On a recent snowy evening, Marcie Solomon returned to her Squirrel Hill home from her job as general manager of the Pittsburgh Symphony to do some clothes shopping -- in her own closet.

As manager of the orchestra's operations, her job description includes staying cool under pressure. But on this night, there was a trace of urgency to what is ordinarily a mindless task. Ms. Solomon and her husband Nathan Goldblatt are expecting their first child this summer and she needs to be comfortable as well as professional during her pregnancy.

So what NOT to wear?

Enter Cheryl Chotiner and Judy Vernick. One's a retailer and wardrobe consultant, the other a life coach, and both have decided to take the wildly popular TLC television series "What Not To Wear" makeover concept a step further.

Instead of spending bucketloads of money on more clothes, these women believe that in these recessionary times, "it's important to shop mindfully, with intent, with the things you have -- and then pay it forward," says Ms. Chotiner.

That's a lot of buzzwords in one sentence, which can be roughly translated this way: Figure out what looks great on you from the clothes you already have, and give what doesn't look so great on you to someone who needs it -- a woman in a shelter, for example, who is interviewing for a job.

And in the meantime, you can get a major style makeover from Ms. Chotiner and Ms. Vernick, inside and out.

First Ms. Vernick, the life coach, talks to the client about the "story" she wants her clothes -- and her personal style -- to express. Is her narrative about comfort, sophistication, being authoritative or all three?

"If your personal story doesn't match what you're buying in a store, there is this huge disconnect," says Ms. Vernick.

Then Ms. Chotiner gets down to basics. Don't know how to tie that scarf ?

"We work with what they have, and what they need to pull things together," says Ms. Chotiner, who was a buyer for two successful Pittsburgh boutiques before opening Cheryl W. Accessories.

After 12 years in Squirrel Hill, the store moved to Point Breeze in 2009. Ms. Vernick, a self-described "multitasker" who also happens to be a triathlete with a Ph.D. in educational communications and technology, worked at Carnegie Mellon's Software Engineering Institute for many years before building a second career as a life coach.

"I invite people into their internal closets, while Cheryl invites you into your external, physical closet, and together we create a safe and bold space for people to discover who they are," says Ms. Vernick.

The two women will go to a home together, "not for a 'how to' session, really, but a 'what' session," says Ms. Chotiner -- what stays, and what goes to someone else who may need it more.

Television bristles with programs advising women on fashion, "and the energy around closet styling is so intense ... all I wanted to do was use that energy to pay something forward, to get these clothes to work for someone else. There are women in shelters who get vouchers and these vouchers are used in certain thrift stores all over the city," Ms. Chotiner adds, Designer Days Boutique in Shadyside and East End Community Thrift among them.

So, what about Ms. Solomon, whose favorite stores range "from Nordstrom to Lands' End and local boutiques in between."

"Appearance doesn't define you, it's what your truth is," says Ms. Vernick. "And Marcie's truth is, 'Hey, I'm a general manager,' and she steps right into it, but how does she stay comfortable while projecting authority? Here she is, from the music world, and she's orchestrating her life now."

First challenge: Ms. Solomon, 32, looks far younger than her age.

"I get that a lot, that I look young," Ms. Solomon said. "Not so much 'Are you the general manager?' but, 'Hey kid, I've been doing this since before you were born.' "

Not only that, her job requires sitting at a computer for long stretches, running around backstage, and sometimes even walking onstage.

Ms. Chotiner has Ms. Solomon lay all the contents of her closet out on the bed, which has been covered with a white sheet -- "a blank canvas that works much better than clothing on hangers. You can really see the outfit that way."

Ms. Solomon's closet, indeed, is stuffed with somber suit jackets and bright graphic "shells" she relies on to project professionalism while staying comfortable. Her colors? Black, gray and "lots of greens and reds," she says.

Under questioning from the two women, she begins to reveal more and more.

"I could wear a dress if I felt like it, but suits are more functional," she says. "Not just because they have pockets, but there's something for me to hook my badge onto, too -- and because they are more comfortable."

