arashmazinani

Personal Stylist Leeds - Personal Shopper Leeds - Image Consultant - Arash Mazinani

Style 101

Are You Looking For A Style Magic Pill?

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“Maybe it’s my fault… Maybe I led you to believe it was easy…” opens one of the best adverts of all time. But what does an advertisement for the Jordan brand have to do with style? A lot. The principles are the same, whether you apply it to style, sport, blogging or life. Success isn’t achieved over night, luck isn’t some mysterious force that magically bestows itself on select individuals, you create your own. But we live in a world where pop stars go from dreaming wannabes to national celebrities on shows like The X-Factor. Creating a facade that success is instantaneous rather than something you have to work at.

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How Do You Avoid Fashion Envy?

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SMAD … What the hell is that?

Social Media Anxiety Disorder, yeah it’s an actual ‘thing’ now. If you’re wondering what in the world I’m talking about then let me explain.

Have you ever been scrolling through your Instagram/Pinterest/Twitter/Facebook feed and felt inadequate?

Whether it be beautiful locations, fabulous foods or gorgeous homes, our social media feeds are a sensory overload of all that’s wonderful. Then there’s the fashion … designer labels pushed in our face, perfectly styled outfits, clothes that have just had their price tags popped.  Often leaving us feeling like some how our lives don’t match up.

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Who Do YOU Dress For?

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“Don’t women dress for attention?” 

“No, they dress for other women …”

“Either way it’s attention. They dress for men’s attention to impress other women and to impress the men”

This was a conversation a few of my friends were having on Whatsapp. None of them are particularly interested in fashion, but it came up when they were having a discussion around dating. I won’t bore you with the entire contents of the chat, but it does lead to some interesting questions. One morning when I was in a zen like state, sat on a funky yoga mat with my feet crossed (I only do this on Saturdays before I blog) the following question dawned on me:

Have you ever stopped and pondered exactly who do you dress for?

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It’s Time To Celebrate Your Body!

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I love a motivational speech, I mean who doesn’t like to feel great, and raring to tackle their challenges head on? On Thursday I was treated to a seminar that focused on motivation and public speaking. The presenter did a fabulous job of mixing the usually drab theory with lots of comedic one liners and banterous humour. But one thing he said stood out to me, he talked about how as a nation we absolutely love anything negative. We love a good moan, be it about the weather, the government, our families, and sometimes, even our bodies.

He told us a story about a paper in the US that only featured positive stories… it folded after 9 months of trading.

Now just think about the news for a moment, when was the last time you saw a positive story?

Further still, when was the last time you saw a positive story about body image?

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Style For Beginners: 5 Tips I Wish I Knew When Starting Out

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Being an image consultant and blogger means I often get styled related questions thrown at me by friends. I don’t mind this and enjoy hearing about a new item they’ve spied but not quite sure how to wear. It’s also great to share tips with one another, as some of the more stylish ones tell me about their favourite clothes and brands. But I was recollecting recently about my own journey delving into the world of style and how much I’ve learnt over the last 7 years. So I wanted to share 5 tips that I wish I could have told myself when I was starting out, that may help anybody else that are just dipping their toes into men’s style.

1. It’s all about the fit

Any regular reader of the blog will probably be sick of me saying this by now. But it really is the most important style tip anyone can learn. There is a difference between knowing it and actually doing it, a lot of people know their clothes should fit properly but ignore it. Do NOT give into those endorphins rushing around your body when you see that amazing piece but the last size on the rack says a ‘L’ and you’re a ‘M’. Give it up!

 Also realise that our bodies change so things that maybe lingering in your wardrobe that fit 3 years ago, could now be too large or small.

2. Don’t worry about what people may think of you

When people, particularly work colleagues and close friends, see you trying to improve yourself they may try to put you down. Don’t ask me why this is the case. But occasionally people get jealous because they don’t have the drive to take action themselves. They want to bring you down, the easiest way for them to do that is to comment on what’s right in front of them; your clothes.

