It gives me great pleasure to share the style of my client and very dear friend, Meredith, who you met when we all went to the prom earlier this year. Beautiful Seattleite Meredith works full time for the Make A Wish Foundation as a Wish & Outreach Coordinator, or as her colleagues prefer to put it, a “Purveyor of Possibilities”. Meredith is also a full time Mum to 9 year old daughter Anika, so life is bustling and busy.
Having turned 40 last month, Meredith wanted to try some new fashion silhouettes and add more of a sophisticated edge to her look. Specifically, she wanted to try belting tops at the waist, trousers that weren’t jeans, midis, blouses, and generally as many dresses as we could fit into the shopping day! Thus began the next leg of Meredith’s style journey.
Meredith, who stands at the petite height of 5 feet 2 inches, is an extroverted and effervescent soul who exudes warmth like few people I know. She’s always happy, kind and good hearted. A laugh a minute, and very theatrical. She’ll break into song or dance and it all seems perfectly natural. So you can imagine how much fun we had shopping and doing this photo shoot.
Meredith’s bold, fun personality is one of the things that we take into account when we shop for new items. Her clothes, shoes and accessories need to match her smiley self! Although her style usually has a strong bohemian vibe, we moved away from that this time. I’ve always loved Meredith’s “old movie star” looks and encouraged her to also bring out the more glam side of her style. She loves old movies and embraced her inner bombshell in less than two ticks.
Meredith bats for Team Dress, Team Casual, Team Red, Team Skinnies, Team Boots, Team Jacket and Team Flats. She has a pretty casual dress code at work, but still wants to look pulled together each day. Like most mums on the go, she has 20 minutes to get ready in the morning, prefers machine washable clothing, loves a bargain, doesn’t like overly constrictive clothes, and works hard to keep her feet happy.
In wet and cold Seattle, it’s practical to wear boots over jeans, leggings, trousers and tights. This is one of Meredith’s work and “Mom on the go” uniforms, so we updated this outfit combination with colourful knitted tops and blouses, striped sweaters, a black sleeveless sweater gilet, AND introduced the waist cinching belt. We also found amazing cognac low heeled wedge boots that pick up the red tint in Meredith’s gloriously curly locks. She was delighted with how well her new red polka dot top matched her red bag.
The ink blue “Civil War Jacket” was Meredith’s favourite purchase of the day and she has already worn it several times. I call it her “Sergeant Pepper Jacket” while the rest of the family simply calls it the “Awesome Jacket”. It fits like a dream and works so well with Meredith’s dramatic persona — a clear example of dressing from the inside out.
I also introduced Meredith to Gap’s Real Skinnies as an alternative to jeans because they are a personal favourite of mine. They fit right in with ballet flats in warmer temperatures. The new teal top is great with Meredith’s porcelain complexion, and you might recognize the black Cole Haan boots from this years Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.
Tucking skinnies into boots is one way to stay stylish, warm and dry in Seattle, but wearing dresses with boots is another great option. Meredith started wearing lots of knitted frocks last year and has never looked back. It’s an easy “pull on and go” with boots and jacket so Meredith was instantly hooked. We bought five dresses that day, the photographic animal print ruched dress being my favourite. It’s longer length and more form fitting silhouette made it a fabulous addition to the shorter empire cut dresses in her wardrobe. You fill out a dress like nobody’s business, Meredith. Love it.
Wearing boots with a dress sans leggings or tights is a new look for Meredith. She usually feels self conscious about showing her leg skin, but I was able to convince her that we needed to see her gorgeous bits of leg skin peeking through from above the boots and below the dress. I’m so glad I did!
You may have noticed that Meredith wears whimsical necklaces with all her outfits. From hearts and owls, to teacups, pearls, Moroccan beads, and her grandmother’s vintage gold jewelry. This is her signature look and she has a wonderful necklace collection. They work amazingly well with her playful spirit and classic movie star glam. She is one of the few 40 year old lasses I know who can pull off a bright yellow teapot pendant with sass!
There is so much to adore about bubbly Meredith. Her huge heart, captivating smile, positive attitude and exuberant persona are just part of it. And then there is her fun and interesting, yet practical and down to earth style. She is perfectly suited to working for the largest wish-granting organization — giving hope, strength and joy to children with life-threatening medical conditions. Thank you Meredith for being an amazing client and a rare ray of sunshine. I’m very fortunate to have you as my friend.
