#SmallCityFashionista

One of the great things about living in a small city is the ease at which you can shop; but one of the most frustrating things is the constant flicking through magazines and fashion blogs only to discover the items featured only go to major city centre stores. We LIKE fashion, we LOVE trends, we WANT to shop your new season look!

So, I have been plotting a Fashion Column that will feature must-have items and hot looks that you can buy right here in the Small City. And who would you call upon if you wanted to know about fashion forward looks and what’s hot right now? That’s right, Miss Lori Smith from Eva Lucia!

Lori will be bringing you her own take on the hottest looks not once but TWICE each and every month.  For the dedicated followers among you, pencil in the Second and Fourth Wednesdays and check out the Stop Press section! (Don’t worry, we’ll post it on facebook and tweet out to remind you!). As well as her own gorgeous things she’ll also be doing a recce of the High Street and St John’s Shopping Centre, helping you recreate the catwalk looks from the shelves and hangers of our small city!

And if, like me, you are keen to stay in fashion without looking like mutton dressed as lamb – why  can I only find high fashion looks on tall, skinny, teenage girls… what about short, curvy, forty somethings?! – then do keep a look out for Lori’s chat with Marians, Sandalwoods, Pretty Things and all of our other favourite fashion shops for ladies of all ages, shapes and sizes.

I caught up with her last week for a coffee in Parklands lounge and a chat about it all and did I find out a few little surprises about our newest columnist!

“Eva Lucia is five and half years old now; I can hardly believe it. I started it because I was convinced there was a gap in the market for young, high fashion footwear. I was working as a financial advisor at the time and every few months I would head to Glasgow and buy three or four pairs of shoes to see me through the season. I admit it, I am a proper dyed in the wool shoe addict!”

The shoe addiction is no secret; but I can’t picture our gorgeous fashionista as an office-based financial advisor! However, it was this background in finance that helped shape her love of shoes into a solid business plan.  A background in keeping money safe is never a bad thing when it comes to preparing the cash flow of a new business.

“And of course, I also learned a lot from my Mum. She’s a partner in Lorna Davies Florist and they’ve worked really hard to build a great business. That’s how I ended up in my shop – they were in it before me.  Having that in your life is a great driving force – I think my mum and Lorna are brilliant. So there was never any question that I ‘could’ do it, it was always just when and where.”

Second generation Perth Indie… I bet you didn’t know that either!

 “Yep! We do love a smart businesswoman in my family!  The collection has grown a lot since we first opened. We started with shoes but I branched into clothes when an agent appeared with a great line that I hadn’t seen anywhere else. We’re probably about half and half now and I still stick to that same principle. I look for labels you can’t buy in Perth or find easily online so that people are getting a good choice of something different.

I like to bring in affordable price points, that touch on the big trends but that have longevity for the seasons ahead.  I always do my buying trips personally so I can get a feel for the quality and a good look at the fabrics.   It’s important in a small city that you offer good quality and great service – you just won’t last the pace otherwise!”

This year in Eva Lucia you’re going to find shoes from Mode In Pelle and fashion from Jarlo, Andy and Lucy and Ginger Fizz. Lori tells me navy is the new black, Day to Night is a key look and that we’ll all be clamouring to find that perfect white dress!

We’ve also been chatting to some of Perth’s great hair stylists and Make Up Artists and Lori will be pulling all sorts of talented on-trend professionals in to help her recreate the glossy mag looks that will suit your age, shape and skin tones.

Look out this coming Wednesday for her first column and please do send us your requests or ideas. We’d love to hear from you. #PerthLoveFest #SmallCityFashionista