Personal Stylist Pro: Dress It Up With Lethiwe!

Personal stylist and fashion expert, Lethiwe Msibi
Personal stylist and fashion expert, Lethiwe Msibi
UK based South African professional personal stylist and fashion expert, Lethiwe Msibi, is making her mark in the fashion industry by dressing up people to look their best.

Lethiwe studied Styling and Image Consultancy with Style First in Knightsbridge, London, and did her practicals at Harrods, Zara, including a few more high street and high end shops.

In addition, she completed PR and Advertising National Diploma at Cambridge International College last year, 2013.

Born in the township of Dlamini, Soweto, Lethiwe’s styling touch could be traced as far back as 1986 when she was only six. Part of weekly entertainment schedule of the third-born child in Majozi’s family included playing with dolls, as well as dressing them up in various styles.

Regrettably, dolls are born deaf and can’t speak (literally); if they were born differently, they would attest that the little girl known as Letty used to dress them up and made them look fabulous.

At the age of 10, in an attempt to become Dlamini’s township version of the British model Naomi Campbell, the beautiful and only daughter of Mr & Mrs Majozi entered a modeling competition at a local church – Lutheran church. There, she was crowned second princess.

Certainly, one of Letty’s childhood proudest moments she clearly reminisces about: “I was very proud of myself. From then onwards, I knew I had a passion for fashion and great lover of clothes and shoes,” Lethiwe recalls.

The multi-tasking mother of one, who is married to Mandla Msibi, is currently studying a degree in Retail Management at Open University in Milton Keynes, UK.

It has been a long journey for the career-driven Letty, 33, who lives in Bristol city, south west of England – from styling childhood friends, her dolls, to dressing up men and women of different racial groups, cultures and backgrounds internationally. The dream that once looked unreachable and million miles distance from the dusty streets of Soweto two decades ago. Unbelievable!

Admittedly, Letty didn’t see this coming; she says: “Back in those days I had no idea that I could build a career around my love and making people look their best.”

Ealier this year Lethiwe – who studied Diploma in Graphics & Web Development at College Campus, and Business Computing at Varsity College in Republic of South Africa – launched her website: www.malets-styling.co.uk (the name she dedicated to her late brother, who used to call her Malets).

So, what do they do at Malets Styling?

“We style all religions, all types of women, skinny to plus size, men of all sizes. We style clients for whatever occasion, any season. We are up to date with all the recent styles on the catwalk. We cater for all your fashion need.

“Whether you’re a working woman, full time student, or a new mom, you shouldn’t compromise your style. For sure functional can be fashionable.”

Here the Malets-Styling boss explains the inspirations behind the styling process of her clients:

Client: Oana from Bristol, UK.

Oana was attending a wedding. She was feeling enthusiastic and cheerful, so I put her in this orange one shoulder famine slim fitting dress – perfect for a wedding outfit to create the perfect look.

I finished her look with the gorgeous Chanel pears and classy sandals with a rose detail and the sunglasses, of course; as it is a garden wedding, I also added the black clutch to finish her look.


Oana’s comments:
I requested Lethiwe’s styling for a wedding that I attended. The final result was higher than I expected. She knows exactly what you want and how you want to look like.

And if you don’t know how you want to look like, she will ask you the right questions, so that she can understand your personality and dresses you appropriately. You can feel comfortable and fashionable at the same time. Her style is classy and fabulous. I’ll ask for her help anytime.

Client: Cimonon Warren from Bristol, UK.

Cimonon was off to the [horse] races and wanted to look young and and well put together. I put her in this stunning one shoulder pearl detail dress.

As the dress has a lot of detail on it, we kept it simple and classy and also added two small rings just for a bit, accessories and the court shoes. To finish her look, I added this small pink bag to keep it feminine. Great summer look!


Cimonon Warren’s Comments:
I really enjoyed working with Lethiwe and learned a lot about how colours can co-ordinate and not making it look awkward or feeling uncomfortable of how one looks! And less is more, which I fully agreed with and would have her raid my wardrobe anytime.

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