STYLEWISE AND SHOP SMART

View video of Dee’s “Style Challenge” and see what she managed to pick up at her local Op-shop!

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

We loved Tania straight away when we met her and new she would be a very deserving winner. Like many of our fans, Tania who is in her mid-thirties, is a mum of two young kids and she also works part time, as a nurse on the nightshift. We all know that the duties of running a home and young family combined with working makes for a very busy life – and often what happens is we tend to put ourselves last – hardly having time to worry about our wardrobe.

After listening to Tania’s story (And visiting her wardrobe) we decided that what Tania really needed was for us to show her how easy it is to build a wardrobe full of great basics that she can mix and match easily. Because Tania’s lifestyle revolves around her young family, and she doesn’t need work clothes as she wears a uniform, Tania really just needs simple, easy care, casual basics that will get her from school to the shops to the playground. BUT THAT DOESN”T MEAN SHE SHOULD ALLOW HERSELF TO LOOK LIKE A COMPLETE DAG! Nor does it mean she has to spend a lot of money or time building a functional wardrobe that still looks great.

Lets’s take a look at what lucky girl Tania has recieved so far as part of fantastic make-over package.

Number one: The Colour Consultation.

Understanding which colours will look great on you and which won’t is only just the beginning of a Colour Consultation. And it’s not just about your clothes, a colour consultation will tell you which hair colours and make-up shades will suit you (you will see how important this can be when you see Tania’s final reveal after hair and make-up). Personal Stylist Dee believes that it is so important in wardrobe building because when you start to collect items in your best colours, you will find that the garments in your wardrobe will begin to mix and match so much more and in ways you may never have thought of.

Dee asked Tania a series of questions, noted certain aspects of Tania’s hair, eyes and skintone and used a series of coloured drapes to determine that Tania is indeed a “Summer” whose best colours are cool blues, greens, mauves, pinks and silvers. Orange is to warm and bright for Tania, it will overwhelm her, and cast an orange shadow onto her face making her appear jaundiced.

A Colour Consultation with Your Life Styled takes around two hours and includes a fantastic “Your Colour Solutions” manual with over thirty pages of information, everything you need to know about your personally reccommended colours and how to wear them. You will also receive your “Colour Swatch Set” which includes over 40 colours and is a key tool for anyone who wants to look their best, make shopping for clothes easier, and create a fabulous wardrobe.

Number two: Understanding Body Shape

Equally important to colour when it comes to dressing, is understanding all aspects of your body and it’s shape and how to use the line, design and fit of clothing to flatter. Amazing optical illusions can be creating with clothing when you know how. You can lose kilos, gain curves wear you want them, look taller of whatever you may desire with the right knowledge.

As part of her prize, Tania recieved a Personal Body Shape Consultation, the award winning on-line “My Private Stylist Program” and the essential shopping guide, which makes shopping for the right styles and putting outfits together so much simpler.

Dee assessed that Tania was normal weight and height, but with proportionally longer legs and a short body. She also has a slight triangle shape. The Style Program and Shopping guide will lay all the reccommendations out simply for her so she will always have a Personal Stylist’s advice at hand.

Armed with the right knowledge of what garments will be most suitable our next step was to go to Tania’s home, do an audit of her wardrobe and prepare for our Personal Shopping expedition.

Number 3: Planning Tania’s Wardrobe

See Tania and Dee at Tania’sWardrobe audit

The Big Finale

The final part of Tania’s big make-over is the most amazing transformation.Dee teamed together with some fabulously talented ladies in the Busselton area who we would like to thank ….

Belinda Turner of Belz Photography (PH: 0412 305 601)

Cathy Baker, Glow Retreat Hair Salon (PH: 08 9754 8101)

Jo Robinson, Make-up Artist, and Naturaliste Skin Clinic (PH: 08 9751 3066)

Leading up to the final day, Dee scouted the shops looking for the right outfit for Tania’s photo. The “Little Black Dress” is perfect for Tania as it is a classic wardrobe item that can be dressed up, down and around to get her through any number of occaisions. This one was only $49 from Target, proving you don’t have to spend a fortune to look great or spend hours shopping around, and it fitted Tania beautifully! Although Black is not one of Tania’s best colours, she can get away with it in this style because it has a low scooped neckline, and shows a lot of skin. The Pearls (again from Target) soften the harshness of the black and harmonize beautifully.

