and has a removable collar and can be worn without it. We call it the coat that keeps on giving.
Dresses & Jumpsuits
Dresses are another huge category for these clients, as they are for most working women. They are all gorgeous dresses, but some standouts were the white sheath, the grey striped style and surprisingly flattering Max Mara Weekend jumpsuit. In addition, Mrs. Wonderful picked up a few casual Eileen Fisher styles for the weekend as well as a casual jumpsuit from Alice + Olivia that I can’t find anywhere, not even on their site <insert sad face>.
Pants
As I said earlier, wide leg cropped pants are still trendy, for sure, and my clients picked up a few. A standout style was this pair from Lafayette 148 in gray. And another perennial favorite that always flatters everyone is the Audrey pant from Piazza Sempione. One of my clients picked up four pairs. It’s the perfect summer cotton slim ankle pant.
Skirts
I have always said that fashion cycles through skirt times and dress times. We’ve been living in a dress time and skirts aren’t that popular, which is why there isn’t a lot here. In fact, the Max Mara skirt came with a matching blouse below that looked great together.
Tops & Sweaters
With dresses being integral, there wasn’t a huge need for tops. Both clients picked up the reversible tank from Lafayette 148 and I love Eileen Fisher’s sleeveless tunic that is just so easy. The day after her appointment, Mrs. Refined texted me that she wore the Eileen Fisher orange sweater with her gray wide leg Lafayette 148 pants and was the best dressed mom at her kid’s school.
Quick stop at Splendid
After shopping Saks, Mrs. Wonderful and I did a quick stop at Splendid in Soho to pick up some really casual weekend pieces. I thought I would include some of those things too.
Don’t have the budget?
I understand, not everyone has the budget to shop like some of my clients do and my clients would be the first to say they are very fortunate that they do. I don’t have the same budget as they do either. My strategy has been to watch for sales on things I want and shop second hand. True story, a client once got an Akris Punto dress for under $150, originally over a thousand dollars. Luxury isn’t out of reach when you shop smart.
Next week, I’ll be back with some other purchases made by clients I have scheduled this week.
