From now on, each month we will be asking one of our clients who has had a Miss Dress session we think has had a real transformation to feature as our Client of The Month.

This month the winner is Kate Smith who had a Speedy Shopper session.

At 27, Kate has lost a whopping 10 stone in the last year and so understandably is discovering a whole new world of shopping, not to mention shapes and styles that suit her new figure. Hence why Miss Dress was brought on board to ensure her gorgeous new body shape looked fabulous in all the clothes she wears!

Before her Speedy Shopper, Kate always wore quite a lot of dark colours, especially black!

I wanted to change that and put Kate into colour but also soft fabrics that skim over her lovely curves and draw the eye down onto her long legs. I added a long necklace that sat just below her bust to put focus on her waist (slimmest part of any women is directly below her bust) and finished off with a structured yet casual blazer that keeps her warm but ensures she still looks smart and sophisticated.

Bianca and I think Kate looks fabulous and throughly deserves to be Client of The Month.

Well done Kate – Goody bag winging it’s way over to you soon!

Kate before Miss Dress…

Kate after Miss Dress!

Electric blue top, £22 Oasis, Navy vest (under), £10 Warehouse, Navy Blazer, £24.99 H&M, Long Necklace, £7.50 Dorothy Perkins, Skinny black jeans, £25 New Look, Boots (Kate’s Own)

Mustard sheer pussybow blouse, £35 Miss Selfridge, navy vest, jeans and boots all as before.

For the first time ever,  I decided to run an event like we have never done before and create a very intimate evening for guests to enjoy 3 different workshops spread out over 2 and half indulgent hours that were all about ‘Cleansing’ diet, skin and wardrobe.

I am pleased to say my idea surpassed my expectation and Chelsea Day Spa was the dream location for such an event. Bijou, pretty and the staff were fantastic.

Upon arrival, (courtesy of Miss Nutritionist) guests were greeted with Lychee Bellinis, Very Berry Smoothies, Raw Nut Sushi, Chickpea Mini Burgers and mouthwatering Cocoa and Almond Bonbons that were all utterly delicious, alcohol and sugar free and perfect for starting off our detox evening.

Throughout the evening guests were divided into 3 groups so they could explore the 3 different mini workshops and find out from Chelsea Day Spa how to do a great DIY facial; from Miss Nutritionist how to cleanse their diet and start the detoxification process and from Miss Dress, how to cleanse and re-invent items in the wardrobe to give them a more spring feel. Plus throughout the evening all guests received a complimentary manicure, all not before leaving with a goody bag loaded with beauty and nutritious treats.

It really was a lovely evening and it seems a good time was had by all.

“Just wanted to say I really enjoyed The Ultimate Cleanse. I thought your nutritionist was really great and loved the nail & skin care bit. Your duo presentation on updating our wardrobes was fantastic!” Georgina

“Hi Clare, Thank you for a brilliant evening!” Jacqui

“Had a really fun evening. Very different and I learnt so much. Thank you!” Priya

Unfortunately as I was playing hostess, I was unable to take any pictures during the event but at least you can have a look at the location and food!

Oh and before I forget, we will be doing another event all together again. ‘The Bikini Body Ready’ evening will be held sometime in May – but if you can’t wait that long for the next Miss Dress event, save Tuesday 20th March in your diaries for our mega event with Reiss!

OK, so I have resumed normal eating again (i.e no alcohol, mince pies and all that other delicious stuff that makes us pile on the pounds) and last week I trained 9 times (Yes you did just read that right),and having lost an impressive 1.5kgs I still have this last 1kg to shift which as feared is proving to be particularly resilient.

Ahead of next week’s detox event ‘The Ultimate Cleanse’, an evening designed to reveal your inner ‘slim’ goddess,  I thought many of you might like my top 3 slimming style tips to get you through the next couple of weeks until the exercise and diet have paid off…

Make The Printed Cotton Scarf Your Best Friend.

If you have not heard me bang on about this ingenious new ‘it’ fashion accessory (then where have you been?), you must buy one as the chunkyness of cotton mixed together with print add a whole heap of interest around the neck and take the focus firmly off the tum. If you are particualry style savvy choose a bright tribal of floral print (Massimo Dutti have some great ones), 2 big print trends for Spring/summer.

Wear Structured Blazers instead of Cardigans

Nope, wearing baggy shapeless knitwear does not conceal the flab, only highlights it and indeed makes you appear bigger all over. Keep yourself warm with structured blazers that NIP IN AT THE WAIST. Very important they do this as it will immediately make your wait appear more defined and thus slimmer. Opt for a jersey fabric for optimum comfort and sling your cardigans to the bac of the wardrobe. You won’t be needing those until Spring when the new Lady Trend really kicks in.

