"I have a great ability to envision an outfit from materials," says Koss, who created this statuesque gown for a Save Venice ball. She found a silk velvet at the Franklin Mill Store and knew it would work with a silk upholstery remnant she had purchased five years earlier.

Koss buys attractive accessories whenever she sees them, knowing they will end up matching something. The sumptuous color and shiny heels of these suede shoes won her over at Marshalls in Framingham.