Hello, Dear Reader. I've been surrounded by love and I hope you have, too. The average person is probably still recovering from the holidays and questioning his or her New Year's Resolutions. In contrast, I'm all about the countdown to Valentine's Day. And, if you have been considering a style update, perhaps you are, too.

I've mentioned before how frequently partners purchase my stylist services for their loved ones (husbands, wives, friends, parents). It's pretty great for me because not only do I get the joy of helping someone discover his/her style identity, I also get to help execute a surprise. You should know, surprises are at the top of my favorite things list.

So, might I suggest that it is officially time to start dropping hints to your loved ones (or to yourself!) that you deserve a style update. (I'm leading by example by dropping some mad hints to you right now.) They say it takes the average person 3 to 7 times of hearing something before they internalize it. In this case, more is more.

Pick Me Ups, Style TipsmelliciaJanuary 16, 2014fashion, fashion approach, men, Personal stylist, womenComment

If you only buy one thing right now, buy….

A Fashionable and flattering coat.

After all, when you are out and about, your coat and shoes may be the only thing people see. Entering a room filled with strangers? If it's winter in Seattle, you are wearing your coat. So, use it to make the very best first impression. Here are a few of my favorites right now:

Style Tips, Women's fashionmelliciaJanuary 10, 2014body type, Coats, fashion, outdoor clothing, Personal stylist, Seattle, womenComment

Three times my clothes changed my life. Really.

I strongly believe that your clothes should help you achieve your goals, not inhibit you from reaching them.

That means that if your heel is too high and you opt out of a great adventure simply because your feet are killing you, your clothes aren't doing you any favors. Conversely, if you are convinced that comfort is your paramount goal, opportunities may pass you by.

As a fan of empirical evidence, here are a few examples from my own life to help seal the deal:

Style Tips, Women's fashionmelliciaJanuary 7, 2014fashion, Functional fashion, Menswear, Personal stylist, Seattle, Spike Lee, womenComment

Beyond Skinnies- The Tapered Trouser & You.

Remember when skinny jeans were just entering the lexicon? Not because we didn't understand the term, "skinny jeans," but more likely that men and women were a little concerned that their bodies weren't going to play nicely with them.

And now? Now, how many other cuts of pants are in your closet? Probably not many. But, as we all know, skinny pants aren't flattering for everyone. Of course, we try a few tricks to make them work. After all, feeling current feels good.

Whether you have a sea of skinny pants or you finally gave in and just have a few, now is the time to look beyond your skinnies. New silhouettes are here.

Style Tips, Women's fashionmelliciaJanuary 3, 2014fashion, fashion approach, Personal stylist, Seattle, tapered pants, trousers, womenComment

Who will be Seizing the Neu Year? The winner is…..

A HUGE thanks to all of you who:

1. Signed up to receive emails from Poplin. FYI- Emails are limited to event invitations and newsletters, so if you haven't, you can still sign up!

2. Commented on our post on Facebook. Words matter.

3. Liked Poplin Style Direction on Facebook.

Each of you were entered into our drawing to win a crazy wonderful calendar from Neu Year. Check it out:

Style TipsmelliciaJanuary 2, 2014contest, Drawing winner, hip calendar, NeuYear, Personal stylist, SeattleComment

Welcome the Neu Year with good design, possibly for free

Things I love: organization and good design. I spend most of the time on the blog focusing on clothing, but style is also expressed through the items with which we surround ourselves. So, when we needed a new calendar for our office, it had to be hip with lots of room to actually document daily activities and be VERY large.

To my surprise this was incredibly difficult to find. Enter: NeuYear.

Style TipsmelliciaJanuary 1, 2014contest, hip calendar, Personal stylistComment

How can I wear this without freezing?

The holidays equal massive fashion magazine consumption for me. Today, I'm sharing that lovely feeling of escapism with some useful and motivating fashion information.

Enter the eternal question: "How can I wear ankle boots or open toed shoes with a skirt and not freeze to death? After all, it is winter."

Weight fluctuation got you down?

One of the most frequent replies when I tell someone that I'm a personal stylist is, "I'd love to do that. I'll definitely call you after I lose X number of pounds." Ugh. And, the holidays are the worst when it comes to weight gain.

With the exception of my very slim husband who has some magical gene, there are very few people who don't experience some sort of weight fluctuation. Sadly, as we gain, we tend to stop investing in ourselves and taking pride in our look.

As a member of this club, I thought I might share some strategies for feeling good about how you look at any weight.

The Stylish Woman: Post-Mastectomy

Over Thanksgiving I, like millions of other Americans, had the opportunity to spend time with my extended family. During the visit I discovered that someone in my family recently had a double-mastectomy. This wasn't the first time that someone I know has battled cancer. But, it was the first time since I started styling people for a living. Naturally, this lead to a conversation about what you wear after a mastectomy. It would seem that a woman could employ various strategies to balance out her frame (if she is struggling with symmetry, for instance). And, simplistically, that's true. Try ruffles or asymmetrical tops, for instance.