Step Into Your Favourite High Heels

Quit whinging, it’s not snowing outside so no excuse for not donning a pair of heels. We all know wearing a pair alters our posture and makes our bottom stick out and our shoulders go back which ultimately leads to us looking slimmer from the ankles upwards. Need I press this point further?

I’m back!!!!!

Happy New Year – I hope you are feeling all re-engerised after your Christmas break?! As always I had a great time and you will be glad to know that my Ipad Christmas present is all set up for receiving emails on the go; the new webcam is installed for making your Style Stream sessions even clearer; and my biceps are rested and ready to heave around shopping bags for yet another year :)

But if you have started off 2012 feeling a little sluggish after the month long festive period you (and a friend) might want to kick start 2012 by nabbing a place at our luxury detox event exclusively in collaboration with The Chelsea Day Spa  and Miss Nutritionist to really banish those January Blues!

Whether you feeling a little bloated after a bit too much festive merriment

Your skin is looking a bit dull from being blasted with central heating

Or your wardrobe feels a little lack lustre and in need of a bit of a refresh to see you through Spring..

Then come and join us :

The Ultimate Cleanse

Wednesday 25^th January 6.30pm – 9.30pm

The Chelsea Day Spa, 53 Hollywood Road, (Off Fulham Road) SW10 9HX

During this Spectacular Evening there will be:

• Delicious healthy detox drinks and canapés to satisfy your taste buds!

• A  detox talk from Miss Nutritionist to find out which foods to eat to start the detoxification process and lose your Christmas excess fast!!

•  Mini workshop from Miss Dress on ‘detoxing’ your wardrobe and regaining closet control with the key items every woman should own!

• A free cleansing treatment from the therapists at Chelsea Day Spa AND bespoke advice on making your skin glow like a goddess!

• Complimentary mini manicures available throughout the evening

• Amazing goody bags packed with products

• PLUS each business will be offering an exclusive promotion on services (Worth it if you want to make a saving on a Miss Dress service – will work out cheaper to come and enjoy the evening AND have your personal session)

Hurry! There are now only 8 spaces exclusively for Miss Dress and it’s first come first served

Ticket Price £35 each

To book your space just email dress@missdress.com confirming how many spaces you would like.

Hope you can make it, it is going to be a great night!

What with both Bi and I flat out shopping for party dresses and kick starting wardrobes in good time for Christmas and New Year for everyone else to coo over our clients it is really no wonder that 2011 is disappearing fast.

But before I move on to the important stuff of this week’s post, still time for me to get on my soapbox and have a little rant about the fashion faux pas witnessed in the last few days!

So another year of X Factor has passed. (Thank God). No more cringing at Tulisa stomping around in heels she can’t walk in and no more Little Mix – for the mean time at least. (Clearly I am the only person who thinks they cannot sing). I never know which was worse, the offending of my ears or the offending of my eyes at their TERRIBLE styling!!! I don’t think I will ever recover from THAT denim ensemble I witnessed at the final. Those dungarees looked liked they had had a fight with a paper shredder!

Anyway moving on from the Little Mix denim disaster and on to the denim dream that is Donna Ida.

http://www.donnaida.com/

For those you that receive the Miss Dress newsletter you will already know that this month we have joined forces with the luxury denim boutique to offer subscribers an exclusive 10% off any pair of jeans brought in store or online.

So what is so special about Donna Ida? Apart from the fact that the staff in both London stores are incredibly knowledgeable and pinickety about jean cut and fit on figures (trust me there are not many shop assistants are aplore), the extensive range of shapes, styles, sizes and choice of American, Australian and UK brands from Citizens, Paige, GoldSign and James is an enviable list and a store to be reckoned with.

Having shopped in the Westfield store for over 2 years, I have no fear in sending customers here to find their perfect pair. Spacious luxury fitting rooms and girls that run around for you bringing jean after jean and never compromising on how big your butt looks, this is a one stop shop for anyone wishing to take on the plight of finding a new pair of jeans.

