MEAGHAN SMITH PERSONAL STYLIST

Recently I worked with someone who contacted me because she had just moved to Melbourne from rural Queensland and felt as though she needed some help putting together some casual outfits – particularly a few things she could wear to pick up her daughter from school. Her wardrobe largely consisted of shorts, t-shirts and thongs, given the climate and the relaxed style of her previous home town, but she didn’t think her old wardrobe of clothes would cut it now she’d relocated to Melbourne.

It was important to her that her daughter wasn’t embarrassed by how her mum dressed when she waited for her at the school gate and she also wanted to make some new friends with the mums and she knew for her to do so she needed to feel confident and good about herself.

When she emailed me the first sentence she wrote was,

“I hope you can help me.  I need a revamp”

She went on to say she “desperately needed new clothes” because the climate was so different in Melbourne to where she’d come from and that she had attempted to shop for new things, but really had no idea where to start. She’d been living on a farm and was completely out of touch with what was “fashionable”.   She wanted some help putting together what she called, “Melbourne outfits”.

After going through her wardrobe together, we agreed what she needed initially (it was spring when we met) for this area of her life was ….. at least one great pair of jeans (preferably two for variety), one or two pairs of comfy, casual (alternative to jeans) pants, some fresh flattering t-shirts, knits, perhaps a casual dress and/or a skirt, a couple of pairs of comfy yet stylish flats, a casual jacket and some clever accessories to decorate her basics.

I don’t collect a child from school so I don’t see how people dress, but I have been told (in different neighbourhoods) it can feel competitive and intimidating. According to this article in the New York Times mums in New York are feeling the pressure to dress up for school drop-off. Some are dressing up for the school run and then going home and changing into their tracky’s, before changing back into their designer outfits for the pick-up.  And in this article in the UK Daily Mail the writer suggests that for the first day back at school, “around one in six will sport a new hairdo, a similar number have bought a new outfit while others will be showing off a bronzed look”.    

Goodness……I’m sure things are not quite as extreme here as they are in the swanky neighbourhoods of New York and London….are they!!?

It’s so important to remind ourselves that we are good enough, just as we are.  We don’t need to look or be like anyone else.  We are all different, unique and individual.  If you feel great in what you’re wearing and confident knowing that the style and image you’re portraying is you, then that’s all that matters.  Be kind and don’t put too much pressure on yourself.

*It turned out, like many things, the unknown and the picture my client had created in her head was a lot different to the reality.

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Be careful when you’re wearing something to try and disguise/minimise/play down an area, that you’re not in fact accentuating/making larger/playing it up.  (Or alternatively, in the process you’re also hiding one of your best features)

These tops are a good example…

If dressing in a conventionally flattering way is important to you but you’re unsure whether the pieces you’re wearing are doing that, consider booking in for a Wardrobe Overhaul. It’s designed to clean out and analyse the wardrobe but also to educate you on the most flattering proportions, styles and fit for you.

The details of my Wardrobe Overhaul can be found here

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Do you have a unique signature look? 

You know, the kind of thing that people will think of when they want to describe you.

“Whenever I think of Mary I imagine that beautiful shiny black mane of hers”  

“Therese. That’s the girl with the great smile, who always wears red lippy”  

For you it may be that people know when they see you, you’ll be wearing cool sneakers, big fancy earrings or red glasses.  Whatever it is, you want people to remember and recognise you for all the right reasons.   You don’t want people to be saying:

 “I know Sarah, that’s the girl that always wears those jackets that are three sizes too big for her” 

“You know Louise, the one who’s clothes are always creased”  

Sometimes we have a signature look without being aware of it.  The thing you need to ask yourself is –  Is there something about my style and the way I dress that people think of when they think of me?  Do I have a signature look without really knowing it?  More importantly, is that individual look people know you for, a good thing or a bad thing?   Why don’t you ask those closest to you if they think you have a particular look.

For inspiration, here are a few women who have very distinct individual signature looks.

Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue is recognisable by her trademark bob.

Venezuelan fashion designer Carolina Herrera is often seen wearing a classic white shirt

New York fashion stylist and beauty entrepreneur Linda Rodin’s distinct look is her long, silver hair

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When I first started this career, I had a very clear idea of what it was I wanted to do – I just wasn’t sure how to go about doing it or what title to give it. I decided on Personal Stylist after I thought that best described primarily what I do and nobody would find me if I called myself a Shopping Frustration Solver or Women’s Self Esteem Booster.

What I knew for certain was I wanted to help women feel better about themselves.  I wanted to help them improve their confidence and self esteem and I knew that I could do it (If I sharpened up my skills and gained more knowledge) through helping them to dress.

Certainly the fashion side of my job is important to me because I’m passionate about it, along with style and beauty – and clothes are the tools with which I use to help people feel good, but realistically what I do isn’t really about fashion and beauty at all, it’s about inspiring, guiding and encouraging women to be and feel the best they can.

I always knew a lot of women struggled with their identity, their bodies and aging – I was one of them, so I recognise the issues – but it wasn’t until I started doing this job, and spending time with different women, I realised just how deeply unhappy some people are with their appearance.

Often, a style consultation is so much more than trying on clothes. Sometimes personal issues are eating away at a person’s confidence and affecting how they see themself and they need to be listened to, understood and then reassured.

Recently I worked with a really lovely lady who I discovered during our time together, saw herself so differently to how she really was.  She was in her early fifties a mother of three grown children and she contacted me because she felt “frumpy” and because she felt she “had no style”.  She wanted me to take her shopping.  So we met and we wandered around, talking all the time about how she saw her current style, how she’d like it to be and how together we might achieve that.

Once we had a clear idea of how she wanted to look we headed into the stores to try some clothes on.  I got her to put on a pair of pants she would never have dreamed of trying by herself. She looked amazing. Even another shopper in the change rooms commented on how she looked.  She was tall and slim and the pants highlighted her figure beautifully.  But she couldn’t see it.  All she saw was the faults that she looked for every time she looked in the mirror.  When I asked her if she felt she was very self critical her eyes started to well up. She went on to tell me she was constantly given negative feedback by those around her, about her body and how she looked. She was like a little puppy that had been beaten. She was sad. It really affected me that she felt so poorly about herself. For the next hour or so of our time together we just wandered around the stores, chatting.  I made her try on several different things to give her a good understanding of what worked for her shape and to encourage her to sample different things, but the emphasis now was on making her understand how special she was and how she needed to tell those who made her feel bad about herself, how their comments were affecting her.  I got on the train to come home and I couldn’t stop thinking about her.  And I realised that this woman was not alone. There are so many of us who live with low self esteem.

So you see a Personal Stylist is what I call myself, but for me, it really is so much more than that.  My absolute focus and intention is to show each woman I work with how amazing they are and to help them to get the best out of themselves. Sure I do that with clothes, but I certainly don’t just enter a home, take measurements and tell you what you should be wearing. I listen and try very hard to understand each person’s issues, provide advice, ideas and encouragement. And that’s why I love doing what I do.

You can read what styling services I offer here

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