My personal shopper

It is spring on the prairie. 

With spring comes my urgent need for some new spring clothes. 

I have spent the past three years pregnant or breast feeding so I did not buy new spring clothes as I have been living in maternity clothes, elastic waisted shorts, capris and oversized shirts.

The year before that was 2006, Nathan and I were paying for house and wedding items. I once again did not buy spring clothes other than a few sale and clearance items. I was working out with a personal trainer and trying to tone up before buying clothes.

In 2005, I had gained thirty pounds, didn’t like the way I looked in new clothes. I held off buying spring clothes because I wanted to go down a size or three sizes actually.

In 2004, I was a single mom on a really tight budget and a new home owner. Again I did not buy spring clothes.
You get my pattern. 

I am overdue for a spring wardrobe refresher. 

Thankfully, my mom knows my wardrobe history. She went through my closet in early March when Nathan went with me to California for a business trip and my parents stayed with the kids at our home.

I came home to a cleaned out closet, complete with boxes of clothes to take to the consignment store along with some recommendations from my mother of what I needed to purchase to build up my wardrobe. 

Then a few weeks after our trip to Big Sky, MT my mom called and said she intended to pay me back for some of the things I had recently bought (ski lesson and lift tickets for my brother Joe who of course forgot his wallet and didn’t bring it on spring break…a great poor college boy trick). Rather than send me a check she wondered if she could do some spring shopping for me.

Yes of course. I trust my mom. She is fashionista, always up on the latest trends and a loyal follower of the television shows “What Not To Wear” and “Project Runway”. Plus she has been shopping and sewing for me for thirty years. She knows my shape, size, style preferences and like of color.

So I must admit I was gleefully excited when Nathan brought home this box from the post office yesterday.

And even more excited when I opened the box!

We live 100 miles from TJ Maxx or Target, 180 miles from a Macy’s, a good 380 miles from a Nordstrom’s or other major department stores. My mom is just a few miles closer than me. A majority of all shopping we do is online and it takes time just like it would in a store.

I know department stores, even J Crew will give you a personal shopper. Michelle Obama probably has one. Yes I know a few of you have personal shoppers in major cities. They keep track of different pieces you have added to your wardrobe and help you build a wardrobe.

But on the prairie, I have my mom. She is far and above more detailed and better than any other personal shopper I would have anywhere else.

She knows I need shoes for my sister’s wedding and plus I want to wear them for the summer. Check that off my list. Done. Thanks to my personal shopper. 

My personal shopper even provides me with the fashion forward make up and nail color for the season. 

After my six year hiatus from buying new spring clothes, thanks to my personal shopper, I am out of my rut.

Prairie dweller with a personal shopper–it’s my ideal shopping situation!