I come by my love of sale shopping honestly. Shopping adventures with my mother were like scavenger hunts; necessity dictated the need to find bargains. Endless hours were spent sifting through racks in Loehmanns and the like, pulling finds and making outfits. A successful shopping trip was exhausting, included countless “savings” and a tremendous sense of pride and accomplishment.

So it is no surprise to find me at the stores at 8:00 a.m. the day after X-mas, digging into the post-holiday sales; though this year, I actually needed to shop ‘til I dropped. For those of you following me on social media, you know that I lost more than 50 pounds over the past year. While it was all good, the only down-side to my weight loss I perceived is that it rendered all my clothes useless. I seriously have nothing in my closet from last year that fits me. Certainly a great problem, but a problem nonetheless.

I came to my weight transformation by accident. I networked with a friend who is a health coach in the hopes that there would be overlap between our clients, people who were refining their wardrobes and their images and those looking to lose weight. I started the program to take some weight off and was so successful and pleased with the program that I became a coach too.

What a blessing to now combine my success at a health transformation with my love of shopping and image consulting. And after having personally navigated the weight loss, I am in a unique position to help guide my clients into dressing for their new body and lifestyle.

When people lose 10 pounds, they find that their clothes fit more comfortably—there’s less pinching and discomfort. After another 10 pounds or so, there is the giddy feeling of shrinking out of that size. At this point, some will want to reward themselves with new clothes but others hold out, knowing that they’re not at their final destination. The latter make do with small adjustments, safety pins and baggy clothes. The former, myself included, happily start buying new, smaller clothes. But the problem with that approach was that at the rate I was losing weight, the new clothes quickly became useless.

The solution to this particular situation can be found in creating a Capsule Collection, a formula that helps you dress for every stage of weight when you don’t really want to spend too much money or buy too many items in the interim sizes.

Create a capsule collection by grouping a few key pieces in each clothing category (e.g., long sleeve tops, short sleeve, skirts, dresses, jackets etc…) that are anchored in one or two basic/neutral colors like black, navy, grey or tan. All pieces can be worn together and can be combined to create multiple looks from as few pieces as possible. To diversify, you layer in pieces in pops of color but only if they complement your “color story.” Everything must work together, including outerwear, shoes and accessories.

This trick is helpful when shopping during weight loss, but it also has much larger benefits. For example, when traveling, efficient packers can naturally lean towards a ‘mini’ capsule collection. It makes sense to limit yourself to pieces that will all work together and can be worn in multiple iterations to maximize usage and minimize luggage. Then, think about your life as a macrocosm extension of your weeklong trip. How much easier will it be to put together outfits when you have fewer pieces but they all coordinate?

Consider this simple way to build your wardrobe! Whether you’re starting from scratch or from any point in your life going forward. There are many personal considerations to take into account when planning out the right balance, and I can help you do that.

Tehillah is a NYC based image consultant, closet editor, personal shopper and health coach and is available for private consultations. Call (929) 265-2156 or email: [email protected]. Connect on social media for more styling tips, event info & other fun things- instagram @up2date_nyc—Facebook—up2datenyc