Hooray for Spring

Spring is here for us in the southern hemisphere which means we can peel off the heavy clothing and start feeling lighter. This has to be one of the best times of year to do a wardrobe update and think about the warmer months ahead: especially in terms of work attire.
(Please see my News & Spring promotion at the bottom of this post).

As you may well know, my job is to jazz up your wardrobe and make it work for you and to avoid cloning. These days women are wanting to express their individuality with their style, especially those in a more conservative corporate environment where suits were/are considered a staple. 

Below are only some of my suggestions on how a corporate spring wardrobe can work for you. Yes I have added colour and yes I love to accessorise. If you feel a little scared to step outside the comfort zone, just start small with a signature colour. For example a belt, scarf, shoes or a unique accessory. You need to start with only one thing to get you going.

Of course I am only an email away should you wish to chat with me for further advice.

Black and White:

If you love your black, then you can get creative by adding black and white printed pant or jacket to your wardrobe. A white jacket with pencil black skirt is a great spring alternative to an all black outfit. This is a look I would like to see more of instead of all black.

Great belts are statement pieces, especially when added to asymmetrical skirts, dresses  or pants.

The Jumpsuit:

Taking you away from the two piece suit is the 'Jumpsuit'. This look is flattering and stylish providing you find the one that works best on you. A vibrant colour jumpsuit in your wardrobe for spring will have your colleagues talking all season. A wider leg pant jumpsuit for work is best. Add a light jacket or cardigan to cover if need be. And again accessorise.

The Vest:

Wearing a vest over a soft silk blouse and pants can change a pant/blouse outfit into something special. Jackets in spring can be quite warm depending on the day, so the sleeveless vest is certainly a groovy in between season piece to add to your wardrobe. It is almost an accessory in itself. Notice again I have teamed it up with bold coloured wide leg and printed pants. (BTW, these fabulous printed pants are Diane Von Furstenberg).

The Midi Skirt:

It's not quite the maxi, and not the mini hence it is called the 'midi' skirt. I will admit, I have always been a fan outside of the trends, so it's nice to see so many out this season. To be daring and unique go for the gorgeous scenic printed skirts. I found these on chicwish. Wear it with a slightly fitted jacket or cardigan to show off your waist, and add a thin belt if you like. Brooches to lapels are still so underrated, would like to see more of them.

Many women still struggle to add lace to their every day wear and especially corporate wardrobe as they see it more as evening wear. A lace skirt or top displays femininity, luxuriousness and confidence. The way to play it down is to wear it with  wrap silk or jersey tops or a fitted jacket. As you have noticed I believe in mix and matching accessories to add some interest.

Blouses:

Printed blouses are divine with pants and interesting skirts for work. There is a great choice out there now to not have excuses of wearing boring v-neck jersey tops. If it is the first item to start with in jazzing up your wardrobe, then a printed soft blouse could be that. I am a fan of the silk flowing blouses as they don't bulk up and go well with pants or skirts.  As you can see in this photo, even with a ruffled skirt.

Dresses:

I can't stress enough how a wrap dress in your wardrobe is almost vital due to its versatility suiting almost every body shape. You do need to choose the style that works best on you. That could be the flared a-line skirt style or straight pencil look or kimono style or many others. These two gorgeous printed dresses from Diane Von Furstenburg are very different styles as you can see, yet both flattering and stylish for work. This season I suggest going for printed wrap dresses to add some pattern in your wardrobe. Leona Edmiston is another designer who has wonderful wrap style dresses.

The A-line dress is again another flattering style.  I do suggest to vary it a bit and go for interest with block colours, panelled sides and maybe some pleating. Peter Pilotto as seen above with the blue dress has a knack for transforming this style into something interesting that can easily worn at work. However it doesn't stop at him, you can find many interesting a-line dresses in most high street stores or on-line.

The pencil style dress doesn't have to be straight out plain. As seen here, the necklines and wrap styles are great. Add a thin belt or leave plain. Jazz up a bold colour dress with patterned shoes and handbags. There are some wonderful floral handbags out now for spring/summer.

I hope you have found some great tips on this post for your work-wear. With all of my posts, I could go on and on with many suggestions. It is hard when to say stop. 
As every woman is an individual with her own unique body shape, personality and requirements, I prefer to give you ideas and stylish looks rather than telling your what current trends to go for. It is more about the look. The style of the garments I place on my posts can be found in boutiques and on-line whether they are designer labels or not. 

