MEAGHAN SMITH PERSONAL STYLIST

You might discover a gap in your wardrobe when you struggle to put an outfit together. For example, you’re going to a girlfriend’s birthday dinner on Saturday night, you want to wear that new top you bought in the sales, and when you try it on during the week, you realise you don’t have the right bra to wear with it. That’s a gap.

Another way to identify a gap is to look at your clothes and consider whether adding something new could give you more outfits.

Here, it’s a white ribbed tank.

The tank can obviously be worn on its own as a simple top, layered under a shirt, cardigan, blazer, or coat. It has a great neckline and can add texture and an extra color, i.e., depth to an outfit.

Looking for gaps is what I do during a wardrobe session. I analyse the wardrobe and think about what’s missing, then consider what could be added. The idea is that by filling a gap, it’ll have a significant impact on your wardrobe and how you dress.

FYI – My current favourite white tank is one I just bought myself before Christmas. Important things for me were straps that are wide enough to wear a bra, a nicely shaped low neckline, and good sturdy fabrication (not too flimsy). Subscribe to my Fab Finds if you’d like to see which one I bought. Read about it (and see examples of what I post) here.

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You can read what styling services I offer here

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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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