fter years in the fashion and PR industries, Melanie Moss saw many smart, beautiful, successful women losing confidence because of their clothes. She began her Corporate Styling company to rescue women who dread the dilemma of what to wear to work, or who leave fashion boutiques feeling bamboozled.
One client says, "I had paid so much attention to refining the inside that I had neglected my appearance. I felt daggy and that feeling was hindering me. Time to consult the professionals."
Moss offers solo and group shopping tours, ranging from one-hour power shops to a Saturday with your girlfriends. Her complete programme involves a detailed questionnaire, an overhaul of your existing wardrobe shopping for clothes using her retail contacts (including Morrissey, Country Road and Leona Edmiston), where clients receive a discount, and even a trip to Moss' favourite hairdressers and make-up artists. Finally, she leaves you with a photographic record to help you recreate your new look yourself.
As a hair stylist for Joh Bailey in Melbourne, Daniel Hugh Manning saw the same uncertainty and lack of confidence in his clients. He now styles celebrities such as Sonia Kruger and Kate Ceberano, as well as his regular clients.
Ceberano says what impressed her about Manning was his sincere interest in his clients. Both he and Moss believe that individuality is the key to successful styling, and both take time to get to know their clients' interests and ideas, to create a polished all-round look.
"My aim is to tie up the ends, to style clients to look refined and finished without it being too much," says Manning. "I put the focus on the client wearing the clothes, not the clothes wearing the client."
Manning recently even sourced clothes for a client and her fiancé to wear to their engagement party. The couple looked great together in their photographs and his help left them time for more important wedding preparations.
Fiona Milne, a former beauty and fashion editor at Mode, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue and Elle agrees that the head-to-toe designer look that can result from poor shopping is one of fashion's worst faux pas. Milne started her FiFi Report email newsletter after realising that her friends were "out of touch and desperate for any information on shopping and other important things happening in the world". FiFi, Milne's alter ego, rounds up her picks from the latest fashion, beauty and homewards on offer and delivers them to your inbox with a healthy dose of gossip and lifestyle tips.
For the time-poor, enlisting the help of a stylist could be the best decision ever made.
Download a questionnaire or grab some simple fashion tips from Melanie Moss' website www.melaniemoss.com.au, or phone 0404 057 282. For a consultation with Daniel Hugh Manning, contact Susie on (03) 9804 1011 . Visit Fifi at www.fifi.com.au