By Stephna Masters, owner of Closet Consulting with Stephna

When the weather gets cooler, many moms flock to football games. Some of us are heading off to watch a son or daughter play or cheer at a high school game this week, and some of us are planning to watch the Razorbacks take on Ole Miss. (Go Hogs!) Some of us are going to both. No matter what your plan is, we’ve got you covered with some tips for how to do something a little more fun than your typical “jeans and a sweatshirt” look.

Below is a list of great “game day” items I’ve found in stores around Northwest Arkansas. If you’re looking for a new game-day outfit, I hope these notes make your shopping trip a little easier and more fun, too. Happy shopping! (Scroll down below the list for a few more pointers on putting together a great game-day look. And find more info and coupons from The Fashion Mama on her website by clicking here: www.stephnamasters.com)

Idea No. 1: (Adjust colors to suit your team)

• Royal Blue Balloon sleeve Turtle Neck at GAP $34.00
• High Waist Gray Wide leg Denim Trousers at New York and Company $49.95
• Wide Black Leather Belt at Nine West
• Nicole Black Patent Bootie at Warrens Shoes $69.99
• SR Squared Black Patent Clutch at Warrens Shoes $39.00

Idea No. 2

• Red 3/4 Sleeve Ponte’ Knit Belted Jacket Collections at T J Maxx $34.99
• High Waist Gray Wide Leg Denim Trousers at New York and Company $49.95
• Nicole Black Patent Booties at Warrens Shoe $69.99
• Valentura by Candice Red Leopard handbag at Warrens Shoes $69.00

Idea No. 3:

• Addidas Red Razorback Track Jacket at Warrens Shoes $55.00
• Levis Skinny Leg Jeans at Ryans Clothing Store $19.99
• Light Gray short sleeve scoop neck T-shirt at Old Navy $10.00
• Nike Shox Trainer White with red at Warrens Shoes $89.99 (pictured here)

Idea No. 4:

• Blue Puffy hooded vest at New York and Company $25.86
• Blue/gray Striped Sweater Hoodie at New York and Company $30.06
• Levis Skinny Leg Jean at Ryans Clothing Store $19.99
• North Face Fur Lined lace up Boots at Warrens Shoes $120.00

Idea No. 5:

• Mountie Blue Sparkle T-shirt at Signed Sealed Delivered $30.00
• Blue Mounties Fleece Blanket at Signed Sealed and Delivered
• Converse Tennis Shoes in Black at Dillards $34.00

More tips from the Fashion Mama:

On game day, most of us love our jeans. They’re practical and can be fashionable, too. (As long as you avoid the dreaded “Mom jean.”) The key is to find a figure-flattering jean, keeping in mind that a darker color will be more slimming than a lighter wash. Only wear skinny or slim jeans if you’re tucking them into boots. A jean with a boot-cut or wide leg is the most complimentary for most body types.

Once you’ve got great jeans, you can focus on the top, and team colors are the way to go. If you’re coming from work or some other event and you don’t want to wear a team logo all day, find a fitted jacket or a dressy t-shirt and add a belt in order to accentuate your waistline and give it a more feminine look.

If you’re out shopping and you run across a puffy vest and coordinating sweater in your team colors, those would be great additions to your closet – especially if your kids will be in the same school for several years. I’ve chosen the Mountaineer Blue to show as an example because my three girls were and are Rogers Mounties for the last six years. (We have just one more left to graduate before they’re all in college!)

Some moms love to wear something with the team name on it, and there are plenty of cute things out there. Just remember not to go overboard with team insignias. Try to limit it to one or two at most.

As for shoes, make sure they match the look you’re going for. Boots can be great with jeans, and tucking them into boots is a trend this season. (Skinny jeans usually work well with this look.) Tennis shoes are comfy and also look good with a boot-cut jean, and sometimes you can find those in team colors, too. (See example pictured above).

Have fun with your game day outfit! Call me at 479-841-2360 if you’d like a little help finding a style you like.

By Stephna Masters of Closet Consulting with Stephna

All moms deserve a great date now and then. Spending time with our husbands is important for our sanity and our relationship. Whether the date is dinner and a movie, rock climbing or the opera, it’s even more fun when you look and feel good, without ruining your bank account to do it.

