Fashion – and attitude – make the woman

Hey, ladies, did you know that the right bra can make all the difference in how clothes enhance your look?

Or, that the right fashions can miraculously instill confidence in a woman?

Those were just a few fashion tidbits that nearly two-dozen area women took away from Patricia Belanger’s very first “Makeover Magic” event since she and her husband, Frank, relocated to Brandon. Belanger, whose company is Patricia’s Big Closet, operates within the confines of their home at 420 Meadowlark Circle, often referred to as “The Statue House.” 

The Belanger’s moved here from Colorado. It was there that Patricia began rubbing elbows with “22 of the wealthiest women in Colorado,” whom she coins as “our philanthropic partners.”

“They would give me the most amazing clothes, shoes and accessories,” she told the women Friday morning from the confines of the home’s second-story theatre room. It was then up to the Belangers to market the high-dollar pieces at more affordable prices, offering two levels of fashions, base and high-end.

The base line includes designs from Anne Klein and Jones New York, for example.

“It’s the designers that you all know,” she told Friday’s group. “As we started to grow, I got a call from one of my clients, and she said, ‘I’m sending you some St. John clothing.’”

Patricia soon learned the St. John line is afforded by the ‘well to do.’

“She showed up and had a bag full of clothes, and I remember pulling out the first pair of pants,” Patricia shared. “They were knit, in this incredible fabric, and it felt amazing. I looked at the price tag, and the tag on them was $550, and I was like, ‘Wow, this stuff is expensive.’”

As she continued to dive into the bag, she discovered a black jacket decked out with rhinestones.

“And it was in my size, but it was $1,400,” Patricia tells. “I’m like, ‘Who in their right mind would pay $1,400 for a jacket, but I’m so trying it on.’”

Once she slid into the jacket, the price went out of mind, she said, and the jacket took up occupancy in her very own closet.

“Even though that jacket would be $1,400, they would allow me to sell most of the St. John pieces anywhere from $225 to $325 to $425,” Patricia said.

Brand pants could be had for $65 to $95, and designer shoes were a mere $20.

More and more pieces of St. John, Chanel, Escada – brands the average woman typically cannot afford – continued to filter into Patricia’s Big Closet.

Through the years of styling more than 1,000 women with high-end brands at more affordable prices, time and time again, Patricia watched her clients transform before her very eyes.

“They were a little nervous, and then they put the stuff on and it was a transformation, because St. John really knows how to camouflage body imperfections. You put that stuff on, and it is absolutely fabulous,” she shared.

The right-fitting bra is the first place to start, Patricia emphasized. 

“The first thing I would do was get the boobs where they were supposed to be, which is not down here,” Patricia shared. “The boobs are supposed to be all the way up here, and most women don’t realize that. But here’s the thing, every manufacturer, when they make a top or jacket, they want the breasts to be in a certain place. It was always funny to watch when I got them in their bra and the boobs would come up to here, and they’d go, ‘Oh, I have a waistline. Miraculously, I now have a long, lean body line.’”

As Patricia introduced the high-end fashions to her clients, she adds, “I would watch the women change as they could see their body line looking fabulous and amazing. They loved the clothing, but what they really wanted was me. They wanted my advice, my expertise.”

Patricia tells how she separated herself from the “competition” by not charging a styling fee.

“I might spend two, three, four, five hours with that person finding just the right pieces,” she said. “And after dressing over 1,000 women, it’s been fun for me to watch the transformations. They’d get their confidence, they’d go out in the world and amazing new opportunities and new doors opened.”

The Belangers were preparing to shut down Patricia’s Big Closet while living in Colorado, but when they agreed to move to South Dakota, they opted to bring along the inventory.

“I’m not bringing in more,” she said. “This is a one-shot deal.”

Patricia estimates she’ll continue to “operate” the Closet for another year, at which time the Belangers will re-evaluate.

At this point of Friday’s show, Patricia introduced models, Bridget and Kim, who showcased complete outfits plucked from the racks of Patricia’s Big Closet by the owner herself. They modeled hues of red, black, blue, purple and even white. 

