Jacket – Mackage
Dress – Aritzia

An abundance of outerwear trends are happening this fall, it’s hard to pick a fave! If only I could have them all…. sigh.

To give you an idea of options I will be pulling for clients this season in the coat department, we have the maxi wool coat, varsity jacket in oversize or normal size, the structured double breasted blazer, shearling, patchwork and even cropped. Wow, lots of choices right? Lets just say I’m thankful the moto jacket trend has now become a classic staple in the wardrobe, one less coat to buy for the season! The best part about the moto is it keeps getting reinvented as seen in this outfit post, I have a suede version.  The stores have lots of options from faux leather, black leather to colour options this is one trend here to stay!

Photo: Christine Pienaar

H&MU: Park Avenue Hair

Photography: Christine PIenaar                                                                                                                                                                                   

September is the perfect month for transitional fashion, when we still have some warmth to wear shorts and add a layering pieces from the fall trends lookbook.  Army green jackets especially utility style are a top style moving into fall and now is the perfect time to bring them into your wardrobe. The style is light weight and the colour is in the neutral zone, this look can carry you through till the end of October.  Take my personal style below and add another trend – the plaid shirt or see additional options to shop the utility style jacket now!

Jacket: Current Elliot
Top: Lucky Brand
Plaid Shirt: Rials
Shorts: TNA
Boots: Rag & Bone

Left to right
Free People
Levi’s
Frame
Joie
Hudson Jeans

Photography: Christine Pienaar

Transitional Fashion is the best time for mixing seasonal pieces. I do think Vancouver weather is primarily for transitional fashion  year round, as it’s rarely super hot and even more rare to be very cold. My favorite transitional piece is a motto jacket, something I often post. This look is a perfect example of mixing seasons. I have a crepe, light weight summer dress on from http://www.aritzia.com and have added a leather Motto jacket with booties for the light breeze and chilly nights coming upon us. Get the look when shopping with Mabelle Style :)

Dress: Aritzia
Booties: Rag & Bone

There is multiple reasons to clean out & organize your wardrobe. When you have to many options it’s hard to find ‘outfits’ or even remember what’s in there!  Or maybe you want to purchase new trends for new season which means the old trends need to go. Or lastly the styles may not fit the way they once did :(  Whatever the reason may be the goal with your closet area should always be to create outfits, wear everything at least once or twice a year and you never feel overwhelmed when  you walk into the closet wondering what on earth to wear.  I took a quick snap of my denim section in my closet to give you an idea of organized – this is a recent picture after I removed 5 pairs that would have  been donated if my mom didn’t take them first :) People always assume because I’m in fashion that I must have so many clothes, but I’m the opposite. I like the idea of being able to always see what I have and create multiple multi-functional looks for each season. Once the season ends key pieces get consigned or donated and I filtrate in new on trend items.

Last week, while browsing through pictures with my husband, we came upon my first professional photoshoot I styled back in 2003, a mere thirteen years ago after graduating from Blanche MacDonald Fashion Program in Vancouver,BC. This informative program covered all areas of the industry: buying, business management, fashion show production, merchandising etc.  My favourite section was the styling class, of course. Students were given the opportunity to find/select a model, create a theme and style the photoshoot. I remember rummaging through my closet to pull together and create new looks. Back then, I wasn’t buying much on a student budget! I would pin-and-tape to create my custom looks for my best friend whom I used for a model, she was very petite. The theme I choose was Urban fashion and I have to say… I feel like these looks are still trending 13 years later!!  Check our the photos and brands below.

Hat: Aldo
Shirt: Diesel
Denim: Silver Jeans

Shirt: Unknown
Skirt: Club Monaco

Jacket: Aritzia
Body Suit: American Apparel
Denim Shorts: Current Elliot
Shoes: Aquazzura
Handbag: Gucci

I love a good denim short for the summer weather, I personally prefer some fade and rips that adds a California, cool casual vibe. Check out Chrissy Teigans picture below to get the look, even when pregnant!!
When it comes to dressing up a pair of cute denim cut-offs it can be a bit of a challenge. You need to add a heal, which can be a bad mix if it’s not done right. You want to keep the short a classic look but sometimes the wrong shoe can make your entire outfit look a bit tacky. To keep my denim shorts clean, classy and ready to wear for a night out, not just a day at the beach, I wouLD suggest adding a skinny strap heel (keeps legs looking long) and a flowy light weight maxi coat. To create smooth lines and have the jacket be the staple piece, I’ve added a simple body suit – a must have for 2016!

