Country girl Carol has a wardrobe of ill-fitting jeans, baggy denim, and hand-me-downs. With a concert coming up, she wants to surprise her husband with a sexy new look, and she came to us for help.

   Our Style Mission

Carol wants our help updating her look from frumpy to foxy, while maintaining the essence of her country girl roots. We got in touch with our inner urban cowgirls and took on her country chic challenge.

Our guest expert is a celebrity lifestylist who goes by the name “Peter Perfect”. How intimidating is that? Peter Ishkhans had these tips for dressing Carol:

• Denim for country works, but it’s got to look really hot. Do it wrong and it will destroy you completely.

• It takes very little money to come up with a great look these days. $500 is like a million!

• Look for a great bag. Style today is all about bags and shoes. There are so many great copies of the Dior saddle bag out there. I’d love to see something like that.

• What is country chic? No brainer: it’s Ralph Lauren! You can see it in so many magazines. Stores are full of it.

• I want to see her in colour; in something that is exciting.

   Our Look Book

With our $500 budget, we set out to get Carol out of her denim and into a fun, flirty dress, topped with a titch or two of country-esque accessories.

Carol’s Outfit details

• Yellow faux silk dress: $40 at H&M
• Tan cotton fitted jacket: $35 at H&M
• Brown leather vest: $146 at Blu Bird
• Brown leather painted shoulder bag: $38 at Aldo
• Turquoise bracelet: $95 at Blue Ruby
• Turquoise earrings: $35 at Blue Ruby
• Tan cross-toe wedge heels: $70 at Aldo

 Peter Ishkhans’ opinion

• Wow! I have to say I’m surprised! I think you’ve brightened her up. The accent of the turquoise earrings works really well. She could do a Dove commercial! You see her whole spirit has come out. 

• I don’t think this look is country chic. You’ve turned her into a city slicker.

• I think you can throw away the bag. It’s something like a twelfth grader would wear.  

• The vest is a waste of time. It turns her into a country catastrophe. It’s hard for someone with a small waist and larger hips to wear something that cuts off at this point. It doesn’t do anything for her shape.

• I love the shoes. Karl Lagerfeld said he saw no reason any woman or man should not wear heels. I agree!

   Did our style picks make the “Do List” or “Don’t List”?

Carol was surprised with our choices; she was expecting something more quintessential country girl, with cowboy boots and denim. But she loved the dress and the colour. It was such a change and she was excited to show it off.

Lifestylist Peter Ishkhans says we didn’t achieve country chic, but we sure did a great job of updating Carol’s look. 

   Tip Central

• For the country chic look, think Ralph Lauren, not Dolly Parton. Browse the Ralph Lauren collection and then go in search of more affordable RL-inspired pieces.

• Don’t go for too much of a good thing. Choose one or two signature pieces to illustrate your style, and wear them with a foundation of classics.

• Look for turquoise to achieve a quintessential country chic look.

More photos from Carol

Here she is totally rocking her brown leather vest with some country girl jeans, a white shirt, and her lovely turquoise jewelry.

   Other Show Segments

• Buying Tips: Turquoise
• Style Tips: How to wear leather

   Related Links

• More about Anna & Kristina’s Beauty Call (overview and episode list) 

• Photo of Carol used courtesy of Carol herself.

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Please note: opinions expressed about fashion and beauty in this article are just that: our opinions. Feeling beautiful on the inside is what matters most, but we like to do what we can on the outside too.