A big part of what I do is free people from their internal shackles, from the limits they put on themselves about what they can and cannot do when it comes to fashion. Whether you are a busy executive who must look sharp but has little time for shopping, a stay-at-home mom who thinks she’s losing her edge, a divorcée facing the dating scene after many years away, or the husband of a woman who agonizes over getting dressed, we can rework and recombines what you have in your closet and “purge” what you’re no longer wearing to ensure that you look forward to putting your clothes on!

When I was a little girl, my father opened what I call “a high-end, low-priced” menswear store. At 10 years old, I worked there during school breaks, removing basting from suit jacket vents and rolling off lint picked up in shipping, among other quality control tasks. My mother taught me and my sisters how to dress in eight easy pieces long before Marie Claire introduced the idea. We always looked put-together, like we were wearing the latest trends, but our mom was just helping us rehash our wardrobes so we could keep up with our wealthy girlfriends. Early on I learned how the right clothes can enhance self-confidence.

When I became a modeling agent years later – after stints in fashion and cosmetics retailing – I enjoyed styling my clients for meetings and casting sessions, not to mention overseeing their hair and makeup. A lot of developing models need to be taught how to dress. I began to do that for all the girls I handled. For years, I’d been using a seamstress to redo my clothes. I’d take an old boyfriend’s big, baggy sweater, crop it and use the leftover from the bottom as a skirt. I’d take a leather coat and cut it to car-length. Sometimes it was just a matter of not being able to find what I needed, like a button-down shirt that fit my curves. At one point, the owner of the agency saw me take a long, silver Lurex turtleneck dress and turn it into a sleeveless shift for one of the models and a wrap skirt for me. She said I should become a stylist, but I didn’t take it seriously.

That was when I was at Look Models, which had made stars of Carre Otis and Rebecca Romijn. I later moved back to Los Angeles and began working for Nicole Bordeaux, whose agency handled Charlize Theron. As I rose through the highly competitive ranks of the modeling-agency business, I forged relationships with up-and-coming designers like Trina Turk, Eduardo Lucero and Cynthia Vincent.

I subsequently took a job with Elite Models in Beverly Hills, where I worked with Cameron Diaz and Shannon Elizabeth, among others. I was making the most money I'd ever earned, but I was still scouring thrift stores and flea markets, still cutting, dyeing, shrinking and collaborating with my tailor to realize my creative vision. Then I got laid off. It forced me to admit that I no longer loved the modeling business. I was tired of being the woman behind the beautiful girls. I felt it was time to take a risk on myself.

With a pair of scissors and $10 in oversized men’s t-shirts from Goodwill, I began Rigged Tee Shirt Couture, a successful line of corset-clever tops, scarves and dresses. Custom-cutting at flea markets and sample sales quickly evolved into Rigged Tee Parties, where private individuals and corporations, such as Nike, Sony, Guess and Miss Sixty, hired me to rework their t-shirts at special events.

Featured in Rolling Stone, People, Vogue.com, the Los Angeles Times and on DailyCandy.com, Rigged Tees have been seen on Britney Spears, Fergie, Sarah Silverman, Paula Abdul, Ming Na, Jewel, Dixie Chick Martie Maguire, Heather Graham, Cameron Diaz, Aisha Tyler and other luminaries.

The Barbra Horowitz brand currently encompasses Rigged Tee Parties; Rigged Tee Shirt Couture; Closet Therapy or How to Become Eco-Selfish and Have the Wardrobe of Your Dreams, due in fall 2007 on Barnes & Nobles’ own publishing imprint; L.A. Fashion Week reporting for the British edition of Vogue.com..

I do not consider myself a designer, even though I have “deconstructed” more than 3,000 tops.

What brings me the most satisfaction is my role as a resource for busy woman who don’t have the time or energy to maintain their wardrobes. I am constantly amazed by how much meaning this process has for my clients. Of course it’s an emotional experience – most of us have very personal relationships with our clothes. But I’m starting to realize how much potential there is for transformation of the woman as well as the wardrobe.

People are capable of so much more – creatively and practically – than they realize. When a client says to me, ‘You have changed my life,’ I immediately turn around and say, ‘You came to me; this change was your doing. You recognized that you needed some help, and you asked for it. I’m just grateful that you invited me along.’