Swish Personal Stylist and Plus Size Fashion Blog

The Swish blog is all about helping boost our confidence through the power of personal style and we are excited to help fine tune that fabulous style with Q & A answered by your very own personal stylist.

I receive lots of questions, via email, social media, publicly and in my part time capacity as a fashion retail worker for Swish Fashion– all of which I love to answer personally. Something I’ve always wanted to do is address your questions here on the site and offer up my 35 years of working in the fashion industry.

I began in the fashion industry as a 15-year-old model, I am 50 years old now - about to turn 51 in 2 weeks – before moving into Journalism, fashion design, fashion wholesale, fashion styling – I once styled a Hollywood Star – she was working here in Sydney for George Lucas aka Star Wars Director and worked as a fashion stylist for music videos and musical theatre. After exploring my overseas travel lust I returned to Australia writing and working in fashion. I am a mummy first and then a writer and I love knowing my confidence is supported by my wardrobe choices.

I love the freedom our wardrobe choices can empower us with – with a refresh and revamp we can transform our style to match the ever-changing seasons of our lifestyles.

Last week one of our customers stopped me in the store and said she would love me to share here just what styles would look best on her body shape – I will share next week ‘A Guide to the Best Styles for your body shape".

Next week I will write about creating your "Perfect Winter Capsule Wardrobe" also give you a free Swish My Outfit Planner here so you can feel fabulous planning your outfits for every planned and unplanned life event of the week – like when you arrive at school drop off only to find yourself volunteered out to a mummies café catch up by your loving 11 year old daughter.

I am excited to be here to answer all your style and wardrobe questions - and eager to learn some of the answers from you all too.

There are only two rules for us all here in the safety of our Swish fashion community – the first is to be kind and the second, to remember no question is too big or too small.

So, send in your questions here for me to answer – if you would like to take photos and send them in as you plan your wardrobe I can give advice, or if you need help with what to wear for your lifestyle change or you unsure how to create a capsule wardrobe, or you need help with how to restyle some of your current favourites.

Get ready to send all your questions here and each MondayI will answer them all. I am here and looking forward to helping you style yourself to your best self.

How do we dress for winter when our wardrobes are bursting?

This is one of the best times of the year to be shopping, with bargains and sales on clothing that will serve you for many years.

But before we start darting out from our heated homes to purchase any one of the beautiful winter coats or workwear staples on sale now- like this striped long cardigan on sale now, we must stop and reassess just what we have already in our wardrobes.

What a fabulous layering long length cardi – a stand out perfect piece for layering over a basic black work outfit.

For a chillier day, an added scarf would look equally stunning over your statement necklace.

Remember to swap out any of your old leggings for a the Ponte pant. The Ponte pant are thicker and dressier, they are that perfect pant that is still casual but dressy enough to wear to work.

Somewhere beneath the piles of clothing we have kept for that eternal another-day but not-today day is our fabulous most stylish self.

Today let’s focus on decluttering our wardrobes and repositioning some of our cherished forgotten treasures into the prime real estate section of our refreshed wardrobes, stage front and fabulous.

• We don’t have time to stand staring blankly at wardrobes that we think we have nothing to wear in or that don’t inspire us.
• We all want a wardrobe where every single piece helps us look and feel fabulous.
• We all want a wardrobe filled with pieces we love to wear.

There’s no time like the present, let’s declutter now!

I organize and plan my wardrobe for special events, work events, home events, I even pack a suitcase for special weekends and holidays away, weeks in advance sometimes.

I am a wardrobe planner, I love it, it makes me happy and removes stress for me. I always feel I am better equipped to handle whatever unplanned events life might add on top of my plans. I love the premise of a capsule wardrobe and I love decluttering, creating space.

Let’s get stuck in and declutter our wardrobes to be full of clothing that makes us feel fabulous, and room for some stunners such as this beautiful burgundy double collar jacket on sale now.

Here are my top 8 tips for decluttering your wardrobe.

