Goodwill Fashion Expert—Bjorn Nasett

Lynn Highum is by her own admission a regular, once-a-week Goodwill shopper. Her employer, Premier Body & Paint in Waukesha, is also a supporter of the yearly Goodwill Retro Rendezvous fundraiser held in Milwaukee. As office manager for the company, Lynn says, “the days fly by because there is always something to do!” While attending the Retro Rendezvous event in October with her spouse and other folks from her workplace, Lynn noticed that yours truly was offering a personal shopping experience as well as a $100 Goodwill gift card as one of the silent auction prizes. She immediately informed her husband that it was just what she needed. With her position in the busy company Lynn needs to look professional, yet not too corporate and buttoned down. Since she’s always stated that she has struggles with her lack of fashion sense, her spouse agreed and urged her to place a bid. Later on in the evening, she found out she had won!  Lynn got in contact with me via email and expressed her excitement for the opportunity to get some new ideas on personal style out of the experience. She was hopeful that I could provide some insight that could guide her when it comes to making smart fashion choices while shopping at Goodwill. Below, she shares some of what she took away from our time together in her own words. Knowledge is fashion power, and we ALL have it in us to learn a few new tricks!

The title of this column is a slang term from the depression era that my grandmother used to say when she really, really liked something. The phrase became popular during that downtrodden era from the lyric of the song composed by Lew Brown and Ray Henderson entitled “Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries.” The song urges the listener to let go of worry and enjoy the small things in life. This pithy saying could also describe the way the fashion world really, really liked the rich fruity tones of berry for fall fashion 2013. One of the best ways to introduce some new life into your look is the strategic use of color.  Clear, bright jewel tones will always make neutrals pop, it’s a fashion fact. They can also be downright spectacular when worn in monochromatic pairings. These lyrics from the song sum it up, “So keep repeating it’s the berries, the strongest oak must fall, the sweet things in life to you were just loaned, so how can you lose what you’ve never owned?”  Let’s see how perhaps Goodwill and a sharp eye for style can let you in on fall fashion’s secret weapon … berry tones! 

Whenever a sentence starts with “when I was a kid we…” you know you’re getting a little older.  But truthfully, not so many years ago, much of the fun of Halloween was in helping to put together your own special costume, wasn’t it?  Of course, even back in the “good old days” there were store bought costumes versus homemade costume debates all the time. What I remember was how fun it was to poke around in grandma’s attic, or at rummage sales my mom went to throughout the year, to pick and choose pieces that I could craft my Halloween vision with. Now, there are a lot of ways to get your Halloween party on, but Goodwill is the undisputed headquarters when it comes to creativity as well as economy. Whether you’re in the mood for a costume that’s frightening and scary, outrageous and funny, or movie star in the making, our stores literally have all the things you’ll need. With the variety of items available putting together a distinctive Halloween costume is easy, and our prices won’t leave you screaming in terror!

For those of you that read my column here last week, you’ll know that a large part of New York City’s twice yearly Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, is all about the personal style people show off out on the street. Quite honestly the sidewalk is hands down the best runway in town! I’ve always thought that what people actually wear is much more of an indicator of where fashion is going, or for that matter, precisely where it is at this moment. So, I’ve combed through my shots and pulled together some more of the good, the bad, and the questionable, as they strutted their stuff and posed for pictures. 

Is it okay to wear white clothing items post Labor Day? The origins of wearing white only in the summer were more society based than fashion obsessed. In the good old days when it seems that folks had much more decorum, class, and might I add, dignity, men and women didn’t expose much in the way of flesh in public ever - let alone during the sweltering summers. Wearing white in the hot and humid months made sense, because white linen, cotton and silk fabrics were much more breathable than the traditional winter woven such as wool. Even etiquette columnist Miss Manners, Judith Martin, says, “Not only was there no air-conditioning, but people did not go around in tee-shirts and halter tops. They wore what we would now consider fairly formal clothes.”