Inspirational Woman: Michaela Jedinak | Founder of Joy of Clothes & Fashion Label Michaela Jedinak London

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Tell us a bit about yourself, background and what you do currently

michaela-jedinakI am a personal stylist and founder of leading personal style and fashion website Joy of Clothes. I recently launched my first dress collection under my own label Michaela Jedinak London.

Born in today’s Czech Republic and educated in Germany and USA, I now live in London with David Lethbridge, my husband and business partner, and Barnaby, our chocolate Labrador.

I’ve had a unique range of experiences from the fashion, media and design industries in London, New York, Milan and Prague, including Managing Director of Cosmopolitan while in Prague.

The role was a great opportunity and deepened my passion for colour and style and then while working for a design agency in Milan, I developed a love for Italian women’s style. They naturally know how to effortlessly look their best and create their own signature looks.

My time at Grey Interactive, demonstrated the potential for online media fashion and how it could empower women and dramatically improve the clothes shopping experience and it became clear to me that was a direction I wanted to pursue further.

I launched Joy of Clothes in 2009, sharing my personal styling experience with a wider audience. I’m pleased to say it is now one of the leading personal style websites with a loyal worldwide following.

It felt like a natural progression to then combine and share my knowledge through my first ebook ‘STYLE ME, Your Personal Stylist’, which was published in 2012. It reinforces the concept of the dressing rules on how to dress with confidence and how to create the illusion of a perfect figure, through visual balance. More ebooks are planned for this year and 2014.

I am passionate about finding the perfect fit and style for a women’s shape. I believe there is a perfect dress for every woman, whatever her age and body shape. A dress should complement and fit your build perfectly, feeling wonderful against your skin.  I want my collections to empower women to wear a dress that makes them look good and feel confident, so they can focus on their day-to-day business rather that their outfit which is feeding their insecurities and creates more obstacles for them instead.

Tell us more about the collection

My new dress collection Michaela Jedinak London is exclusively available in powerful red, which will look great on most women no matter their age or skin tone. When a woman feels confident then she will wear red.

Red is a colour that makes you feel good and energises you. It is one of the most versatile colours that can be worn to any occasion, event and season.

The dresses are a labour of love. They are made in the UK with the highest quality of craftsmanship and an obsessive attention to detail, with many hours of tweaking and perfecting, creating timeless pieces. All the dresses are made with luxurious, high quality Italian wool (96% that carries the Woolmark Trademark) with Elastane (4%) for comfort and with lining to support a perfect fit.  Priced at £595, the Michaela Jedinak London collection addresses the demand for sophisticated, high quality, timeless pieces with a modern twist and acts as a staple for every woman’s wardrobe.

For the collection I have chosen first names starting with the letter “A” to reflect that this is my first dress collection. By choosing names that are easy to pronounce and remember in different languages and then finishing off with an ‘A’ as well, provides a beautiful ring and sound to the dress names.

What has been your biggest challenge?

Changing women’s perceptions about dressing for their body shape.

A lot of women think that dressing for your body shape has something to do with dressing for a plus size, when nothing could be further from the truth. Body shape is one of many body features e.g. height, proportions, bust size etc. One can be a size 6 and have an apple body shape as well being a size 12 and be a full hourglass.  Secondly, I like to bring across that fit does not equal suitability and just because something is available in your size, it is not guaranteed to deliver an attractive visual balance to your look. It is best to choose clothes which were designed with you and your shape in mind.

What’s been your greatest achievement personally?

Launching the Michaela Jedinak London dress collection, which has always been a dream of mine, was a very happy moment for me. The collection means a lot to me as the concept behind it is something I feel very passionate about.

It recognises that everyone is different and it is a dress collection to flatter the seven most common body shapes.

The seven styles include classic dress shapes such as the shift, A-line, bodycon, full skirt, fitted and asymmetric, and there is detailed Style Advice on the website, so you’re certain to find the right dress for your figure. I strongly believe you need to assess yourself first before you can dress yourself.

If you weren’t doing what you do, what would you be doing?

I am a great animal lover and supporter of animal causes including the preservation of our remaining wild life. I am trying to increase awareness of the fact that there is no need for fur in fashion while helping with education to stop the poaching, killing and cruelty of animals for fashion. So, if I wasn’t doing this I would be working for an animal charity to preserve our animals and nature. I especially love dogs and would have more time to help my husband’s business www.noahsdogs.com.

Another dream of mine is to own a ranch or farm where I can give old and retired animals the dignity of enjoying their last years in happiness and piece.

Who has been your biggest inspiration?

I am inspired by the great, iconic fashion designers such as Coco Chanel, and Diane von Furstenberg, who have spoken many words of wisdom over the years.  As Coco Chanel quite rightly stated, “Fashion is architecture: It is a matter of proportion”, along with Hubert de Givenchy who noted, “The dress must follow the body of a woman, not the body following the shape of the dress”.  I am also inspired by so many other business men and women, entrepreneurs who tried to change the world in their own way and kept going, following and pursuing their dreams and to leave their mark from Oprah, Steve Jobs, Ted Turner, Richard Branson to Sarah Blakely.

That said, it is also very much the women who follow my advice and feel more confident and empowered. It really inspires me to keep going and freeing them of copying someone else’s look or outfit or simply buying clothes, because it is the latest in fashion. We are all different to one another in our build and in our infinite body features, so therefore we have different needs when dressing. Since we all have our own unique DNA, we should find our very own unique dressing code and signature look.

The sooner you become your own expert on how to dress right for you, the more confidence you will have.

What does the future hold for you?

The Michaela Jedinak London brand will be my immediate focus and more styles and colour will follow, with more designs. I hope that in a few years time my brand will be as recognised and respected as an international label with a voice and a positive influence on women’s dressing.

michaela-jedinak-dresses-designed-for-youFind out more about Michaela and her collection at http://www.michaelajedinak.com/

The dress collection is available worldwide from Michaela’s website www.michaelajedinak.com  and Joy of Clothes www.joyofclothes.com

Michaela’s ebook, ‘STYLE ME, Your Personal Stylist’ is available at Amazon Kindle and Apple ibookstore

Michaela is also available for corporate and private events. Sign up to the newsletter at www.michaelajedinak.com to hear about future events.

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