The Fashion Workshop

I went to a group styling session at my local Westfield on the weekend. It cost $5, which got you 1 hour with the head stylist, talking about and reviewing the hottest trends as modelled by a very tall model, a cupcake from Shingle Inn, a bottle of water/mineral water, and a goodie bag filled with various samples and discount vouchers.

To say that I was excited about the 'event' is an understatement. I love fashion and I thrive on getting inspiration from other stylish women, so this was definitely my cup of tea.

But before the event I was so freakin' worried about what to wear. Do you notice that often all the big fashion designers and people in fashion tend to wear black? Yeah, me too. And surely they are in the know? So I opted for a black top from Kmart that I've had for yonks, and a patterned Easton Pearson silk skirt that I picked up for a steal from David Jones, with my trusty Wittner wedges and a necklace I made myself.

See? This is my outfit.

So, the session was good, and informative, and I got some great outfit inspiration and ideas about where to purchase budget friendly items, but I left feeling a bit confused and down-trodden about my own outfit choices.

But first, lets talk about this seasons 'Hero Pieces' (as the stylist liked to call them). She ran through 3 looks for each item (one for work, casual and evening) so the model really earned her pay that day!

1) Pleat print skirt from Diana Ferrari (I can't find a pic of this, but it was black with a camel coloured flower print all over it)  - this was used to demonstrate how to do the 'print clash' trend. The way to pull off this trend is to link your two pieces via pattern and/or colour, but we all knew that, right?

Image via ASOS

 I love this look but don't think I could pull it off confidently

2) Coloured jeans - this was where my self doubt set in. The stylist said to stick to muted tones like dark mulberry, navy and these teal ones from Sussan

This was the casual look - love the silver cuffs & snake print bag!

She said the brighter colours, like red, are hard to wear and will bring a lot of attention to your legs. I cringed and sunk back into my chair... me, the owner of BRIGHT RED JEANS! Eeek. Oops. I later told her that I was an owner of red jeans and she advised that it was ok to wear red jeans so long as I was a person that liked (and usually wore) bright colours and wore them confidently. I nodded 'yes' and 'yes'. I like colour. I wear my red jeans confidently. Phew! But then she said she wouldn't team black or white with red jeans as there was too much of a high contrast against the red, and would instead team camel, brown and neutrals with them. What? Really? I always wear black or white, or black and white in the form of a striped top with my red jeans. Uh oh. I've been doing it all wrong. But hang on, what about these stylish women? They can't all be doing it wrong too?

Miranda Kerr via Pinterest

Lauren Conrad via Pinterest

So then I got really worried about what to wear with my red jeans... And then through the magic that is Pinterest, I found this:

Brillo. Wear with white, ivory, blush, nude, khaki, chambray, leopard, cheetah, python, black.

via Pinterest

3) Patterned tights - the tights were only subtly patterned, which the stylist said is much better for people with chunky legs (aka, moi).

4) Tailored pants - or 'a tapered pant' as the stylist put it. These were an interesting item to see styled up and one that I never would have considered for myself. The pants they used were from Portmans. These ones:

They have a pleat at the front, which scared me slightly as I have a tummy and have always steered clear of anything that might accentuate it. But the stylist assured me I could wear these, as the pleats have been sewn flat/shut at the tummy and therefore create a smooth finish..

Casual look

Evening look

So, all in all, it was a good session. Some other little pearlers the stylist dropped into the session include:

+ Layer with neutral tones, not just black. This is particularly relevant to wearing black tights and a dress. Like this:

+ Black doesn't suit a lot of people (despite the stylist herself wearing head to toe black AND all of her assistants wearing it too)
+ If you're going to wear all black, incorporate different textures e.g. lace, matte fabric, shiny leather look fabric, etc
+ Snake print will be big for spring/summer so buy up now
+ Bracelet sleeve lengths in tops/dresses are very flattering as our wrists are the thinnest part of our arms and it highlights this feature

She also got me thinking about where I buy my items from. The session highlighted the fact that you don't have to spend a lot of money to look good. Even one of the stylists assistants was wearing $15 leather look leggings from Cotton On and $30 Lady Gaga-esque booties from Payless Shoes. She proclaimed the shoes to be super comfy, but when I went to try them on I discovered that my chubby little foot is too wide for the shoe and hence they were not super comfy. Never fear, I will not give up on the cheap shoe shop.

So, all in all it was a good session and I'll definitely go to one next season. If you live near a Westfield, check out their website and the Fashion Services they offer. Book yourself into a fashion workshop for some new season inspiration!

C xo