Skinny jeans (Calvin Klein)

Recently I took a client shopping, a smart, pretty, and nice woman. A savvy and accomplished businesswoman, she also identifies strongly as a suburban mom in her early 50s.

And she was wearing “mom jeans” as her regular work-from-home uniform, the clothes she threw on to shlep her kids to school on days when she didn’t have a client meeting.

She wanted to update her look but wasn’t quite sure how.That’s where I came in. We went shopping, and I think in two and a half hours we must have tried on 40 or more pieces of clothing.

We started with what I thought her basic uniform “bottom” should be: skinny jeans. Now, many, many women — adult women — cannot and should not wear them. (If you’re in doubt, ask a trusted friend for her honest opinion.) This woman was worried she shouldn’t wear them but in fact, they were perfect for her — they gave  curves to her very small frame.

This client wasn’t comfortable wearing tops that ended at the waist or upper hip, so we stuck to tunics and longer wraps, which covered the lower torso and made her feel much more at-home in this look. For most women, a longer top makes the shape of these jeans much more forgiving for a wider range of women and body types.

The result: a comfortable look for a hard-working mom-on-the-go that’s age-appropriate but chic and appropriate.

Update: Got a report this morning from the mom client, who debuted her new jeans yesterday and loved how she looked.

(Ketura Persellin is an image consultant and personal shopper in Washington, DC, and surrounding suburbs. She’ll help you get rid of those 15-year-old jeans and find you an alternative to your college sweatshirt. Find out more here.)