About me
Personal Stylist and more
A bit about me and what led to styling
My name is Martine and I am a Personal Stylist. I still have to pinch myself when I say that!! I have always been a lover of shopping, fashion, textures, colours and pattern but I never considered taking all that love and considering a career in it. I was never conventionally creative at school, shying away from Art and Design plus the only people I saw in the world of fashion at the time were on a TV Series called the “Clothes show” and they felt so far away from my upbringing and also what was considered a job in the 90’s. Anyway I went into the world of work and did not pursue or consider personal styling until I hit 40 (don’t worry I was still shopping and loving clothes!).
40 is not so bad
At 40 I went from feeling fabulous and “40 is not so bad after all” to “ if the next 40 years are like this, I am not sure how I am going to get through it”. Those following years entailed a pandemic, loss of close family and varying severe symptoms that later I found to be menopause. It was A LOT! But it got me thinking about life being short, how its for living. It also got me reflecting on the changes I noticed my body and mind going through and how this had dramatically changed my relationship with clothes and the way I dress. My shape had changed, even my skin texture felt different and my confidence really took a knock. I slowly had fell out of love with my clothes and felt a little lost as I felt my clothes had always been a comfort blanket for me.
Everything made me feel HOT!!!
The clothes began to wear me not me wearing the clothes. They Felt tight, constricting, material felt itchy, I didn’t want to be looked at. Oh!! And the worse bit: Everything made me feel HOT!!! And not just HOT, but molten lava hot to the point that everything I put on had to go through rigorous sweat patch testing!! Clothes had become the enemy!! Where had my love gone!!! I reminisced how clothes used to make me feel: They could make me feel confident, strong, lift my mood, a form of expression, even a form of protection. My clothes reflected who I was, how I felt! They were the days!!. Shopping used to be a stress reliever, but it had now become stressful, no fun and rails upon rails of clothes that just made me feel awful. The pleasure had evaporated, unlike my sweat patches.
As I embarked on re-discovering the joy I had lost whilst navigating menopause and getting treatment for my hormone deficiency, I started to think about other women and “it can’t just be me that has felt this way”. I have had different journeys in my life that have challenged my relationship with my clothes and how I am feeling such as pregnancy, birth and more recently menopause and I was sure I was not alone in this, especially after speaking to friends. It was during my menopause journey I decided to train as a Personal Stylist. My recent experiences had reignited my passion and given me the impetus to pursue it. I also wanted to support other women to feel their best in their clothes, feel authentic in what they wear, feel joy from them and their wardrobe and not dread shopping. So here I am!! A Personal Stylist, hoping to support others in discovering or re-discovering their style, love of clothes, enhancing their natural features and build confidence in the way they look and feel.
What I blog about
My Style blog
Hey, you fabulous people! Welcome to my Style musings, where we dive into the dynamic world of personal style, self-discovery, and the transformative power of clothing. I’m Martine and my blog was borne out of me navigating the twists and turns of my mid-life journey, armed with a passion for style and a commitment to helping you rediscover the joy in your wardrobe.