The real cost of a black tie event

Style-ish

In this episode of Style-ish, hosts Renan Joyce and Naima Fatima tackle the challenge of standing out at formal events like work functions a

Key takeaways

• Tailoring can dramatically elevate a formal outfit from good to great, making it worth budgeting for.
• Platforms like eBay and niche Instagram accounts are goldmines for finding unique, vintage-inspired formal wear at affordable prices.

Main topics

• Formal wear styling for work events and weddings
• Finding unique outfits without breaking the bank

Notable quotes

"Tailoring in particular can make something go from looking good to great very quickly."

Conclusion

Formal events don't have to mean blending in. With smart sourcing, thoughtfu

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:04) Shameless Media. Speaker 1 (0:06) This episode of Stylish is brought to you by Mecca. Mecca's Breaking Beauty News is your daily briefing on all things beauty. Speaker 1 (0:15) Hello guys, welcome to Stylish. You know what it's all about. It's the podcast for all things fashion, lifestyle, brand and beauty. My name is Renan Joyce and I'm joined by the wonderful Naima Fatima. Hey Naima. Hi Speaker 2 (0:26) Rhi. How are you? Speaker 1 (0:28) I'm good, I'm good. Guys, welcome back to our new Friday format. First episode did pretty well, I'm not gonna lie. Check the numbers. Yeah, nice. The girl has really liked the new format which is all about how can we help. It says what it does on the tin. Is that how we say it? It does what it says on the tin. That's it. It's all about helping you guys. So we're answering your burning questions, dilemmas, and we've got a really good one this week. And we got lots through. So thanks everyone for sending those through. Keep them coming. Keep them coming. I want to get into the swap. Do you want to go first? Speaker 2 (0:58) Yeah, sure. Mine is a Instagram and TikTok account I've been loving. It's actually someone I've followed for a little while. It's a stylist called Monica Morales, and her style is just... It's sick. There's so much colour and texture and jewellery and it's just fun. You go onto it and you're like, I really, like it has such a specific point of view. And I don't think that I would necessarily wear like exactly the outfits that she wears. But for me, her play with texture, her play with the way she stacks jewellery, the way she plays with colour is so inspiring because I can do like 50 % of that. You know, I can take some of it and put it into Speaker 1 (1:36) my own wardrobe. I had a little look at her Instagram before we jumped into the recording because I saw in your notes. So fun. She's also very creative with her visuals and how she like shows up with Speaker 2 (1:45) her content. Speaker 1 (1:46) Also, Naima, every single time you recommend a creator, I'm always like, by extension, they're somewhat like you. Their style is like I can see the bend. Like if we had a bend diagram, I can see you in it. So it's funny you're leading with, oh. I don't know if I could pull some of these looks off. I feel like you could pull a lot of these looks off. Speaker 2 (2:02) What we're saying Speaker 1 (2:02) here is I'm just mostly a fraud. I'm just a Venn diagram of everyone around me. You're an amalgamation of all these people that you Speaker 2 (2:09) follow. All Speaker 1 (2:09) these people. And I would say. Aren't we all? Speaker 2 (2:10) Yeah, literally. We actually did talk about this on our Nespresso ep that we did. The What Else series. Sorry, Speaker 1 (2:15) the Speaker 2 (2:15) What Else series. Her Speaker 1 (2:16) IG is probably like a bit more curated, but her TikTok is sick Speaker 2 (2:20) because she just like shows her collection of things. And she has the best heels collection I have ever seen. Really fun. lots of like textured heels and it makes me want to wear heels in a more casual basis. Side question, if you had to be known Speaker 1 (2:35) for the best collection of something, what would it be? I think Speaker 2 (2:39) I'm known for the best collection of puffy sleeve tops. That's my... Keeping LaVonna Float. Yeah, keeping LaVonna Float. I would want to be known for my best collection of... I reckon glasses. Speaker 1 (2:51) Yeah, I was going to say glasses. Also was going to say jewellery. You're looking very blinged out right now. Speaker 2 (2:55) I am. Very Speaker 1 (2:56) gold. What would I be? I would want to be known. Best collection of probably like very niche, like costume jewellery. Yes. Like I really care about that. And that's something I feel like I'd want people to Speaker 2 (3:07) be Speaker 1 (3:07) like, oh, Rhi's got a really good collection of costume jewellery. I also would say that you have a Speaker 2 (3:11) really good collection of going out tops. Speaker 1 (3:13) Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Speaker 2 (3:15) Sexy tops. Speaker 1 (3:16) Sexy tops. I want to trade my, can't trade mine. I love sexy tops. I've literally got a video sitting in my drafts for round two because the first one I did on TikTok a few weeks ago did quite well. So I'm just going to rinse and repeat that because the girlies really Speaker 2 (3:27) like the sexy tops as well. Speaker 1 (3:29) Love. What's yours? Oh, okay. Mine