Along with the high-end fashions and accessories, Patricia’s Big Closet also marketed Patricia B’s skincare line. Today, that line has been pared down to just one produce, Oil of the Gods. The oil was created out of personal necessity.

“We moved into colder climate in the U.S. and I’m starting to have all kinds of problems with my skin,” Patricia shared, noting it was dry and itchy. “So, we created our skincare line. … It’s a fabulous product, great for hydration.”

Prioritize yourself

Patricia’s Big Closet isn’t just about fashion and skincare. It also promotes women prioritizing themselves.

“Think about this for a second. For most women on their priority list, what’s at the top? Our families, our husbands, our children, sometimes our parents, and all of the time and effort that goes into taking care of them. Underneath that, usually second on your list are your businesses or whether you work for a company or you work for yourself, your time and effort go into that,” she said. “Where are we on that priority list? At the bottom, because we, as women, are the caregivers and we are always taking care of everybody and everything else, and we have nothing left over for ourselves.”

And that’s where looking good and feeling good come into play.

“You’re going to work in the morning and you throw whatever on, or you’re going to an event and you throw whatever on. You don’t feel particularly sexy, particularly powerful. … You get into this frumpy, dumpy kind of casual look, and that is a dangerous place to be …  because when you don’t look good, you don’t feed good, you don’t feel confident,” she said.

Patricia went on to share that we exist in a very judgmental society.

“Do you know that it only takes five seconds to form an opinion about someone and decide whether they’re worth your time and effort?” she asked. “I want you to consider taking you from the bottom of the priority list and putting you on top.”

Carmen Dougherty said she purchased a ticket to Makeover Magic based on the name of the event and the empowerment piece.

“I think, as women, especially if were working women, every day we get up and we go, and it’s always good to feel empowered that I can make a difference,” she said.

As she sat down to lunch, Dougherty said she was wowed by both the “Statue House” and Patricia’s program.

“I gained new ideas for myself, and now when I get up and get ready for the day, I’m going to ask myself, ‘What am I going to wear that’s going to make me feel even better?’”

Now retired, Sue Abrahamson initially said that she couldn’t pass up a good fashion show.

But what she came away with was the opportunity to meet other women in the community.

“I just love that, because there aren’t very many opportunities to do that, to have fun and be chatty, talk business, talk family, whatever you want to talk about,” she said.

She, too, appreciated the empowerment portion.

“I don’t think we get that message very often,” Abrahamson said. “I love to hear that, and I love to hear it from somebody who’s successful.”

Abrahamson said she planned to schedule an appointment with Patricia.

“I don’t want to get into a rut. She has a whole bunch of ideas that I never thought about, and it’s just nice to see another perspective.”

Jenny Hefty, of Sioux Falls, tagged along with Becky Rasmussen, a friend she met in college.

“We had no idea what would be happening today, but I was very surprised by the message. I thought it was very encouraging as well as fashion is fun and women need to take care of themselves. We do put ourselves last, so it was a nice message,” Hefty said.

In closing, Patricia also promoted the “law of kindness.”

“It’s easy to be kind to our families … but when you do a random act of kindness for a stranger, that has an incredible effect that can go beyond this route, this street, this state, and has the ability to forever change the world,” she said. “But here’s the thing. It is no coincidence that you got a ticket to the show today. Einstein used to say, ‘Coincidence is God’s way.’ Maybe you came her because you need a makeover or maybe you need some skincare products. But what if it had absolutely nothing to do with that? What if it’s so I can you know how incredible and special each and every one of you are. You have this light, this beautiful amazing light inside of you, and when you use that light, you can forever change the world around you.”

In summary, that’s what Makeover Magic is all about.

“Yes. we have fashion. Yes, we have fun, but it’s really to inspire you to consider a makeover where you’re using spiritual laws in your day to day life with love, with God as kindness as your guide. Because here’s the thing, what we do for ourselves, what we do for others and the world around us continues on long after. Consider being a strong, incredible, determined, resilient, fearless woman on a mission to fulfill her destiny with a light and loving heart.”