Maybe all your friends are really happy for you, but you have your own doubts in the back of your mind about trying new styles or clothes. You have to push your comfort zone and realise, sometimes you are your own worst enemy. You may really want to wear coloured chinos but unless you give yourself permission to buy them and actually wear them out, you’ll be stuck in the same gear.

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5 Ways Of Using Pinterest To Enhance Your Image

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If you’ve been reading my blog posts recently or following me on twitter you will have seen that I’m well and truly on the Pinterest bandwagon. I used it to present my seasonal trend guide on the blog, I’ve used it with clients and I’ve used it personally to document my own bits of style inspiration. Admittedly, when it came to Pinterest I was late to the party. I didn’t want to sign up to another social networking site that would potentially end up being neglected. However, as I spent more time with it, it sparked an influx of ideas to utilise it in a number of different ways. There is no doubt that it is a powerful and easy tool to use. So I want to showcase 5 different ways you can actually put it to use to enhance your image.

1. Creating Your Own Look Book

I wrote a post a while back on how to create your own look book for the digital age. I think Pinterest is another great platform you can use to store your own look book in the cloud. We’re always on the go so we want to be able to access things fast. The old way of cutting out pictures of your own outfits or having a folder on your computer with all your own outfit shots, seems a lot like too much effort. Upload any of your own outfit photos that you have snapped, create a board and use the app/site to access it in the morning to decide what you want to wear that day. Can’t remember how you wore that scarf 4 weeks ago? Fire up Pinterest.

 

2. Inspiration

This is probably the main way people use Pinterest at the moment. Pinning the things they like the look of. Pinning pictures of people they like the look of. Pinning nice looking clothes. Anything that resonates with your style soul, pin it. It comes back to the principle of modelling; if you really like a particular outfit you see on a blog or street style site then put it on your inspiration board. Then aim to recreate that look.

Nail Art & Inspiration Courtesy of The Style Confession

3. Visual Shopping Lists

If you’re like me then you’ll want to try things on before you buy it. In fact, I encourage everyone to try clothes on before they buy them. It saves a lot of time and hassle having to return the item if it doesn’t fit. Although I love the prices you get online and the choice, I hate the fact I can’t try the items on. A way around that is to create a visual shopping list. Browse in the comfort of your home, pin the items you like to your ‘shopping list’ board. Then when you get to the stores you can find what you’re looking for and try it on. This is great if you’re on a budget as well. When you hit the store, if you’re specifically looking for something rather than leisurely browsing you’ll be less likely to impulse buy. Also come Christmas/Birthday time send friends and family a link to your board, it’s an easy way of avoiding unwanted gifts.

4. Expanding Your Style IQ

Have you ever been walking down the street, flicking through a magazine, or looking on the web and come across an item or outfit that strikes you, but is a total 180 to what you’d usually wear? I know I have. This is where Pinterest allows you to flex your style IQ by giving you a potential stream to other stylish people. If you only relied on your own ideas and instinct, no matter how stylish you are you’d never develop. So make sure you go global and start following other stylish people from around the world. You’ll then get a lovely stream of style inspiration that’s a little different to your own.

 

5. Follow Me

Shameless plug, I know! However, if you do follow me you won’t have to bother searching for what’s on trend each season. All my trend boards will now be available on my Pinterest account so you can get them delivered to you for free on your stream.

N.B: At the time of writing there is still no Android or iPad app for Pinterest. This is a bit poor from Pinterest’s part in my opinion. I thought the days of iPhone only releases were gone. I was forced to use the mobile site, which is actually not that bad and download an unofficial app for my iPad. Although nothing more than an annoyance I thought they would be apps for each platform already, considering the success of the site.

I’d love to hear what you think and if you have any of your own creative ways of using Pinterest to enhance your style leave a comment and let me know.

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