The good news is you don’t have to spend too much to pull together a date outfit. I put some examples together just to give you some ideas, and not one of the pieces shown here cost more than thirty bucks and they all came from Target. (See for yourself by clicking on each item to see it at Target’s online store.) Some of the trends to try out this fall include ruffle embellishments, plaid, and layering more than one top.

The outfit: (bought at Target)

Red ruffle blouse (Merona brand): $17.99

Black pinstripe vest (Mossimo brand): $19.99

Medium wash jeans (Mossimo): $24.99

Total outfit cost: About $63 plus tax

Of course, every woman needs a date outfit that’s perfect for special occasions. (Remember in the movie Pretty Woman when Richard Gere flew Julia Roberts to San Francisco for the opera? Okay maybe that doesn’t happen to most of us, but it’s good to be prepared, right?)

For those extra special nights, you need the perfect dress (or maybe even a pantsuit) that you can wear multiple times because it stays in style and works for most occasions. My No. 1 pick is a great-fitting basic black dress that’s fitted on top and slightly A-line on the bottom. You can choose jewelry to dress it up the way you like or add a bit of color with a handbag or shoes.

The outfit: (all pieces purchased at Target)

Knit black dress (Merona): $24.99

Black and pink wrap: $12.99

Pink satin clutch (Xhiliration brand; reversible to animal print): $14.99

3-string pearls: $9.99

Total outfit cost: About $63 plus tax (Less than dinner and drinks at a nice restaurant!)

With the right choices, you can put together a budget-friendly outfit that will make you feel flirty and fabulous on your next night out. Happy shopping, ladies!

If you’d love a little help on your quest to improve your wardrobe, call Stephna for more info on closet consultations and personal shopping services. She can be reached at 479-751-1531 or 479-841-2360.

By Gwen, mama of 3

There have been many times I’ve watched the show “What Not to Wear” on TLC channel and secretly wished for my own wardrobe intervention – only without the public humiliation and national television exposure. The truth is, my wardrobe lost its mojo somewhere between the dressing room and the delivery room. After three stints of maternity clothes and post-partum “roomy” clothes and “almost back to normal clothes,” I had to face the sad truth that I’d become a “uniform” dresser – jeans, t-shirt and comfy shoes – just about every day. In the winter, that uniform would include a zip-front hoodie over the t-shirt, but that’s about as versatile as I got.

There were mornings when I’d be sitting in the drop-off lane at my son’s school and notice another mom walk by who looked completely put together – with accessories, make-up, cute handbag, the works – and wonder why in the heck I couldn’t pull that off. Then I’d drive home, praying that I wouldn’t be in a fender bender because, if I was, I’d have to get out of the car wearing my pajama pants and my husband’s white t-shirt. Not a good look.

I knew I needed to shop for new clothes, but I felt like I was in a rut and didn’t know what to buy or where to get it. It was just easier and more fun to shop for my kids’ clothes, so that’s what I did. That’s when, as luck would have it, we moms here at nwaMotherlode heard about Stephna Masters – a former manager of a ladies’ clothing store (national chain) who’d left the company recently to start her own fashion consulting business in Northwest Arkansas. We just happened to be looking for someone qualified to write fashion articles for the website at the time. Needless to say, when Stephna offered to demonstrate her expertise by doing a closet makeover for one of the website mamas, my hand shot up into the air to volunteer. I was nervous about it but also really glad that perhaps help was on the way.

Here’s what happened: Stephna came over to my house (on a day when my kids were at Mothers’ Day Out) and looked through my sad, pitiful closet. I held my breath while she was in there because I figured she’d come out, shake her head and say, “I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do here.” But she didn’t. She started plucking things off the hangers and went to work. She laid out a large taupe-colored sheet on my bedroom floor and started assembling different outfits on that sheet – pants, top, shoes, and accessories. She’d ask me what I usually wore with a certain top and then she’d go find something completely different to put it with – a look I’d never thought of before. I couldn’t believe the number of outfits she managed to pull out of there that I’d never worn that way before.

