MEAGHAN SMITH PERSONAL STYLIST

When I changed careers several years ago, my clothes needed to change too.

I was working at an Investment Bank so most of my wardrobe was made up of suits, crisp shirts, blazers, and heels, but when I started my Personal Styling business, my needs were different. My style was still classic, but it needed to transition from corporate classic into a more casual, fashionable classic.

Before I invested in new clothes I made the conscious decision to simplify my wardrobe, and how I dressed and also decided that I would build a wardrobe around a color palette, of black, white, grey, and navy.
Having these colors as my primary base means that everything works together, and therefore dressing is easy.

Over time, for variety, I would add bits and pieces in other colors – red, orange, cobalt blue, fuchsia – that would complement the neutral basics.

I’m now ready to introduce a new neutral. One that I know will work well with all the others, as well as some of my colored pieces. This autumn, I’m keen to incorporate some khaki into the mix.

What are the primary basic colors you’ve built your wardrobe around?  (For you it could be beige, charcoal, cream, white, etc) If you haven’t (and your wardrobe is only made up of lots of colors and patterns) it could be one of the reasons you find putting outfits together difficult and you feel like you have nothing to wear.

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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… 

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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…

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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

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