Style guru Antoinette Stonham is in running for AusMumpreneur Award

When Leumeah grandmother Antoinette Stonham turned 50, she decided it was time to do something she was truly passionate about.

Leumeah mum and grandmother Antoinette Stonham is helping women look their best with her styling advice. Pictures: Simon Bullard

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WHEN Leumeah grandmother Antoinette Stonham turned 50, she decided it was time to do something she was truly passionate about.

Mrs Stonham’s two children were now adults and after working in fashion, as a pattern maker and designer, and having friends ask her for advice, she decided to enrol in a personal styling course and start her own business All About Style.

Antoinette Stonham runs All About Style to help people feel confident within themselves regardless of age, body type or budget.

Her mission is to help both men and women feel confident within themselves regardless of their age, body type or budget so they can go on and achieve their dreams.

“My desire is to make a difference by helping people improve their appearance and confidence within themselves,’’ she said.

Now, five years on, Mrs Stonham, 55, is a finalist in the AusMumpreneur Awards in the service business category.

“Being selected as a finalist means so much to me because I want to help people become more confident. Without confidence you can’t reach your true potential,’’ she said.

Mrs Stonham said it could be challenging to be a successful business woman while raising a family but her advice to others was to pursue something they were truly passionate about.

“Have a plan but be prepared that the path will change,’’ she said.

“Perseverance and dedication will pay off.’’

Mrs Stonham said Macarthur area women were very stylish.

“The mistake many women make is the shop online but that’s hard if you don’t know what you are doing,’’ she said.

“You can’t feel the fabric or see the length.

“Some women think a big top will hide their problem area, such as a tummy, but big is not always better.’’

Mrs Stonham begins by conducting a wardrobe edit to review the items people have at home.

She then takes people on shopping trips and also hosts workshops and corporate talks.

“A lot of women have a lot of clothes in their wardrobe but they only utilise a portion of it. They may not be confident to put a garment on,’’ she said.

Vibrant red suits a lot of women.

“They may have lost confidence in themselves and lost their sense of style.’’

Mrs Stonham said she reviewed a woman’s size, body shape, height and colouring, as well as her personality and lifestyle when giving fashion advice.

She said a big mistake some women made was to wear black to look slimmer.

She said patterns and the right cut for the person’s size were often more slimming.

Another tip was disguising a problem area by drawing attention away from it.

As an example, she said a nice neckline on a garment or a pretty necklace would take attention away from a problem area the woman may be concerned about.

“Colour represents personality and don’t wear black all the time,’’ she said.

“Red does suit a lot of women.’’

Turning to spring, Mrs Stonham said white on white fashion would be huge, as would lots of embroidery on garments including jeans, tops, shoes and bags.

‘Lace and big, bold florals will also be huge,’’ she said.

The AusMumpreneur awards will be announced at Sydney’s Doltone House on Friday, August