“Aplomb” Helps Everyday Women Find Personal Style
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- Details
- Category: Local Business
- Last Updated on Thursday, 16 February 2012 08:42
- Written by Jennifer Mathy
RIDGEFIELD/WILTON, CT (February 15, 2012) – Women over 40 tend to get frustrated with finding something perfect to wear, getting lost in a sea of rules, fashion trends and age-appropriate concerns. Couple that with negative perceptions about individual body types -- and dressing after a certain age can be quite challenging.
Two local entrepreneurs, Patty Douville & Kaki Johnson, have launched Aplomb, a wardrobe consultancy that specializes in helping women over forty create personal style, using clothing from their own closets.
“Most women have a closet full of clothes, but nothing to wear,” says Douville, who brings experience in fashion and fashion merchandising to the new business venture. “Often, the perfect outfit is right there, hanging in their own closet..”
Aplomb offers 3-hour consultations in clients’ homes. The service includes assessing and advising on fit, reviewing and pairing pieces, and leaving the client with detailed, customized guidelines to suit her individual needs.
One aspect of their work involves educating clients about their specific body type. Douville & Johnson believe women have been inundated with negative information about body shapes. Are you an apple? Then current wisdom dictates that you must be unhealthy, with narrow hips and a round tummy. Are you a pear shape? Saddlebags. Women have been lead to believe that nearly any shape is flawed unless it meets the feminine ideal, the coveted hourglass.
“Elizabeth Hurley is an apple. Jennifer Lopez is a pear,” says Johnson, whose experience in the corporate world showed her, first-hand, that many women struggle with a fashion industry that ignores their needs. “What those celebrities have, that the rest of us don’t, is someone telling them how to dress.”
Aplomb’s mission is to help everyday women bring balance to their proportions and create signature styles, by dressing classically and “putting on an edge” with accessories unique to each woman. To do this, Douville and Johnson “shop the closet” of their client, pulling together pieces in new ways to create a series of outfits for any occasion.
“As we get older, it gets less about trends, and more about what makes a woman look and feel her best,” says Johnson. “It’s ridiculous to think a woman must have an ingrained sense of style. Let me tell you, it’s hard. But everyone can learn how to dress their own body, to find a personal ‘uniform’ that creates balance and achieves that hourglass look.”
Once classic pieces are mixed and matched to create a variety of outfit choices, Douville and Johnson then work with clients to layer accessories that express the personality of each woman, such as a bohemian scarf or a vintage necklace. This marriage of classic pieces and cherished accessories is how Aplomb creates a signature style for each client.
“I love to see that look in the mirror when a woman starts to like what she sees,” says Douville. “I was a size 16 at one point in my life. Once I learned how to dress my body, accentuating the positive, my whole outlook changed. When you look great, you feel great, and can accomplish great things.”
Aplomb offers one-on-one consultations in client’s homes, and can be reached by contacting (203) 403-9157 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Picture: Kaki Johnson of Wilton (L) and Patty Douville of Ridgefield (R) have launched Aplomb, a new business that helps women assess and create outfits from their clients’ own closets. (Photo Credit: Ashley Howie)
