Time Out Chicago interviewed me for a feature on ways to make quick cash–e.g., just become a stylist! I always appreciate publicity, but I wouldn’t call styling an easy way to make money. Like any business, it’s not just about having an eye for style–I’ve also got to be an agile marketer, a trend-watcher, a bookkeeper, an office manager, a publicist, a networker, a blogger, a webmaster, and a newsletter writer, roles for which I don’t receive a salary. (Luckily I love writing, so I don’t mind doing many of these tasks.) I may keep my overhead low, but there are still plenty of expenses involved–website hosting, maintenance, and upgrades, newsletter services, software and computer equipment, cell phone, car maintenance and repair, gas, parking, credit-card merchant services, magazine subscriptions, etc. And let’s not forget taxes!

So yes, styling might be a quick way to make some cash off of friends or acquaintances once in a while. But that hourly number is only a small part of the picture. I get a lot of emails from people who want to be stylists, and sometimes it’s hard to impress upon them that there’s more to it than just liking clothes and shopping.

This article in the New York Times–about how retail staff at some high-end stores have gone from haughty to helpful thanks to the recession–was interesting in itself, but I draw your attention to these two sentences:

A former employee of the Yves Saint Laurent shop on Madison Avenue once confided that it is a common and effective practice to size up a customer by looking at two simple things: his watch and his shoes. If the accessories are not expensive, he is not worth the effort of even a simple hello.

Not that you should care what some snooty clerk thinks, but this highlights the fact that shoes are an important part of an outfit. A lot of people cheap out on shoes, for the simple reason that footwear is expensive. A shoe, when you think about it, is a complicated piece of clothing that has to withstand a lot of abuse. No wonder good ones go for hundreds of dollars.

Even if you aren’t buying Manolo Blahniks and Christian Louboutins, it’s fun to let your shoes take the lead once in a while. This is called “dressing from the shoe up.” That doesn’t mean you have to wear all black. Just start with the shoes and pull clothes that play with their texture, color, and style.

For example, a pair of flat, strappy sandals calls for the sexy, louche Mediterranean look. Think a sexy, beachy, Saint Tropez vibe–a silky halter dress or a simple white cotton tunic and stretchy skirt. Vintagey ankle boots could inspire a 30s look–short, fitted jacket, straight skirt, close-fitting hat. Edgy pumps require an all-out effort–I could see these with one of Phillip Lim’s boundary-pushing designs.

Take a look at your shoes and your clothes and don’t just think about what will “go” together–think about making an impact, telling a story. Stretch your imagination!

I am planning a trip to Paris this spring. I really want to make sure I fit in with the stylish Parisians, but comfort is an important consideration, since we’re going to be running around sightseeing. I also can’t bring a ton of clothes. Any suggestions?

Ahh, Paris! Je suis tres jalouse. I think the main thing to remember when you’re packing for a vacation, especially a destination with as much of a reputation for stylish inhabitants as Paris has, is not to try to compete with them. Unless you are Anna Wintour, you will lose. After all, they have hundreds of years of history as the center the fashion industry behind them, not to mention their entire closets at hand. Rather, you want to blend in. Please note that in Paris and other stylish capitals of the world, blending in does not mean “looking boring.” It means adding those tweaks and details that make everyday dressing so much fun.

Anyway, one of the biggest traps women get caught in when they go to Paris is wearing things they would never wear at home. You want to look like yourself, after all, not like you’re wearing a costume that’s your version of what you think French people wear. And vacation is no time to find out that the skirt you bought for the trip tends to ride up while you’re walking or that the wide-brimmed hat makes your hair sweaty and stick to your scalp. You want to be psychically and physically comfortable.

Here are some essentials that will help you blend with the natives:

1. A smart trench coat (read: not something a Wall Street banker would wear—or used to wear, when they had money). Also necessary because it can be rainy and cool in spring. Neutral colors are OK, something colorful could also be cute. You can wear it over nice dark-wash jeans, cute flats, and a scarf, et voila! Speaking of the scarf…

2. A pretty scarf or two. Maybe a long pashmina-type thing, which you also can wear over your shoulders with a sleeveless dress. An Hermes scarf can be fun to wear, either hanging loose under a trench or wound around the neck and knotted over a sweater. Don’t get too wrapped up (sorry) in how to tie them if you haven’t mastered a technique. You can always use your lack of knowledge as an excuse to ask a stylish French person for help and maybe make a new friend.

