Hi SWIISH readers – Maha here. Today we’re talking about being stuck in a fashion rut and how you can get out of it. What do I mean? Well, if you’re anything like me, you open your closet every day and stand in front of it, hands on hips saying “I have nothing to wear!”. Know that feeling? In my case, all that stares back at me is a sea of short sleeved black silk tops. My sister, parents, friends, barista, and even my mailman can vouch for this. I buy clothes and yet, I feel like I wear the same four things alllllll the time. And they are variations of the same black top (short sleeve, long sleeve, midi sleeve, sleeveless). Are you feeling me?
It’s easy to get stuck in a style rut. Whether it’s wearing the same outfit on repeat, buying the same colour or style again and again, being unsure as to what suits your body shape, or that you gained or lost a few kilos and your clothes simply don’t fit quite right anymore, one thing is for certain. The way we dress can affect our mood and our confidence. I know that when I rock a killer new outfit, I feel ready to take on the world (insert Beyonce anthem here). Sometimes, all it takes is a little helping hand to get you back on track and to open you up to some fashion possibilities you may not have otherwise considered.
Recently, I enlisted the help of super stylist, Donny Galella to help me with just that. You may have heard of or seen Donny before – he is a fashion stylist and makeover expert who you will often see on Channel 7’s The Morning Show, working his magic with makeovers, or introducing the season’s hottest trends. Donny is also regularly enlisted by celebrities, including the likes of Giuliana Rancic, Erin Holland, Dannii Minogue and Samantha Jade to name just a few, and helps them create looks to wear for events.
What you might not know about Donny is that he is incredibly passionate about helping everyone – not just celebs – to feel amazing and confident about their image. It can be for a one off event, or an entire makeover. Donny can take you out for a personal shopping day (which is what we did) and help you to build the perfect wardrobe full of pieces you’ll wear again and again.
We met up at Westfield in Bondi Junction, and after just three short hours, I walked out with a heap of new items that were all super affordable, given that we had hit up the likes of Portmans, Forever New, Dotti and Just Jeans. During our shop, Donny picked out items for me to try on, and many of them were things I had previously thought I couldn’t wear – for example, boyfriend jeans. Being short, I always assumed boyfriend jeans would make me look frumpy, but Donny found me the perfect pair that fit like a glove and looked fab. He was able to do this because he chose a pair that worked for my shape. We talked quite a bit about the importance of balance and proportion in an outfit – drawing the eye to all the right places, ways to look more slim or more curvy (depending on your body shape), using simple ways like the a tuck of a shirt, or the fold of a jean cuff to make the outfit look perfect. But Donny is brutally honest (in his lovely, kind way) too. If something doesn’t work, he’ll say so. It’s like having a very honest bestie by your side who also happens to have a killer instinct when it comes to shopping and style. All the items that I ended up with on the day, I absolutely loved and have since worn again and again. We also talked about ways of styling an outfit to inject your own personality into it – it can be as simple as pushing the sleeves up on a blazer and adding a choker for a bit of edge.
Not only was it a fab day in the shopping stakes but it was FUN too. Donny is one of the nicest people on the planet and aside from all the shopping, we also had time for a coffee catch up at the beginning to talk about my current wardrobe challenge of all black everything, and some social media shenanigans on Snapchat which you can see below.
So if you feel like you’re in need of a little wardrobe inspo, or have an event coming up, enlisting an expert such as Donny is a great way to go and is honestly one of the best experiences I have had.
Below are just a few of the looks and items we picked up.
CHECK TOP – FOREVER NEW
SKINNY JEANS – PORTMANS
SHOULDER BAG – ZARA
MIRRORED SUNNIES – SWIISH
NAVY WOOL BLEND CARDIGAN – SWIISH
BOYFRIEND JEANS – LEVIS (in store at JUST JEANS)
WRAP TOP – PORTMANS
SKINNY JEANS – PORTMANS
MOTO JACKET – PORTMANS (in store only; similar online here)
OFF THE SHOULDER TOP – PORTMANS
MINI SKIRT – PORTMANS
Plus a couple more pieces here:
PANELLED JACKET – PORTMANS
CROSSOVER DRESS – FOREVER NEW
All in all a super successful day. To find out more information or to get in touch with Donny check out his website right here or follow him on Instagram here (@donnygalella).
Yours in style and hopefully less black tops,
Maha xx
