Forthcoming events

I have a fantastically busy couple of weeks ahead of me & here are diary dates which are bookable:

Friday 25th June 5-8pm @ Butterflies Boutique & Dress Agency in Northampton - a taster Style and Colour session
Wednesday 30th June @ Drop Dead Gorgeous in Towcester 10am-3pm - a taster Style Day
Thursday 1st July Open House @ mine 6.30-9pm. Accessories including necklaces, bracelets, bags, scarves and hats. Nibbles and drinks too.

Hope to see you at least one of these events.

Radio Interview - Hats!

Last week's radio interview has been rescheduled several times due to the World Cup but will definitely be broadcast tomorrow at 6-6.45 & 8-9am on BBC 3Counties 104.5fm. Having witnessed England's dismal performance on Friday, I would much rather listen to someone discussing hats even if I was a football aficionado!

The Shopping Buddy Experience

Have had two fantastic "Shopping Buddy" experiences in the past week, both with long standing clients who merely wanted a wardrobe "top up" for the summer. This is proven to be brilliant value at £70 for the morning. My clients have me by their side, giving them my expertise but in a way that they would shop with friends, browsing, trying on and drinking lots of coffee (and possibly eating the odd croissant or cake just to keep the old blood sugar levels up!). Best buy Per Una white skinny jeans at £29 - but only to be worn if you are under a size 10 and if, like me, you aren't, a bright tunic top looks amazing to cover up a generous bottom. Hobbs have 50% off most their stock and their suede pumps are just divine at £55 now and are comfier than an old pair of slippers but are infinitely more stylish. I have this offer on till 20th July.

Slummy to Yummy Mummy

Here is an article in a fab new mag, called Relax Kids for whom I wrote this article:
http://magazine.relaxkids.com/

Got lost in motherhood? Nancy Stevens, an image consultant from Altered Image is here to help you rediscover yourself.

Whether you have one child or five (and I salute you enormously if it’s the latter) you are still you. Why do some of us lose our identities when we have kids? I know from experience how difficult it is to retain the identity you had before becoming a mum but just because you are now a Mum does not mean that you have to dress down.

The Fleece Brigade: I’ll start with something I feel very strongly about and something I witness in the playground every morning and afternoon. Flats and fleeces have their place on Sunday afternoon strolls in the countryside but as a quick fix for the school run day in, day out, they are guaranteed to make you feel like a slob. A comfortable slob, but nevertheless a shapeless, blobby one. Ask any man if he finds this look attractive (perhaps start with your partner) and they’ll probably recoil in horror.

Ditch the Maternity Wear: If, like countless other women, none of your pre-maternity wear fits, then do yourself a favour and put it in the loft or give it to charity. The same applies if you’ve still got maternity wear as a staple. Once you’ve finished nursing your baby, get rid of the maternity underwear. It’s served its purpose and will make you feel totally un-sexy from the inside out. Treat yourself to some underwear that you would have worn pre baby that fits your new shape. And get it properly fitted – try Bravissimo or John Lewis.

Multi Tasking Wardrobes: To make the school run or working wardrobe a workable one, find some time to go through what you have got and group items into say jeans, jackets, trousers, skirts, dresses, shirts, t-shirts, long-sleeved tops and then sort each group by colour. Also, sort your shoes into casual, smart, boots, heel height and colour. This will help you enormously. It’s a great way to save time and it also means you have to spend less time thinking about what to wear, but more about mixing and matching tops with bottoms. If you have time, accessorise your outfit, as this quick job rounds off your outfit.

Be colourful: it can brighten up our lives. Colour analysis sessions show that most pale-skinned British people cannot and should not wear black. It is totally draining of their complexion – never a good look! If your skin does have an olive hue, then black IS fine but still needs colour. If the thought of wearing colour brings you out in hives, then accessorise! Costume jewellery is so affordable and a chunky set of beads or multi-strand of pearls (very in this season) will brighten up even the darkest of jumpers. Try Kettlewell Colours, an online shop, for fantastic t-shirts in every seasonal colour – genius! Zara is great for little tank tops at just £8 in a variety of colours and it does some fab jackets but as it’s a Spanish retailer, the sizing is on the small side.

