WardrobeJazz
My mission is for you to have a wardrobe that is so easy and so flattering that you love getting dressed every day.
If you are a woman over 40 who has struggled to keep your style mojo while your body makes changes without your permission, you are in the right place.
When I was in my early 50’s and losing my waistline, I wondered whether I was just overeating or turning into my mother.
My mother loved fashion. She designed and sewed beautiful clothes for herself and for my sister and me. But she struggled with her weight for many years and then went through menopause and thyroid surgery. Both these events made her life miserable for she loved beautiful clothes and being in style so much. My first career was interior design, but my mother became my inspiration to become a personal stylist. She never lost her love of fashion and as I trained to become a stylist, I helped her find new styles and looks that would flatter her much changed figure and keep her thinking positively about herself.
Style Has No Size, Age, or Price Tag.”
– Jean LeFebvre
Image Consultant, Designer, Public Speaker
For more than 30 years Jean has helped her clients dress to look great for every type of professional and social situation. Her clients rave about their new outfits, their reorganized closets and the pleasure and ease of knowing and wearing their most becoming styles and colors and, most of all, how easy it is to work with Jean. Her emphasis is on Personal Style over trendy fashion, believing that a wardrobe should reflect the personality and lifestyle of the person who is going to wear it. Therefore, her services are personalized to meet the needs of the individual client and the issues she deals with. As a side note, most people are not super confident about the way they look or dress and they are not comfortable with the idea of working with a consultant. One client remarked that working with Jean was a “judgement free zone.”
The Designer
Before becoming an image consultant, Jean studied Literature, History and Education but her passion was Interior Design. After she left school she apprenticed to an interior designer and started her first career, one that would last more than 20 years. She designed interiors and sold furniture, carpets and custom draperies for homes and offices (this is fertile territory for many stories of creating beautiful surroundings and the sometimes bizarre experiences that surrounded the accomplishment of those projects).
“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.”
-Anon
An Epic Moment and a Change of Direction
In the 1970’s a new technology for choosing clothing took the world by storm: Personal Colors. Before that time, you might know you looked dead in beige but if beige was “in” that year, you wore beige. That there could be a system for knowing and choosing your best clothing was new news. (Side note, this concept of not wearing a color just because it was the rage that season drove the retail salespeople nuts!) Then in the ‘80s Personal Image Consulting came into being and not just for the wealthy.
This was an historic era in the evolution of women’s rights. Women were demanding management and executive jobs and they needed the clothes that would give them the confidence and presence to get those jobs. Jean began to see the information she had absorbed from her mother and father in a new light. She already knew what the expert image consultants were teaching women about professional dress. Her interior design clients saw how well Jean dressed and asked for her help to dress them, and then their friends did too.
It was a pivotal point in Jean’s life and her mission became clear: Help women like her mother dress for their new careers and lifestyles so that they could concentrate on climbing the corporate ladder or starting their own businesses. In time, she became a Certified Color and Image Consultant, learning how to dress different body types in clothing that was flattering and and fitting to their personal style.
Growing Up
In her own words: “My mother was a talented and expert seamstress. She sewed my clothes and taught me to embroider and sew at an early age. I was fascinated by the beautiful colors of threads and making something beautiful on a plain piece of fabric. We spent hours in the sewing shop, selecting patterns, fabrics and trims. Mother would explain to me why certain styles and colors would be good for my sister or for me, since we had different body types. Little did I know she was putting my feet on the road to my future career.”
“My father managed an exclusive men’s clothing store. He put on a suit every morning, 6 days a week, and worked at that store for over 62 years. When I was a teenager, I made my spending money working in the store as a clerk, cashier and gift wrapper par excellence. I loved the fine quality of the fabrics and how each piece of clothing was tailored to fit the customer like it was made for him. I learned as much as I could about the tailoring and construction of men’s clothing. Another step in my career training.”
“Interesting fact, I didn’t know that other people didn’t have their clothes made for them or tailored to fit them if they were bought at a store. I thought everybody did that and was shocked to find out that wasn’t true.”
“Interesting fact, I didn’t know that other people didn’t have their clothes made for them or tailored to fit them if they were bought at a store. I thought everybody did that and was shocked to find out that wasn’t true.”
-Jean LeFebvre
Life in the Hill County
Jean’s clients appreciate that she understands Austin’s sense of style, which is unlike any other city. Of course, the Texas climate has to be taken into account in any choice of clothing. Austin women fully embraced the demise of pantyhose and it is unlikely they will ever resurrect that relationship. Just 55 miles south, the women of San Antonio still love the sleek look of sheer hosiery. She once had a man tell her, rather belligerently, that he had moved to Austin so he would never have to wear a necktie again. So Personal Style has everything to do with the widely varying Hill Country lifestyles. One week she might be working with a singer and a band or someone who has just retired and wants to travel. The next week maybe a government official and the week after that an entrepreneur or solopreneur navigating between corporate clients and being a new parent. This broad range of experience is the primary reason that so many who have moved to the area seek out Jean to help them understand and dress in the casual, sophisticated “Austin style.”
At Home
Jean met her architect husband when he hired her to provide interior design services for one of his projects. Through many beautiful projects, house remodels, trips to faraway places and adventures into real estate development, the partnership continues. After more than 30 years it is still going strong.
Adventure and Travel
Although she once jumped out of a perfectly good airplane, Jean loves flying, and has a goal of flying in as many types of aircraft as she possibly can. So far she has flown aerobatics in an open biplane, ballooned in the California wine country, helicoptered over the Grand Canyon, flown in a homemade two-seater, and parasailed in Puerto Vallarta (not really flying but it was great fun). Still on the list are a glider and an ultra-light.
In an ongoing search of inspiration and renewal, Jean has visited countries throughout Europe, and Canada, Mexico, the Leeward Antilles and South Africa. The result is a wide view of fashion and style and a wealth of resources and contacts that she uses to give her clients the best possible experience of working with an image consultant.
Community and Caring
Jean’s parents believed that to be a good citizen, one must give back to the community. They both volunteered in their church and with other service organizations. Jean has followed in their footsteps, serving on the founding development committee for Texas Special Olympics in Houston for seven years. She learned that her skills as an interior designer applied to event production and went on to chair and produce events for, Rice Design Alliance, the International Facility Management Association, the International Institute for Education, the Consular Ball, Austin Can Academy, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, the Austin Opera Guild and Leadership Austin.
She remains active with Leadership Austin, working on the Alumni Activation Committee and in the annual recruitment campaign for their leadership training and enhancement programs.
Leadership Austin
Youth For Human Rights
“Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.”
-Coco Chanel
The Last Word
You can have the look that you want, be comfortable in your clothes and know what to buy so that you will be totally put together for anything that comes your way. Make a promise to yourself that you are worth it. Start NOW! Read our Articles to learn how to style your own looks. Visit our blogs to get great wardrobe ideas. Check out our helpful products. Take one of our seminars or make an appointment with Jean for her consulting services. You will be amazed that getting dressed really can be easier and more fun every day!
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