Anyone else mad for plaid this fall? It’s a pretty big trend happening right now and the best part is it doesn’t even have to match!! You can mix numerous colours and prints with plaid, all in one look and be right on point. My personal style is a bit more classic which means I took a subtle look to this colourful trend. I picked up a plaid dress from Zara and paired it was a clean black blazer and heels for this outfit post.

Another outfit idea that can keep up with the plaid trend and is an easy find in the stores right now,  a plaid blazer. Take a pair of jeans and a fresh t-shirt and add that one fall trendy piece to the closet and you have an updated look!

Blazer: Smythe
Jeans: Mother
Boots: Stuart Weitzman

Blazer: Smythe
T: Balmain
Skirt: Top Shop
Boots: Valentino

Fall fashion comes with cozy sweaters, layering, boots and dark colours. The season also comes with a few pop of prints! This fall the prints to keep an eye out for are cheetah, dark florals and polka dots!

I didn’t want to spend a lot on this trend as I dont think its something i’ll wear regularly so I picked up this $68 skirt from Top Shop and styled it with some staple pieces I’ve had in my wardrobe for a long time. The Smythe blazer & Blamain t-shirt have been in my wardrobe for 3 years and the Valentino boots have been with me for 7 years! This look may be about a trend but also a reminder how important investments pieces can be!!

With sneakers becoming such a huge trend these past few seasons it’s nice to finally have a comfortable shoe option when heading out the door! The sneaker trend has gone from classic Adidas Stans & Old Skool Vans to top designers such as Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton doing some seriously chunky over the top white sneakers.

Photography: Christine Pienaar

While going through you closet seeing some dresses that may have been a one time wear or have felt just a bit dressy to wear everyday can now be mixed into everyday fashion and get a little more use! Pop on a classic leather jacket and some sneakers and you now have a day look. Keep the dress going into the evening by swapping out the sneaker and adding the heel! Multi-functional and stylish all in one.

This Ted Baker midi dress was a prefect piece to do so! I’ve styled it with some Vans and a leather jacket for day and a black heal & crossbody clutch for evening.

The look could be ‘mens inspired’ or stolen from Hillary Clinton, wherever it may have come from the pantsuit is a huge fall trend this season. The inspiration is not just about a men’s inspired design it’s most importantly about colour this time around. Nothing beige, boring or even basic, it’s all bold. You can opt for a bold primary colour, print or combine the colour and print all in one like Blake Lively has been doing recently.

My look was an easy find taken right off the rack at http://www.aritzia.com. They had a great looking suit that just hit the stores with a high waist pant and loose fitting blazer. The options were red, baby blue or pink. I can never pull off red, I felt the blue was a bit to basic so I went for the baby pink. Take a look below for some outfit goals this fall.

Suit: Aritzia Top: James Perse Shoes: Manolo Bhlanik Photography: Christine Pienaar

Hat & Dress H&M
Backpack Coach
Booties YSL
Photography Christine Pienaar

Weather it be leather, fabric, large or mini backpacks are out in the stores in all sorts of shapes and sizes. This is not just about back to school season,  this has legit become one of the biggest trends over the past year! How great is it that you can finally ditch the giant tote for work and throw on a stylish leather backpack with your dress attire. Your now hands free and keeping your look on point!

I picked up this oxblood Campus backpack at http://www.coach.com this past fall season but keep an eye out they have new colorways every season! I’ve listed below a few other cool backpacks to keep an eye out for if your wanting to jump on the trend.

Louis Vuitton

Rebecca Minkoff

Chloe

YSL

Christine Pienaar Photography
Blossom & Vine Floral

Style, Fashion and Interior Design

Visiting the home of personal stylist, with a sneak preview into my world.

My passion for styling and cleansing people’s personal wardrobes transpired the design of my own home… a small space where I managed to include all my favourite cottage décor items. My personal sense of fashion is simple and monochromatic. While not missing out on current trends, I included this concept within our home by transforming the basic builder-gray walls and strange sparkly-light fixtures into a cottage-theme design by using the same approach as I do with personal styling, creating something I love and feel comfortable in!

Desserts Noms By Mon

Beginning with the front entry, I selected a timeless monochromatic (favorite colour choice in my wardrobe as well) beige/white damask wall covering, a period white accent table and decorative mirror to create a dramatic, yet neutral tone within this small space. On the main floor, an open concept, is where I incorporated a small workspace corner to prepare my client story and styling blogs and other business duties.

It was important for us to have room to entertain, so I selected to a custom-built farm table which added extra space to the 9 ft island! Soft beach-tones from Benjamin Moore paint colours were selected for the living area that enhanced the white woodwork and cabinets in the kitchen. The island in this space has become a constant space to entertain as people our drawn to the comfort and easy access to the food!

