A Lesson in Style, Live From MStyle
- Gina Woelfel
- Jul 30
- 4 min read
Two local fashion women sat down on a couch at MStyle Modern Boutique this week.
The conversation could have gone anywhere...
MStyle owner Michelle, a longtime Boston-area fashionista, and Alaina Chagnon, former owner of Swoon Central Boutique in Hopkinton and the style expert behind @alaina_marie.c, have both spent years helping women get dressed.
Not dressed for the runway...
Dressed for work, dinner, school pickup, a weekend away, and all the places real life takes them in between.
Together, they went Live on Instagram from MStyle in Foxborough to talk about the clothes women are buying, the pieces they are keeping, and why a good wardrobe should do more than take up space.
Michelle and Alaina - two fashion icons come togther in the Foxboro Store. Brown and white polka dot blouse gives Pretty Woman Vibes Alaina Chagnon sports an off the shoulder brown linen pant outfit
Both women know the dressing room from every angle.
Michelle built MStyle around the experience of shopping in person. The honest opinion. The second size waiting outside the door. The top you would never have chosen for yourself but somehow love the minute you put it on.
Alaina built a loyal following by showing women how to make fashion work in real life. As a former teacher, boutique owner, content creator, and personal stylist, she does not just show an outfit. She explains why it works.
Her next chapter even has a name.
"Lesson in Style"
The full story is still to come, but the idea behind it is simple:
Style isn’t luck. It’s learned.
That philosophy was all over the conversation at MStyle.
Michelle and Alaina talked about capsule wardrobes, but not the severe kind with twelve pieces and no color. Their version leaves room for print, jewelry, texture, and the occasional thing you buy simply because it makes you happy.
The point is not to own less for the sake of owning less.
The point is to own pieces that speak to one another.
Good jeans that work with a T-shirt, sweater, blouse, and jacket.
Trousers that can handle work on Monday and dinner on Saturday.
A solid jacket that pulls together half the clothes already hanging in your closet.
Some pieces are worth spending a little more on. Michelle and Alaina call them the anchors. They fit properly, hold up, and solve more than one wardrobe problem.
Crisp White Summer Blazer with blue and white summer sweater tank Fun and funky grey tank with star applique nd rivets Brown one shoulder two piece pant set Crocheted white sweater with white lace skirt Off the shoulder brown blouse with mock turtleneck Hidden Jeans in cream and blue denim crocheted summer striped tank halter sweater in brown and white tones Denim bustier corseted top Light Summer Sweater with print pants in brown tones Sailor style button wide leg jeans Polka Dot black peekaboo dress Array of summer nautical clothes
Then comes the fun part.
The MStyle sale room.
The sale room has earned a reputation of its own. It is where one good investment piece picks up two or three new friends without taking the entire clothing budget with it.
Buy the jacket that fits beautifully.
Find the top, trousers, or necklace in the sale room.
Go home with an outfit instead of one expensive hanger.
It is a smarter way to shop, especially for women who want quality but still want to leave the store with more than one thing. A beautiful wardrobe does not need to be expensive from head to toe. It needs a few strong pieces and a woman who knows what to put around them.
Which brings us to the rule of three.
Two simple pieces. One piece with personality.
A basic top and jeans with a large charm necklace.
Brown trousers and a structured denim top with turquoise jewelry.
A printed skirt and simple navy top with a gold pendant.
Michelle and Alaina wore the lesson without needing to explain it.
Alaina paired wide-leg brown trousers with a fitted denim top and colorful jewelry. Michelle wore a bold printed skirt with a simple navy top and a necklace that finished the look.
Different women. Different styles. Same rule.
The third piece gives the outfit a point of view.
It can be jewelry, a jacket, a print, or a shoe that refuses to disappear. It does not need to shout. It just needs to make the outfit look like a decision instead of an accident.
Fall gave them plenty to discuss.
Brown is moving into the space black has occupied for years. Chocolate, camel, tobacco, and cinnamon are showing up alongside warm whites and creamy neutrals.
Jewelry is getting bigger and more personal. Gemstones and oversized charm necklaces are replacing the tiny, quiet pieces that have been sitting politely at the collarbone.
This is excellent news for plain white shirts everywhere.
Still, the Live was not really about following trends.
It was about knowing what deserves a place in your closet.
Women are growing tired of fast fashion that looks good on a screen and disappointing in person. They want to touch the fabric, see the real color, and understand how a piece fits into the wardrobe they already have.
They want help.
Not pressure. Not a sales pitch. Just someone with a good eye who can say, “Keep the trousers. Try a different top.”
Michelle has made that kind of help part of MStyle from the beginning. Alaina has built her career around teaching women what works and why.
Now, their worlds are coming together.
Over the next several months, Alaina will return to MStyle for guest appearances, styling sessions with Michelle and her customers, fashion education, and more conversations about their experience with fashion and how they can help you love the clothes you're in.
There will be Instagram Lives and Reels. There will be clients who arrive with full closets and nothing to wear. There will almost definitely be trips to the sale room.
And there will be two local fashion women reminding them that style is not something you either have or you don’t.
It can be learned.
Class is in session at MStyle...
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