She’s a Winner!!

I have a surprise for you all this week, my blog is a little bit different…..

If any of you are fans of the Shopnfriends Facebook page you may have seen that we recently ran a competition to win a photo shoot and to be featured in the Threadbare Blog. The competition included hair, makeup, personal shopping, styling and a $100 gift voucher from Belmont Forum. Plus a relaxing and rejuvenating massage, facial and Shellac manicure and pedicure. The lucky winner of this competition was one of our fantastic Facebook fans, Leanne Mullins.

When I first met Leanne she told me that she very rarely got to dress up as she was a mum and was often too busy. Her everyday style was very casual, comfortable and laidback. Therefore for this week’s blog shoot I decided to create a look for her that was a little dressier then her daytime style. We wanted an outfit that would work for dinner with friends or an evening at a nice bar in the city.

With this inspiration in mind, we sent Leanne off to Price Attack in Belmont Forum to get her hair done. When styling your hair for an evening out it’s always nice to have it a little different to your normal do. Therefore the wonderful stylist Natalie at Price Attack chose to create soft loose curls for Leanne. This style works very well for Leanne as it softly frames her face and the looser style curls are dressy without looking OTT. Another fantastic advantage to this look is if your hair holds the curls overnight you can often get a second wear out of them. Simply rake your fingers through to create wavy tussled locks for a casual beachy look.

Price Attack Stylist Natalie with Leanne

 

Once her hair was finished Leanne was off to Priceline at Belmont Forum to get her makeup done. When it comes to doing your makeup it’s all about balance. For example, if you have your hair in a simple up do, such as a bun or ponytail, you can go a little more extravagant for your makeup such as darker eyes or a bold lip. However if you have your hair in a dressier style such as Leanne’s loose curls then it is best to keep your makeup natural and simple. The fantastic makeup artist Renee from Priceline did an amazing job using natural hues such as browns, bronzes, golds and soft shades of peach. The result was a very stylish, elegant and classy look perfect for a night out.

After the hair and makeup was done Leanne and I set off on a hunt for the perfect outfit. Like I said earlier we wanted an elegant and stylish look perfect for a nice dinner or a night out in the City. After creating a few looks from several of the great clothing stores at Belmont Forum such as Forever New and Katies we chose to go with the below outfit.

The first piece that we really fell in love with was this amazing patterned pencil skirt from Katies at Belmont Forum. The classic lines and cut worked perfectly for Leanne’s smaller frame and helped to elongate her body making her look much taller. Longer, slimmer cuts such as this are great for shorter, petite woman as the style really helps to create the illusion of height and length. The geometric pattern is a fantastic statement and helps to keep the look from being too corporate. When wearing items that are traditionally work clothing such as pencil skirts and blazers make sure there is an element that takes it away from that office look. For those of you who feel it’s hard to style a print, opt for neutral coloured patterns such as this cream and black skirt. This mixture of plain shades makes it easy to pair other brighter coloured pieces with it.

 

That’s where this AMAZING turquoise chiffon top from Jeans West comes in. The bold colour pops against the plain hues in the skirt and the blue shade compliments Leanne’s skin, hair and eye colour. Bold tops such as this are a great way to bring attention to your face and when you pick colours that suit your skin, eye and hair colour it really makes you look fantastic. However the beautiful turquoise hue was not the only thing that attracted me to this top. The panelled detailing gives it a classier feel and the looser fit complimented the skirt. When wearing a floaty, blousy piece like this make sure your bottoms are a slimmer fit so your look is balanced and you don’t appear bigger then you are.

 

Once we had chosen the basic foundation of our outfit it was time to accessorise. The first place we headed to was Betts. We were on the hunt for some amazing nude heels. For Leanne’s petite frame I wanted a dainty pair that would help to show off her slimmer legs whilst elongating her figure, making her look taller. We didn’t want anything too chunky, or styles that cut across her ankle or foot as it would shorten her legs, making her look short and small. Therefore, we opted for these amazing suede nude pumps with studded heel detailing. The lower heel made them comfortable and easy to walk in, which let’s face it is necessary, and the nude tone helped to elongate Leanne’s figure. The studded detailing gave them a funkier edge and helped to make the overall look a little more stylish.

Our next stop was Diva for some fantastic jewellery. I didn’t want to overload Leanne’s small frame with oversized accessories and chunky pieces so I opted for just this silver necklace and simple turquoise bangle which created a minimalist yet stylish look. I chose this shorter necklace as it sat nicely with the neckline of the top and the style is dressier than other longer types. Just make sure that when you’re wearing a piece like this it’s not too short as this can create the illusion of a wider, thicker neck. Styles that sit just above the bust line like this one are the ideal length for most body types.

As we only really had one coloured item in this entire look so far I wanted to add something else. This turquoise bangle was the perfect choice as the colour went well with the top and the style was not too chunky for Leanne’s petite frame. When wearing coloured pieces, resist the urge to match your bag, your shoes and all other accessories to each other. We call this a ‘matchy matchy’ look and it can be very dated and boring.

Lastly we headed to Colette to find probably one of the most important accessories a woman could own… a bag. Because we had created a dressier evening outfit I chose to go for an envelope clutch.  Its timeless elegance and style makes it the obvious choice for this particular look. Like I said earlier you should steer clear of matching your bag to your shoes to avoid that ‘matchy matchy’ look. This is why I opted for this classic black and silver detailed clutch. The colour works well with the pattern in the skirt without matching too much and the silver detailing ties in nicely with the necklace and bangle. The bolder hue also gives the look a punchier feel and just adds that little bit extra to the outfit. When picking the right clutch for you make sure the size suits your body type. If you have a smaller frame like Leanne opt for smaller to medium sizes and if you have a medium to bigger frame look for medium to oversized styles.

Now before I finish I would like to add that Leanne never liked having photos taken of her, but after seeing herself in this fantastic outfit with amazing hair and makeup she realised that having your picture taken really wasn’t that bad.

It just goes to show that with the right styling and advice anyone can feel and look amazing!

Everything you see in this week’s outfit, including hair and makeup, can be found at Belmont Forum.

Keep your eyes peeled as I have another competition winner who will be featured on Threadbare in the near future.

To keep up to date with the competitions for my blog and to find out how you can win like both the Belmont Forum and Shopnfriends Facebook pages.

Happy Shopping

Ashleigh

xox

Photography by Shirin Cater