3. Good shoes. Unless you’re some sort of fashion superhero, you will probably prefer to walk around in flats. You’ll need something chic, such as a contemporary penny-loafer style or a ballet-type flat—NOT beat-up sneakers or any sort of athletic shoe. Trust me, you will be marked as a tourist immediately if you wear Keds.

4. Dark-wash, basic “dressy” jeans. Your faded 501s will not work for you here, unless you are a 22-year-old man with a two-day scruff, full lips, and a way with rolling cigarettes. It is no longer true that no one wears jeans in Paris. You will be hard-pressed to find people over 55 wearing jeans, however, and jeans worn at a nice restaurant are still a no-no. Even if French people do occasionally do this, we are under the “Ugly American” burden and so must have higher standards for ourselves.

5. A fashionable handbag, preferably leather. No cute quilted or appliqueed totes, nobackpacks, no fanny packs. This should go without saying.

If you are looking for ideas or even just the flavor of what people are wearing, take a look at the street-style blog the Sartorialist and look at the photos taken in Paris. They’ll help familiarize you with shapes and silhouettes.  One note: the photographer tends to shoot a lot of fashion people who are all decked out in short skirts and heels, but remember they most likely have a car service.

Bon voyage!

My friend Tate Gunnerson of the design blog Strange Closets came over to take some pictures of my condo, and while he was here we also took some shots of me in different outfits. I thought it was a good opportunity to show, rather than tell, how I put things together to make an outfit.

Look #1: Vintage Chanel

Classic Chanel is characterized by lots of black and white worn with loads of costume jewelry (Coco herself was partial to pearls). This is one of my favorite looks, which I do over and over again with different separates. In this case it’s a black silk tank top accessorized with a couple necklaces and a vintage cocktail hat. I could throw on a white jacket or a cream-colored knit cardigan for that snappy white-over-black look. I’d dress it up with a black skirt, or down with trouser jeans.

Here’s the inspiration:

Look #2: Mad Men

Moving ahead a few decades, here’s a look inspired by the form-fitting look of the early 60s, popularized by the TV series Mad Men. This is a black-and-white top worn beneath a magenta cardigan, accessorized with a taupe-colored patent leather belt from J. Crew. It’s paired with a pencil skirt, of course! I added a couple of vintage gold bracelets inherited from my mom, worn over the sleeve of the cardigan. It’s kind of a severe look if worn too sincerely–best to keep it fun with bright color or cool accessories. Black-and-white prints paired with bright colors is one of my favorite combinations.

The inspiration:

Look #3: Blousy top, tailored pants.

This outfit wasn’t inspired by anything, other a need for a new look with the same old clothes. The top is actually a baby-doll dress (by local designer Lindsey Boland of Superficial that I bought at her store, Habit) that I just tucked in. The tweed pants are from Banana Republic. I added a long gold necklace over the top. I could also wear a fitted jacket over the blouse, but I wouldn’t wear anything too swingy. I like the mix of colors and textures here–the silk with the tweed, the dark burgundy with the neutral brown-and-white tweed pattern–as well as the mix of proportion and tailoring. With more wide-legged pants I always prefer flats. These are an ancient pair of Chie Mihara flats in a muted lavender suede that have held up amazingly well, considering how much of a pounding they’ve taken over the years. It’s true what they say about expensive shoes.

Look #4: Dressy-casual and slightly edgy

Here I paired my new white jacket from Target with the black tank top from Look #1 underneath and skinny dark-wash jeans tucked into tall brown boots. Again, the jacket would be great for work or some other more conservative environment with a skirt or a dressy pant, but the skinny jeans make it a little more nightlife-ready. I could have also worn a printed blue-and-white top under the jacket for more color. I like to wear a bunch of charm necklaces at once with this, but one of them keeps breaking, so here I’m just wearing one I got at Forever 21.

All photographs by Tate Gunnerson.