The Big Reveal

So yesterday started out like any other day with getting my hair done first thing.

Ha I wish! It was so awesome to have someone else style my hair into something that would stand up against yesterday’s heat while I just sat there relaxing.

After hair was done, I hopped into a cab to head to the magazine’s headquarters to get my makeup done first, and then do the photo shoot. I got to wear three different outfits during the shoot, and here they are.

Outfit one:

Outfit Two:

Outfit Three:

So what’s the backstory to all this!? I finally get to share!

Back in March, I saw something on Twitter about submitting yourself for a style makeover from the Washingtonian. I figured why not and sent in an email saying that I had lost a significant amount of weight, had very few clothes to work with, and had no idea how to dress to flatter my new figure besides in workout clothes (true, true, truer!). I didn’t hear anything back for months so figured the opportunity had been missed and kept on living…

Meanwhile, in May, as you probably know, I attended FitBloggin’ up in Baltimore. While I was there, I got to talk to one of the editors at Fitness Magazine, Karla Walsh, after she was part of a keynote panel. I spoke to her a bit about my story of losing weight and how I had really learned to cook during the time and had basically turned my life upside down and inside out. She said she loved the story and to follow up with her after I got back from the conference.

I felt hopeful, but didn’t want to be disappointed so tried to remain as neutral as possible. I followed up with her by email afterward and she sent me a questionnaire to fill out which I quickly did and sent back in to her. A couple weeks later, late one Friday evening, I got an email saying that the editors loved my story and I was going to be in Fitness Magazine!!

I nearly burst into tears at the thought of being a success story in print! I could hardly believe it was happening and it still makes me teary eyed thinking about it… I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like to see the story with my own eyes! I had a follow up phone interview with Karla where I basically poured my heart out about changing my life and talked about some of the most pivotal times during my journey, followed by several email exchanges with Karla, the photo editor, and the fashion department. I was sent a HUGE box of clothes of all different athletic clothing as well as cute fall clothing, and then this past Saturday I had my photo shoot for Fitness Magazine. Unfortunately, I had to send all the clothes back (boo) BUT it’s going to be in the October 2011 Issue as an “I Did It!” story. I cannot WAIT to see it in print!! As if that wasn’t enough…

Less than two weeks ago (very quick turnaround!!), I heard back from Washingtonian Magazine that though the story had been pushed back a bit, I was selected as one of the style makeover candidates!! I nearly freaked out with excitement before evening knowing any details, and it turned out to be way cooler and way more involved than I ever even thought!

I got paired up with a stylist, Kaarin of Closet Caucus, who is the most awesome, adorable, and wonderful stylist I could ever even dream up. If you are looking for a stylist, I honestly can’t recommend her enough.

She was actually the one who told me about that clothing swap that I went to last week! Outside of the clothing swap, she also came to my house to go through my closet to pick out the “gems” from my closet, and then we shopped for almost FOUR hours on Tuesday night, scoring some amazing deals. The Washingtonian gave me $250 to spend on new clothes to enhance my wardrobe, set me up with Kaarin, took care of my hair, makeup, and the photo shoot. The story SHOULD be going in the September issue of the magazine, and I’ll keep you guys posted as soon as that is finalized.

And we’re not done yet!! Kaarin, my stylist, and Sarah, the writer from Washingtonian, are coming over to my apartment on Monday night to do a full-out wardrobe edit. This means she’s basically going to look through all my clothes and help me get rid of things that I don’t need, help me make a bunch of different outfits out of what I do have (and take pictures!), and give me a list of basics that I need. I promise to talk a lot more about the styling advice I got next week, because a lot of the things I learned are applicable to everyone and I learned a LOT about both fashion and myself during this process.

So excuse me while I pinch myself to make sure this is really happening!! Two big magazines in two months!!! I feel so lucky and almost beside myself with excitement. I can’t believe this is really happening!!!