MEAGHAN SMITH PERSONAL STYLIST

It was 2000 – 2001-ish and I was looking for something to wear to one of the Spring Carnival race days. 

On my lunch break one day, I spotted this suit in Bettina Liano. While I rarely wear pink it was actually the beautiful color that caught my eye – but, at around $1000, it was way beyond my budget at the time. Nevertheless, I went back and tried it on and looked at it 3 times until I finally decided I had to give up on it. I just couldn’t afford it…

Then a few weeks later I was shopping with my sister and we stumbled on a Bettina Liano outlet store…..and there was the suit – for $50. I couldn’t believe my luck. We both bought one. Some things are meant to be…

I got heaps of wear out of it. To the races, to Christmas parties, weddings, etc – and then I retired it. I think I got a bit tired of it, but also then it felt slightly dated and it became too snug…

Recently I pulled it out – it hasn’t seen the light of day in about a decade – tried it on and had a good look at it. It was too firm across the back (could hardly button it up) and tight on my bum. (I could stand but not sit) It looked silly. Like I was squeezing into it. So I took it to Jose to see whether he thought he could do anything to it. (We worked together. I told him how I wanted the suit to look and what I thought needed to be done and then he looked at it and told me honestly, whether he thought that was possible.) He wasn’t sure how much there was available to work with at the seams, but he’d give it a go. When I went to pick it up, it was spot on. He has let it out in exactly the right amount of places, (in the right places) so that it wasn’t too much, or not enough.

Then next up I replaced the old buttons to update and modernise the look. (The original wooden buttons had been broken at the dry cleaners many years ago and new ones were put on that I was never really happy with) . *I just found these ones at Lincraft. 

…and yesterday I wore it again to Oaks Day. It’s looking a bit disheveled here. I got wet on my way home. If you scroll down you can see what I wore on my head, etc. (The headpiece was bought at the same time as the suit. My sister and I went halves. She’d wear it when she wore her suit and I’d wear it when I wore my suit… 

You can read what styling services I offer here

Follow me on Instagram here

Think about where you should be spending your money and where you should be saving (Or at least not so heavily investing) when it comes to your wardrobe…

It seems silly that you would have a $79 H&M black blazer that you bought knowing you wanted to wear it to work at least twice (maybe 3 times) a week, that looks tired and scruffy after one dry clean, but then you spend $550 on a dress you wear to Oaks Day – once.

The blazer I’m wearing here is about 5 years old. It cost me about $350. I wear it at least twice a week – to work, to dinners, to the races, to meetings, to funerals, etc… (You can see here I’m wearing it as a suit) It still looks as good as it did 5 years ago…

You can read what styling services I offer here

Follow me on Instagram here

A couple of days ago I was in a store trying something on, when I heard someone say from outside my change-room,

“That’s not you!”

The comment, not directed at me, came from one of two women who were also trying things on in the common area.

The puzzled response was, “Oh, you don’t think so?”

I was intrigued.  I was wondering what one of the women had on, that made the other say that she didn’t think it was her.

When I left my cubicle I discovered the piece in question was a camel colored trench coat. I thought it looked quite nice.

The thing is, how can someone tell you – what’s you.  Only you know that.  Even if these women had been friends for 40 years or they were mother and daughter, nobody can tell you what you like.

In the same way that nobody can tell you whether you like mushrooms, floral perfumes or the sound of Justin Beibers music, nobody can tell you what your style is.  Only you know that.

..and if you don’t then you should spend some time figuring it out, otherwise you, like this lady in the change-room, will rely on others to tell you what to wear.

(Which can then result in filling your wardrobe in someone else’s style)

In the case of these two women, a better thing to say, would have been – “How do you feel?  “Is that your style?” And let the friend work out for herself whether the piece felt right and worked for her or not.

*Certainly there’s nothing wrong with asking a friend or someone working in a store what they think of how it looks on you, BUT you have to be careful when you request that advice.  Remember they’re looking through their eyes, with their own style, not with your personal style in mind.

For example: Imagine for a moment two people looking at Picasso’s Weeping Woman (above).  One might think it’s incredible and the other might think it’s hideous.  Both are right!

It’s quite possible in the case of these two women, that the friend giving advice didn’t like the piece or how it looked on her friend.  But just because that’s how she sees it, doesn’t mean she’s right.

It’s all about perception.

This is why shopping with friends, family members, etc, can be fun….but sometimes tricky.

You can read what styling services I offer here

Follow me on Instagram here

We’re currently in what can be, not quite disastrous, but certainly a dangerous period. Sales time.

This is the time when costly shopping mistakes are frequently made.

It’s when we can be easily lured into buying something we don’t really love, that isn’t at all flattering and doesn’t one bit represent the style and image we want to portray.

Here’s a scenario to think about…

You’ve been looking for something to wear to a friend’s wedding and not having much luck. You head out to the shops, thinking I have to get something today. I’m getting desperate.

You walk into a designer shop where they’re having a big sale. You’re thinking, this looks promising. But discover the only thing in your size is this pale pink satin ruched dress (pictured above). Its original price was $2072 and it’s on sale for $300. And it’s Nina Ricci. OMG, you think. I could never afford a designer dress like this normally. This is such a huge bargain. You try it on and it fits even though the neckline is too high for you, the length too short, you don’t really like the color (and it’s too pale for you) and you have no idea what underwear you’ll be able to wear to smooth out the lumps and bumps, which the shiny fabric seems to be highlighting. But it’s designer, it fits, it’s such a bargain and you’re desperate to buy something. The wedding is only 3 weeks away.

You’re still debating whether or not you should take it or not when the salesperson comes over and tells you you look incredible in it and that it’s beautifully made and only a handful of them were created – therefore nobody else will be wearing the same as you on the night. She gives you some ideas for how to accessorise it and how you could wear your hair and by now you’re starting to think it must look good if she says so. She works in fashion so she probably knows better than you. She could be right – the light’s not great in the change room, you don’t have any makeup on and you’re wearing bad undies.

What do you do? Do you buy it or leave it?

*If you do buy it…do you feel incredible when you wear it or do you feel uncomfortable, and unauthentic and wish you’d bought something that was flattering to your shape and reflected your style?

If you need help navigating the sales you can contact me here

You can read what styling services I offer here

Follow me on Instagram here