Siblings help clients edit wardrobes, identify new combinations
Styled By The Sisters has been helping Park Cities and Preston Hollow residents find their sense of fashion and organization for years now — especially with closet editing work.
“I went to Highland Park High, and I worked at a small boutique when I was 16,” Amanda Sparr said, describing her lifelong passion for fashion.
She co-founded the company with her sibling, Heather Murphy.
“We’ve worked together 25 years total, eight years at a boutique, then at Stanley Korshak for 17,” Amanda said.
Heather explained how growing up in a single-mom home in Highland Park influenced their perspectives and goals.
Neighborhood Spotlight
Park Cities
Where the Park Cities Stay Connected.
“For me, fashion was always a painful part of my life,” she said. “There was always the ‘it’ bag or ‘it’ shoes that were always hundreds of dollars. We couldn’t afford that. There was no cute Target or Zara.”
Later, while working at Stanley Korshak, Heather said to herself, “I don’t want to just sell clothes to people. I need to know what they need — what’s in their closet. That’s when I started getting into their closets and understanding their wardrobe.”
Since its inception, the sisters’ closet editing has never just been about selling.
“It’s also styling what they already own,” Amanda explained. “We know what they need, and it’s not just more, more, more.”
While looking into closets helps them identify holes in someone’s wardrobe, the sisters also find what doesn’t belong.
“We edit things that are out of place, that maybe look dated,” Heather said. “Maybe they have too much of something, and it’s just creating chaos. And we help them get creative — outfits that they’ve never even thought of putting together. That’s where we serve them best.”
With thousands of followers on Instagram, social media posts play a significant role in what they do.
“We created our account about a year after Instagram started,” Amanda noted.
Heather added they also get their closet editing message out through speaking engagements at churches and sororities, where topics can include “how to be good stewards of your wardrobe, embracing the body you’ve been given, and how to dress that body.”
“Everybody can feel real bad, real fast by putting on the wrong thing,” she said. “Of course, you can see runway fashions, and it’s overwhelming. But how do you make those practical? What’s going to work for you?”
Amanda and Heather aim to help clients select those styles that best suit their bodies and individual preferences.
The sisters also style and pack their clients for trips.
They recently met with a client who was going on a 10-day trip to Italy and had to pack light. From head to toe, they created looks based on her itinerary.
Some highly social clients need help picking outfits for their numerous events and request the sisters come by every couple of months for consultation on lists of upcoming events. Looks are chosen in advance to avoid last-minute panics.
“Customers are really funny,” Amanda said. “They say, ‘I’m too embarrassed for you to see my closet.’ We hear it all the time.”
“Oh, that’s the best,” Heather said, laughing and explaining how they aren’t coming to judge, so there’s no reason to prepare a closet before they arrive.
“It’s like cleaning your house before your housekeeper comes,” she said. “But we like it when it’s not put together. The more embarrassed of your closet, the better. We love a good challenge.”
Author
Josh Hickman
Josh Hickman is a national award-winning journalist, visual artist, sometime musician, and author of seven books. His writing For People Newspapers often focuses on arts & culture, local small businesses, local history & government, and interesting personal stories. His paintings include a commission for Dallas County and a donation to Parkland Memorial Hospital.