Hurry though subscribers, your discount ends 31st December!   http://www.miss-dress.com/newsletter.php

Paige Hollywood Hills £180.oo

http://www.donnaida.com/denim/bootcut-jeans/paige-premium-hollywood-hills-bootcut-fountain.html

James Jean High Class Straight Leg £180.00

http://www.donnaida.com/denim/straight-leg-jeans/james-jeans-high-class-straight-11.html

Hudson Mid Signaure Skinny Jeans, £225.00

http://www.donnaida.com/denim/skinny-jeans/hudson-mid-signature-skinny-jean-iconic.html

If like many you are struggling upon deciding what gift to wow a special woman this Christmas then may I suggest you look no further than Miss Dress ;) http://www.miss-dress.com

For those of you who don’t know anything about Miss Dress, it is run by myself (Clare Watson) and fellow Style Mistress Bianca Smit. Having worked as a fashion and celebrity stylist for a plethora of magazines between London and L.A throughout my twenties, I decided to set up Miss Dress in 2009 to show real women the secrets of great celebrity style without the same price tag.

Almost 3 years on and Miss Dress has solved  hundreds of young women’s style meltdowns and at the same time saved plenty of men having their ear bent the she has ‘NOTHING TO WEAR’ and the subsequent pain of being dragged round the shops on a Saturday!

Women that have been ‘Miss Dressed’ are have all loved their experience with us. So much so plenty come back for more because the result is always that they feel more confident with their style and constantly receive compliments. They have multiple outfits for every occasion and never waste money on the wrong items. In fact most women actually save money! Sounds too good to be true? Read for yourself the number of reviews previous clients have left on Google to make your own mind up!

With a range of 10 different services from wardrobe organising, to personal shopping to even video chat styling, we have something to suit all females clothing desires with prices that start from just £50. An amazing unique gift if you are just looking for a little stocking filler! But don’t worry about trying to decipher what to select, just call 0845 643 4828 or email me clare@miss-dress.com and together  I will help you work out which package she will love! Google Business Listing

Arranging the gift voucher, is very simple: They are valid for 12 months (so no onus on you to try and co-ordinate her diary for session). I just need the lady’s name and the address you would like the gift voucher sending to (posted 1st class in an anonymous envelope addressed to you), then I just process card details over the phone using my secure Barclaycard Business portal. Easy!

Alternatively if we are short on time as Christmas draws closer, I can easily ping you over an e-voucher for you to print off.

I promise you, after a Miss Dress session she will never have a bad clothes day again!

Ladies!

You know the Miss Dress score! If you would like your other half to arrange a gift voucher for you give him a nudge to contact me and I will help him sort it all out so that you receive the gift you really want this Christmas!

Don’t get me wrong, it has had it’s troughs as well as it’s amazing peaks but then that is business for you regardless of whether you are tiny or a multi nation corporation.

The great difference between the beginning and the end of the year is that at long last I have time to plan for the future. Already Bi and I have some AMAZING event lined up in the calender including: The Ideal Home Show; Chelsea Day Spa Detox Day; Private Miss Dress Spring/Summer Show with Reiss; oh and  A SHOPPING  TRIP TO NEW YORK!!!

But it does not end there! In the last couple of weeks I have been doing meetings with a lot of businesses and brands that have fallen in love with Miss Dress and want to help you!

2 people in particular stand and I am very excited to introduce them to you:

Firstly there is the beautiful and very knowing blogger An American Girl In Chelsea; Christy Osborne. For those of my American clients, I am quite sure you already familiar with her infamous blog that is packed weekly with an all manner of things to make navigating London easier  from the best restaurants; to practical services to even mutual information, advice and suggestions on children’s stuff. Don’t worry you don’t have to be an American Ex-Pat to enjoy this blog, in fact AG has quite a big Brit following too.

http://www.americangirlinchelsea.com/

I love it! Oh and if you did not see my guest post for ‘Fashion Friday’ read it here :)

http://www.americangirlinchelsea.com/2011/11/fashion-friday-mystery-that-is-uk.html

Next person I must introduce you to (and one to watch in the world of Miss Dress) is Vicky Silverthorn, owner of You Need A Vicky.

Former P.A to Lilly Allen, Vicky is one of the most organised people you will ever meet.

Seeing that not only celebrities need a helping hand with organisation, Vicky set up YNAV to help all men and women who lead busy lives (isn’t that us all?)

From organising your rooms after a house move to going through ‘that’ cupboard under the stairs, Vicky will come and sift through everything, helping you get a grip on the chaos by clearing away the junk, file important items and just generally make life a whole lot more orderly!

Oh and she also organises closets with her own storage solutions. Watch this space as we will be introducing a joint service in the new year for those who really want their wardrobe transformed inside and out! http://www.youneedavicky.com/

A shoe Closet Before Vicky….

A shoe closet After Vicky

The clothes cupboard Before Vicky…

The clothes cupboard After Vicky!

