How would you like to get body confident with your clothes?

All too often I work with women who have a downer on themselves. They feel they should be taller, slimmer, have a more defined waist, have perkier boobs.... I can say this with confidence as I was like that too. For years and years I felt I wasn't good enough, until I hit my 40s and figured I could go on being unkind to myself for the rest of my life, OR, I could accept who I am and work with what I have.

And that's where a science called anthropometry comes in. Anthropometry is the measure of human form and it's something I've studied closely. Both in terms of theory, but also in reality, having had the opportunity to work with over 200 incredible women of ALL shapes and sizes.

I truly believe that all women can look fabulous regardless of age, size or budget. You just need to get to grips with what works on your body. And I mean the body you have right now, not the one you had when you were in your 20's....!

So if you'd like to understand what is going to work for you once and for all, please do come along to an hour long workshop I'm running as part of Bristol Fashion Week. It's just £20 and during our time together I will show you the key to dressing with confidence.

You can get your hands on a ticket here but be quick as places are limited for each workshop (you can choose from 1 of 3 dates).

Would love to see you there and help you achieve the look you've always wanted x

A strong woman stands up for herself. A stronger woman stands up for others...

Remember the Swap 'til You Drop fundraising event in July? It was just a-maz-ing for so many reasons. 

The first is that I'm over the moon to say I was finally able to present a cheque last week to our charity for the evening, Labour Behind The Label for the sum of £1500!

Honestly, I never ever thought we would raise that amount but I'm thrilled that we did and I know it will be put to good use. The work LBTL undertakes is incredible as they strive to improve the rights of garment workers right across the world. If you want to know more, including how you could help, please visit www.labourbehindthelabel.org

Aside from raising a huge sum of money, the night was so much more than I could have dreamed of!

Here's what one lovely guest had to say:

"What an evening! I went to Becky's charity evening on my own as my mate couldn't make it. So I put on a smile and left telling the babysitter I would be back by 9. I felt nervous but I thought "hey it's for charity and I might find one nice swap". What I didn't expect was the camaraderie, the giggles and the good natured banter with women I've never met. I bonded with one lady over her new floaty blouse and another over an unexpected trouser suit find and another over her dresses. Women of all ages standing around in their bras chatting. I enjoyed myself so much and came away with 4 items to spruce up my wardrobe. When Becky organised another evening like this, I'll definitely be back!"

I know also that women are now considering upcycling too. Another gorgeous guest wrote to me and said:

"Had to tell you I dyed my faded jeans and threw in 3 tops that were likely to head to recycling. So happy with the results, especially the jeans as had there been a pair in Debenhams I would have bought them. I've caught the upcycling bug".

It was an evening that encouraged us to recycle and repurpose our clothes as well as consider who made those clothes in the first place and it was SO much fun in the simply beautiful surroundings of Leigh Court.

However you played a part in the evening this is my personal thank you to you. I couldn't have done it without you and I'm truly grateful for your heartfelt support.

Here's to the next one...... 

Becky x

Photography courtesy of www.viktoriakuti.com

Don't miss the Swap 'til You Drop event!

What will you bring?

Hands up if you have clothes sitting unworn and unloved in your wardrobe? I know you do, so why not swap them for different ones and raise some money for charity at the same time? It's simple, just bring along 3 quality items in great condition and swap them for something different, all whilst drinking prosecco and having a lovely time!

The rather fab people at Leigh Court have offered their spectacular venue to hold the event and the gorgeous pre-loved designer boutique Village Green have donated two sacks of designer clothes to help fill my rails and increase the chances of you finding new pieces you'll love.

You'll also have the chance to bid at the auction for some of the pieces I wore during the capsule wardrobe challenge (I put my money on the coatigan going for the highest bid!) and to get your hands on a beautiful, one off, silk and hand felted creation by Linda Thomas Eco Design.

The magnificent Leigh Court - what a place to shop!

What's more, the BBC Coast presenter and conservationist Miranda Krestovnikoff will open the event for us so you'll be in great company!

All the money raised on the night will go to the Bristol based charity Labour Behind The Label which campaigns to improve the lives of garment workers around the world. So not only will you hopefully come away with some shiny new things but you've shopped in a way that is kind to the environment AND you've helped raise money for a fantastic cause. It's a win, win, win!

Half of the available tickets sold in the first 48 hours so to ensure your place at the event, please click on the link below. Tickets cost £10 plus a small processing fee and includes bubbles on arrival! 

Please come along and support this unique event - I'd LOVE to see you and your clothes there! x

Is a capsule wardrobe the answer to your style dilemmas?

So how hard could it be to create a capsule wardrobe from scratch and then wear it for 30 days? Honestly, I thought it would be a breeze. I thought it would be great fun to style a new look every day, document the pieces and the price of the outfit and share it with my followers. I thought there might be a few small challenges along the way but I had NO IDEA how quickly it would start to affect me (for the worse).

My capsule wardrobe of 18 pieces of clothes and a handful of accessories.

