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How to Use Dress Me

1. Do These Once to Get Started

(Optional) Choose an advisor (back to top)

You can just do it yourself if you have the time and ability to make your own decisions. You can use one of the books listed for support.
You can use an image consultant (or "agent"). Dress Me lets you work with a consultant very efficiently so you can get the best value for your consulting expense. Your savings in time and money will be well worth it. If you do, get your consultant involved early. They can help you define what you need to meet your goals, audit your wardrobe, shop for new items, and provide other advice.

You can open your My Agent page to see if you have an agent relationship. If you were referred by an agent, you may already be linked with that agent. If you weren't, you can find an agent you like, then ask them to create a Dress Me agent account. Then, when they send you their member name, you can type it in on your My Agent page to link with that agent.

Enter your personal profile (back to top)

(Create your account if you haven't yet. Click "Join now" on the Dress Me home page.)

Enter your profile using the Client Profile page. Also fill out and save the Client Profile form provided on that page.

Enter your wardrobe needs (back to top)

A "need" is an item on your shopping list.

Enter a set of needs -- specific articles of clothing needed -- that will meet your goals. You enter needs using either the Add Wardrobe Need page or the Add Many Wardrobe Needs page. You can think of these needs as "slots" (or "hangers") in your closet. These "slots" must be filled with the articles of clothing that will help you meet your goals.

Enter your starting wardrobe (back to top)

An "asset" is anything you own.

You "cover" a need with an asset that fulfills the need. The need goes away until it becomes "uncovered" because the asset wears out or goes out of style. Then you "cover" the need again with another asset.

You may want to "audit" your current wardrobe to see what to keep, what to dispose of, what to form into capsules, etc. An image consultant or other source of advice (books, etc.) may help.

You probably have articles of clothing (assets) that already fill some of the needs you entered. Enter those assets in your Dress Me database so that the needs they cover won't show up on your shopping list. This keeps your shopping list accurate. Your wardrobe audit will determine which assets to keep and which to discard. To enter assets:

Open your Wardrobe Assets page.
Click on "Start up worksheet".
Print out one or more copies of the worksheet.
Fill out the worksheet by following the instructions provided at the end of the worksheet.
With the worksheet in hand, go back to the Wardrobe Assets page and click on "Add asset" to pop up the Add Wardrobe Asset page.
Enter each asset on the worksheet using the instructions provided for the Add Wardrobe Asset page (press "Help" on that page).

(Optional) Go shopping (back to top)

If you need to build up your wardrobe immediately, go shopping using your list of uncovered needs. To get your shopping list:

Open your Wardrobe Needs page.
Sort and filter for the list of needs you want to cover (go to that page, then press "Help" for instructions).
Print out the page when you have the shopping list you want.

When you return from your trip, you should enter those assets using the Wardrobe Assets and Add Wardrobe Asset pages as described above. When you enter these assets, the needs that the assets "cover" will be removed from the top of your shopping list.

When you entering the assets you've just purchased, you move the needs you just covered off the top of your shopping list. That's because:

When you enter an asset to cover a need, the asset has a certain "days left".
That asset's "days left" is added to the "days left" of the need that the asset covers.
Needs with plenty of "days left" move to the bottom of your shopping list.

2. Do These About Once a Month

Check your shopping list (back to top)

You may have needs that you haven't yet covered with assets. Also, the assets you do have will need to be replaced at some point, since they're "aging": wearing out, going out of style, etc. Dress Me automatically predicts the "days left" of each of your needs; that is, the number of days until another asset must be purchased to cover that need. As a need's "days left" goes down, it will rise to the top of your shopping list. So, you'll want to check your shopping list now and then to make sure it's accurate. You can check your list by doing a quick wardrobe review:

