MEAGHAN SMITH PERSONAL STYLIST

“Tell me about this floral (pink, yellow, green, orange, red, blue) top”, I ask my client during her Wardrobe Overhaul, “Do you love it?”

“No”.  She responds. “I bought it because I thought I should add more color to my wardrobe.” “I hate it!”

There’s a misconception, I’ve discovered since doing this job, that to look interesting, you need to wear lots of color and pattern – but it’s simply not true.

In fact, stylish and sophisticated looks can be achieved by simply wearing black and white.

My tips to make sure your black and white outfit looks chic, rather than bland, are to:

• Keep the black, very black, and the white, very white 
• Make sure the fit is (really) good. (Because black and white is so clean, an ill-fitting silhouette will be highlighted)
• Keep the cuts and styles modern (Rather than outdated)
• Put plenty of thought into how you decorate your black and white pieces (Don’t let down an otherwise great outfit with a daggy, sensible shoe or scruffy handbag)

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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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My favourite way to dress is to combine pieces that are designer (expensive) with low (inexpensive), from near and far and old and new. .

For me it feels more creative than wearing head-to-toe current season (which I do do occasionally – but it doesn’t seem as interesting).

For this reason I think about building a wardrobe, rather than just having clothes in my wardrobe for a season. .

Here I’m wearing a vintage embroidered blouse, which I found in a local opshop (about 8 yrs ago) for $5. With it I’m wearing, my favourite Levi’s, (bought in Melbourne), a pair of Scanlan Theodore shoes, a Maje necklace I bought in Paris and a Clare Vivier bag my sisters gave me for my birthday (which they had shipped from the States).

SIDE NOTE
While this top only cost me $5, I liked it so much I thought it was worth spending the money to have it altered. When I bought it the sleeves were too long. I wanted them to sit above my wrist bone – so I took it to my tailor and he removed the embroidered strip, shortened them, and then replaced the embroidery. Much better!

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Matchy-Matchy is an adjective used to describe something or someone that is very or excessively colour coordinated. It is a term that is commonly used in fashion blogs to describe an outfit that is too coordinated and consists of too many of the same types of colors, patterns, fabrics, accessories, etc. “Matchy-matchy” was added to the Oxford Dictionary of English in 2010 along with 200 new words that were previously considered as slang. – Wikipedia

In the case below, wearing two pieces of the same bright color in one outfit works because the skirt and the shoes are so close to each other that it almost seems like they belong together.

The matching is not too obvious.

Whereas in the outfit below, the matching is too much.

In this case if the shoes, belt and bag were not a bright color (ie perhaps navy or tan) it could work – but in this case, it’s too matchy/matchy.   You notice the accessories more than the overall outfit.

Back in the 50’s or 60’s an outfit similar to what Queen Elizabeth is wearing (above), where you matched your bag with your shoes and gloves, may have been very stylish, but just remember, we’re now in 2019 and you don’t need to match everything in your outfit to be well dressed.

In fact, being too coordinated and matchy, can age (and perhaps out-date) your look.

That said…who knows….. just like all fashion trends, matching your shoes with you bag just might come back in to fashion one day.

You can read what styling services I offer here

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