Style is important to how you feel about yourself and how others respond to you. Many women tell me that as they transition through menopause, they start to feel as if they are slowly becoming invisible and it impacts on their relationships at home and at work. Dressing in a style that reflects your personality helps you to feel confident. 
As you progress through your 40s and 50s and your hormones start to change, you can start to notice changes in your body shape and size. That hour glass shape or the slim outline starts to turn into an apple or a pear as weight redistributes to places you’d never expected. Add to that, changes occur to your skin tone and hair colour. Your favourite clothes may no longer look as good on you. It’s time to rethink your style.
My guest this week, Suzie Rice, is a Personal Stylist and Image Consultant and the Founder of Style Heaven. She helps women over 50 look the business, by making their style sizzle, without the headache of endless shopping trips. She takes them and their wardrobes on a life changing journey to Style Heaven. With Suzie’s guidance you don’t end up wasting your money on things you will never wear.
What are the lessons that we need to learn at midlife so we can carry on looking and feeling great?
Suzie’s Story
A year after she had her son, Suzie was working in a bridal boutique. She was surrounded by floor to ceiling mirrors every day and she didn’t like what she was seeing in her reflection. She was feeling pressure to lose her ‘baby weight’. She felt fat and unattractive.
Suzie turned to a Life Coach who tasked her to enroll for a retreat which was about breaking free from dieting and valuing yourself based on your weight. 
‘During the week it was all very relaxed. We were all laying around the pool in bath robes. And then on the last night, the organisers told us that we were going out to dinner. I noticed two of the women looking unhappy. I went to see them in their room and asked if they were okay. They said ‘no’, they didn’t want to be seen. I offered to help them style their outfits. I took some scarfs and accessories and did their hair and make-up. They looked great.
When they went out to the mini-bus, the other women gasped. They said ‘You look so amazing’. The two women were beaming with smiles and the organiser said to me. ‘I think you have found your purpose. Can you see what you have done? You have just performed a bit of magic.’
I went to the next appointment with my life coach and told her what had happened and she said, ‘You’ve had an epiphany and I have your first client lined up for you!’ Initially I was winging it. I was helping my clients to feel good about themselves and show them how to enhance their natural beauty.
I went to the London College of Fashion to train. I set up my business Style Heaven and I vowed to work with as many women as I could and take away that feeling that they weren’t good enough.
Suzie’s Top Tips to make your style sizzle
- Choose fabrics and colours that suit your personality as well as your skin and hair colouring.
- Wear layers of clothes in natural fibres that you can remove easily if your temperature is fluctuating
- Cool colours can help you to feel cooler
- Tap into your intuition when you are choosing clothes that will suit your natural style. Release your inner child. Be confident in your choice.
- Don’t let current fashion trends dictate your style and the colours you wear.
- The shapes of clothes that suit you will depend on your height and proportions. There are no general rules, it’s all individual.
- Get fitted for a supportive bra by a lingerie specialist.
- Once you find a bra and style you like, buy one in a nude colour and one in black.
- Wash them gently and adjust the shoulder straps to lift your breasts
- Have your bra fitting checked twice a year.
- Do the wardrobe shuffle! Take just 20 minutes to sort through your entire wardrobe, dividing your clothes into 3 piles: clothes you never wear, clothes that are ok, and clothes that you love and light you up. Only put the clothes that light you up back in your wardrobe. What can you learn from each pile that will help you make better choices in the future?
If you need more help managing you menopause contact me for a free 30 minute consultation