Before landing at NBC as style editor on the "Today" show, Bobbie Thomas worked as a psychologist and rape crisis counselor whose career didn’t involve giving much thought to fashion.

She might have moved from Point A to B sooner if she had heeded her fashion-tracking instincts after a chance encounter with former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos when Thomas was vacationing in Hawaii as a teenager.

"It’s one of the random things in my life. If I pull out my family photo album, one of the first celebrity pictures I have is of Imelda Marcos at a luau. I knew about her because of her shoes, and I told my mom, ‘I think that’s the lady with 100 pairs of shoes. I’m going to get a photo with her.’ My mom just shook her head," Thomas said.

"I was always doing something different. My sisters were always trying to pick up boys, but I was more interested in picking up shells on the beach. I was always in search of some project."

Although fashion, when measured against other career paths, might be viewed by some as creative at best and trivial at worst, Thomas finds her current calling just as important and serious as her earlier career. Although the leap seems incongruous, she said it was an organic, natural transition that simply grew out of her desire to help people.

She’ll be doing just that when she visits Ala Moana Center for two events that are part of the centerwide Fall Fashion Event that begins tonight.

Thomas, whose first book will be published next year, will share fashion trends and tips for fall dressing beginning 7 p.m. Friday on Centerstage. Then on Saturday, she’ll host a Girls’ Night Out party beginning at 6 p.m. at Centerstage for those who donate business clothing and accessories to Dress for Success, an organization that helps disadvantaged women entering or returning to the workforce.

"I love people, and even when I was a teenager, my friends would come and talk to me because I was a good listener," Thomas said during a phone interview that was to last 15 minutes but stretched to an hour. When it comes to a subject she feels passionate about, she’s a good talker as well.

"In college, I fell into psychology naturally, but once you graduate, you can’t really work because you don’t have a license."

Without considering any other options, she continued on to graduate school and worked for nonprofit groups to gain experience.

At the same time, she was involved in an abusive relationship that had escalated to physical violence, so she gravitated to women’s shelters and a rape trauma center, where, in helping other women, she was also working on her own issues. "I felt a need to be needed and I realized how fortunate I was. I started focusing on my blessings," she said.

Eager to inspire others, Thomas began working on the side as an advice columnist for teen magazines J-14 and Twist, where she could reach girls at a time when their confidence is shaky. While doling out advice, such as "Confidence is sexy, not a boob job," she fielded as many fashion as relationship questions, and saw the correlation between fashion and self-esteem.

Although she is versed in the industry-proclaimed fashion "do’s and don’ts" every season, and will share them with those who want to know, she said that ultimately, "I don’t care about what’s in or out or trending. Fashion is simply a way of communicating who you are. We all encounter hundreds of people a day, but we can’t speak to them all. Your style is a way of speaking to the world without words, and what we wear is a way of sharing something about ourselves.

"Like it or not, your image is how you get the job, how you get the guy. If you want to get a date and you’re always wearing tailored black suits, maybe you want to try wearing a soft sweater and jeans."

From her psychology perspective, she also knows the reason why most people don’t follow fashion advice.

"Women are usually told, ‘You should do this.’ No one wants a comedian when it comes to their closet, someone who comes in asking, ‘What’s this? What’s that?’ Every piece probably has a story. That’s why we’re so personally attached to our stuff.

"For me, the question is not ‘Who are you wearing?’ but ‘Why are you wearing that?’ The way we look reflects the way we feel about ourselves."

Both her callings simply require her to be a "professional girlfriend," she said, sharing educated, judgment-free and nonconfrontational advice. During her Girls’ Night Out party, she’s hoping to see women in the audience who aren’t typical fashionistas.

"I want to see women who might be introverted, shy, think they’re too old for fashion, or those who say, ‘I’m a mom now, I don’t have time for fashion.’ I want to tell them life does not start five years from now, and your life didn’t end five years ago when you had your child. Tell me what you don’t have, whether time or money, and I can give you advice that you can do and afford. If you appreciate yourself and the support you have, you really have a lot to start with."

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Tech-savvy shoppers can tweet their fashion questions to Bobbie Thomas before Saturday’s Girls’ Night Out party using the hashtag #TFFE12 and @Bobbie­Thomas for a chance to win VIP seating to the event and a gift, and be the first in line to be photographed with her.