Style Counsel Brisbane personal stylist Alison Triffett wardrobe & shopping tips

STAFF AWARDS - GBST Holdings Limited

This year our company held a staff recognition awards night and as part of the prizes awarded, the high achievers received a styling session and new wardrobe. The task we set Alison was unique in two ways; the first being that the recipients were not actually requesting a make over but more an opportunity to understand what clothing styles suit them the most and make them feel the best about themselves. The second was that two of the staff members were actually interstate.

Alison was incredibly flexible and easy going even when the two interstate sessions were conducted via video conference! The results are amazing and the staff who were lucky enough to spend the day with Alison are very happy with their new wardrobes. Thanks for all your help Alison, you have done an excellent job.

Rae Dyer - Corporate Communications Manager - GBST Holdings Limited

Dear Alison,

On behalf of the students and staff we would like to thank you formally for being an integral part in our Yr 8 Self Care Unit. We have had a great response from the Yr 8 Students about this unit and recognise this is partly due to the fantastic presentation you provided.. Thank you for sharing your special talents with the young women of All Hallows.

Yours sincerely, All Hallows Physical Education Dept.

"I want to say again how much I enjoyed Saturday (All About You). I have seen a lot of seminars and presentations over the years in the corporate world and you do an extremely good job." Kind Regards, SS

Dear Alison, Thankyou so much. I just loved spending the day with you!! It was fantastic and I feel so organised and clean since the cleanout of my wardrobe. You are such a beautiful person to work with and the whole process was so much fun and a lot easier than I expected.

Thanks for sending all the documents about fashion – I just love learning about fashion. I just had a look at a few and they are so helpful – if you put it all this together you will have a book.

Thankyou again Alison – I feel so great. I would definitely love to learn some makeup tricks. I will get back to you on dates - I will fund it with the money I make on ebay from selling all my clothes! VM

Hi Alison :) I just wanted to write and thank you for such a fun and informative workshop yesterday! I learned so much and ended up taking six A4 pages of notes which I will review with my Style Guide to keep the principles firmly in my head.

After I got home yesterday I went through my wardrobe fairly ruthlessly and put aside for Vinnies anything I haven't worn in ages or anything in colours I now know work badly for my cool blonde colouring (especially black, argh I had so much skin-flattening black in my warddrobe!).

I also started a Style File from photographs online of women I find stylish or outfits I think will suit my personal style which I now think is going to be elegant and classic with French chic as my fun / signature style :) And I've started writing up a list of the items I need to buy which I will begin to attack next weekend.

Anyway all that to say I really enjoyed the workshop and got a lot out of it, and you were a fun and engaging speaker the entire time! I think you did a fantastic job. Thank you for answering my many questions too, hehe, I really appreciated it :) Thanks again, HS

Hi Alison...I wanted to say that I am still getting loads of complements about what I’m wearing (yesterday I even had a nice comment about a $30 pair of jeans from Kmart that I bought to wear around the house, because they were the colour, style and length you recommended, and now I’m not ashamed to answer the door in my ‘house clothes’). I also just bought the ID mineral makeup you recommended, and now I constantly get lovely comments on how healthy my skin looks!! It’s all thanks to you Alison, you’ve made such a difference to how I feel about myself, and how others perceive me. I have so much more confidence to go out and face the world!

Thanks AGAIN, and I love the updates about what you’re up to. Ang xo xo

We've been talking about your course yesterday in home economic class and I realized that many of the students who didn't make it to your course was because they had to do something else such as other school commitments and they really wish they came along with us as we were telling everyone else how much fun and how much we've learnt through your course! I'm sure that everyone else at school, not only yr11 and 12 would be interested in your courses, ALL OF YOUR COURSES! I'm sure they're all very interesting and full of wonderful knowledge that every girl and women should know! Thank you so much for everything. CL

Hi Alison, Just wanted to send you a quick note to thank you once again for yesterday. I really, really enjoyed it, just as I did last time. There is so many tips you have that make such a difference. Thank you for sharing it all with us. As I said yesterday, I could listen to you speaking over and over again. (Although that would not be so good for your voice!). Look after yourself and stay as healthy as you can and as beautiful as you are. "N"