She made notes on each outfit and then took a photo of it. While she did all this, she had me look through some of her fashion books so I could point out photos of outfits I liked best and we talked about how to achieve that look. Flipping through those books, I realized just how long it had been since I’d actually thought about what kind of image I wanted my clothes to convey. I’d been so busy being a mom and dressing my kids that the only real effort I put into dressing myself was to find a t-shirt that didn’t have a baby spit-up stain on it.

After a couple hours, Stephna finished her closet magic and we put everything away. She told me what basic pieces she thought I could shop for that would expand my outfit possibilities. She even wrote a list for me in a little purse-size notebook, with ideas for which shops to check out and what types of fabrics and colors to look for.

When she left, I was actually excited about the thought of going shopping – a task I usually dreaded. For the first time, I felt like I knew what I was looking for and, more importantly, why those pieces work for me. It was quite an education in two hours’ time.

A few days later, Stephna dropped back by my house to deliver a small photo album containing pictures of all the different outfits she’d pulled together from my closet – 25 different looks, complete with typed-up notes on each outfit. It’s my own little cheat-sheet book that lives in my closet and helps me answer that age-old question “What could I wear today?”

Since then, I’ve been implementing the tips I learned, and my husband and even my kids have noticed the difference. Even better, I notice a difference in myself. When I take the extra time to put together an outfit I feel good about, I carry myself differently. I feel like I can handle the day a little better. I flirt with my husband more. It’s all good. Of course, there are still days when I’m running behind and I race out of the house looking a lot less than polished. Hey, we’re all human. But I’m definitely on the road to fashion recovery, and for the first time in a long time, clothes are fun again.

For more info on closet consultations like the one I had, e-mail Stephna at mamas@nwaMotherlode.com or call her for your own consultation at 479-841-2360.

By Stephna Masters, of Closet Consulting with Stephna

Summer break is winding down, and moms are busy shopping for their kids’ school clothes. We often get so busy making sure everybody else in the family looks great that we completely forget about ourselves. So here’s your reminder: Your appearance is just as important, and, with a few insider tips and tricks, you can learn how to incorporate early fall trends while keeping cool during the hottest part of summer. You need to look for pieces that can be worn one way for summer and then totally different for fall and winter.

I’ve read several fashion magazines for August that feature articles on the “Wear Now, Wear Later” concept. I was trained to use this technique during the nine years I was employed with a clothing retailer, known for great customer service. I loved helping customers make smart purchases during season changes. When you’re reading fashion magazines, be careful when incorporating the suggestions and tailor them to the climate in which you live. I personally wouldn’t wear corduroy in Arkansas in early September. Choosing denim, cotton canvas or even a polyester/viscose combination would be better choices for staying cool.

Along with knowing which fabrics are appropriate, it’s just as important to know which colors are best for multiple seasons. Let’s say you have a brightly-colored skirt in your closet. (It may even be a printed skirt.) The skirt can be straight or A-line, depending on your preference. For summer, pair it with a crisp white blouse and sandals. To move the skirt to late fall and early winter, replace the white blouse with a sweater (even a turtleneck will work). Then add some tall, skinny black boots or black opaque tights and pumps to polish the look. Remember to adjust accessories like belts, necklaces, shoes and purses for the changing seasons as well.

A vest is also a great dual-purpose, multi-season piece for your wardrobe. During summer months, layer it with lightweight fabrics. Put a short-sleeved blouse or even a tank under a vest and then pair it with Bermuda shorts or cropped pants. For fall, I love the look of wool trousers, a blouse with some type of detail or embellishment with a vest on top for texture. You can complete the look with a great jacket, which will also accommodate the transition to cold weather.

When your kids are back in school and you’ve got more time to shop for yourself, keep in mind that retailers may already have new fall trends on display to tempt you, so be cautious. Before you buy, think about how you can wear it now and how you’ll wear it when the weather turns cooler. Remember that fabric and color are key factors when finding pieces that can be worn during multiple seasons. Choose wisely and you’ll end up with a closet full of versatile pieces that’ll keep you looking stylish year round. Happy shopping!

If you’d love a little help on your quest to find more versatile pieces, call Stephna for more info on personal shopping services. She can be reached at 479-751-1531 or 479-841-2360.