Photography: Christine Pienaar

Sweater Set: Eillen FIsher
Denim: AG

Depending on your personal viewpoint regarding how you want to look, one of the most rewarding achievements you can experience happens after you have been working hard to lose weight and
suddenly realize ‘Wow.. my clothes don’t fit!’
Mabelle Style recently worked on a wardrobe consult and personal shop for a client who reduced her weight by two sizes and was eager to update her wardrobe for a new fit. With the correct size, she felt self confident to purchase new items like skinny jeans with stretch knowing they would look great.
As a personal stylist, my most rewarding experience happens when my clients smile and mention how great they feel in their new fashions. For my recent consult, it was a double whammy, for she not only was looking good but was feeling great… all at once :)

Dress: Hugo Boss

Jacket: Rails
Tshirt: Aritzia
Denim: AG

Sweater: Aritzia
Tank: Aritzia
Denim: AG

Jacket: Aritzia
Denim: AG

Top: Theory
Pants: Aritzia

Dress: Hugo Boss
Denim Jacket: Aritzia

It’s been a year and half since I met my client that went from 0-100 (as titled in a past blog), he really had 0 clothes in his wardrobe and was ready to start fresh. Being an entrepreneur and now president of a very successful company he had realized the benefits of sourcing out a personal shopper and creating a style that suited his professional role in business. The photo’s below come from his third shop, we meet every six months to refresh and add on to his growing wardrobe. He has been extremely open minded to new style’s, allowing me to be creative and elevate his look by adding colours and prints as we progress with more shops. This shop was a prime example of elevated style, to give you an idea I’ve added some outfit grids below (he prints and follows the outfit grids daily to ensure he is representing top notch style). We have made about 45 grids of outfit combinations for him to follow!
My fave was this linen blend sports jacket by Armani in colour eggplant with a Zegna light pink check shirt.

New Suit – Great colour option for Summer.

Linen Pant – Business Casual Style

Short Sleeve woven tucked with a dress pant.

Options

Casual Style

To separate the Professional from the untrained Personal Shopper is to understand that you are investing in your own personal image.

When people confess they need help with their style or hate shopping at the mall, they begin by first googling ‘personal shopper’, ‘image consultant’, ‘wardrobe consultant’ etc. to find what they need. With over fifteen years in the fashion industry, Mabelle Style has built a strong client base by recognizing the needs of many people out there searching for these particular features for their lifestyle.
Working as a private consultant, my primary goal is to ensure my clients feel confident, look sharp, but never lose their identity or personality within their new style. My philosophy is to build a profile and create a wardrobe from my clients existing clothes complemented by my recommendations for their new fashions. I have the professional background and training to understand each and every client, and there individualism.

Keeping things organized

A good number of personal shoppers only follow fashion trends, and pull items from whatever is in the stores without researching. But for this luxury service, the professional consultant knows more than what’s cool, and that not everyone is able to wear all the trends all of the time. It’s a fact that everyone has a different budget, and more importantly, most of my clients don’t know what-on-earth to do with a bunch of random new purchases.
It is key that the consultant, who offers knowledgeable solutions, breaks down all of the new and existing items into interchangeable outfits, easily. This process needs to be simple for each client, as their new wardrobe needs to blend and mix well with their current items. The end goal is for each and every one of my clients to look their best daily, without having to think about it!
Mabelle Style is the professional. I want to create the best look possible without someone wondering about it all. That’s what a great image consultant does for you.

Often we hear the question how can I create an effortless look? Meaning how can I look good with out trying. The goal during one of our recent shops was to create that effortless style. She wanted a handful of multi-functional outfits that were easy to put together, had a comfortable feel and looked stylish! I’ve attached some photo’s to give an idea of the outfits created during the shopping day, which were for mostly work, but also some ‘date’ night looks, and weekend wear!