In the Picture

Proving that age is a state of mind and style is something that never goes out of fashion, I recently assisted photographer extraordinaire Laura Friezer in styling (and sitting for!) a portrait shoot whilst in Sydney, Australia.

And the results? Well, we think we definitely succeeded in bringing her vision of an endless summer’s afternoon spent languishing in a smoky bar somewhere in the Old World to life…

photo laura friezer photography 2010

I must say, there’s nothing quite like having your essence captured in such a stylish fashion. It raises the spirits and boosts your confidence. And apart from the fun and sheer indulgence of it, I know I will be able to look back in years to come and see the photographic proof of how surprisingly fabulous it was to be entering one’s new thirties…

Negroni, anyone?

I Wanna Hold Your Hand

You know you are really outsourcing your shopping when you don’t even have to be there. But are you missing out on all the fun?*

copyright lee harris photography 2009

Last week’s article by Natasha Silva-Jelly, Help, I need a Wardrobe Makeover, in the Sydney Morning Herald’s fabulous weekly lift out Essential, got me excited. What a great example of every stylist’s favourite fantasy, shopping with the client’s money but without the client!  

Please do not pretend that you are shocked to hear this. There isn’t a person alive who wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to do this, although for some of you the fantasy might involve being given a $1000 cash and being let loose in the David Jones Food Hall for the afternoon to buy food and booze for a dinner party.

But it also gives me the perfect opportunity to remind all you sceptics out there that no matter what your shopping or styling needs there is bound to be an alternative that suits you.

Because if you want new clothes or indeed a new look but simply haven’t the time or the inclination to schlep around the shops in the wake of your gung-ho styling expert, do you know what? You don’t actually have to be there at all.

I must admit I am constantly reminding myself that, in actual fact, NOT EVERYBODY LIKES TO GO SHOPPING. I love taking clients along with me on shopping expeditions for so many reasons: to show them firsthand how to pick which stores to go into; how to stick to their list and budget when they get there; having the pleasure of seeing them get excited when they pick something out themselves and then realise when they get it on that they now know how to choose the right thing; the debrief over a cup of coffee or glass of bubbly straight after the session where we get to congratulate ourselves on a successful trip and talk about all the ways the new haul can be worn.

But this is admittedly not everyone’s cup of tea, and as you know now from my earlier revelation, I am not just talking from the client’s perspective.

Kelly Smythe, for example, whose approach was covered in the article I am talking about, has built an incredibly successful styling business whereby she does all the shopping herself and then takes it back to the client at home. No one to coax into trying on something new, no running back and forth from the change room to the shop floor looking for different colours or sizes, no keeping eager-to-check-in-on-your-progress-or-spending husbands at bay; just you and the clothes, focused and free.

So if you are keen for a new style but want to be spared the trauma of finding it, perhaps letting the ones who love doing all the work for you (that’s us) get on and do it is just the approach for you.

And then you can be free to get on with planning that DJ’s dinner party. 

Happy (virtual) styling!

Rubi

*Yes, that’s me on the far right, out and about in Barcelona, shopping and styling with a group of gorgeous girls. Trust me, this is a fun way for us to do your shopping!!

Up Close and Personal

On the eve of the arrival of the Trinny & Susannah juggernaut at a shopping centre near you, I have naturally been reflecting on the impact that the world’s most famous styling duo has had upon our collective fashion consciousness.

Without doubt they have raised the profile of stylists everywhere since they first hit our screens with “What not to Wear” in the mid nineties. They introduced to the masses the concept of having someone organise your wardrobe and take you shopping for the right clothes without needing to have packets of money or an offshore bank account.

Now no longer just for the rich and/or famous, a session with your personal shopper, fashion stylist or image consultant is fast becoming as essential for men and women alike as a regular trip to the hair stylist or beautician: there as you need them to make you look and feel great, and a way of outsourcing the often heinous task of buying clothes.

So what is having a stylist really like? The T & S team have always played up their honesty and outrageousness, which makes perfect sense when you want to make entertaining television, but the reality is that a typical session will not usually involve having your breasts grabbed unexpectedly to prove a point or being scolded whilst in a vulnerable state of undress in the fitting room (although you might need your bottom slapped occasionally to make you see the error of your ways)…

But seriously, the idea that you can get an objective opinion from someone in the know without you having to do any legwork whatsoever except show up is what appeals to most people. You may be stuck in a rut or never have time to go into any new shops or clear out your wardrobe, and your friends can be great shopping companions but often aren’t as honest as they should be. Plus it does feel a lot more glamourous to have someone running back and forth from the racks fetching you clothes and swapping sizes for you.

Maggie Alderson, ex-fashion editor and long-time style aficionado herself even mused late last year in her regular weekend column (If the Smock Fits, SMH Good Weekend, November 24, 2007) about the potential of a stylist to get you out of your comfort zone fast, having experienced it first hand herself. At first a little sceptical, she found herself getting into things she had sworn she would never even try on and actually liking the results. So it is certainly not just the non professionals that subscribe to the theory.

It’s almost got me wishing I could have someone do it for me once in a while! Maybe I should disguise myself as a fashon tragic next week and see if Trinny and Susannah can decide if I am a vase or an hourglass…or maybe just a glass of wine and a hour at the hairdresser’s will do the trick…

Happy styling

Rubi