MEAGHAN SMITH PERSONAL STYLIST

It doesn’t matter if something is fancy designer and costs you a lot of money, if it fits badly, it looks bad.

Remember when Gwyneth wore this pink dress to the Oscars?

It’s not that it wasn’t a nice dress – it just didn’t fit her properly.

Supposedly, Gwyneth removed the piece designed to wear under the bodice (Breast pads or a structured bustier??) leaving the top part too big for her. *I’m not suggesting Gwyneth didn’t look lovely, she did – the dress was just not right.

Despite the dress being Ralph Lauren couture and worth a squillion dollars (I heard her say in an interview it was before the days of stylists, and she bought it herself), it didn’t look great, because of how it fit.

When something doesn’t fit well…

You might put it on to wear and then take it off again. You can’t put your finger on it, but it’s not quite right.

It can make you feel frumpy.

It might make you look like you have a different shape than you do. (Not in the way you want!)

Your outfit can look messy, rather than clean, sharp, polished, etc, etc.

Maybe in a work environment, it could send a message that you don’t care. (i.e. “That’ll do”)

And the most important one – it could affect your confidence.

Most of us are not taught what to look for, to know when our clothes fit us properly. Growing up, if we could get it on and do it up, it meant it fit.

So, if it matters to you, spend some time really looking at the way your clothes drape over your body. Is anything pulling, puckering, not sitting where it should be, or even making you look wider than you are? If so, figure out why.

If you’d like some help, learning how your clothes should (and shouldn’t) fit you, book a Wardrobe Overhaul or Personal Shopping.

If you’d like to learn how to know when something fits or doesn’t fit you well, book in for a Wardrobe Overhaul or Personal Shopping here 

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In the early days of trying to figure out my style, Jane Birkin had such a massive impact.

I was inspired by how she knew exactly what her look was – and rarely strayed from it; I loved how she dressed in a masculine/feminine/nonchalant/effortless way; I admired her daring, sassy attitude. (Wishing I was just a little bit as brave.)

Also, I wanted that fringe. I hate to think how many times over the years I’ve given a hairdresser a photo of Jane’s fringe to copy, only to be told I don’t Jane’s hair. 🙁

And, she was cool.

It appeared to me that she was more about style too, than fashion. I guess that’s why the many images I have saved of her are timeless and still influence how I dress even today.

So sad to hear of her death. RIP Jane.

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I just bought some newies, so I thought I’d use me as an example to talk a bit more about sneakers and personal style. (If you missed my last post, you can see it here)

So,.. I just bought these new jeans and wanted to be able to wear sneakers with them.

I tried this white pair I have, (above) and I didn’t feel right. They even made me have second thoughts about the jeans. Even though I love the sneakers, with these jeans I feel a bit frumpy and masculine – like Jerry Seinfeld – it’s not what I want. I like to feel feminine in my clothes.

I knew, for my style, to make the jeans work, I needed a shoe that wasn’t as heavy. Something that felt more elegant on my foot. The ones I’m wearing in the first pic feel much better.

It just goes to show, you need to play around with styling…and you should know how you do and don’t want to feel in your clothes.

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Even buying shoes, you want to think about your personal style.

For example, my client wanted white sneakers.

We were in DJs and got it down to two contenders.

Both were plain white, (which was a criteria) but one was very simple, timeless with no detail, and the other had some tiny features, a small platform, and was a bit edgier and perhaps more fashionable than classic.

While my client was trying each sneaker on, the person working in the store came over to ask if we needed any sizes and offered her thoughts. She suggested the brand she worked for (they were two different) was a lot more elegant than the other one – which she felt was better and what my client wanted.

In fact, it wasn’t.

While my client was trying both sneakers on, we talked about her style. I asked her which one she felt best represented the direction she wanted her style to move in and the look she wanted to achieve. The ones that were slightly chunkier and cooler, were it.

So, there are a couple of takeaways from this…

All white sneakers are not the same. When you’re shopping for a pair, think about what it is you want. Sporty, non-sporty, chunky, elegant, leather, canvas, details, embellishment, no details, etc. It’ll make it so much easier for you to find them.

Know your personal style, and you won’t buy or get talked into buying something that isn’t right for you.

Take your time when you shop. Have a good think about the piece before you make the purchase. Don’t feel rushed to make a decision.

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You can read what styling services I offer here