Wardrobe stylist Lisa O’Neill is as entertaining as a stand up comedienne, as well as an expert in styling your body. "Do not save your best for last" says Lisa, who had worn a tutu on a flight a few days earlier. "Wear it now"…
Learn what to wear and how to wear it
Let me tell you a story about a classy lady who bought a fabulous black cocktail dress for a date; not too short, not too clingy, incredibly slimming and well cut. She threw on her stilettos and went out brimming with confidence. At some point in the evening she looked down and noticed the well cut bosom line hanging so low she’d become a street corner prostitute. The rest of the evening was spent frantically crouching below table line and pulling dress up wondering where she went wrong. Was it the wrong size, or her body the wrong shape?
Thankfully, the next evening (unfortunately not the evening before) she was attending New Zealand’s answer to Trinny and Susannah; stylist Lisa O’Neill’s “What to wear and how to wear it” show. At last, she and every other woman could get their answers on how to dress right, working with what we’ve already got, instead of a treadmill.
Lisa O’Neill prefers to be known as a wardrobe stylist, motivated to help the average woman find her wardrobe as opposed to fixing a fashion plate. This gorgeous blonde has teamed together with Farmers and put together inspirational wardrobes and advice in the 30 days of Fashion and Beauty promotion this month.
On this particular night, sponsored by both Ford and Farmers, Lisa wiped the floor with great show and advice. She also gave great goody bags (so nice to see something other than sample size – thank you Zero water, Nivea deodorant, Revlon nail polish and Za Lip Gloss) and nibbles and drinks as the warm up act.
Lisa is as entertaining as a stand up comedienne, as well as an expert in styling your body. "Do not save your best for last" says Lisa, who had worn a tutu on a flight a few days earlier. Wear it now. And do it with style; “There’s a difference between putting clothes on and getting dressed,” she told us. “Putting clothes on is something you have to do or else you’ll get arrested.”
Then she launched in to just how to “get dressed” with an array of specially selected garments and accessories from the Farmers spring/summer range. All were selected according to body types, of which Lisa outlined four: Apple, Pear, Banana and Hourglass.
With wit and handy hints she showed us how to make our various attributes work for us and hide the bad bits. There is no excuse for not making yourself look good and therefore feel confident.
Scared of high heels? “Take panadol, suck it up, you’ll be fine.”
Afraid of looking like mutton dressed as lamb? “The alternative is mutton dressed as mutton so give it a whirl.”
Don’t have time to spend on your appearance alone? Lisa, a mother of four, isn’t having it: “If you leave your vacuum cleaner on the floor in the lounge, people will think they’ve disrupted you and finish it for you.” I like!
It was an entertaining evening by a stylish effervescent woman who doesn’t believe you have to spend hundreds on designer clothes and you should be out and proud of your body. After four kids, she reckons she’s had every shape there is.
In the end, the street corner prostitute cornered the stylist and found out (yes, I think you guessed it was me) she was an “Hourglass” not a “Pear” because a “Pear” would never have fallen out of her top. I see a nice new excuse for a new dress based on this new information. So if you can check her out, or clone her, please do so immediatedly. Every woman needs her before a big date. Contact her at www.lisaoneill.co.nz.
By Sally Christie, September 2010.
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