Perfect Fit by Clinton Kelly

A few weeks ago, I was invited to come into the new Perfect Fit by Clinton Kelly store at Mall of America.  It's one of two concept stores that Clinton (of What Not to Wear fame, among other gigs) has opened with the intention of bringing his brand of style advice to the masses.

Clinton is building his brand on the idea that you can't have style without proper fit. To that end, he has pulled together a team of experts who believe in the same style tenets that he does; and a team of fit experts who can provide the alterations necessary to get that perfect fit.  Services are flexible and can be completely tailored to the client's needs: an overall wardrobe assessment; help in polishing up an outfit for a particular occasion (job interview, holiday party, wedding, etc); or help in defining your particular style.

I'm going to admit something totally uncool - especially for a self-assured style blogger like myself  (ha).  I felt very intimidated by the idea of going into Perfect Fit and having someone judge my clothes.  But I know I could use a little help in pulling together casual outfits, so armed with my one and only pair of jeans I headed to the store.

There, I met Sasha, one of Clinton's style experts.  She was warm and welcoming; as were the surroundings of the store.  She invited me to change out of my work outfit (which I later admitted was something of a uniform...dress with tights, heels and a blazer) and into my jeans and top.  Sasha took pictures of both outfits, approving of the work uniform (thank God, since I own 10 variations of it!); and giving me some tips for my jeans.

Her advice sounded like something Clinton would say (bootcut jeans in a dark wash), but once I saw the pictures I completely understood why bootcut jeans would look better than what I had going on.  Sasha talked to me about wearing larger jewelry that will fit the proportions of my body type.  She also encouraged me to try wearing more structured blazers - with shoulder pads.  Before I could even glance at her dubiously over the mention of shoulder pads, Sasha was off finding a pair so she could show me what a difference they would make...and she she was right. 


Here's a little video that details more of my experience:



Sasha is an independent fashion stylist, which I found to be comforting.  She and her co-stylist are not Clinton robots who simply spout out exactly what Clinton would say.  She had a lot of great tips and advice; the most compelling of which was to dress the proportions of your body, no matter what size you are.  You might lose or gain 20 lbs, but if you are born wit wide hips and thick thighs you will always have wide hips and thick thighs.  So love it, dress it properly, and get on with your life. 

Perfect Fit by Clinton Kelly has two locations - one here in the Twin Cities, the other in Chicago.