Didn't catch it the first time around? Browse through our Newsletter Archives for further learning! 

• August 2010 - Developing Personal Style
• September 2010 - Clustering Your Clothes
• October 2010 - Evaluate Your Wardrobe
• November 2010 - Clothing Wear and Care
• December 2010 - Fashion in the Fast Lane
• January 2011 - The Power of Personal Apperance
• February 2011 - Art in Everyday Dress
• March 2011 - Line in Design
• April 2011 - Shape in Design
• May 2011 - Color in Design
• June 2011 - Fabric and Texture in Design
• July 2011 - Pattern in Design
• August 2011 - Developing Your Personal Style
• September 2011 - Which Fashion Trends Work into Clusters for You?
• October 2011 - Timely Tips for a Successful Wardrobe Evaluation
• November 2011 - 7 Ways to Find What You Need In Your Closet
• December 2011 - Love Plus Logic is the Key to Great Shopping
• January 2012 - Where Have All the Nice-Looking People Gone?
• February 2012 - Judith Rasband's Fashion Rule of ONETM
• March 2012 - Discover Which Fashion Lines Work for You
• April 2012 - How to Keep Your Shape in Shape
• May 2012 - Color: Don't Believe Everything You Read
• June 2012 - The Denim Dissent
• July 2012 - What Matters With Pattern
• August 2012 - Tricky Trends for Fall 2012

From previous September Newsletters, you may remember that a cluster of clothes is simply a small group of clothes selected and coordinated to meet the needs of one specific person.  With that in mind, today I put together a cluster for one of my Indian students.  Not planning to break the bank, we went into Christopher & Banks.  While everything in the store is reasonably priced, today everything was 25% off.  Being very selective, the source of inspiration for the color scheme of the cluster was a paisley print skirt in burgundy, black, a little beige, brown, and rust.  The colors present in the skirt repeated her personal coloring perfectly. 

• The burgundy repeated her cheek and lip coloration. 
• The brown repeated her eye color and rust repeated her cinnamon skin coloration. 
• Of course the black repeated her very dark hair coloration.  

She was going to be immediately part of the color scheme with the clothes.  The softly flared skirt shape repeated and accommodated her triangular figure type, wider across the hip and thigh area.  She appeared instantly slimmer. 

To fill out the cluster, it took only minutes to locate a basic black jacket, burgundy and rust colored tops, burgundy and black slacks, narrow black and a cinnamon leather belts, and a necklace in soft rose-burgundy tones.  Adding a surprise element, I picked out an olive green sport shirt and tee to pair with both pants -- in a naturally woodsy color harmonizing with her skin, eye, and hair coloration. That's eight easy pieces plus accessories that will mix with other black clothes and shoes she already has at home.  She looked absolutely beautiful and she was thrilled! 

Cluster from Peruvian Connection

Success stories like this are typical when you're shopping with a cluster in mind.  Some clusters come together quickly, while others are assembled over weeks or months.  Early in the fall is the best time to see whole cluster lines of clothes available in stores -- department and designer stores, chain and single brand stores, including some outlet stores.  There are clusters out there to be seen in virtually every personal style.  Single brand clusters range from 5 to 12 pieces, with each piece distinctly different and combining into many different looks for many different moods and occasions.  While you don't generally buy into a whole brand cluster, you'll certainly get the idea.  Don't limit yourself to looking in just one store.  Get yourself into a variety of stores so you'll be exposed to something new to you.  If you don't see what you like in stores, get into clothing catalogs. 

Don't get hung up on the supposed top five or fifteen "must-have" pieces of the season.  What's in or out depends on who's talking or writing. 

• Colors of the season are said to be navy, green, orange, gray, cobalt blue, or burgundy.  Suit yourself. 
• Shorter peplums are popular, but so are longer tunics.  Take your pick. 
• You can keep warm in a poncho or a parka.  Pick what you like. 
• Wear cropped pants or tailored trousers, stockings or no stockings, flats, boots, or heels. (But definitely pass on the black knee-high stockings they're showing with short skirts.)
• Styles are geometric, futuristic, vintage, Western, baroque, military, and equestrian. 
• Hems are mini, maxi, fishtail skirt -- high-in-front-long-in-back.   

As image professionals, it's smart to practice what we preach.  Build clusters of clothes for yourself.  Let your clients see you wearing cluster pieces in classic and creative ways.  Use clusters to display and/or demonstrate the strategy in media interviews, classes, seminars, and workshops.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, a clever cluster equals a whole chapter.  Two clusters equal two chapters and so on, each reflecting different facets of your lifestyle and/or personal style.  

If you do it for yourself, others will want to hire you to have you to do it for them too.  Clustering pays off! 

Judith Rasband

Conselle Institute of Image Management

Check out our blog at http://conselleimageconsultant.wordpress.com!