For those of you who don't know me, I'm Melissa! Owner and stylist for MH Style Consulting. A little bit about me - I have been in the fashion industry for about 16 years now in which I have had the opportunity to be a sales associate, department lead, merchandiser of a $5 million floor, brand ambassador for high contemporary brands, and of course, a stylist. My retail path led me to fashion show productions in which I built, hands on, a skill set and career in the events world from everything like weddings, corporate events, graduations, art shows, you name it! Now 16 years later, I'm a woman who owns TWO businesses, MH Event Productions and MH Style Consulting! 💪
Going a little bit further into the styling side of things, I've done everything from e-commerce, editorial to, now, working with average women! I realized that I LOVE helping people. The first time that I worked with an average Jane and she wrote me an email saying, "Thank you so much. My husband actually looks at me now and I feel beautiful", is when I knew I was here for a reason. I love making people feel awesome whether it's through weight gain or loss, they just want to look and feel better through their style, a career change, lifestyle change such as becoming a parent or having a divorce even, they're in a male dominated industry and they need to "own it", I love them all! Men, I love you too! I do style men, as a side note. They usually come after I have worked with their moms, girlfriends or wives 😂 Self-confidence is everything no matter the size, age, or gender.
But let's not forget that you don't have to spend a million dollars to look amazing. Clients always ask me during their consult where I shop and I honestly can't answer that question. Of course if they like a specific store and it fits the look I think works best on them, I will definitely go there. But it really depends on their budget and the style we're going for. I could go to J. Crew and find a sweater for $$$ or I could hit up Marshalls and find something for $$. Then of course there's THRIFTING!! If you like thrifting, but don't want to dig through the racks, you get overwhelmed and you want to reduce your carbon footprint, then you should DEFINITELY hit me up! I inspect every piece and I make sure that it's worth the price tag. You want only high end brands? I'll find them for you! So this is where my concept for this blog came from....
Blogging first came from my Wedding Planning Blog when we first got engaged and I fell in love with writing! Then because my husband and I travel a lot and people were always so curious on what we did and where we were going next, I launched a travel blog which now just turned into an Instagram thing. With that being said, the Wedding Planning Blog ended because we got married, I haven't kept up with my travel blog because I honestly just wanted to write about something that pertained to my businesses. Something that brought everything together and I was passionate about while also educating people at the same time. So here we are today!
Truthfully, I have been wanting to start a fashion blog for a little less than 2 years now. However, I just never pulled the trigger because all fashion blogs are the same. You can find thrifting blogs, you can find blogs that write about the seasons trends, etc. What people don't know, is that some (I want to really accentuate the SOME in this sentence) of these writers aren't actual stylists. So, again, here we are.
Meet my Travel Thrifting Fashion Blog where I will not only be sharing where I went on my vacation, but what I found at local thrift stores, for how much while also providing professional fashion advice. We all live busy lives and Lord knows I need to take more stuff on 😂 So long story short, these posts will be short and sweet, bullet pointed and easy to read. With that being said...I couldn't start this blog just anywhere, I had to go big or go home so why not start this in Ireland ☘️
Definitely had to do some digging here. When I thrift for myself, I look for those really unique pieces or else I look for a good basic. I went thrifting in Dublin, Belfast, Galway and Kinsale. This is what I found:
Blue & White Striped Button Up $6.99 - Thrifted at Bushmill's Save the Children
Everyone should have not only a white button up in their closet, but they should also have a blue and white striped one!
For bustier girls, this one is for you - Button ups can be hard. One way to style it is to leave it unbuttoned and wear a tank or a tee underneath. Or we all know we find those button ups that fit in the waist, but it pulls a tad in the boob area or vice versa. It's easier to have the waist fit and have it tug a little bit on the top, just use double sided tape to patch it up. DO NOT force it, it must only be tugging A LITTLE BIT. Or if you want to spend the $$, get one tailored specifically to you 😉 You WILL find one that fits, just keep searching. It's kind of like shopping for a wedding dress, once you find it you'll know!
Gold Sweater $5.99 & Pewter Ankle Booties $8.99 - Thrifted at Irish Cancer
I actually wore a denim jacket with this sweater - Don't forget you CAN layer sweaters. If it's thin enough, you can even wear it with a blazer or wear them tucked into a skirt! Same goes for fashion sweatshirts (aka a more tailored sweatshirt. If you don't have one, get one!)
Everyone has that borderline color. Some of these colors include coral, red, mustard yellow or even this gold. One way you can find out if you can actually wear it is to pair it with a darker color such as navy or black. If it looks better on you and doesn't wash you out, keep it! If it still doesn't do you justice, then just pass.
Sequin Crop Top $8.99 - Thrifted at Vincent's Kinsale
Don't just think that sequin is for night time. It's all about those accessories.
You like it, rock it.
Cropped Jacket $8.99 - Thrifted at Vincent's Kinsale
You should always have a statement jacket in your wardrobe. Better yet, you should always incorporate a statement piece into your OUTFIT!
And there we have it folks, my first Travel Thrifting Fashion Blog post! Write me and let me know what you think, where do you want me to go thrifting next, or even write me if you want an appointment whether it's thrifting or not. I do virtual appointments so if you don't live in MN, I clearly can travel anywhere or we can just schedule a Skype date! Till next time - Xoxo
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Photo credit: @andreasawyer12