MEAGHAN SMITH PERSONAL STYLIST

The first thing I noticed when I looked at the images from this Oscar de la Renta show, was the emphasis being put on the waist.

Practically every piece in the collection is designed to show off the beautiful female shape.  Nothing is shapeless or boxy.

Yep sure, these women modelling Oscar’s clothes are twenty something glamazons, but playing up the waist is not just for the tall, slim and young.  It’s for everyone.

Just last week I worked with a lady in her sixties who had been paying so much attention to her tummy and hiding it under tent like tops and dresses, that she didn’t even realise she had a waist.   When her husband returned home and we were still working through her wardrobe, she called out to him,

“Meaghan’s found my waist *Fred”    (*not his real name)

Some people don’t think they have waists…but I like to prove them wrong.   I’ll point out exactly where it is and then I’ll show them what styles they need to wear to accentuate their curves.

What I also noticed in Oscar’s resort collection was that the waist is being brought to our attention by the use of vintage inspired waist belts.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, belts are not just for holding up your trousers. Belts can show off or create a waist, completely jazz up and change the look of a piece of clothing and artistically pull an outfit together.  Like a piece of jewellery or a fabulous shoe, a belt is something you can use to demonstrate your unique personal style.

My best suggestion for searching for belts similar to those in these pictures is to rummage through op shops, vintage stores or search online at eBay (Australian & International) or Etsy.

While keeping your body shape in mind – not all belt styles will suit all shapes – start collecting in time for spring/summer.

Are you wasting your waist or have you worked out how to accentuate it?  If so, what’s your best tip for doing so?

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image via here

Lisa Wilkinson knows what looks good on her.

At 52 she looks fit, healthy, strong and stylish.  While her style might not necessarily be mine (or yours) what I love is that she knows how to dress to accentuate her best features.

All of us have something lovely about us – despite our age, size or shape.

Beautiful hands, amazing skin, great hair, a tiny waist, slender ankles, a good bum or as in Lisa’s case – toned shoulders.

It’s up to us to figure out our best features and then play them up.

Lisa knows she has good shoulders, so she wears clothes that draw attention to them.  (Barbra Streisand is another celebrity who often wears styles to bring attention to her shoulders as you can see here)   That’s what clever, stylish dressing is all about.

Too often we just look for faults. We search for them every time we look in the mirror.  We look to see how many more wrinkles we have, we look at our bellies, we look at big busts, our upper arms or our thighs that aren’t like they used to be.  We focus only on the negatives.

What about, just for a change, next time you look in the mirror and when you’re just about to search for a new grey hair, you ask yourself..

What do I like about myself?

What’s lovely and unique about me?

What am I neglecting to show off as best I could?

When I’m working with someone for the first time, I’ll have them fill out a questionnaire so I can get some insight into them before we meet.  I’ll ask them lots of questions ranging from, How would you describe your current style?  How would you like your clothes to make you feel?  and What are the features you like the most?   Occasionally someone will say, “eyes” or “hair” but sadly, often women leave it blank.  Either they don’t like to brag about themselves or they simply can’t think of anything they like.

When I ask,  “What are the features you dislike?” – there is often a list as long as my arm.

So for those few hours that we spend together, shopping or trying on clothes from their wardrobe, my mission is to make sure that person can see themselves for what they really are. How lovely they are.   How clever and special and amazing they are – just as they are.  And then my intention is to make sure we, together, work out how to accentuate and show off their best features.  In doing so, playing down the bits they least like.

This is what Lisa does.  Nobody would know whether Lisa has a tummy or a bottom she’s trying to disguise because we’re instantly drawn to her great shoulders and arms and her beautiful face and smile.

What are your best features?  Have you spent time focusing on them and not just on the bits you don’t like so much.  Take some time to look at yourself differently in the mirror.  Pay attention to yourself.  Be nice and gentle, rather than harsh and critical.  Then go about learning how you can make the most of those great features.  Keep them hidden, no longer.

READ: “That Dress Lisa Wilkinson Wore” here

Details of my personal styling services (Including prices) here

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For those who are not familiar with the Mamamia site it has been described as “Australia’s leading independent women’s website”.  Launched as a blog in 2007 to coincide with the release of Mia Freedman’s book, Mama Mia, it has grown so much and is so popular that it now has more than 500,000 people (the majority being women) reading it every month.  On Mamamia you might learn what the latest trend in lipstick colors is, get a run down and summary of the Federal Budget or have the opportunity to share your opinion on the circumcision debate.  There’s always a thought provoking, often controversial topic to enter into a discussion about.

Back in February I received an email from them asking me if I would participate in a new project they were launching which was to be titled – Wardrobe Week.  All I knew was that Wardrobe Week would feature “Real Women Wearing Real Clothes” and what they would like me to do was submit photos of a week’s worth of outfits telling them what I was wearing.  It didn’t matter if it was a ballgown or if it was my PJ’s.  Just me being myself in my every day clothes.

Despite the fact that I was experiencing just a tad of hesitation when I first read the email –  picturing myself on a website where I might be seen by thousands of women who would very likely scrutinise how I looked, was scary  – but within 30 seconds of receiving the email I responded with a – yes.  It was a good opportunity for people to learn about me and what I do and it was also a challenging exercise. I’ve always been camera shy at the best of times, let alone on this type of platform.  Waaay outside of my comfort zone. Which is good right?

My strategy, when putting together the outfits was that I wanted to be authentic to my own style and look just like me.  I didn’t want to get my makeup done or my hair blow waved.  That’s not me.  I could have borrowed clothes, or I could have dressed up glamorously – but I didn’t want to do that.  I wanted people to see the normal, average, real me and realise that I didn’t dress in Prada or Chanel every day.  Sure I like nice things and I have the odd designer piece, but I’ll mix them up with some Kmart, Big W or Target.   In this picture below I’m wearing a pair of pants I bought in Paris, with a Cotton On men’s shirt.  To me, dressing this (high/low) way is more interesting and creative than dressing head to toe designer.  As I’ve told you many times before, I find “Chic on a Budget” shopping fun and often rewarding.

I want to say a great big thank you to my two lovely friends Carol and Sarah for taking time out of their busy schedules to shoot some pics of me (& tell me to stand straight, pull my shoulders back, smile, fix my fringe and put some more lippy on) and thank you also to the team at Mamamia for giving me this great opportunity.

For anyone who hasn’t see the article and the photos you can do so here.

Follow me on Instagram here

You can read what styling services I offer here

I’m on a mission to try and get to the bottom of one of life’s mysteries.  Why do some of us get two little snake bite like holes in the area near our belly button, in all of our t-shirts?   What causes it?  I’ve Googled it and it appears it’s a very common and frustrating, occurrence and there are lots of theories as to why it happens.

• the tee rubs against your belt buckle, or
• the car seat belt, or
• it’s eaten by moths, or
• it happens in the wash, or
• they’re caused by the friction of leaning against your kitchen bench top

Details of my personal styling services (Including prices) here

Get to know me and my style on Facebook here

..& Instagram here