Hi Alison - Sorry for the delay in sending this email. Have been flat out since my return. I want to say thank you very much once again for the time you spent with me, and also the time you spent selecting the mountain of clothes for me to try on. I had lots of fun doing that, never tried on so many clothes in my life! and what a way to make friends - locked in a change room together for over 2 hours like a fashion show! I am really happy with the clothes we chose, and I spent many hours at home mixing and matching with my own things. I now have so many "new" outfits out of these few items!

I love my new outfits, and I had many compliments about my "fresh spring" look. You have won me over with wearing white and colours I once rejected. Will keep you posted on my purchases (I do better in dribs and drabs, because I don't have you here to help me shop!) However, I can hear you say: "Don't buy this or please buy that!" so I am doing very well!

Alison, you are one beautiful lady. You are an inspiration. Love Judy

Thank you so much for sending me the newsletter. I've already forwarded them to all my friends. I really had a lot of fun on monday. I felt that i've learnt so much from you. It is a great course that i'm very glad i had. Thank you very much. I'll definitely be going to your site as often as possible and will spread the word about all the goodness in it. Bye for now... C.

"I found your consultation very helpful and liked your positive attitude. I felt that everything was handled very professionally and would feel confident in recommending your services to others." Regards, Margaret

All the girls had a great time and were as much impressed as all us mums were. Many thanks for your time, patience and efforts with them all. It was very much appreciated. The girls are now talking about the next course! Kind regards, L.J

Love your website. It's full of great info and lots of good activities, but "...name witheld..." (my beloved cousin) bookmarked your site for me and this has left me frustrated because I'm on the south coast of NSW with nowhere to go. Do you have contacts or colleagues in this area that offer the same services as you. I know it's against morals to ask for a competitors contacts but I believe your service is a must for us busy women and is needed everywhere. Many thanks for your time, Deb F. (PS I'd rather have someone recommended to me than just use a search engine).

Dear Big Al, Thank you soooo much for taking the time and effort to improve our beauty skills so that we could feel our very best. You make everything soooo much fun and you and your business deserve to be a huge success! Thanx! Love from the Graduating Girls 2004!

Style Counsel was a really great experience and it helped us gain confidence and experiment with make up, and learn how to make a good impression! We learned so much from your lessons and found it really relaxed and comfortable. My friends and I had so much fun with the course and strongly recommend for others to go out and give it a go! Thanks again! Love Jac.

I never got to properly thank you for the Style Counsel lessons. Now when I go to put on makeup I always think about how you so perfectly taught me and my mates. I can even give my friends beauty tips from what I learnt from you! Having the lessons at your house gave it a ‘homey’ and more comfortable feel! (Your house is beautiful and so were the minties!) It was heaps of fun so thank you so much, you’re sure to keep up a good business! Love from A.E

It is so hard to know what to say to someone who makes such a difference to people's lives. You are a wonderful magician who always weaves the most amazing spells. You reach below the surface and grab a person's heart. Love "B"

Gorgeous Big Al! Thank you so very, very much for making feel special yesterday. You are very good at transforming ugly ducklings into beautiful swans. I think that I am very lucky to know you...you are such a wonderful person! Love "E"

"I loved doing Style Counsel and you make everything enjoyable and interesting. You are such a lovely person and I genuinely enjoyed being in your company. I'd love to do it again!" From "C"