Apart from the various designers and links I've added throughout my post, below are other websites I have sourced the items from for this post.

matchesfashion.com

yoox.com

dorothyperkins.com

net-a-porter.com

farfetch.com

mytheresa.com

If you loved a particular item, and can't find it on the sites listed above, please don't hesitate to email me. I will let you know which site I sourced it from and the designers name.

NEWS: I have launched a new blog stylebygessica.com which focuses on fashion styles and tips. Many of the articles won't be posted on Obsessions.  
Obsessions will remain a lifestyle based blog with all things I love. Please be sure to subscribe to stylebygessica. I am sure you'll enjoy the variety of both. Wish me luck in keeping up with both! 

SPRING PROMOTION: During the months of October and November you receive a pair of gorgeous flower and swarovksi crystal drop earring valued at $50 or two bracelets of your choice (6mm semi-precious and/or 6mm swarovski neon bead bracelet with or without tassel valued at $65) by the talented accessories designer SoniaM Designs....If you book yourself in for:

• spring wardrobe update or 
• shopping trip, or
• refer me to someone else or 
• purchase a gift voucher 

I also have a corporate workshop promotion running. Upon booking a corporate styling workshop at your work during October and November(Melbourne only), you receive a complementary two-hour personal styling session with me. 

Please contact me with any details on both promotions and to receive a quote for a corporate workshop. 

I enjoy hearing from you with your feedback, so leave a comment or write to me personally on stylebygessica@gmail.com as many of you do.

Warm Regards
Happy Spring

Gessica

Step Into Spring with a Fashion Stylist

Corporate Fashion Styling by Gessica

Melbourne, Barcelona, Dubai, Milan, Sydney

From this……

To this…..

Spring is here, stand out and ooze your authentic style. 

                     

Having a strong, authentic personal and professional brand is imperative for success and important for building influence and reach.

                       

That means embodying your brand on every level including how you dress.

Achieving that has little to do with chance. Just like your career you need to consciously develop a polished, professional style that sends the right message about your worth.

As author and connected brand expert Trevor Young says be “conscious of how you want others to perceive your brand… and ensure that perception is consistent across all touchpoints.”

With spring upon us (this is to my Australian clients - but the rules apply regardless), now is a perfect time to jazz up your existing wardrobe and turn something like this classy and simple dress into an individual style statement.

Dressing well at work is a professional investment that lifts your company image, self worth and confidence.

Book me in for a

• One-hour express workshop – gather a group of colleagues during lunch and I will show you how to turn core, classic pieces into statements that ooze confidence and power. (A longer after work session of two hours is also available). I can also incorporate men's style into the presentation.

• Two-hour personal styling session – I work with you one-on-one in your home to sort through the good, the bad and the ugly, show you new ways to pull together what you’ve got and transform it by choosing the right accessories, highlight colours and accents.  

Workshop Highlights

• What's appropriate - and not- at work - the right lengths, sizes, prints and colours
• Making the most of what you've got - versatile looks for every day at work
• Confidence dressing for important meetings
• Stylish looks that transform from work to social events
• Dressing for your body shape and personality
• Accessories, hair and make- up

Contact: stylebygessica@gmail.com

About Me
Gessica Marmotta is a personal fashion consultant who has worked around the world including Barcelona, Dubai, Milan and Sydney with professionals to develop their corporate style and professional brand. She blogs at stylebygessica and ObsessionsByGessica

Design Supremo Verner Panton

Interior and furniture designer Verner Panton (1926-1998) could be described as the god of colour. Hailing from Denmark, he was one of the most remarkable innovative designers of the 20th century. Re-known for his futuristic furniture made of plastics and vibrant colours: you may recognise his Panton and Cone chairs around the world. He then ventured into designing complete interior spaces using a mixture of psychedelic colours and radical designs. Verner maintained a childlike vision to his designs through out his career, experimenting and pushing boundaries. His work is awe inspiring.

I wanted to share one of his works with you, the 1969 fit out of 'Spiegel Publishing House' in Hamburg. Here he designed everything from the colour schemes, textiles, lamps, ceiling lights to wall claddings. Only the furniture was not his, it was ordered from Knoll International.
  
The Entrance

Lounge Area

Canteen One

Canteen Two

Staff swimming Pool

Light fittings

The great man himself Verner Panton in his famous Cone Chair

How lucky are those that work in the Spiegel Publishing House. And if the colours become to overwhelming you could escape by going for a dip in the pool. Then again it looks pretty bright in there too. Or you could sit in the green lounge area and meditate. Happy hour in one of the several canteens wouldn't be a bad idea either. It's all fabulous. I hope it turns into a hotel one day....then I can go and stay. 

