Why Don’t You… Dress to Stand Out?

08 Sep Why Don’t You… Dress to Stand Out?

‘Why Don’t You’ is my weekly tribute to legendary editor Diana Vreeland who penned a column of the same name for Harper’s Bazaar for 26 years begging, “Don’t just be your ordinary dull self. Why don’t you be ingenious and make yourself into something else?”

The first time I saw stylist and personal shopper Carmen Lilly, I think my mouth dropped open.

Bloomingdales was toasting to this new younger, fresh collective of designers curated on the fifth floor. Designers were everywhere, bloggers and journalists were trying to get their quotes, PR girls to wrangling everyone, Hannah Bronfman was DJ’ing.

And there was Carmen, with her hair, wearing tan wide leg pants, heeled sandals, a tan and black striped long sleeve crop top, plus that Zara pearl necklace, inspired by the one Chanel sent down the runway the previous season.

I needed to get my quotes but I also wanted to know who she was. She was gone before I could properly meet her but Google alerted me to all of her social channels. I hit that blue follow button immediately.

So when Angel forwarded me an invite to a cocktail hour with Carmen and Full Force PR, I knew it was my chance to get the scoop on her and her look.

Her high-end roster of clients boasts of the likes of Rihanna, so it’s safe to say she knows her stuff.

I asked her what we can do specifically to stand out at events—particularly fashion events when everyone looks like a glossy spread.

Her suggestion?

It’s all about finding and supporting local designers.

“I shop local designers and work with tailors to customize the pieces for my body type,” Carmen told me. “I have this tailor that I’m going to work for Fashion Week. Especially for my body type, I have a hard time finding things that fit me right off the rack—that are different than what I already have seen at a reasonable price point.”

Bonus: you won’t have to worry about having a bish stole my look moment.

[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]“You don’t have to spend a lot to go look good,”[/inlinetweet] she said before scooting away to chat with the rest of her guests inspiring me to research New York-based designers to support.

Images Courtesy of @stylecarmen

Especially, considering as I type this, I’m looking at my bag of clothing that I’ve been meaning to take to the tailor for months. And we’re now two days away from Fashion Week.  ?

What do you think of Carmen’s tips? How do you like to stand out at events?

psst.. She just launched a Youtube channel with even more goodies here!