TED Women, what to wear?

How many of you enjoy packing for work related travel? After talking to many women about this, my conclusion is, only a few :-)

Sometimes you end up with unconscious shopping because you did not pack what you needed?

You might look so much forward to the events, workshops, dinner, public speaking and so on, and you might have a lot of work related stuff to prepare. Would it not be great to have someone help you pack for a travel like that?

As a personal stylist that is one of the things I help people with. Just recently I helped Rachel Montagu to plan her outfits before a trip to Palm Spring to attend TED Women

TED Women, what to wear?

· 3 days – conference, workshops, meetings

· 2 nights – dinner

· 1 night cocktail party

· LA meeting with publisher, author, TV presenter

Rachel gave me some input on how she wants the outfits make her look and feel, amongst them where comfy and fresh. I have helped Rachel before, planing outfits before photoshoot for her webpage. My thought this time was that some of that styles are a part of her branding, therefore some of those clothes should be used during TED women.

For the 3 days conference I base the outfits on some of the outfits used before, only the last shoot was during winter time in London, now, outfits must be suitable for a norwegian like summer temp in Palm springs. We made a plan for those outfits, including some new clothes I thought might suit Rachel, and can be used with the clothes she already have. During this prosess we found there was something missing in her wardrobe to complete the look, to mix and match tops with either skirt or trousers. The goal is to travel light, but with options to make new outfits by the items she brings with her. We worked so fast and effective to come to conclusions on those outfits that we forgot to take pictures :-)

Some of the new clothes we found for the conference part will show up later in this post

The cocktailparty dress!

Both nice shoes, but the best look for this yellow dress?

Golden shoes, we both agreed those are the most stylish

The belt with the enamels, it did not match the shoes with the knot in front. I found a solution to hang them by the sides of the dress.

Then the accessorize, first earrings. Just the look Rachel wanted, also, a great story behind how she got them :-) When you wear something that has a story, it can make you feel you are “owning your outfit “ in a great way!

The bag! It´s all in the details, the suede clutch as a contrast to the golden shoes and the colorful dress. Wearing the clutch over shoulder or carry it by hand, to different looks. To carry it by hand looks great, but for a cocktail party it´s good to have the opportunity to carry it over shoulder.

Always a little messy during the creative prosess ;-) the pattern to the left is from a blouse and skirt that makes the basic for the outfits during the conference.

Dressed for dinner

This dark blue, light weighted dress is both stylish and comfortable to dress for dinner. I styled it with the same shoes, clutch and earrings as for the yellow cocktail dress.

With a busy schedule it´s easier to dress when the clothes and accessories can be mixed into different styles

Rachel with one of the outfit for conference, pluss testing a poncho that is suitable for several outfits, in case chill evenings. This light pink poncho works for almost every outfit, except the yellow dress. We found a creme cardigan in Rachel´s wardrobe to use with the yellow dress.

Another out for dinner outfit; the black shoes from first picture, this black lightweight topp and a pair of Rachel´s favourite black pants. Also suitable with the pink poncho if its a chill evening.

Rachel taking pictures to remember what to pack :-) I also gave her a note about the styles we planned.

Finished with the wardrobe, no off to one of Stavangers nicest shops to try some new clothes, making the packing list complete. But first letś take a selfie :-)

The green silk blouse was one of the items I thought would suit Rachel and some of the other items she had at home for the days with conference. It was nice, suited Rachel, but it was to heavy and more uptight than what we had planned for.

The pants on the other hand! Oh my, these are so nice! Not a part of the plan, the plan was to find a pair of cool 70´s look jeans. The color will most defenitly suit the weather, might get a little warm because of the velour, but then again, suitable for European Autumn and winter :-)

Great service from Elisabeth at SO, measure the pants just the right length. And look at the top! My favorite silk singlet, Rachel´s new favorite. She will use it with the creme cardigan we planned to go with the yellow dress. She also bought a plain white singlet to wear with the pants, cream and white are good match!

The dress!

This dress was not a part of the plan! When Rachel was in the dressing room I found this, I thought. The 70ś look with the pattern, suitable for dancing , colors and pattern; strong and feminine. Dressed up, but comfortable enough, you can also wear it without the belt. She can use it with the black open toe shoes she has at home.

The clutch, as some of you who follow me might have noticed. I LOVE the bags from 4africa <3 The look off course, but their mission and the knowledge about the whole story behind who made them, how buying this clutch has a really good impact on the life of those who make them.

Rachel loved the clutch suiting the dress, she loved it even more when I told her the story behind who had made it. She bought it and told me she will tell the story of this clutch during TED Women. One more reason why I love my job.

Women empowering women

Rachel Montagu, why hire Lene G. as your Personal stylist?

Thank you Rachel,for a great day, all the best of luck during TED Women Palm springs in november! :-)

- Lene G.