Blog

I recently had an email from a lovely Stylish@50 member wanting help in finding clothes in what the fashion industry call “plus size”. I hate this name because actually the fashion industry thinks anyone over a size 12 is plus size! As we all know, the average British woman is a size 14-16, we are getting taller and are feet are getting larger.

Unfortunately “plus size” often means frumpy, large floral prints and synthetic fabrics. There is some light at the end of the tunnel though with some fantastic brands who understand that just because the label in your dress says size 18, you don’t want to dress like your Grandmother!

My reader confessed that she had completely lost confidence in her wardrobe and avoided the mirror, so emergency action needs taking. Whilst I am in no way qualified as a counsellor, I have dressed hundreds of women and know what a hard time we give ourselves, often quick to point out what we perceive as flaws rather than...

The key to looking effortlessly stylish in your fifties and beyond, starts with understanding what works for you now. You may have had a good understanding of your colouring, body shape and personal style, but that can all suddenly change. For most of us that's around the 50 mark, but for some it can be earlier or later, depending on when the menopause starts. Suddenly the grey is starting to spread, your waist is disappearing and what you once loved, you no longer do.

The colours that once worked so well on us might look too harsh or too dark. The waisted dresses and skinny jeans are uncomfortable, anything to frilly or "girlie" just looks wrong and thanks to your internal furness everything just makes you hot!

It's not surprising we start to feel lost, invisible and our confidence dips. So what is the solution? Glad you asked because I have spent years working on it!

There are 4 key steps in my solution:

1) Take stock of where you are now. This includes a declutter of everything...

How do you feel when you open your wardrobe doors? Is it a case of "Ooh which of my lovely pieces shall I create an outfit with today?" or is it more "Ugh what on earth can I wear?" If it's more often the latter than the former you may be suffering from "waiting until". I completely understand because it is something many of us have experienced.

It might be that you are waiting until you have lost weight. Or maybe it's until you have time to sort your wardrobe out. Or perhaps until you have more money, or more confidence to try something new.

But all that time you are waiting, you are missing out. How do you feel at the moment? If you are suffering from a lack of confidence because you think your appearance is letting you down, then now is the time to act. I talk about this in much more depth here. But in the meantime let's get rid of some of those excuses.

If you are waiting until you lose weight, you will find this post useful. My biggest tip though, is not to have anything in...

We all have those days when we feel nothing in our wardrobe works. Or perhaps it's an invitation to an event that sends you in to panic because you don't think you have anything to wear. But if you have some failsafe items in your wardrobe that are in tune with your personal style, you will always have something to wear. 

There is nothing worse than attending an event or important meeting and feeling like you aren't dressed appropriately. Equally if you rush out and buy something at short notice it's likely that it might not really be "you" and you will feel uncomfortable all day. 

So what is the key to getting this right and discovering what those failsafe pieces and outfits are? 

You are likely to have seen the lists of capsule wardrobe "must haves". They often include a white shirt, black trousers, blazer and Trench coat. But I am going to be a little controversial here because I don't agree with those lists :) For starters a white shirt (especially if it is a...