Great jeans: Gap is my favourite place ever for jeans. The customer service is phenomenal and there is a jean to suit every shape and leg length costing up to around £45. The ubiquitous NEXT, which I wouldn’t normally recommend does jeans for really tall and also for petite women. Asda does jeans in in-between sizes and at just £12 are a brilliant buy and saves all that annoying “gaping” at the waist. If you don’t like your bottom- Warehouse, favours Indian silks and bright colours and is quite boho – the tunic tops are long and can flatter any figure!

Big is beautiful: If you are heavier than you would like to be, wearing baggy clothes only exaggerates this, so a lovely chunky knit with leggings and boots is a very comfy, practical, easy look to achieve that’s also a bit more on trend. You CAN be warm and stylish – the two are not mutually exclusive.

Bag it Up: Big bold handbags are still very much in vogue and TK Maxx does the best selection in town. They come in a myriad of colours and are great quality leather and have taken inspiration from the “it” bags so beloved by celebs but at a fraction of the price.

Psychologically, if you look good, you feel better. The pressure women put on themselves to lose weight after having a baby is immense and we forget that it took nine months to put on the weight, so it stands to reason that it will probably take around the same amount of time to lose it! There is nothing to be gained from feeling guilty and beating yourself up just because you are no longer the size you were because your shape would have changed and unless you are a gym bunny and want to look like Madonna (terribly ageing darling), then do it slowly and sensibly.

We don’t need to strive to emulate celebrities. This is not reality, as these women have stylists, personal trainers, nutritionists, hairdressers and an army of people to make them look good 24/7 AND the advent of airbrushing has only served to heighten this. They also have the budget for bespoke clothing and designer items.

Once you have weeded your wardrobe either by someone like me or an honest friend, then you will know what gaps are there and will have a very clear idea about what you need. You can either book a personal shopper in a large department store who will do all the fetching and carrying for you but remember it’s their job to sell you as many clothes as possible. Image consultants on the other hand should be completely objective and only want you to have the minimum amount of clothes but with maximum mix and match options. What I do is pre-select your clothes for you in the privacy of your own fitting room and all you do is turn up and try them on with no time or sales pressure.

I’m not suggesting for one minute that you start again with your wardrobe or try to become the envy of the playground. This is about working out what you have got, what fits and suits your shape and colour, and working it to the best of your ability to get the most return on investment from your wardrobe. You can be yourself again; you can look good again (and perhaps even better than you used to) but just remember to make a bit of time for you. Having kids is life-changing, yes, but they are there to enhance what you had, not take it away. A bit of careful planning, a few additions to your existing wardrobe, and some ‘you’ time has the potential to transform how you feel about yourself and how you live your life.

Relax Magazine Spring 2010

Radio Interview Monday 14th June 2010

I will be appearing on BBC 3 Counties radio 104.5fm tomorrow on Morning MK on my usual slot discussing hats, what to wear to a wedding, the Races and how to look elegant in the summer. As it's a pre-recorded interview it's on twice at 6-6.45am and then again between 8-9am. Hope it's helpful and I loved trying on all these fab hats whilst I was being interviewed.

Sex and The City 2 Girlie Night out

I am heading off tonight to see the fashion fest that is SATC 2. Last time I was privileged enough to be invited to the premiere, hosted here by Style MK. It was a fabulous affair as it was my first premiere and therefore special. No premiere tonight but I'm having a girlie night out with cocktails and the like and decided to pay homage to the SATC girls in what I am wearing. In the spirit of the age of recycling, I have customised my going away outfit from when I got married and the dress is some 16 years old now (does this make it vintage?) and quite frankly looks better now than it did then. Interestingly I feel and look better too. Confidence really does come with age. I've added a massive waist-cinching belt (£3), a completely OTT sequinned and feathered bag (about £15 TK Maxx) and my fave killer heels (bought for the premiere from Brantano at £20) and of course the dress which cost me around £100 back in the day but I did design it myself and am delighted that, after 2 kids, it is slightly on the roomy side . I have Carrie's hair and Samantha's dress, (all I need now is my Mr Big) so all good to go!