If you loved this, then you are sure to like the rest of Verner Panton's work. Click on his website  or here to see more of his interiors work.

Ciao for now

Gessica X

Colour and Print Forecasters

As a general rule I tend not to follow trends. However part of my job is to be informed on what is coming up in the future with styles, patterns, prints and themes. There are only a few forecasters I look to for some inspiration and guidance on this. Pattern Curator is one of them and hence this post on their creative eye. I like their simple(and not so serious) take on the upcoming seasons. 'Each board is created visually in a way that is directional, relevant and trend-right'.

Below are only a handful of my personal highlights for the Spring/Summer 2014(already upon us) and ahead in 2015. These are the more colourful pick of the bunch. 

I have had many images in my head on how I would place these prints and in what form i.e. scarves, pants, jackets etc and mixed with this and that. I could go on forever, however I will leave it to your imagination to decide what best suits you. I am always an email away at stylebygessica@gmail.com if you would like my advice on what suits you.   

Diablos Rojos: Spring/Summer 2014. Very much inspired by Brazil. Love the mixture of textiles, multi prints and of course colour. 

Ebony & Ivory: Let's not forget that abstract patterns in black and white are still a great fashion statement (especially if mixed with a signature colour). 

Flower Power: I can't go passed flowers for any spring/summer season.  Some Mexican inspiration here.

Mix Master:  The mix of different prints together is an art and if you get it right, looks amazing. 

Welcome to the Jungle: large images of animals and jungle leaves printed on fabrics in colours of deep greens and blues are big this season. Has to be one of my favourites. Can be loads of fun.

Tribal: African inspired prints and colours. This is on trend now. 

Copacabana: A mixture  of jungle + botanical....just a little more intense with pattern and colour. 

I have so much fun reading/looking at what forecasters have to suggest. Some I feel hit the mark, and some don't.  It is in the end all personal preference. 

Warm Regards

Gessica

The Visions of Gregory Colbert

"I have been tusked by an elephant, almost eaten by a sperm whale, knocked off my feet by a rhinoceros, embraced by a jaguar, given a haircut by a tiger shark, chased by a hippo and a black mamba, brought to my knees by malaria and dengue. But I was able to avoid the greatest danger of all. Never stop exploring the things that open you, or that you love."

Gregory Colbert. 

Gregory Colbert  is a Canadian photographer/film maker who created Ashes and Snow, an ongoing travelling exhibition of photographs and films focusing on the exquisite interaction of humans and animals. Better known as the nomadic museum, these images and films are displayed in purposely built temporary structures that travel the world.

Each exhibition consists of more than fifty photographs measuring approx 3.5m by 2.5m. All created on special handmade Japanese paper.  His exhibitions also consist of three film installations. His films are stunning imagery, more poetic rather than documentaries, edited by two time oscar winner Pietro Scalia and narrated in various languages by well known actors.   What is incredible with his work,is that none of the photographic or film images have been digitally collaged or superimposed. I feel calm, inspired and engrossed in his story when viewing his images that speak a thousand words. This post focuses on his most recent 'elephant series'.

Ashes and Snow is a  project Gregory has been working on for thirty years, with each exhibition honouring the connection of humans and animals. 

Extract From his website; ' Ashes and Snow first opened at the Arsenale in Venice, Italy, in 2002. The Nomadic Museum, the traveling home of Ashes and Snow, debuted in New York in 2005 and then migrated to Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Mexico City, and is charted to travel the globe with no final destination. Ashes and Snow has welcomed more than ten million visitors to date, making it the most attended exhibition by any living artist in history.

"I think of my life's work as a celebration of all of nature, an orchestra that plays not the sounds of one musician, the music of one species, but rather an expression of all of nature's songs".

“When I started Ashes and Snow in 1992, I set out to explore the relationship between man and animals from the inside out. In discovering the shared language and poetic sensibilities of all animals, I am working towards restoring the common ground that once existed when people lived in harmony with animals.”

Enticing you with more of his work......

I'm obsessed. If you are, click on the links above and these photos to see more of his work. Please visit his website to find out more about Gregory and sign up to receive notification on when and where his next nomadic museum will be constructed. 

Love your work Gregory. 

I hope you enjoy his work as much as I do.

Warm regards

Gessica