Style it up with Canberra Centre
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The one and only time I ever remember being styled was when I was 16. You know that age when you really start to discover your style, what it means to be fashionable, daring or individualistic (aka accessorising with the I-just-don’t-care attitude).
It was the spring school holidays of 2003 and as a late birthday present my aunty enrolled me in a June Dally Watkins Deportment course in Sydney. Styled from top to toe (including a radical change to my hair, cut not colour), I learnt how to dress for my body shape and what it meant to be a lady in the 21st century.
[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-khYU0vfBzPQ/VCK5ORV0aGI/AAAAAAAAJM4/omjC6RFNy0g/s144-c-o/JDWDS.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108454826374315674707/StyleItUpWithCanberraCentre#6062611703218333794″ caption=”June Dally Wakins Deportment School – my first taste of what it meant to be styled and made over.” type=”image” alt=”JDWDS.jpg” pe2_single_image_size=”w614″ pe2_caption=”1″ pe2_img_align=”center” ]
That was 11 years ago and while the lessons of being a lady have stuck, somehow I don’t quite think the style has.
These days, it’s simply under the direction of Cosmo, Cleo or Shop Til You Drop and of course, the ever-so blunt and honest opinions of my mother, (who mind you, is able to pull together an outfit from absolutely anything and still rock it) that determines whether I run 10 minutes late or on time in the morning. I mean if I just had Cher’s super efficient wardrobe from Clueless I’d be set and the frustrations of my husband would be, well…non-existent.
So when I was offered a styling session with the Canberra Centre, I jumped at the chance.
Tucked away on the lounge of The Hub, I instinctively know that I’m in good hands. Francesca Drouliaslooks fabulous with a floral ensemble, coupled with an eye-catching black statement piece and perfectly white heels. But it’s the pretty in pink makeup that surprises me. Francesca is a redhead. I’m a redhead. Redheads aren’t supposed to wear pink. Are they?
Before I can get comfortable on the über stylish white leather lounge, Francesca has me stand up to determine my body shape. This I already know, but it’s always nice to have it reconfirmed, I think. Particularly when you learn that if you have an hourglass figure, like me, pretty much anything is going to look good on you. It’s just all in the way you wear it.
Quite often I find myself stuck in a bit of a fashion rut. The same outfits find their way out the door day in and day out, and it’s not until the piles of ‘too small’, ‘too stiff’ or ‘just plain uncomfortable’ has found a home on the floor and not on the hangers in my wardrobe, that I realise I have a first world problem.
I have nothing to wear.
Wrong. Having chatted with Francesca for just 30 seconds, (yes seconds, I recorded the session and have it time stamped), I’m already visualising my wardrobe in a whole new way.
“Wrap dresses and high-rise pants, whether in jeans or slacks, are what you want to wearing as they accentuate the smallest part of your waist,” says Francesca, who believes that fashion is a means to express herself.
“If you want to wear something up the top, like a button-up shirt then wear an accessory on the outside that detects away from emphasising the bust and elongates your look.”
Confession time: I hate wearing tops or dresses that a) essentially choke me and b) cover up what I’ve been blessed with. A little bit risque I know but I, (and I’m sure there are others), like showing a bit of cleavage.
So you can imagine my satisfaction when Francesca encouraged me to stick with it.
“If you’ve got it, flaunt it,” she says but not without a little styling advice about necklines and straps.
For an hourglass figure it’s all about the v-necks and scoop lines.
“You want to avoid spaghetti-straps and opt for a more thicker strap.”
And if it’s strapless? Wear it with a nice statement piece she tells me as I admire the black chandelier-like necklace.
“It doesn’t matter what shape you are, leave the big earrings off and wear something big around the neck; it looks better,” says Francesca. “You’re filling that bare skin.”
[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-9UIw96jNiBw/VCK3KYWaMJI/AAAAAAAAJMI/tgdHlSNJD10/s144-c-o/Hair%252520up.%252520Small%252520Studs.%252520Statement%252520piece.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108454826374315674707/StyleItUpWithCanberraCentre#6062609437357125778″ caption=”Hair up. Small earrings. Statement piece. V-Neck. Thick straps. Looking good.” type=”image” alt=”Hair up. Small Studs. Statement piece.JPG” pe2_caption=”1″ pe2_img_align=”center” ]
I’m quickly learning fashion is quite simply a balancing act and why I never feel completely dressed when I walk out the door of a morning. I’ve been doing it wrong.
Revealing a little skin up top; cover up below. High neckline; wear studs. Strutting it in a strapless; then sweep your hair up to length your look. Feeling flat; add a bit of colour to your face and dress up your smile with a bit of lippie.
Just follow this simple rule of thumb says Francesca.
“Hold the colour up to your face; you get dark circles under your eyes or your skin looks grey, then it’s the wrong colour for you.”
So just how do you determine your colour palette? It’s really a unique and individual thing, and best left to a stylist to guide you. But what I am told by Francesca is that people often go wrong when they wear a lot of black, white and grey, and even goes so far as to debunk the common belief that black is in fact slimming.
“It’s a myth. Black actually brings out everything you’re trying to hide,” she says.
“It quite literally gives your body the shape that it really is so when you see someone wearing all black you can actually see their whole silhouette.”
“You should wear colour. Colour is fun, it makes you happy.”
It’s true. It gives you a spring in your step, and certainly something I’ve noticed since splicing it into my wardrobe this week.
[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-mu5tpgJa62A/VCK3JoZZBzI/AAAAAAAAJLs/BxpGJNPdaJs/s144-c-o/Add%252520a%252520little%252520colour%252520-%252520red%252520lippie%252520%252528working%252520on%252520the%252520shade%252529.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108454826374315674707/StyleItUpWithCanberraCentre#6062609424484730674″ caption=”A little colour for Floriade. Red lippie is a go.” type=”image” alt=”Add a little colour – red lippie (working on the shade).JPG” pe2_caption=”1″ pe2_img_align=”center” ]
“When you walk out the door or down the street, walk with confidence. Own it,” Francesca says.
It can be quite an intimate experience to have your style critiqued, particularly by someone who is sitting across from you looking as stylish as Francesca, and so a little vulnerability is required.
A prelude to a hands-on in-store personal styling package, (think trends, body shape and two hours of personal shopping), 30 minutes with Francesca or Victoria is a great way to invest in a personal styling appointment where you can reinvigorate your wardrobe with some simple and inexpensive fashion tips, and leave refreshed and hopeful that you do in fact have something to wear.
Sessions are filling up fast this Saturday with bookings essentials so you better get in quick. But if you do happen to miss out on you can always indulge just that little bit more with any of the styling packages that Canberra Centre has on offer.
Feature image courtesy of Shutterstock.
The essentials
What: 30 Minutes with a personal stylist
Where: The Hub, Canberra Centre
When: Between 9.00am and 4.30pm Saturday 2 May with Victoria Schnabl and Saturday 9 May with Francesca Droulias
How much: $50 per person, includes a complimentary $50 Canberra Centre Gift Card and a style bag to take home!
Book: Email customerservice@canberracentre.com.au or visit the Customer Service Lounge on Level 1 to book in with Victoria or Francesca.
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