Last minute gifts and stocking stuffers

My biggest problem with the holidays is that I see the perfect gifts for pretty much everyone pretty much everywhere. Yup. It's a curse. Perhaps this curse can be a blessing for you, Dear Reader. Here are more holiday gift ideas. After all, there's still plenty of time for shopping and loads of wonderful people who'd love a little something.

1. Tween girls.

Style TipsmelliciaDecember 18, 2013charity, Colored boot wraps, gifts, men, ombre tights, Personal stylist, soles for Uggs, teens, tweens, womenComment

Fashion & Function: Holy Comfortable Flatform, Batman

I heart a good platform. But, in a city filled with hills and a lifestyle involving a toddler and a substantial amount of walking, comfort is almost as important as style. (Yes. There are limits.)

Therefore, one of my very favorite things, is finding a beautiful, memorable shoe that is also functional. My current obsession, the J Fresh loafer from Steve Madden. Observe it's awesomeness:

Style Tips, Women's fashionmelliciaDecember 16, 2013comfortable, creeper loafer, fashion, functional, hip, Personal stylist, platform, Shoes, womenComment

5 Ways to Ensure You Look Smashing at the Holiday Party

Welcome to yet another holiday party season. A good friend recently said to me, "finding a dress for a holiday party is one of the most stressful things you can do." Oh, my. As it turns out, this is a pretty common feeling.

So, last weekend when I was loaning another friend some of my favorite party pieces for her work holiday gathering, I realized that there are some tried and true ways to ensure that you look incredible at the party, in the photos afterward and most importantly, in your own mind.

Rocking the Photorealism

Whenever I work with a client, we focus on four things: body shape, lifestyle, budget and the impression he or she wants make via his/her clothes. Specifically, I ask clients a question: What three words would you like people to use to describe your style? Then, we use those words as a final filter when determining if a piece works for the client.

Style Tips, Women's fashionmelliciaDecember 10, 2013clothing, fashion approach, hip, memorable, Personal stylist, photo prints, photography, Photorealism, strategy, womenComment

I own it. Now, how do I take care of it?

Ah, the eternal question: I own it. Now, how do I <insert need here>? Iron, wash, protect, the list goes on. As you may have noticed, Dear Reader, I'm all about the vegan leather/ pleather (let's face it, usually plastic) fabrics that are all the rage right now. After purchasing a few items, I quickly realized that I wasn't exactly sure how to address wrinkles. Hence, this post.

Here are some handy tricks that will help you keep your fall finds looking their best all year long.

Today's discounts deals & codes, oh my!

Happy Cyber Monday!

Here's a list of fabulous deals for today. Don't give up half way through. The crazy savings continue throughout the list. Enjoy!

Style Tips, Women's fashionmelliciaDecember 2, 2013cyber monday, deals, discounts, Personal stylist, retail, SeattleComment

Monday! Monday! Monday! My favorite deals

Legend goes that once you are back at the office on the Monday following Thanksgiving, your super online shopping begins. We're pretty sure that started when we all had dial up internet at home and something slightly above dial up at work. So, whether or not Cyber Monday is still relevant is questionable.

Something we can count on? The absolute gloriousness of a good deal.

Therefore, in celebration of Cyber Monday, here are my favorites. Get them while you can!

Seattle Sunday, Style Tips, Women's fashionmelliciaDecember 1, 2013deals, discounts, functional, hip, Personal stylist, retailComment

Stylish gifts for the entire family -- Go!

It's officially here -- the holiday shopping season. For many of us, it may have started a little early since there are only four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. But, for the rest of us, the panic is likely just setting in now.

I find that things are easier when I just dive right in. So, how about an abbreviated gift list for you and yours to get you moving? Over the next few weeks, I'll post more elaborate lists for members of your family. Have requests? Let me know!

For now, here are a few of my favorites:

Style TipsmelliciaNovember 30, 2013design clothing, fashion, Fashionplaytes, gifts, girls, Kids, lockets, men, Personal stylist, Seattle, ukelele, Whiskey making kit, womenComment

Everybody loves a winner!

Baby, it is crazy cold outside. And that means it is chunky scarf season. You know how I love the local Seattle companies, so I've partnered with HookandStem Designs to celebrate the season with some hand-made functional fashion.

And you, Dear Reader could win this chunky infinity scarf. Here's how:

Loving Lafayette 148 New York

This year is the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. It got me thinking about the impact that black fashion designers and moguls (hello Russell Simmons!) have had on our culture and our clothes. My thought was that it would be fun to share a top 10 list of influential designers with you, Dear Reader. But, who can narrow it down to 10? I cannot.

As an alternative, I'd encourage you to check out this list of the Top 25 Greatest Black Fashion Designers. It's addictive. Anyway, in an effort to avoid writing a PhD thesis on this subject, I've decided to focus on one that is very popular with a number of my clients:

Bouclé. That's right. Bouclé. Get some.

Welcome to our first really rainy work day in some time. This is the sort of morning you wake up and have two options: 1. put on something super comfortable that may or may not be super flattering. Or, 2. put on something really put together that may or may not be foiled again by your cozy cardigan half way through the work day.

Cardigans. I love them. I hate them. I am constantly on the hunt for real alternatives. And, I'm happy to report that I have one to share with you.