But I was adamant I knew differently, I could already tell the future of styling (like so many industries) was going to move more online. Lives are so busy nowadays, people need to be able to access specific information advice, individual to them, at the click of button, any time, any place.

All I needed to do was wait until video chat technology in the UK had caught up with the ideas in my head!

Needless to say I am glad I put my money where my mouth is because since launching StyleStream in September, there has been a lot of new startup websites launching their version of virtual styling to improve online shopping (not to mention other personal styling businesses copying the StyleStream service!)

So what do all these websites do to improve online shopping? Well lets start with Dressipi www.dressipi.com

It all begins with a mini quiz – you choose between a series of 2 images that flick up on your screen and select which one denotes, your clothing tastes and lifestyle and most importantly; body shape. Upon completing the quiz your ‘Style’ will have been selected and you will be emailed a selection of clothes from various e-tailers that fit with your clothing profile complete with plenty of stylist tips on how to work each item into the wardrobe. Every Friday you are sent an email with the week’s essential item to add to your wardrobe.

This all very well, but it only works if you know exactly what is your body shape and your style fits into one of their ‘style categories’. Clothing choices are so personal that the computer generated selections chosen for you might not be your taste at all…

Next up is MeeMee.Me  www.meemee.me

Now this is a very interesting site again it works by selecting clothes appropriate to your body shape. Again you really have to know what your body shape is to be able to use this effectively. Whilst both Dressipi and MeeMee have very good guides and support to help decipher your body shape, we all have lumps and bumps in places that still make it hard for us to denote what shape we are.

However what I love about this site is the avatar used where you can dress your on screen model in the items you have selected and put them together as an outfit. I have seen this type of site many a time before, but this is by far the best example out there right now and is perfect for young women looking for funky fashionable clothes and want to experiment putting them together as outfits without needing to bother trying them on.

Then there are a couple of magical sites that are proving big hits with the tech world that when they arrive in the UK are definitely going to change the future of online shopping.

As already mentioned, more and more style sites are emerging that use the premise of a personal stylist which is about choosing clothes that fit somebody’s body shape, but you really do have to be able to know your body shape to get the most out of their services. So what if there were sites out there that could scan your body through webcam, and then search hundreds of e-tailers and come back to you with a selection of clothes that all fit your exact measurements?!

Well that my friends is here. I garuntee before not too long our favourite online clothing stores will be using this latest technolgy to provide you with a selection of clothes that WILL fit.

Firstly there is Fits.Me a ‘virtual fitting room’ where you input your exact measurements. Not sure what they are? Easy print off their tape measure! www.fits.me

Secondly there is upcload.com  ‘your fashion passport’. This is very clever – you hold any old CD in front of your belly button, stand away from your webcam and becuase the system know how big the CD is, it is able to calculate your mesurements around it. Extraordinary! www.upcload.com

All of this sound too fandangled? Well you can always join the modern age in a far simpler easier way and book a Style Stream 30 minute session for a mere £50 where you will recieve advice from me on outfits; purchases you want to make online or even items you want to revamp in the wardrobe. Just for you, Only for you. All in the comfort of your home, at a time most convenient to you. Now that is the real future of cyberstyling.  online-personal-stylist.php

dressipi.com

meemee.me

Your requests are flooding in as your quests for hunting down the perfect festive frock is suddenly no longer something you can dismiss and as normal my Holy Grail for hunting down and solving your party dilemmas has begun.

Lets start with the best dresses on the high street right now:

Oasis Pleated Asymmetric Panel Dress -£150 http://bit.ly/uvTVD5

I saw this the other day and I thought it was amazing. Definitely a head turner! I think a pair of gold shoes with this and minimal jewellery. Let the dress do the talking.

Karen Millen Metallic Fabric Block Dress – £190 http://bit.ly/vgwAJX

Thankfully Karen Millen are upping their game each season. Yes they still have the ‘Slapper’ dresses with way too much boobs and arse displayed, but I think this is a very cool dress. Great for both big and small boobs. Maybe a plum coloured pair of heels to compliment the gunmetal colour?

Miss Selfridge Leather Suede Dress – £125  http://bit.ly/sKACQC

Leather and suede all for 125 quid?! If you are into the Fetish trend of the moment then this is the dress for you!  Demure enough on the top half and the length is just above the knee. Absolutely love it! Keep it very simple and just go for an elegant black court. Anything more racy and waiting for a taxi at the end of the night could be mistaken for somthing else!