1. Phone a friend if wardrobe editing is not your thing. Then drop and dump every single item onto your bed to be sorted. This is like writing a first draft of anything – put all the words down and then go back and edit the whole piece later. If you like you can throw some in to definite piles right now – you may find pieces you really don’t like – then throw those near the door. This is your throw out pile. You will go back and edit that pile one more time.
2. Go through each item piece by piece.Is it in good condition – i.e. no moth holes or broken zippers. If it is old and worn and you still love it – put it into a pile called your replacement pile. This is the pile that you will base your future shopping list on.
3. Create a throw out pile.This is for clothing that is old and holey and worn, this needs to go into the bin. This pile is not for charity, everybody deserves wearable clothing and all out torn and worn clothing just creates more work for charity volunteers.
4. Create a pile to give away, either to a friend or to charity.The charity pile is for clothes in good These are the clothes that you no longer feel are you anymore. I donate all of mine to the Salvos. I also have a girlfriend smaller than me that I will stop by and visit with my outgrown pieces before I donate to the Salvos.
5.  The power of the slim line hanger. I have replaced all my wooden hangers for slim line hangers from Howards Storage. My clothing hangs in an orderly streamlined fashion with my favourite pieces in the centre of my wardrobe. When I am op-shopping I always keep an eye out for thin flocked hangers.
6. Keep this seasonal season’s clothing forefront in your wardrobe. If you have the space it is a good idea to keep the current season’s clothing in your day to day wardrobe. Now, I still have a lot of my silk shirts in front because they are great layering pieces before it gets too cold. I have an extra wardrobe in my daughter’s room where I store heavier winter coats, leather coats, after five dresses and another wardrobe for sporting clothing.
7. I like to colour code my clothing rather than hang it all in style shapes. For example, I hang all my black clothing together starting from the smallest to the largest pieces. At the front of each colour group are my sleeveless silk tanks, then tees, then long sleeved tops, then dresses, then coats. I hang my skirts followed by my pants behind those. I do this for each colour group.
8. Make a list of any gaps in your wardrobe – I know I do not need any more bone-coloured long sleeved, silk shirts – there are 6 hanging in my wardrobe. The gap list you write now is your future shopping list.

A friend of mine faces all the hanger hooks forward, when she wears an item she turns the hook to face the wall. After 3 months, she can see her favourites and after 6 months she is able to see which pieces she is just not wearing.

Over to you, how do you organize your wardrobe for an edit? Do you find it easy or hard to let go of clothing? What tips do you have to share?

 Do not keep anything in your wardrobe that makes you feel anything less than fabulous.

5 Must have winter Coat Styles for Women this season

A great winter coat must be versatile, warm - Winter in Australia can shiver from cold through to freezing in an instant - and of course assure high quality.Plus, Did I say Australian made? Well that’s the secret of Swish Plus Size fashion.

Each week I hear from Swish customers, happy customers who love Swish Plus Size Fashion. They love the variety, the colour the design and the fabrics of the garments, garments that are made by Swish here in Australia.

Swish have made it easy to pick my top 5 must have coat styles from the Swish Mega Sales this season.

1. A statement coat

Be bold, be adventurous and pick the coat that stands out in the crowd for you. From the embroidered beauty of this season’s Spiral Coat to the Blush Lined Jacket- find the coat that showcases your wardrobe and your unique style.

With so many beautiful hues to choose from this winter, your fantastic wardrobe staple is limited only by your imagination.

2. The Lady Like Silhouette

What about a slimming coat that promises to keep you warm all winter long?

A slim, lady-like silhouette with the Double Collar Jacket - the edge trimmed collar has charm and style for both day and night outerwear. Leave it open giving a sneak peek to your fabulous outfit below.

3. This season’s classic Trench

The Swish Animal Lined Jacketis this season’s must-have item that will set you apart from the crowd. Featuring a loose fit waist for your gorgeous curves, the Animal Lined Jacket is a modern twist to a timeless screen siren classic. With stand out-in-the-crowd-colour, comfort and snug-worthy style, this piece will look great withthe Ponte Pant and heels.

A classic investment piece for your wardrobe.

4. Sleeveless coat/vest

A sleeveless coat is a chic alternative when the weather is not that cold - creating a body-skimming, silhouette-lengthening effect to your outfit. Keep it casual with a funky turtleneck and enjoy the ease of mixing and matching your tops and trousers with this fun staple. You will reach for this piece all winter long and into Spring.  Get the look with our Suede Fur Vest now on sale, or the gorgeous Citron coloured Cocoon Trim Vest.

5. The Puffer Coat – The new stylish, lightweight outerwear coat must have.

Today’s new classic everyday coat is the Puffer Jacket.

Cozy warm, stylish and incredibly lightweight.

The Longline Hooded Puffer Jacketadds a quilted layer of warmth against the cold this winter.

What I love is how snuggly and welcome the extra quilted warmth is without bulking out my silhouette. The Longline Hooded Puffer Jacket is flexible, surprisingly thin and rolls down to the perfect travel coat – the size of a lunchbox in your carry-on luggage.

Two extra Winter Must haves I don’t leave home without!

 Leggings – The Black Ponte Pant

I’m totally into winter leggings as the temperatures plummet. I have them in so many different colours. 

The Swish Ponte Pant in black is a fantastic winter wardrobe staple– it is thicker and thus warmer! A must have this winter!

An oversized scarf

A great scarf is a winter wardrobe essential for keeping cosy and I find if you buy one in a neutral shade or print it can work equally well during the rest of the year.

What are your winter wardrobe essentials?