Dee also consulted with Hair Stylist, Cathy Baker from Glow Retreat in Busselton, discussing Tania’s colouring and face-shape as well as her hair type, lifestyle and personal preferences to determine Tania’s new style. Together they decided a shorter look, which eliminated the fullness around Tania’s jawline would be most flattering. The slight off-centre part worked with Tania’s natural curl, and lengthens her square-ish face shape. Three different shades of Blonde were chosen to flatter Tania’s skin tone and beautiful Blue eyes.

Being a “Summer” Tania looks best in natural, minimal make-up or else she tends to look harsh and overdone. Dee advised Jo Robinson from Naturaliste Skin Clinic in Busselton, who perfected Tania’s look absolutely beautifully using products from “Napoleon ” which are available from the Salon. Jo works professionally as a Make-up Artist and is available for Wedding, Balls, and of course “Special Make-overs”.

Finally, the final result was captured by our Professional Photographer Belinda Turner from Belz Photography. Belinda specializes in family, baby amd maternity photography, and of course captures our stunning make-over models for us.

At Your Life Styled we are so excited about the success of Tania’s Make-over. Not only can such an image transformation be life changing, but every woman deserves to be a princess for a day, and have that moment captured forever. That’s why we have decided to offer this amazing experience as a special package, an opportunity for you to completely transform your look, and have an absolutely beautiful photo for you and your family to treasure forever. If you would like to know more about this opportunity please contact us for more details.

Personally as I am not much of a tomboy, and my curvy triangle shaped body doesn’t really suit the boxy shape of most menswear.”

The first item with potential I found was a Silver Grey men’s button down shirt. I was drawn to it as it suits my colouring (still following my style rules even when it comes to menswear). I teamed it with a simple singet top underneath in a matching colour and black Cigarette Pants. A gorgeous girly belt gives the outfit a womanly shape and sexy high heels make you feel feminine no matter what you are wearing.

This outfit could take you to the office if the protocol is “business casual” or you work in a creative or artistic field, and it would easily carry through to drinks or casual dinner after work.

Next I found a pair of Chocolate Brown trousers. Now they were a bit big so they required high heels and a few strategically placed safety pins – covered up cleverly with a scarf tied around the waist. I paired it with a fitted leopard print T with Shoulder pads, which helped to create an hour glass shape. The accessories were “African inspired” to theme with the top and the earthiness of the brown pants. I would wear this out to dinner if I was feeling like making a style statement.

Finally, a task I set for myself, was to see if I could wear a “westy” “flanny” or whatever you call it in your region without looking like either a Cow Girl or that I am about to emabark on a fishing trip. I started by over-wrapping one front of the shirt over the other so the she shirt became tighter and more fitted, I secured the new shape with some safety pins. For this look I went with Black Opaque tights, Hight Heels and a funky black belt and big earings to pull it all together. The result has sort of a “Punk vibe” that I don’t think I would actually wear, at 41, but some of you younger gals could rock it.

My tips for wearing menswear as womenswear? Still follow the first two rules of savvy style and work with your colouring and body shape. Next balance the masculinity of mens clothing with high heels, girly accessories and polished make-up. The idea is not to dress like a man, but too expand your wardrobe possibilities by thinking outside the square and venturing over to the other side of the closet.

I honestly believe the self—loathing I felt for my body at thirteen was a major catalyst for me developing an eating disorder that led me to waste years of life, precious time I will never get back, opportunities I missed because I was waiting till I was“ skinny enough” and to con-template taking my own life. Luckily for me I was able to recover. I still have the odd battle with body issues, and I definitely still have cellulite. Most importantly I have learnt that most of us will have aspects of our bodies that we will never love, but we can still love ourselves. We can learn how to minimise the bits of us we don‘t like so much and emphasise those that we love. And we must stop comparing ourselves and our bits with other women, we all come in our individual packages, all made up of good and not so good bits, and cannot be compared. It is my passion now through Your Life Styled and Goddess Impressions to spread a wave of healthy body image through women today, if I can save even one person from the depths of despair I felt when I hated my body then it will be worth it.