ASK MOA

Need advice on what to wear? Want to know if that shirt in the back of your closet is still “in”? Send us your ques­tions to askmoa@mallofamerica.com and we’ll post the best with our responses.

Q:  I have a wed­ding to go to in three weeks. The prob­lem is I have a large bust and it’s always hard for me to find a dress that fits me well. I’m always self-conscious when I attend other wed­dings and always end up cov­er­ing myself up with a pash­mina. Do you have any sug­ges­tions on what I should be look­ing for so I  can actu­ally show off my dress with con­fi­dence? –Katie

 A:  Katie, we don’t want you to hide behind a shield. It’s time for you to show your­self off to the world and be com­fort­able in what you wear. Con­sider a sim­ple V-neck dress with design ele­ments that sculpt and define the waist­line. I also rec­om­mend wrap dresses and sur­plice style neck­lines. Fab­rics that offer struc­ture and sup­port are desir­able. Keep in mind, shiny fab­rics make the bust look big­ger and so do sleeve lengths that align with the bust line. Long sleeves and sleeve­less dresses are best bets. Flounce hem­lines are also a con­sid­er­a­tion if you have nar­row hips; the flour­ish of fab­ric counter bal­ances the bust from below.

Q:  This year, my par­ents set a low bud­get for clothes shop­ping for back to school. I really want to make a good impres­sion on the first day of school and beyond that, but how can I achieve that with such a small bud­get? Do you have any advice? Thanks! –Sara

A:  Sara, we com­pletely under­stand where you’re com­ing from. How­ever, you don’t have to spend a lot to look amaz­ing! Here are 10 tips to con­sider before you start shopping:

1. Take inven­tory of your exist­ing wardrobe and deter­mine what fits, what doesn’t, what you plan on wear­ing to school, etc.

 

2. Make a list of what you need to fill in the gaps and buy things that work back to the items you already have. Keep in mind the upcom­ing sea­son, i.e. Indian sum­mer. Indian sum­mer is a big part of going back to school. That means cool morn­ings at the bus stop and hot after­noons. Per­haps you can wait to pur­chase that heavy jacket so you don’t have to spend as much cash in one trip. Con­sider dress­ing in lay­ers in the interim.

 

3. Shop with a plan – don’t buy on emo­tion. If you are a col­lege stu­dent, keep in mind your career direc­tion, pos­si­ble intern­ships and job interviews.

 

4. If there are bud­get con­straints – try and build your wardrobe around a base color. With that in mind maybe you’ll only need brown shoes instead of a black and brown pair.

 

5. Keep in mind your body type and buy things that are flat­ter­ing for you.

 

6. Set a bud­get and stick to it. If pos­si­ble save a por­tion of your bud­get and shop again after the first day of school. If you find your­self inspired by what your class­mates are wear­ing you’ll still have money to spend.

 

7.  Acces­sories are a fun way to update your wardrobe if you are work­ing with a lim­ited budget.

 

8. Remind your­self that you are not a celebrity, which means plan on wear­ing your clothes more than once. With that being said, think about the pieces you rotate more often and stay away from dec­o­ra­tive detail that makes them more memorable.

 

9. Shop sales, dis­count stores and head to the back of the store to look for clear­ance items that will work with your plan.

 

10. Shop early for the best selec­tion and size options.