MEAGHAN SMITH PERSONAL STYLIST

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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Here’s a little story about a client whose clothes weren’t making her feel great.

She was prompted to contact me because..

She’d recently lost a lot of weight and needed to upgrade her wardrobe but wasn’t sure what to buy to suit and flatter her new shape. She was also bored with her current clothes and needed some guidance with developing a new look, as she felt she was going into a new phase in her life and wanted to enter it on the right, stylish foot.

After talking about what direction she wanted her style to go in and when I felt we were both clear about it, we got stuck into working through her wardrobe.   Which consisted of:

• Outdated, tired and daggy clothes she’d had since the nineties. Some from her uni and back-packing days
• Clothes that were nice BUT didn’t fit properly or were unflattering to her particular body shape or completely opposite to her personal style
• Pieces that were making her feel and appear older than she was and making her look frumpy
• Items that were for exercising

As we continued to work through the wardrobe I observed that a large amount of her (newish) clothes had been purchased from the same local shop and it became apparent to me that my client had been misled into believing these clothes suited and flattered her body shape, when they didn’t.

My client had been enticed to shop at this particular fancy city boutique because it was close to where she worked and therefore convenient, because she’d noticed the girls working in the store looked ‘trendy” and because she wanted to update her look and was uncertain how to do so.

But…not only were these clothes unflattering, they were also not her style.

Although we’d determined together this girls style/personality was “Classic” (tailored, clean, simple, somewhat traditional)  she had been talked into purchasing things that were very pretty/floaty/whimsical/patterned.

She could never work out how to wear them. They looked great on the people in the shop but when she took them home and put them on, they felt all wrong.

Because they weren’t her style.  They were someone else’s.

The boutique in question sold beautiful clothes, just not pieces that suited my clients style.

This is why it is so important that you know exactly what your style is, what the image that you want to portray is and what styles flatter your body shape.

If you don’t want to waste your money by filling your wardrobe with clothes that don’t make you feel great, you need to:

• Learn and understand what flatters your body shape
• Know which shops don’t have the clothes that suit your personal style and which shops do
• Define and develop your own unique personal style and be sure about what you buy fits into this image
• Learn how to be a smart shopper or take someone with you who is, so that you don’t buy into fake flattery
• Don’t be talked into buying or wearing something unless you love it

I don’t entirely blame the staff in the stores for selling things to us that don’t complement our style or shape.  They’re like all of us, trying to earn a living and more than likely doing what their boss has instructed them to do.  Some of these girls would be students, working part time and they haven’t been educated about body shapes.  We need to take responsibility ourselves by knowing what we’re shopping for.  I guess if you asked does this flatter my shape, and they lied to you, that’s another issue.

If you feel like this is happening to you and you’d like help defining your style and then achieving it, book in for a Wardrobe Overhaul and Personal Shopping session here 

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Someone I worked with recently had 23 long sleeve tees in their cupboard – but not a single pair of (decent) pants.

She had two pairs of jeans and a pair of (unflattering) three quarter length cargoes she didn’t like, but wore because she didn’t have anything else.

She felt like she had lots of clothes – but nothing to wear.

Another girl I worked with had a wardrobe full of dresses but when I asked her to show me which shoes she wore with them, she said she didn’t really have any.

She kept collecting the dresses, because she “didn’t like herself in pants” – yet every time she put the dresses on, they didn’t feel right – because the shoes she had to wear with them were dated and daggy.

She felt like she had lots of clothes – but nothing to wear.

One lady had an amazing beaded jacket she bought in a vintage sale (“it was only $50”) but had never worn it because it went with nothing in her wardrobe.

And then another had several pairs of amazing killer heels, (rarely if ever worn because her lifestyle involved going to parks, cafes and kids birthday parties) a couple of pairs of worn to death trainers and not one pair of comfy, modern stylish flats.

Both felt like they had lots of clothes – but nothing to wear.

See a pattern?  There’s big gaps in these wardrobes. That’s why these women feel like they don’t have anything to wear – despite having a lot of clothes.

They keep buying the same thing over and over and then wondering why they can’t put an outfit together.

They’re buying random things, in the hope that it will give them something to wear – but it doesn’t because they don’t have the pieces (often basics) to wear with it.

They haven’t identified what the gaps are in their wardrobe.

They’re buying things that don’t tie in with other things in their wardrobe.

They’re not building on what they already own.

What’s missing from your wardrobe?  Is it a bra or a slip you need to wear under a certain dress; is it a bag you need to complete a particular outfit or is it a great coat you’ve been meaning to buy for five years?

If you keep buying random, spur of the moment purchases, without thinking about what they go with, or whether you really need another one the same as several others in your wardrobe …..you’ll continue to feel like you have nothing to wear.

READ: “What To Do When You Feel Like You Have Nothing To Wear”  here

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Do you recognise this person?  In this picture she’s been transformed to play a character in a movie. She posted it on her Instagram page recently saying, it was when she was “Lana – who wore pink lipstick, a yellow crop top, rose tattoo, multiple piercings and a denim mini skirt”

It really caught my eye when it popped up on my feed because I knew it was her but, if I didn’t, I probably wouldn’t have recognised her. She looked quite a bit older (despite it being 11 years ago) and not as stylish as I think of her.  …and that’s exactly what the costume and makeup department in the movie she was working on, wanted to achieve. 

And this is her!  Lovely Rebecca Gibney.

I wanted to share it with you because it highlights what a difference clothes, makeup, jewelry, hair and a (bad) tan can make and it’s a very good reminder to all us, that if it’s been a while since you updated your look (ie clothes, hair and makeup but I’d also include jewelry and glasses too) to consider whether it could be time to make some changes.

You can read what styling services I offer here

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