MEAGHAN SMITH PERSONAL STYLIST

Do your clothes represent who you are?  Are they where you are now in 2018 or are they where you were five, ten, fifteen years ago?  Were they ever you? Or are they someone else’s style?

Think about it…..

Are they outdated?

Are they tired and worn out?

Are they too bright and colorful?

Are they too conservative?

Are they too old?  Or too young?

Are they too business like?  Or too casual?

Are they too pretty?  Or too boyish?

Example

I arrived at a clients home recently and as soon as she opened the door to greet me I could tell she had a warm and friendly, gentle, inviting, laid back nature.  She had a beautiful big smile, amazing (signature) hair, great skin and a curvaceous figure.  She looked much younger in real life compared to how she looked in the photos that she’d sent me.  The combination of lovely personality and lovely features, meant she was a very attractive woman.

However her clothes were letting her down.  Who she was and the clothes she wore, didn’t match.

In the photos, and I soon discovered in her wardrobe too, she mostly wore black – but not in a good way. Black can be very chic, flattering and interesting or it can be faded, tired and boring. Hers was the latter.

She was creative, she was energetic, she was bubbly, she was sexy, intelligent, entertaining and interesting….her clothes were drab.

Some were too tight (she wore a lot of exercise gear for comfort) and some were shapeless. (Covering up the bits she didn’t like but along the way some of her best features also)  Her lovely figure, that she didn’t really acknowledge she had, was often hidden in ill-fitting garments.   …and because many of the pieces she had in her wardrobe were decades old, they were now outdated – which in turn was aging her.

So here’s your exercise.  Make a list of all the things you are.  I’ll get you started….

I am relaxed

I am fun

I am intelligent

I am a traditionalist

I am the life of the party

I am artistic

I am confident

I am shy

I am ambitious

I am sophisticated

I am subtly sexy

I am youthful

I am conservative

Once you’ve done that, open your wardrobe, look inside and ask yourself, do these pieces express who I am….or do they tell a different story?

*It might even be an interesting exercise to ask a friend or loved one what they think your clothes say about you.

If you don’t find it easy letting go of pieces from your wardrobe (and perhaps this is one of the reasons your clothes don’t represent who you are) keep in mind I am here to help. Enquire or book in for a Wardrobe Overhaul here

Follow me on Instagram here

When you’re giving your wardrobe a good edit and clean out, always keep this in mind.

Pieces can be remodeled and reinvented.

A pair of long, wide pants can be slimmed and cropped, a blouse can have the sleeves shortened or removed and just like here, a dress can be made into a skirt.

All that’s required is a creative eye and a clever sewer/tailor.

This dress is available from H & M.

If you don’t really have a creative eye and would like me to help you go through your wardrobe details of my wardrobe styling sessions can be found here 

Follow me on Instagram here

The second photo is how a great pair of jeans should look.

In the first image the pockets are all wrong, the fabric isn’t good (i.e. there’s no support), the jeans are too big, the color of the denim is ho-hum…and they’re not sitting in the right place on the waist.

Basically unflattering!

..and aging!

Which do your jeans look like?  The before image or the after image?

Thank you to my lovely model. To think that bum was hidden under those daggy jeans. Doesn’t she look great!  Ten years younger. 🙂

See more images of how my client looked in her new jeans here

Read about my jeans shopping sessions here

Follow me on Instagram here 

I was told by someone who worked in Spain at the head office of a well known clothing brand, that their clothes were designed to last 16 washes.

Whether it’s right or not, I’m not sure, but I always keep this in mind when I buy anything from them. (or similar stores). What it means is that when you buy cheap and cheerful fast fashion, the pieces are not intended to have a long life. You might notice your new t-shirt loses shape after just one wash; even though you’ve only had them 6 months, the crotch of your jeans starts to wear out and a thread is hanging from every buttonhole of a shirt, after only a few wears.