DESIGN SPOT – Style Counsel

I am lucky to be featuring Alison Triffett, Personal Stylist & Director of Style Counsel in today’s DESIGN SPOT. Now technically, Alison’s work sits outside the art, craft and design industry usually supported in this column, however, I asked if she would be willing to share some of her story and approach to working because in Alison I have met someone who is full of integrity and authenticity in every corner of her life. Naturally, she brings this to her work and this inspires me to hold true to the beliefs and ideas which found my work… Alison lights up any room she walks into with her warm, sincere and happy-go-lucky character, which I’m sure you’ll sense through her Q&A…

What services do you offer?

Personal Styling for men, women and corporations.  I also facilitate Group Workshops, Corporate Image Workshops and Keynote Presentations, Corporate Uniform Design & Project Management, Style Parties, Online Sourcing/Shopping, Personal Styling Consultations, Skype Styling Consultations and Wardrobe Workouts! Boy, when I write it all down, I sure do quite a lot of ‘style’ related things, don’t I?

Describe your background and what led you to starting your business?

20 Years working in an industry of smoke and mirrors (TV production, advertising and modelling/teaching) has taught me a great deal about styling and creating the desired image. I have a passion for helping people look good and to feel better and believe anyone can look and feel like a million bucks if they are just taught a few of the skills needed to pull a great look together. Health issues forced me to work out a way of earning my own income, and yet it’s my own personal journey of not always ‘feeling well’ that has made me to want to at least ‘look well’. If I can do it myself, then I know I can help my clients feel better too!

How did you come up with your business name?

I don’t ‘style’ anyone I don’t know well – I go to great lengths to get to know who my clients really are inside so that I can style the outside and keep them both in sync. I pretty much ‘counsel’ most of my clients on their journey to find their signature style, so it seemed obvious that I call myself the Style Counsellor and not simply a Personal Stylist!

What kinds of projects are you working?

Currently, because of health issues, I’ve been focusing less on Personal Shopping with my private clients and more on my Corporate Style Workshops and presentations. However, I’ve just launched my Online Sourcing/Shopping service and Skype Styling is also working really well too. It means that people living anywhere, with access to a computer and the internet, can work with me. There are so many more options online too – I find great wardrobe pieces that my clients may never even know existed if they stuck to just shopping in stores or by themselves!

What are the most important things for you to communicate through your work?

That you can really express who you are on the ‘inside’ if you put some thought into how you present your own ‘outside’; that when you think you look good, you really can feel better; that you really do only get one chance to make a first impression; and that fashion may be fun (and fleeting) but style really is eternal. BUT, style is more than knowing what to wear and where. Your style is evident in all the ways you communicate with the world around you. It’s not just what you wear – it’s how you wear it, how you speak, your body language, etiquette, Style = Communication!

Are there any specific design influences in your work or do you have a signature style?

Ooooh yeah! I love light neutrals. Whenever I’m having a bad hair day (be it in the literal sense or otherwise!) if I ‘lighten up’ I always feel more like me, and much more feminine/pretty than if I’m wearing dark, drab clothes. I love layering long under short, volume on top with fine lines below (and vice versa). I am definitely a classic kinda gal! I don’t follow fashion to the letter – in fact, I may be wearing something this year that becomes really ‘in’ a couple of seasons later. That’s often when I’ll stop wearing it! Not because I want to be exclusive, but because I’d rather create a style of my own than appear to simply blindly follow fashion. The key ingredient for me though, no matter what I choose to wear, is looking ‘effortlessly put together – not thrown together!’ Great hair, makeup, shoes and bags. It’s what pulls the whole look together and completes the package.

Is there anything else you think you’d like mentioned?

My work is more about self-image and self-esteem than fashion. It’s far more important to me that I help a client create a look that truly expresses something about who they are inside, and makes them feel confident. It’s easy to dress in fashion! If you want to know what’s IN, take a look around you – find the nearest teenager/store. That’s what’s IN. If you want to know ‘if you should be IN IT’, then ask me!

How can we contact you?

You can email me at alison@stylecounselonline.com.au or visit my website. And if you want to know more about what makes me tick and what I think about style and LIFE in general, check out my blog or phone me on 0413 686 ­613.

Alison, thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. I love the fact that your focus is on finding ways to allow your clients to find their ‘feel good’ feet in their own skin. Sounds to me like you have a great job – working with lovely people in an honest way to help them feel the best they possibly can!