Clothes Encounter: Styling 'Miss Irish Sun' Sinead Duffy for press!

Styling has become a 24-7 job. I am eating, sleeping and breathing fashion. Shopping has turned into a full scale mission. I have become cat like in my reflexes and ruthless in my pursuit of the latest gear for shoots. Well ‘Go big or go home’ and what not. I think this is a ridiculously cool thing when your passion and position fuse together. I think as a stylist it is so important not to project your personal style on to your clients. You have to be objective, good at following a brief yet have an imaginative flair. For me it is like a piece of art coming together. It takes a hard working team a lot of effort to produce a beautiful image. I love the atmosphere on shoots. I have recently worked with gifted Make up artists and hair stylists that have such a love for what they do and also an unwavering vision. And luckily I feel I have made great friends in the industry. I was always obsessed with beauty and fashion. As a quintessential girly girl I feel I would have ended up working at what I am doing subconsciously even if I set out to do the opposite. I think a journalistic background is a great asset though in saying that because the media skillset you acquire is very valuable. It is a confidence thing. You have to have belief in yourself and trust your own instincts implicitly while working in a team environment. 

Part of the job is attending seasonal press events and previews for luxury stores like ‘Brown Thomas’ and ‘Harvey Nichols’ and also high street giants like ‘New Look’, ‘Topshop’, ‘River Island’ and more. This gives me a great hand on trend forecasting and translating catwalk to street style. Micro trends are important especially in terms of styling a magazine spread or a newspaper shoot. It is the fine tuned attention to detail that hooks the target audience in.

My most recent shoot to hit the papers was with 'Miss Irish Sun' Sinead Duffy. Sinead is vivacious, fun to work with and the camera loves her. The team consisted of Julie Caulfield working on hair and make up artistry and the photographs were taken by top Irish photographer Richie Buttle of Richie | Photography

Julie curling Sinead Duffy's hair

I used a lot of glam statement jewellery in gold, white and black which looked gorgeous against the model's pallor. 

One of the main looks that was featured in the spread in 'The Sun' was the shot below of the model in  a cobalt blue high sheen tank available for purchase in 'Harvey Nichols' in Dundrum. It is a very fluid tank and would be gorgeous for layering over a bandeau or sleeveless white eyelet blouse.

©Richie | Photography

©Richie | Photography

We wanted to go for a look that bridged between sensuous and classy. I styled the model in ‘Harvey Nichols’ attire. They have stunning leather jackets and ‘Alexander Wang’ leather pants in stock at the moment. One of my favourite looks from the shoot was the ‘Finders Keepers’ dress that looked truly beautiful on. I also adore the paradise print skirt which has great structure and shape. 

©Richie | Photography

A very fun part of the shoot was when we put the model in red and burgundy feathered Vegas showgirl attire from the fabulous Love Jewels. Sinead looked like a Victorias Secret Angel. The elaborate costumes are handmade and have a serious wow factor about them. 

©Richie | Photography

For the shoot I wanted to have Sinead looking sultry but also quite fashionable. The loose gold chains and rose gold Harvey Nichols jacket teamed with high waist black seamless underwear really showcase the body of the model - but still look feminine and stylish. It looks sexy but in an appealing, glamorous way.

©Richie | Photography

Myself & MUA Julie posing for a selfie behind the scenes!

The shoot was a huge success and everyone was very happy with the result. Below is the press cutting from 'The Sun' of the two page spread: 

A big thanks to Harvey Nichols for supplying the gorgeous attire and thanks to Bershka, Primark and Topshop for the jewellery selection.

Until next time..

xo L

I am a fashion stylist, radio reporter and journalist - my blog 'Lipstick Gossip' showcases what I get up to. 

You can follow me on twitter: @lauramullett 

Check out my Facebook: 'Lipstick Gossip' that has behind the scenes snapshots from shoots with Ireland's hottest models and top photographers + news backstage at fashion shows and style previews: Lipstick Gossip. 

 My instagram is: LauraMullettStylist