MEAGHAN SMITH PERSONAL STYLIST

I love the idea of a clutch bag.  They remind me of a couple of things – the 70’s …and Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw.  Both of which have influenced my style a lot.  (I would wear Farrah’s outfit (above) head to toe today)

Perhaps it’s because I’m petite (ie under 5ft 4), but I like the idea of not being swamped by or having to lug around, a big oversized bag, instead having something small that I can hold in my hand (like Amal did here and Meghan did here) or tuck under my arm. (Like so).

I’ve collected a few over the years.  There’s this one, a birthday gift from my family, this one I found at The Mill Market in Geelong, and this one I bought from a vintage store in Paris.

While I tend not to use them much during my day to day, the first chance I get to pull one out and use it for a night out or a day at the races, I do.

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Are you paying attention to your back view?  Are you taking the time to make sure you’re wearing appropriate undies?

I see a lot of people in the street wearing great outfits, with very bad VPL’s. I’ve come to the conclusion that there are many women who do not check their rear view when they get dressed.  Your underwear should not cut into your flesh and create dints they should sit flat against your skin and disappear under your clothes.

I think often too, people are buying clothes without considering what underwear they’ll be able to wear underneath. There’s no point in buying a hot slinky figure hugging frock, if you’re not going to be able to find a suitable pair of undies that will make the dress look smooth against your body.

The same thing happens with jeans and pants.  If your knickers are too tight they can create an indent in your hip or thigh.  It’s important you take the time to spin around in the mirror and check what the view is like from the side and back, as well as the front,  before you leave the house.

Here are some underwear tips to consider

• If you can’t find a pair of underpants that flatter a particular item of clothing, you might be best to completely ditch them
• Next time you’re in the underwear section, ask the ladies working there to recommend their favourite undies for smoothing lumps and bumps under clothes
• If you have a bit of a tummy you’re conscious of, investigate tummy flattening undies. (Try wearing undies that go over the tummy rather than sit below it)
• Think about whether you might be buying your undies too small. Just because you generally wear size 10 clothes doesn’t mean your undies will be the same.  Perhaps a size 12 would be more flattering (I tend to go up a size if I’m wearing tight fitting pants so that I don’t have a noticable dint on my hip)
• If you always wear boy leg style undies, change it up a bit and try wearing a high cut style.  Maybe they’re a better option for your shape
• Don’t underestimate the benefits of suck-it-all-in shapewear
• If you do have a dress you need to find undies to wear underneath – take the dress into the store with you and ask for guidance from the staff

Don’t ruin an otherwise great outfit by wearing unsuitable undies.

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Recently I worked with someone who contacted me because she had just moved to Melbourne from rural Queensland and felt as though she needed some help putting together some casual outfits – particularly a few things she could wear to pick up her daughter from school. Her wardrobe largely consisted of shorts, t-shirts and thongs, given the climate and the relaxed style of her previous home town, but she didn’t think her old wardrobe of clothes would cut it now she’d relocated to Melbourne.

It was important to her that her daughter wasn’t embarrassed by how her mum dressed when she waited for her at the school gate and she also wanted to make some new friends with the mums and she knew for her to do so she needed to feel confident and good about herself.

When she emailed me the first sentence she wrote was,

“I hope you can help me.  I need a revamp”

She went on to say she “desperately needed new clothes” because the climate was so different in Melbourne to where she’d come from and that she had attempted to shop for new things, but really had no idea where to start. She’d been living on a farm and was completely out of touch with what was “fashionable”.   She wanted some help putting together what she called, “Melbourne outfits”.

After going through her wardrobe together, we agreed what she needed initially (it was spring when we met) for this area of her life was ….. at least one great pair of jeans (preferably two for variety), one or two pairs of comfy, casual (alternative to jeans) pants, some fresh flattering t-shirts, knits, perhaps a casual dress and/or a skirt, a couple of pairs of comfy yet stylish flats, a casual jacket and some clever accessories to decorate her basics.

I don’t collect a child from school so I don’t see how people dress, but I have been told (in different neighbourhoods) it can feel competitive and intimidating. According to this article in the New York Times mums in New York are feeling the pressure to dress up for school drop-off. Some are dressing up for the school run and then going home and changing into their tracky’s, before changing back into their designer outfits for the pick-up.  And in this article in the UK Daily Mail the writer suggests that for the first day back at school, “around one in six will sport a new hairdo, a similar number have bought a new outfit while others will be showing off a bronzed look”.    

Goodness……I’m sure things are not quite as extreme here as they are in the swanky neighbourhoods of New York and London….are they!!?

It’s so important to remind ourselves that we are good enough, just as we are.  We don’t need to look or be like anyone else.  We are all different, unique and individual.  If you feel great in what you’re wearing and confident knowing that the style and image you’re portraying is you, then that’s all that matters.  Be kind and don’t put too much pressure on yourself.

*It turned out, like many things, the unknown and the picture my client had created in her head was a lot different to the reality.

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Be careful when you’re wearing something to try and disguise/minimise/play down an area, that you’re not in fact accentuating/making larger/playing it up.  (Or alternatively, in the process you’re also hiding one of your best features)

These tops are a good example…

If dressing in a conventionally flattering way is important to you but you’re unsure whether the pieces you’re wearing are doing that, consider booking in for a Wardrobe Overhaul. It’s designed to clean out and analyse the wardrobe but also to educate you on the most flattering proportions, styles and fit for you.

The details of my Wardrobe Overhaul can be found here

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