More than a dress?

"They are what I'm used to -- and I need to fit in with what the musicians are wearing, which means something no shorter than ankle length if I have to walk onstage."

Despite those limits, Ms. Solomon doesn't have to wear a gray suit every day, Ms. Chotiner notes. For example, a red fitted blouse -- bought when Lord & Taylor was still in Pittsburgh -- is too bulky to wear under a suit jacket. But because of the way it's finished, with tailored three-quarter sleeves, it could serve, unbuttoned, as a jacket over a tee with black pants and a vivid scarf.

"You have a whole lot more color than you think you have," says Ms. Chotiner, who rejects one shirred wool scarf ("too heavy a texture") and instead loans Ms. Solomon her own black scarf with red roses, bought during a recent trip to Paris. Suddenly, the red shirt pops.

"People are afraid of scarves, Ms. Chotiner says, "but have you ever seen a French woman without a scarf?"

Point taken.

A plaid flannel shirt from L.L. Bean was last worn "when Nathan and I went apple picking," Ms. Solomon confesses.

It's a keeper.

"This is Marcie's apple-picking shirt," Ms. Chotiner says, "and everyone needs a shirt to go apple picking."

A rough, nubby gray sweater with pockets will look best, they agree, layered with a longer silk camisole underneath. Another patterned tank top is worn under suits, but "it will look great with black jeans and a cardigan," Ms. Chotiner says.

"It actually looks better on the hanger than on me," Ms. Solomon says, whereupon the two women jump in:

"NO ONE is criticizing you or your taste," says Ms. Vernick.

Several gently worn shells -- a turquoise number from J.Jill, several reddish-brown ones from Ann Taylor Loft, including one with the price tag still on -- go into the pile destined for Ms. Chotiner's thrift shops. Sometimes letting go is hard. Holding up a pumpkin-colored shell, Ms. Chotiner says to Ms. Solomon, "if it's not too small now, it will be too small next summer. I don't know that you'll ever wear this again."

"Well, it didn't take up that much space in the closet," Ms. Solomon says wistfully.

A brown patterned 1970s-era shirt that belonged to Ms. Solomon's grandmother is a keeper, however. Wear it with jeans and those dark purple leather boots you bought in Germany, Ms. Chotiner advises. She then seizes on a blouse with gold buttons that's now too short.

"This is adorable," she says. "There will be someone who will love this."

"They're thanking you already," Ms. Vernick says.

Ms. Solomon smiles as Ms. Vernick loans her large silver "statement" earrings to replace her tiny studs as she decides to overcome her avoidance of dresses, wriggling into a gray cable-knit one, adding black stockings and those purple boots.

We have liftoff.

"I feel comfortable!" Ms. Solomon exclaims, almost in wonder.

"And you look very professional," comes the reassuring reply from Ms. Chotiner.

Lesson learned: Try dresses, mix textures, wear bigger earrings, try cool patterned tights -- and don't be afraid of that baby bump.

"They've pushed me to be more creative," Ms. Solomon says after the styling session is over. "I like to think I can pick out clothes in my closet by myself, but it helps when there's a new set of eyes."

Not only that, Ms. Solomon isn't paying for anything new to stuff her closet with -- just cleaning it out.

"It's not my job to say, 'What were you thinking?' I just want people to leave the house feeling like they look great, while doing something really good for someone else. We're trying to teach women to shop with intent, while remembering that they're part of something larger, by repurposing their clothing and letting go of what they don't need. You may not fit into them, or like them, but for whatever reason, these clothes need to go somewhere else instead of sitting in that closet -- because there are people out there who need them."

Ms. Chotiner, whose website is www.cherylw.com, charges $200 for the first three hours of a closet styling consultation, $60 an hour after that. She can be reached at 412-600-4302. Judy Vernick's life coach services are separate; fees are available upon request. She can be reached at judy@thequantumleapcoach.com.