"I ended up spending the whole weekend on a continuous shopping trip! I have a lot more 'basics' now as well as shoes - still need to get a bunch of cardi's and other things though - finally I am enjoying shopping! Everyone has noticed my new look, and I certainly enjoy looking better. Thank you again for your professional advice - it has made a huge difference to the way I shop, dress and feel. I'll keep you posted on my ongoing wardrobe expansions!" Love "B"

hi alison,

I've been meaning to email for ages but work has been hectic. so, thought i'd fill you in on the last few weeks. i finally made it to DFO and wow! First stop: Country Road. I ended up with four of the beautiful camisoles - shell pink, navy, brown and red (i just love them - the material is gorgeous!!). .... anyway, you've got no idea how many comments i've been getting since wearing all my new gear!! it's been amazing. plus, the best thing is that i feel good when i'm wearing this stuff. Next step is the make-up. I've had no time to get to the city to grab some of the stuff you've recommended but hoping to get there soon. i've been wearing the eye cream religiously!! Anyway, better get going but really wanted to thank you for your help with my "make-over". as you said, it's amazing how much you can utilise your wardrobe when you've got a few basics - so thank you so much!! i still want to buy some good work pants plus some jeans so that i can pass on all the other pairs that i don't wear! hope you are doing ok - see you soon hopefully. Love Tan...

Hi Alison,

I am sooooo enjoying my new wardrobe & I must say so is my husband!!! I have “eliminated” all wire hangers & I have been shopping like you would not believe, lighter tops (especially cami’s), ballet flats, belts, scarves……….all is going well…..thank you for helping me feel so much better in my new clothes, someone told me the other day that I am “radiating happiness”, I thought this was a lovely thing to say & I do have to say I feel much better in myself. Love "T"

Thank you Alison for your wardrobe workout. Am sorry I haven't been in touch earlier but have been busy but all the while digesting and processing your ideas and concepts. Have only had a short time to go shopping and not very successful but feel that this will be an on going process. Was thrilled that I didn't just buy in desperation and make a bad choice , I did feel empowered by being able to say no. I am much more confident in my own style now and am not being swayed to buy something just because. Will have more time to go shopping at the end of this week as I am working today and tomorrow so will let you know how I go.

Many thanks, M.

Hi Alison....I'm still getting around to sending you some photo's of the rest of my wardrobe which I'm really happy with. I just haven't been able to find all of the styles of shoes you recommended - but thought I might head off to the dfo after the holidays for another look. I've got a couple of new pairs although they are black & brown - in a thong style, but they are getting my by. You might be able to see from the photo that I've collected a few scarves & so far have worn a couple as belts, so am slowly finding my feet with the accessories.

I've really had a great time planning & buying my new wardrobe. I am so grateful to my husband for sending me & to you for your exact eye - I am feeling so much better and comfortable with myself. It really has changed the way I feel about myself. So thank you. I have to say though, my husband is a little nervous of what he's unleashed - particularly on the handbag front! Love AG

A note of thanks from Alison

Special thanks to both Rebecca Sparrow and Lizzie Corser, and Petrina Berry for their support of Style Counsel - for spreading the word with their columns in the Courier Mail, Brisbane News and Image Magazine - in my eyes, these talented writers are all indeed "women with style"!

Thanks also to All Hallows' School for providing their Senior Students with the opportunity of completing a full course of Style Counsel Workshops (April/May '06). I'm sure the girls were well-armed with lots of confidence and skills to help make their semi's and formals even more special, and are now also more aware of the importance of healthy self-esteem and putting their best feet forward every day!

A big thank you to my wonderful All Hallows' School Style Counsel Students for their enthusiasm and interest in all the topics we covered during our course. You made my job very easy and I enjoyed getting to know you all and hopefully inspiring you as much as you did me!

Thanks also to the seniors from Stuartholme School's Home Economics classes who recently participated in a Style Counselling Workshop. Your enthusiasm was infectious, your questions (hopefully all answered to your satisfaction!) were intelligent and insightful, and you proved to me how much "natural style" you all possess already!

Thank you also to All Hallows' for inviting me back again in '06 to conduct my Skin Deep workshops with the Year 8 students. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the girls again this year, and hopefully instilled in them the information, techniques and tips they need for maintaining their youthful skin for life!

And finally, thanks to Corpus Christi College for inviting me to present to their Year 12 cohort on "all things Etiquette"! I had a lovely time during the workshops, and hopefully there's 100 or so more Brisbane girls walking beautifully in heels now!