(Image by Clarence Barbour)
By: Taylor Pigman
“I always knew I wanted to work in fashion. I was known throughout college and high school as the fashion girl,” Birmingham stylist Megan LaRussa Chenoweth said.
Owner of Southern Femme, Chenoweth is a stylist who works on a personal level with her clients. She styles and writes the fashion section of the Birmingham Magazine and has a recurring fashion segment on Fox 6 every month.
“I love meeting new people, I love helping women feel their best and I love fashion. It’s combining all these things I love,” Chenoweth said.
From a young age, Chenoweth loved fashion. Shopping trips to Atlanta with her mom, working in retail at Saks Fifth Avenue and a summer spent studying fashion design at Parsons The New School for Design in New York City only made Chenoweth’s love of fashion grow stronger.
However, it was a family wedding, in which Chenoweth was asked to style the women in her family, that led her to where she is now.
“I took all of them shopping and everybody looked fabulous and I thought, ‘This is really fun,’” Chenoweth said. “It just kind of fell into my lap and I thought, ‘OK, this is my passion.’”
Being a stylist, Chenoweth is around fashion all day long. Over the years, she has found designers whose work she loves and whose collections draw her in. Chenoweth counts Marc Jacobs, Lela Rose, Rebecca Taylor and Céline among some of her favorite designers.
“I’ve always loved that Marc Jacobs was always about being unique and different,” said Chenoweth.
For day-to-day pieces, she loves Lela Rose and Rebecca Taylor for their feminine, yet edgy looks.
However, being a stylist, Chenoweth has also seen many fashion trends come and go. As for the one trend she has never liked? Culottes.
“I hated them the first time when I was in college, they were the gaucho culottes that everybody wore and they were like sweatpants and they’re just unflattering on everybody,” Chenoweth said.
So ladies, when choosing new pieces for the fall, Chenoweth’s advice would be to avoid the culottes and go for a great pair of dark wash jeans or cords.
Be sure to check out Megan’s website at www.southernfemme.com. You can also see her work in the current issue of Birmingham Magazine.
Megan’s top pieces for every woman’s wardrobe:
· Dark Wash Jeans: Find a style or fit that you love. Jeans are so easy to dress up or down. “Every woman needs a great pair of pure indigo dark wash jeans that flatters her silhouette,” Chenoweth said.
· Blazer or Cardigan: Whether you prefer a blazer or cardigan, either piece can easily pull an outfit together. “Whatever your style may be, just make sure they’re tailored to you.”
· Silk Blouse: Chenoweth suggests C. Wonder and Equipment for fun and polished pieces. “It’s something you could wear out, dress it up with heels, tucked into a pencil skirt with a cardigan. It’s something you can wear a million ways,” Chenoweth said.
· Nude Pumps: Nude pumps help elongate your legs. “Go for a color that matches your skin tone to give the illusion of longer legs,” Chenoweth said.
· Chic Flats or Sandals: For spring and summer choose a polished sandal or a polished, cute ballet flat or loafer for fall and winter. “I see so many women wearing a clog or a flip flop and it just ruins the whole outfit; it’s not polished at all,” Chenoweth said.