is a product I've been using for a really long time. And I'm not going to lie, I came into the swap this week and was like racking my brain. Sometimes I go to the thing that I bought recently and I'm like why am I not talking about the thing that I've been using for years yeah exactly it's not the sexiest but I think it's quite good and if you wanted to level up your bathroom this is what I would buy the Morris Motley hand wash have you used this no I haven't okay so I know they stock it at a few restaurants in Melbourne when I say stock I mean they actually have it in the bathroom yeah you Speaker 2 (3:58) can Speaker 1 (3:58) use it but I have never washed my hands in a hand wash and like felt so fucking good after. Like the lathering of it, the way it lathers. And even in the sink, when I leave the sink, I'm like, it's so satisfying because it's all like bubbly and luscious and lathered delicious. We're not saying lathering enough, I feel, in our day-to-day language. Such a good word. What's the scent? Oh, gosh. I have a Yuzu scent one at home, and it's got quite a cool pattern on the bottle, but you can just buy the traditional one. So good, guys. It is a little bit more expensive, but I have been using it for so long, and it lasts for ages. Little goes a long way. Yeah. Speaker 2 (4:35) I actually have the bougiest hand wash in my bathroom. What is Speaker 1 (4:39) it? Speaker 2 (4:40) I got it as a birthday present, but every time someone comes into my bathroom, they're like, what? I have the Loewe hand wash in my Speaker 1 (4:46) bathroom. Speaker 2 (4:47) That Speaker 1 (4:47) is bougie. I was like, where's she going with this? I was like, so we're dropping Loewe. No, no, I got it. Just to wash my hands. Yeah, I Speaker 2 (4:52) got it for my 30th birthday. It's actually lasted a really long time. Great gift though. Yeah, great gift. It's the tomato scented one. Yes. And I opened it and I was like, I would never buy this for myself, but it is so nice. It is exorbitantly priced, but a perfect present. Speaker 1 (5:06) Yeah, the Morris Motley one definitely isn't as expensive. It's up there, but also a great gift option. I also, guys, I'm not afraid to spend the money. on it because my hands feel so good. They smell great. Like I'm walking out of the bathroom smelling my hands and who's doing that? Yeah. Okay. I'm very excited because we have a very good DM today. It's all about formal wear event dressing. But before we get into that, let's hear a word from today's sponsor. Speaker 1 (5:29) Don't you wish there was an easier way to keep up with the latest beauty news? Well, consider this your PSA. Mecca's Breaking Beauty News is the daily briefing for the beauty obsessed. Let's start with the latest in fragrance. We love a new scent for a new season and this spring, florals are stepping aside to make space for Spice Scents. 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Thank you, Ellie, for writing in. I really enjoyed reading this. I love going into the socials and having a sneaky look. Have you clocked me doing that? Yeah, I have. I always, guys, breaking the fourth wall here, but I always go into the socials, read the DMs. You can't, like, unread Speaker 2 (6:54) them. Sometimes I can go in and be like, someone's been in here. Yeah, it was me. Who knows what it is? It was me and Ima, just Speaker 1 (6:59) admitting that. So I went in, Ellie, and read your DM, and it said, girls need your help. And that's how it was written. Girls. With an O. So what is girls like with an O? Girls. Yeah, that's it. Okay. I've been trying to find a formal dress that is unique to suit a work function, but currently everything looks the same. Same silhouettes, same color, and there's a lack of individuality. I'm also struggling to find those one-off pieces for these formal occasions because although fashion is branching out and going a little bit more fun, it hasn't translated to the evening formal functions where you can still embrace your style without slipping a nip in front of your bosses. Okay. I want to know if this actually has happened and she's triggered, but that is also something we all want to avoid. I feel I want to focus on two parts of this, the work element and it being like a work event and it being black tie formal. But then also in this episode, I want to get into formal wear as a category and how it is a bit same, same. And what we're bringing to the conversation is going to be recommendations on what brands you can shop that do look a little different, but also various price points. So we did ask Ellie a few more details. We know. It's an awards night for women in construction. Very niche. I love her. Ellie used to work in retail and this is her first more professional environment and it's a bit scary. So she did say the dress code is quite rigid in a more traditional industry and I feel like this is a bit of a, like not a stab at shameless media, but I think it's just acknowledging our privilege of being able to wear whatever we want to work. She said, and I quote, I can't wear fun jackets and tabbies to work. So she's having to build a whole new wardrobe. I mean. It is so nice that we do get to just wear whatever we want. Yeah, but I have Speaker 2 (8:37) worked a corporate job