Open your Wardrobe Needs page.
Filter the list for all needs within the next 90 days.
Click on the "Days Left" column header to sort the list by days left.
View the list. Is this the list of items you'll be needing in the next 90 days? If not, make any adjustments until the list is correct enough to use.
To remove a need from the top of your shopping list, you don't change its "days left" directly (in fact, you can't do that). You change the "days left" of the asset(s) that cover the need, and this changes the need's "days left". To do this, click on the need name to view the assets that cover the need and either (1) add a new asset (which increases the need's "days left") or (2) change the "days left" of any asset(s) that cover the need.
There are several things you can do:
- You can click on the "Actions" button to show the Need Actions menu. Here you can quickly add a new asset to cover the need (e.g. if you have one you forgot to enter), postpone the need temporarily, hide the need (for this session only), or delete the need.
- You can click on the need name to view the Need Properties page. Here you can change the priority of the need, and you can change the status of the need. You can click on Help when viewing the page to learn more.
- You can change the "days left" of the need. This is the best and most common way. You change the days left of a need indirectly, by changing the days left of the assets that cover the need. Then the days left of all assets are combined to get the days left of the need. Click on the Show button on the right hand side of a need row to display the Wardrobe Quick Review Worksheet for the need. You may want to print this out for each need that you want to check and take it to your closet. Mark any updates directly on the printed sheet, then come back to your computer. To update the uses left for an asset, click on the "Uses Left" value for that asset. To update the expire date for an asset, click on the "Days Left" value for that asset.
- When all of these assets are updated, the days left of the need will also be updated. You can close the Wardrobe Quick Review Worksheet and press "Go" to see the updated days left for the need(s).

Buy new assets (back to top)

You and your agent (if you use one) must define who does what -- shopping, data entry, etc. -- in this step.

Using your shopping list, your agent will help you to acquire the assets to cover your needs. What the agent actually does depends on your arrangement with the agent. Here are some possibilities:

Your agent may recommend that you visit a specific store and purchase specific items.
Your agent may visit a store and place specific items on hold for you to purchase.
Your agent may visit a store and purchase items for you using your credit card.
You and your agent may meet at a store and purchase items together.

When you complete these purchases, you (or your agent) will need to enter these assets in your database. You can enter these assets using the same technique described above for entering your starting wardrobe, except you enter the items on your receipt(s).

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3. Do These About Once a Year

Review your wardrobe (back to top)

It's a good idea to perform an in-depth review of your wardrobe at least once per year.

Open your Wardrobe Assets page.
Filter the list for all available assets: (1) Select "-All-", "-All-", "-All-", and "Current assets". (2) Click on "More...", and on the pop-up page, select "-Any/all days left-", "-All users-", "-All needs-", leave the "Keyword(s)" field empty, and press "OK" to close the pop-up page.
Click on the "Article" column header to refresh the page, sorted by article type.
View the list. Is this the list of items you'll want to review? If not, make any changes to the filters until you get the correct list.
Click on the "Deep review worksheet" button to pop up the Wardrobe Deep Review Worksheet . Print this worksheet.
Review your wardrobe with the worksheet in hand. You can mark any changes directly on the worksheet. For more instructions, open the Wardrobe Quick Review Worksheet and press the Help button on that page.

Update your lists (back to top)

Go back to your computer (to the Dress Me application) and enter any changes in the worksheet. You can click on any value in the worksheet to change it. (Press "Help" on that page for more instructions). NOTE: To save time, the worksheet does not get refreshed for each value change. You can click on "Refresh" to refresh the worksheet.
When you're done updating the values in the worksheet, you can close the worksheet.
Now that you have updated your assets, the "days left" of your needs will also have changed. Click on "Wardrobe Needs" in the menu to view your Wardrobe Needs page. If any of these needs look incorrect, you'll want to fix them. You can use the method described above in "Do a quick check of your shopping list".

Discard unwanted items (back to top)

Either you or your agent may do this. Your agent may have a relationship with a consignment shop that purchases used clothing.

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4. Do These If/When Needed

Update your profile (back to top)

Open your Client Profile page.
Make any changes, then press "OK: Save" to save them.
Get your profile document, make any changes you need, save a copy, and send a copy to your agent with a note that your profile has changed.
(Optional) Your agent may want to either do a full wardrobe audit and/or update your needs list. You'll want to discuss this with her and decide what to do.

Change your options (back to top)

You can specify how Dress Me operates using the Options page.

Set basic data (back to top)

The basic data pages let you to manage your lists of basic data. In the Dress Me application, you can manage your list of sellers.

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