i need to start thinking about this too. i would love to steal my mil and sil for a weekend and buy a whole wardrobe. i keep saying my dd gets her fashion sense from them lol. dh has more fashion sense about what looks decent on me than i do. he's not into shopping at all, just has a good eye i guess.

I watch a lot of What Not to Wear so that now when I go shopping I mentally take Stacy and Clinton shopping with me and follow their rules. I also take my boyfriend who I trust to tell me the truth no matter what I think the mirror is saying. This is especially helpful when I'm trying something on that is outside my comfort zone (meaning over-sized) and is fitted more close to my body.

I have also hung out at Barnes & Noble skimming through books on style and how to dress your body type. It helps a lot.

The most important thing is to just try stuff on. This last summer we went to a wedding and I had to look great for several days. I tried on a ton of clothes before settling and liking just six outfits. It was worth it because I have never felt so good about myself in clothes.

Macys has free personal shoppers at some of their stores. Here's a page about their service and a list of stores that have them.

Nordstorms offers a free personal stylist program, if there's a store near you. More info here.

Have fun and be sure to post a report if you go!

No, never. I spent too many years picking my outfits by what would fit and in my price range rather than what I liked and looked great on me.

While I've been losing sizes I have taken advantage of the Goodwill store and extreme discount racks at department stores and Target to buy some pretty cheap clothes to experiment with. It really didn't matter if I picked something that was going to fall apart after 1 wash as likely by the time it needed washing I'd have already moved on to another size (and most stuff I picked up was in $5-10 range so I wasn't breaking the bank).

I now love, love, love putting outfits together. I swear that what gets me to meet up with some of the men I've met on line is the chance to get dressed up!

my BFF is my image consultant- she is 5'1" and weighs 110 pounds...and always dresses SO CUTE! she really gets how to make the most of her shape (she used to weigh about 40 pounds more)- and she is really helpful to me. i still feel like a frump next to her- but...she makes me look my best and really has my best interests at heart.

the bad part is that she lives 2000 miles away (i moved away about 10 years ago, but we still talk on the phone every day)...so my time in person with her is limited...

i really wish she would nominate me for what not to wear! LOL!

I too am really enjoying, even now, the thrill of shopping for clothes that fit; but I like the idea of a paid consultation, a la Colour me Beautiful. I know the colours I like, I know the safe colours I've always stuck with but would love advice on others. Plus, a whole 90 minutes, where the focus is MEEEEEEEE sounds lovely.