I should state that all I sourced all the pieces from local charity shops as I wanted to show that you can pick up some great finds, meaning style is accessible to everyone. I also wanted to highlight how buying secondhand clothes is kinder to the environment. My views on this remain absolutely the same - and I will continue to be an avid shopper of pre-loved clothes, be it from charity shops, second hand boutiques, swishing events and so on.

So how did the 30 days go? I started out full of enthusiasm. It was new, I was keen to see how well the pieces worked together and I felt positive. The outfits came together nicely and I enjoyed the fact that every morning there was no overwhelm. It felt good.

But from day 10 I started to feel differently. I began to crave my old clothes and I was desperate for more colour. And from that point on, I realised I had made more and more mistakes with the 18 items I had selected. By day 20 I thought finishing the challenge would be impossible. I was just so down and felt so unlike 'me' that it felt counterintuitive to continue. I even had my 6 year old daughter beg me to put my "old clothes' on as she just wanted her mummy back. But I was determined to get to the end so started focusing on how a capsule wardrobe could work.

So having reached day 30 (and boy am I glad it's over!) I have the following 6 tips for you to help you if you ever feel like having a go at a capsule wardrobe yourself:

1 - Your clothes have to fit you well. Some of my items didn't - they were a touch too big or too small meaning ultimately, they were uncomfortable to wear. If they don't fit, you're not going to wear them so don't give them wardrobe space.

2 - If colour is your thing, then you've got to have lots of it in your capsule. I purposely chose a lot of neutrals to give me maximum flexibility and I had one accent colour in orange (not one of my favourite colours but I thought I'd give it a go). Turns out I hate wearing orange and I missed all the jewel tones I love so much. I discovered that stripping me of colour, stripped me of happiness. I know that sounds pretty dramatic, but it's true and the speed at which my mood dropped, actually scared me.

3 - You have to love the items and want to wear them. My issue was I didn't love any of my items, they were just OK. But if your clothes are just OK, that's probably how you're going to feel when you're wearing them. Nothing excited me and I started wearing the items in different ways to try and make them work better for me. If you don't believe me, below is a picture of me wearing a pair of trousers as a scarf!

4 - You have to decide what your capsule wardrobe is for and plan accordingly. Mine was supposed to be for both work and play and I just didn't have enough variety or fun to cover all bases. I also work  with a lot of women who want to keep work and weekend clothes very separate. If this resonates with you then I suggest one capsule wardrobe for work and one for home, which leads nicely onto number 5...

5 - You need to have enough clothes in your collection. I had 18 pieces (4 of which were outerwear) and it simply wasn't enough. Although I enjoyed the fact I wasn't overwhelmed with choice, it did feel like I was depriving myself and that's never a good thing! I think you need at least 30 items in a capsule to help you feel you have sufficient variety and to stop the boredom. Trust me when I say I was sick of my items by the end of the challenge!

6 - You can go outside your capsule when you need to. I had a number of evening events to attend during my 30 days and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't turn my items into 'party wear'. Once I had given myself to go outside the capsule for special occasions, it felt so much better.

So here we are on day 30 and I cannot tell you how excited I am about delving into my own wardrobe tomorrow to choose something fabulous! Having lived with a capsule for 30 days I can see how one could work and I'm going to take the learnings into my own wardrobe where I will definitely be stripping out and refining. But for now, I'm going to select the outfit for day 31 - one which is full of colour and makes me feel like me again x

Learn to the harness the power of colour!

There's a quote which says "the best colour in the whole world is the one that looks good on you" and I couldn't agree more!

Wearing colour affects us more than we think and there is some evidence to suggest that we feel colours more than we actually see them. I know for a fact that wearing colour can impact my mood. It can inspire me, energise me or calm me to name a few emotions.

So how would you like to learn more about colour and how to wear it with confidence?

I'm so excited to be hosting 3 x 1 hour interactive colour workshops on behalf of The Image Consulting Company as part of Bristol Fashion Week and tickets are selling fast!

I'd love to see you there so to find out more and to book your place, please click here

Your clothes are more powerful than you might think....

I don't want to get too deep, but there's a theory called 'enclothed cognition'. You might have seen it in action. It's an experiment where a group are divided into two and half the group are given laboratory coats to wear whilst sitting a exam.

The half that wear the coats consistently perform better because the very fact they are wearing a lab coat sends a message to their  brains that they were capable and well equipped to succeed. The experiment and theory clearly demonstrate there is a link between the clothes you wear and your subsequent actions. i.e. if you dress sharp, you feel sharp. It's a theory that resonates with me and I recognise the influence my clothes can have on my mood, my confidence, my choice of language and my outlook on life. You see, your clothes can have profound and systematic psychological consequences that you've probably never even considered!

So my question to you is....how did your clothes make you feel today? Did they enhance your confidence, language and behaviour? If your answer is no, try a different look tomorrow. Inject some colour, add a bit of interest with some pattern, choose something you love, but just recognise how changing your clothes can change how you feel x