The Make Over America show in Chicago went beautifully. I was really happy to be there because Chicago is one of my favorite cities in the country, maybe even the entire world. I went to grad school at Northwestern, so I’m always happy to come back to a city that offers such great art, architecture, theater, food and, of course, incredible people.

Once again it was my privilege to work with 15 women who had really fantastic attitudes’even though it was an incredibly long day at the Macy’s on State Street store. That store is gigantic! Seriously, it’s humongous. Because of that, during the styling process, if somebody’s pants didn’t fit it would take me 20 minutes to get to the other side of the store and find the correct size. In fact, we were there so late that we closed the store down. I was putting the finishing touches on my last three ladies in the dressing room when the lights went off. Oh, and I lost two pounds from all that running. Good times.

The show itself was super-high energy. I couldn’t believe how many of thewomen were complete and total hams. There was Karen, who rocked the runway like I’ve never seen a model rock the runway. It was sort of like a stand-up comedienne doing Fashion Week. And then there was Latricia, the preacher’s wife, who evidently was a supermodel before she married a man of the cloth. So it was a really memorable show with a great audience. I also think it was the longest autograph line for book signing that we’ve had yet. I must have talked to half of Chicago that day, and I loved every second of it.

As I write this, I’m in St. Louis for What Not to Wear, soon to jet off to Scottsdale for the next Make Over America event. I’ve got my fingers crossed for some of that sunny Arizona weather. Thanks for dropping by!
ps: If you’re in the neighborhood, stop on by the show. We’ll be at Macy’s Fashion Square in Scottsdale at 2pm, Sunday, October 17th. You can also watch it live (just remember it’s 2pm local time) at www.macys.com/makeoveramerica

So, I just finished the Cherry Hill, New Jersey, show, which was a really good time. My team and I made over 15 amazing women. Here’s the thing about Jersey: Its residents are some of the most opinionated people in the country. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I’ll be honest and tell you that some of the women weren’t so open-minded about what I wanted them to wear. I got my way in the end ‘ always do ‘ but it was WORK.  And, no, I can’t name names. I’m very discreet, in case you haven’t heard.

The week before was Overland Park, Kansas, outside of Kansas City. What a lovely group of women. Each one was sweeter than the next. I don’t know what I was expecting from Kansas, as I had never been there before. Maybe I was expecting a lot of waving wheat and really flat land. Well, it is quite flat, but the people in Kansas were super nice and a lot more diverse than I had thought. AND I had the best strip steak imaginable in Kansas City at a restaurant called Plaza III. Juicy and tender with bearnaise (my favorite sauce ever!) on the side. And their creamed spinach is just as good as my own! I still dream about it.

If you’ve been attending the Make Over America events, thank you so much for coming. If you haven’t yet, please come and say hey.

Nine down, six to go!

As I write this, I feel compelled to tell you that I am both exhausted and exhilarated, having finished Make Over America shows in Austin, Texas and Edina, Minnesota.

I tell people all the time that great style requires time, energy and patience. And boy does that ring true when styling 15 women in one day. (Luckily I’ve had some amazing styling assistants courtesy of Macy’s.) I’ve left the store both Fridays feeling as though I had run a marathon—legs burning and blisters on my feet. (The blisters were my fault because I didn’t wear socks with my loafers. Big dope.) But honestly, I think I should get a pedometer to prove that I walked at least a half marathon looking for the perfect outfits!

Now here comes the exhilarating part: On both Saturdays, I had incredible shows that were so fulfilling that I can barely explain it to you. It’s just the best feeling to know that real women, regardless of their shape, regardless of their size, regardless of their age, have had a moment in the spotlight where they feel like supermodels, which of course they were. I highly encourage you, if at all possible, to come to see one of the shows if we happen to be in your ‘hood, because it just feels good to see other people feeling great about themselves.

If you’ve modeled for me, thankyouthankyouthankyou! Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your bravery. (It’s not easy to stand on a stage in front of your entire town and be gawked at.)

And thank you for letting me be a part of your lives.

Next stop: the Boston area, my old stomping grounds! Go. B.C.! Go Eagles!

I’m currently sorting through approximately 1,000 applications for the city of Austin alone—and I’m having a really difficult time choosing just 15 women! It seems like a lot more than 15 of you need makeovers, but everybody seems to have a great story and so many of you look like you have such fantastic potential.

So I would just like to say to the city of Austin: I wish, wish, wish I could choose all of you. But I can’t. I’ve only got one day, not a month. Please keep in mind that if I don’t choose you, it’s not because I didn’t want to choose you. This is hard!

Anyway, thank you so much for your entries.  I hope that even if you aren’t selected for the makeover you’ll come to Macy’s and see your neighbors and me. Or at least watch it online. I think it’ll be a really, really fun time and I can’t wait to get started on this tour and kick it off in the great city of Austin, Texas!

I appeared on The View on Tuesday, March 3rd, to announce the Make Over America. What a blast. Thanks so much if you tuned in. Whether you did or you didn’t, I thought I’d give you a little behind the scenes recap.

In preparation for the show, we did a full day of fittings, hair and makeup. Luckily the four women I worked with were full of good energy and patience. Suzie showed up to Macy’s without a bra! (Hello?) But we soon fixed that. When I put her in the BCBG jumpsuit, everyone got quiet and looked at each other as if to say, “That’s pretty fabulous, isn’t it?” Suzie loved it and wanted to wear it on the show, but she had to promise me she would ROCK it. And she did!

Suzanne gets the award for straying out of her comfort zone. I don’t think she had ever worn a pencil skirt in her life. The one we got her from INC showed the amazing set of legs she was hiding under my least favorite garment in the world: The Mommy Jean. Suzanne felt bad for stumbling out of her heels a little on The View, but I thought it was cute!

Beth was a trooper. She tried on a LOT of jeans before we found the perfect pair. But I’ll tell you, a dark wash trouser jeans works almost every time. And that blue leather jacket. Amazing! My friend Kurt Lowry of Aveda NYC pumped up her red hair and my friend Gabriella Voigt pumped up those amazing cheekbones and va-va-va-VOOM! Superstar!

Robyn was another trooper. I wanted to demonstrate a trend that I’m calling “tough girly” this season. It’s about combining ultra-feminine pieces with more masculine ones, like a frilly dress with leather boots or a motorcycle jacket. Let me tell you: Only try this trend if you’ve got some free time on your hands. Not exactly the type of thing you can do in 20 minutes.

Now let’s talk about the women of The View.

Elisabeth is a sweetheart. She and I both went to Boston College for undergrad work (I was there about 500 years before her though) and we have a mutual friend. So, when she was hosting the segment, it felt like I was talking with an old friend.

Sherri and I didn’t get a chance to talk much, but she looked smokin’ hot.  And talk about a good hair day.

Backstage, Whoopi asked me what I could do to help her. And I told her that any time she wanted a stylist, she should have her people call my people and I would be there lickety-split. I think she being facetious because she defended her style at the end of the show when the producers flashed a BEFORE picture of Suzanne who was basically wearing the same thing as Whoopi!

But Whoopi, my offer still stands: You want to give up the oversized denim shirts? You give me a buzz, babe.

Check back on this site often to read my blog.  Be sure to ask me for style tips.  And we’ll be broadcasting all of the shows live via this website starting May 2nd in Austin.