When I shop for my clients, I always search for those small details that elevate the trends that clients are looking for. These small details also enhance the interior of a home and that’s why I updated the lighting to period pendant fixtures & Edison LED lights with a colour  coordinated Fuse faucet from Delta https://www.deltafaucet.com, an expensive item… but when my designer mom pointed out ‘You don’t have a problem buying designer heels but you have a problem buying a designer faucet that will last a lifetime?’ I thought.. well, that’s a true story and a good investment!

My home may be on the smaller scale with an open concept theme,  but we managed to create a unique dining space for six, large enough for hosting a dinner party or dessert party!! We were convinced we wanted a farm style table but when shopping we found the scale in size was 6-8ft! We found a solution by using a woodworker to custom make the same look in the perfect size!

A special reading corner was designed as well as a desk area… both becoming great space to spend blogging, researching and working on Mabelle Style Client profiles.

Brand: Mother Denim

Brand: Frame Denim

I feel like it’s been forever that the skinny denim has been the style of the season, over and over again. I’m not complaining,  as I do love a stretchy skinny and I haven’t been ready to embrace the boot cut since the late 90’s.  I’m happy to see this newest denim trend is something different, something new for me. I have personally never had such a wide leg denim in my wardrobe till this Spring!

My look below – I have purchased two different styles of wide leg this season from https://www.citizensofhumanity.com/ the denim looks can be worn casual with a cute sneaker, or dress them up with a clean high heal.  Also,  the sock boot is still going strong this season and can look great with a wide leg. Keep in mind most wide leg denim styles in the stores this season tend to be high waisted, make sure you tuck, tuck, tuck otherwise you can end up looking wide from top to bottom!

Once Spring/Summer fashion comes into the stores, without fail, you always find the ‘groundbreaking’ floral. As well as lots of white on white and natural shades. It was a pleasant surprise to see a pastel be one of the biggest trends this year. That pastel colour is known as lilac or lavender. If you’re someone who loves to online shop, go to your favorite site and search the colour option and bam, every item in this popular seasonal colour pops up!

For my personal styling, I found a lightweight lilac sweater from http://www.hm.com for only $17! The west coast tends to be chilly in the evenings which makes this sweater a great piece year round!

Suit: Hugo Boss
Shirt: Eton
TIe: Zegna
Shoes: Etro

My last fall shop of the season was for a husband and wife combo! The husband arrives for his shop in the morning so he is in and out of the mall before the chaus starts, purchasing his new wardrobe.  The wife on the other hand is with us for the entire day, as she thoroughly enjoys seeing her husbands new outfits and then has the afternoon to herself with the stylist!

For us, the nice part to styling a husband and wife together, is that we can ensure the outfits are compatible with one another. We don’t mean matchy matchy, more to the idea that they look like they are always going to the same party. For example, both have some great leather jackets and casual pieces as well as she has some perfectly fitted dresses for when he is in a suit!

One common area we notice with all the husband and wife clients is that the wives tend to remember and know how to keep the outfit combinations together once they get home! For the husbands that’s another story lol. They love the outfit grids,  they can always have a photo of the perfect outfit combination to keep them sharp.  To give you a glimpse into some of the amazing outfit combos from this past shop check out the photos below!

Jacket: Hugo Boss
T shirt: John Varvatos
Denim: Paige

acket: Armani
Shirt: Hugo Boss
Pants: Zegna
Shoes: Tods

Shirt Jacket: Wings & Horns
Henley: John Varvatos
Shoes: Tods
Denim: AG

Before Look: Online purchase ALC dress.

Have you ever ordered an item online in hopes it would be as amazing as it looked on the model? Then you receive it and it’s nothing but!  I think that’s happened to the best of us, especially when we find a sale item and can’t resist. Once it has arrived it becomes much less then a steller deal as it just sits in the closet forever.  I do think as a stylist,  there is hope!! Sometimes it just takes a little more thought and creativity to make that oversized sweater, to short of denim or whatever else you may have purchased look cool again. The look in this post shows a dress from one of my favorite brands, ALC, I had ordered online thinking what a deal, half price! When I received the dress in the mail it just didn’t fit, making me look wider and didn’t showcase any the areas I like to focus on with my personal style. What I did was play around layer jackets to give the dress a cool casual vibe or dressy night out look!
For all those random online purchases, there’s hope! Add belts, jewellery, or like me a jacket to make the look new again. It could even be a heal vs a flat or sometimes its just a quick visit to the seamstress to tweak that ill fitting area that the model didn’t seem to have at the online purchase:)

After: Casual Look adding denim jacket & booties

After: Dressy Look by adding a pair of heels & leather cropped leather jacket