River Island Brown Split Sleeve Belted Midi Dress – £50 http://bit.ly/uIIdwN

Oh My God can you believe  went into River?! Anyone who knows me will know I despise this shop! However I stumbled across this and fell in love with it. Naturally the cheap plastic belt needs removing pronto and replacing with a skinny metallic gold belt. Gold heels or perhaps in seventies style pull on knee high boots?

Topshop Bonded Lace Pencil Dress – £40 http://bit.ly/sPGbrR

This is definitely top of my party dress list this season – The lace looks expensive, the hem sits on the knee (well my knees anyway) and the structured shoulders take the focus off the bust. Alla Ms Middleton, wear with nude shoes or vamp it up with spikey black patent courts.

Banana Republic Neon Fuschia Rufle Sheeth Dress – £110 http://bit.ly/sOxgy4

If you can look past the unbearable model wearing this dress and check it out in store, this is a fun dress to P-A-R-T-A-Y in! The hot colour will warm up a drab winter complexion. You might want to add a belt around the waist to give it more structure and I am thinking a funky jewel coloured pair of heels (Dune) will finish it off nicely.

Kookai – Gold Sequinned Shift Dress – £111.75 http://bit.ly/tDPvzR

Brought back from the dead (quite literally), the new Kookai store in St Christopher’s Place has caught my eye on more than one occasion recently. Not least to mention becuase of this dress. Ok look past the model (and the styling for that matter in a couple of the pics), but add a pair of black opaques and a some black peep toes and you can definitely shimmer and shimmy the night away!

Monsoon Livia Maxi Dress – £150  http://bit.ly/tnM9y9

Don’t like showing your legs? Well this demure maxi dress gets a big thumbs up from me. I love the print and the deep midnight colour. Just add a faux fur shrug and long chandalier earrings and you have a modern version of the forties all wrapped up.

Biba Deco Printed Tunic Dress – £119.40 http://bit.ly/tlkZGN

This dress has got it all. A bit of embelishment, covers the arms AND is in this season’s hottestt colour. Hurry though the House Of Fraser sale ends tonight and this dress will go back up to £199.00

Next Purple Embroidered Waist Dress – £65  http://bit.ly/toWL0a

Can’t afford a Halston Dress? Then this knock off by Next is just the ticket. I saw this the other day, tried it on and thought it would look amazing with my Gina Swarovski shoes. Another contender for my party dress wish list!

I have to confess I am not a fan at all of Saturday prime time T.V. My husband in all his 10 years of living in England has never understood British comedy and will talk all over a programme whilst he tries to understand what’s going on and what is so funny, hence why I never bother to watch it as I will never get any peace!

But with him away this weekend I was able to sit down with a good bottle of red and watch away. Thank God I had a bottle. I needed something to inebriate the pain!!!

So it appears that this year’s Strictly resembles a soft porn show. At points last night had I turned out the living room lights I could have well mistaken myself for being in Stringfellows with so much cleavage filling my screen. My jaw dropped to the floor when I saw Alex from the One Show’s ‘outfit’ – sorry let me re-phrase that ‘lack of outfit’.

Not to mention Nancy making a fool of herself yet again. No I am not talking about the dancing, I am referring to the cropped t.shirt she donned during her ‘training’. Will someone please tell her that regardless of how slim a woman is there comes a point in life (around 25) when showing your midriff is a MAJOR fashion faux pas.

After the Nancy incident, I had to switch off. I simply could not take anymore. Especially when coupled together with old Brucie doddering about and Tess in that hideous dress that made her look like the Madam running the joint.

So onto X Factor. Or should I say C Factor – really the whole look of show does resemble something of a club opening night where the only people that turn up are the C-List celebs drawn by the free booze and the hope to be papped.

Having flicked over from the Strip bar, it now felt I had been transported into a Working Man’s Club on Karaoke night given the level of ‘talent’ flexing their vocal chords.

After switching to mute to make it more bearable viewing, I witnessed; a large woman in a leather skirt (sorry don’t know names) clearly given the way the light shone on her showed she was wearing support knickers that were too short for her and showed all the bulges; Tulisa wearing something she probably picked up at the market earlier that day accessorised with a DIY fake tan; and some girl group who looked like they had raided New Look kids section in a bid to be ‘original’.

Enough. By this point it was 9pm and Oscar winning movie The Hurt Locker was beginning. Now that was T.V well worth watching.

Which was worse? The dancing or the outfit?

You can take the girl off the council estate but you can't take the council estate out of the girl...

Could not find pic of the leather catastophe but if this animal print number is anything to go by it appears she is wearing one fashion car crash after the other

Ryth-who? Just plain awful!