Anna Mabin likes to make people happy.

And she does that by helping people find clothes they feel confident wearing making them feel good about who they are.

Through her business AM Styling she shops and styles for individuals who want to look better and wear clothes that suit their lifestyle.

“I find clothes that help them to feel good, with a key focus on building timeless wardrobes that house items that match their lifestyle, budget and body shapes, that they’ll wear again and again,” she said.

Anna and her husband Duncan Ray moved from Ballina to Casino three years ago. They bought a historic house by the Richmond River.

The timber home exudes style and warmth – in the way the children’s rooms are laid out, the welcoming feel of a long dining table and the brightly lit white kitchen.

Their seven month old lab Georgie disrupts the serenity of the warm afternoon by sneaking into the kitchen to steal one of Duncan’s thongs. The thong dangles from her mouth as she runs out into the garden, turning back to look back at Anna, daring to be chased.

Anna shrugs, she’s played this game before with Georgie. Anna sits on the veranda where the flow of the river water is a constant – it makes the afternoon slower and more dreamy in the heat.

Anna likes the sound of the river and they can hear it from their bedroom at night.

The family moved to the house in Casino four months before the catastrophic floods. The river was anything but dreamy on February 28, 2022, when it poured into their home.

As the floodwaters rose, they had to evacuate – they had one child and Anna was 38 weeks pregnant with their second child.

Even though they were new to the neighbourhood, the flood connected them with their immediate community.

“We had nowhere to go,” she said.

They barely knew their neighbours but the people who had sold them the house had introduced them to the community by the river bank.

Anna proudly points to a framed photo of the “neighbourly flood crew.”

Anna likes living in a country town.

“I love being able to say g’day and people say hello back,” she said.

It was the house that drew them to Casino – and the country vibe.

Anna describes herself as “a country girl who likes to shop.”

Which totally suits being a stylist.

People have a thousand different reasons why their clothes no longer work for them, she said.

Those reasons could include a job change, a life changing experience such as having a baby, divorce, moving to the country, body changes or simply realising that what you choose to wear can be uplifting and give you confidence –and Anna can help make that happen.

“You want clothes that work,” Anna said.

And what works is as individual as the people she helps.

“I’m good at finding things that they were missing, that they didn’t know existed.”

Anna has a range of strategies to help people in their fashion choices.  Sometimes, she lays an outfit she’s put together on the ground. To see it differently.

She is able to put everything together. And she likes to support local shops.

The first time IndyNR.com met Anna in town her outfit was an example of shopping local.

“The blouse was from MollyMays and the earrings were from a little designer stocked in ClaybySmegg,” Anna said.

“I’d also just popped a parcel in the mail to a Sydney-based client who I’d done a shop for recently, of cute vintage belts I’d found at Vinnies that I knew she’d love.”

She has clients in Brisbane too.

“One of my Brisbane-based male clients even purchased locally. He’s been a client of mine since 2016, hates shopping and usually just needs to know how to put together full outfits, which is why he engages me.

“I source clothes for him based on his personal style, shape and budget. “

The client was headed to the Country Music Festival in Nashville and wanted to dress up to suit the occasion.

“He asked me if I could source some country shirts. I said, of course! I told him that we had a local store in town that I could source from and send to him before he left. So that we did. I went in to FitzMax and sourced some shirts and belts to go with what I had already added in to his wardrobe. He was thrilled he got to support this local business that he would never have otherwise known about.”

Not everything can be sourced locally but that’s part of Anna’s job – to  source whatever her clients need.

“I do think if we’re all mindful and make it a priority to at least look (locally), before jumping online, you might actually be pleasantly surprised at what you do find that can work,” she said.

“This all plays a big part in sustaining a community of local businesses not to mention, putting money in small business owners’ pockets rather than the multi-billion dollar companies mass producing.”

A highlight of Anna’s styling career so far was when she quit her job in the premiers office in Brisbane and went out on her own.

It was 2015. She set up her own styling business and later organised a clothes run to drought affected areas in Queensland.

It was about making people happy during tough times.

And that’s what Anna can do if she gets her hands on your wardrobe.

Find out more about the cost of Anna’s service at her website here. Or follow Anna on Instagram here.

This article appeared on indyNR.com on 10 November 2024.