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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This pea coat was about to be thrown out.

While I love it, in fact, it’s one of my favourite pieces – I knew I couldn’t wear it like this (below) anymore. I had to do something to save it, or it needed to be let go of.

Firstly, I tried using this little comb (testing it on a small area), but it didn’t work. It was pulling and tearing at the fabric – it was too rough.

So when I saw someone mention a little de-pilling device on Instagram, I thought I’d give it a go …and it worked a treat!

It now looks as good as new.

You can watch how I did it here

How you take care of your clothes is very important – both for ensuring they wear well and last as long as they should, but also so that you look well put together. 

You’ll never look stylish if you leave the house with frayed, scuffed, faded, stained, pilled, creased…or like you slept with your dog in their basket – hair all over your clothes. 

Go the extra step and take great care of the pieces you invest in.

You can read what styling services I offer here

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If you’re petite (anyone under 5ft 3) you may have similar issues to me.

Yesterday I tried this Country Road dress on. 

To someone who doesn’t know what to look for when it comes to fit, you might think it’s ok – but it isn’t.

The neck (front and back) doesn’t fit, the armholes don’t fit, and it also doesn’t fit through the waist. But, from the hips down, it’s quite good.

As you can see in the photo below, it’s too long through the body for me. It’s been made for someone a fair bit taller.

*Don’t buy anything that doesn’t fit you properly unless you can commit to taking it to the tailor to see if they can alter it for you) In this case, the dress can’t be altered, so it’s not for me. 

If there’s one thing you do for your style this year, learn about how your clothes should fit.

I have had clients with beautiful wardrobes full of amazing designer pieces worth lots of money, and many of them don’t fit. Despite the fact that the clothes are lovely, the person may never look great wearing them because of how they look on the body.

Before investing in your wardrobe, know how to tell when something fits you just right and when it doesn’t. (And also know what can and can’t be altered)

*If you’d like to learn about how your clothes should fit you book a Wardrobe Overhaul here

Follow me on Instagram here

“70 percent of the clothes you own should be meat and potatoes. 30 percent should be icing and fluff — that’s colour, pattern, shine, accessories. Too many women get the proportions the other way round, then can’t figure out why they can’t get dressed” — Michael Kors.

If your wardrobe is made up of 70% fluff and 30% meat & potatoes, (rather than the other way around)  it could be why you often feel as though you have nothing to wear.

Follow me on Instagram here

Read about my styling services here