I hated feeling like I had nothing to wear, so I hired a personal stylist. I got a whole new look without buying anything new.

I hated feeling like I had nothing to wear, so I hired a personal stylist to help me shop my closet. The stylist showed me how to reinvent some of my existing pieces to make them feel current. Although I had fewer pieces in my closet, I felt like I had more options than ever.

Somehow, though, I came up empty every time I opened my closet to get dressed for any particular occasion - from my kids' sporting activities to lunch meetings and date nights. It always seemed that I was staring down a full closet full of absolutely nothing to wear.

For help, I reached out to Chellie Carlson, a stylist based in my own Los Angeles neighborhood, whose philosophy is all about helping regular people put together a wardrobe that lights them up.

Now that I've reached middle age, I've amassed some pretty nice things among my own racks. Over the years, I've scored some designer-consignment finds, collected a bunch of high-end samples through my job as a lifestyle journalist, and splurged on some higher-end pieces.

Read at Business Insider