Fashion Fears and Loves

Finally at 38 I have found the confidence to embrace and enjoy a love of fashion, let me share it with you. Hope you enjoy my first outfit shoot. See the end for the outtakes and the 'not to be outdone by mummy' pics.

As with make-up I used clothes as a tool to ‘blend in’ and not be noticed. During my twenties and into my thirties I found a uniform that I felt comfortable with. Generally, for days off and weekends it consisted of jeans, a t-shirt and a cardigan, with maybe cropped trousers in the summer. For work it was usually trousers and a high-necked jumper. I wore lots of neutral colours and made sure I was colour co-ordinated right down to my bag and shoes, for example I was convinced I would stand out to everyone if I mixed black and navy. I rarely strayed from this and if I did I would feel self-conscious.

I did occasionally wear a skirt to work, the first time was after about 5 years of being there and I remember being really scared as I was convinced I would draw attention as people weren’t used to seeing it.

My teens were of course the most challenging fashion wise. At 16 I wouldn’t leave the house without a jumper tied around my waist as I hated my big bum. Sadly, in those days’ pear shaped was not what people aspired to, I love that it now is! (Thank you Kim Kardashian!)

As a teen, I also made the mistake of trying to copy others style. Things that looked cool on them seemed to just look ridiculous on me, not helped by the fact I bought everything in a size too big. I wore a lot of beige. Even the one short dress I dared buy at that age was beige! Wonder if I can find a pic of that?

When I went to University I had a phase when I finally found a peace with myself and felt free to be me and experiment a little with clothes. My favourite evening outfit was a sheer black top with flared jeans and a knee length red snake print jacket, which might sound odd but trust me it was cool and I got compliments on it which I was not used to!

I was once told my dress sense didn’t match my music taste. Which is a daft comment and shows how judgemental people can be of our fashion choices.

The sad thing is that I’ve always loved clothes and fashion and enjoyed browsing the high-street stores at the start of a new season and looking through magazines to see the latest trends. When I say stores, I mean those I felt comfortable going in to. Nowhere too expensive (pretty woman syndrome), nowhere “too young”, nowhere too quiet etc.

I now realise no shop is too young, it’s just a matter of finding the styles that suit you! I’m 38 and for 10 years or more I have ruled out the likes of Top Shop and River Island. I certainly never would have even looked at the online stores such as Asos.

So, what changed? Firstly, I decided to face my fears and find the courage to enjoy clothes, experiment and express myself through my clothes. I also discovered YouTube, the girls I turned to for make-up tutorials also did clothes hauls. Most of those I watch are around 10-15 years younger than me however, I realised they could still teach me the trends and I could then interpret that into a style that suited me.

I also found fashion blogs! The likes of ‘Not Dressed AsLamb’ and ‘Does My Bum Look 40’, both 40+ fashion bloggers, have given me so much inspiration and confidence. I’d already decided I better hurry up and enjoy fashion before hitting the big 40. They have made me realise it doesn’t have to stop there!

Last summer I met my mum and sister to go shopping, we don’t get to do that often as we all live in different cities. I was wearing one of my newer outfits, inspired by YouTube. A pink satin bomber jacket from New Look, a white t-shirt with cut out detailing from Top Shop and some patterned trousers from Next. My Sister liked it so much she went to each shop and bought the same items in different colours. Whilst some sisters may not appreciate this, I loved it! What a compliment to have influenced her choices.

I may start sharing an outfit of the day pic on my Instagram to encourage me to experiment more. Can’t promise you won’t see my tracksuit bottoms featuring heavily.

Now to improve my face expressions when trying to look natural in a photo.

I almost forgot, for those who are interested, my coat is New Look, jumper and belt are Asos and jeans are Zara.

Suggested posts:  

How I Turned my Fear of Make-up into a Love of Make-up

My Journey to Healthy Eating

Outtakes and the 'not to be outdone by mummy' shots.