Style Rx

We Offer Personalized Fashion and Beauty Remedies for Four Readers In Search of a New Look

As part of the Trend Spotter team, we spend our workdays brainstorming ideas to help readers look their best. And it's safe to say that in our fair city, where stockings with sneakers make a fashion statement all their own, there's no shortage of people hoping for a little style advice.

So a few months back, we offered to help readers sort out their fashion conundrums. In came the ardent pleas for guidance. A bevy of volunteers lamented their poufy bangs and mom jeans. One woman described herself as a prisoner of L.L. Bean; another begged for help matching makeup to a complexion "most closely akin to a fluorescent light bulb." And then there was the very hopeful reader who requested we make her look "more coltish." We can't work magic, ladies.

But four women's letters stood out. The social worker who lives in three pairs of conservative slacks; the 25-year-old who can't shed her college sweats; the mom of three whose style sensibilities veer from preppy to posh; and the theater student who struggles to balance her brights and patterns. Let's just say we could relate.

Each woman wanted a new look, and we arrived at their doorsteps ready to help them find it. Armed with notepads, we dug through their closets, jewelry boxes and shoe racks to weed out their fashion hits and misses. And, oh, the misses: shiny, sequined halter tops, boxy black skirts and frumpy loafers galore. Keeping their budgets and needs in mind, we assembled a wardrobe's worth of ideas for each woman. Click their names above to see our recommendations.