Fashion in my thirties

I’ve written a post before about rediscovering my style in my thirties and as the year is drawing to a close, I feel better than ever before in my fashion and style choices and I’m enjoying the shopping experience again. I’ve got a little way to go until I’m totally at target (more on that in my next post) but I’m feeling more and more like me again and loving fashion in my thirties.

So what’s changed?

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fashion in my thirties leopard dress the ivy hollygoeslightly — Dress: Love Lucy Boutique

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Everything really…I’ve been a mum for my entire thirties, pregnant for some of it and entirely exhausted for all of it! I’ve been the biggest I’ve ever been in terms of body shape, the curviest and the wobbliest. I’ve been stretched, I’ve been pushed to my limits (literally) and my confidence has been up and down like a yoyo.

In between my pregnancies, fitness was a minor focus, as was losing weight (back on the ol’ Slimming World wagon), but I knew we were going to try for number two, so I didn’t think too much about my body. After baby number two, I knew that it was unlikely we’d have another and I could finally concentrate on me.

Other than weight, size and fitness, fashion in my thirties has been one of the key contributors to me feeling like me again this year. I don’t mean to say that being a mum isn’t “me”, it is, it’s some of the best “me” there is! I adore motherhood and what it means and I love the way it makes me feel. But there’s no denying that for the best part of a year, every ounce of my being was dedicated towards keeping the little’uns fed, watered and clean. My priorities were entirely based around a comfortable, elasticated waist and where my next bowl of pasta was coming from.

In Spring, I began to focus on my fitness, having a personal trainer regularly and thinking about what clothes made me feel good and felt like they represented me in my thirties.

I’m lucky to have an amazing fashion boutique on my local high-street and I’ve befriended the owner and essentially given her the unofficial role of my personal stylist. She has helped shaped my style this year, giving me confidence to try new looks and find what feels right. I’ve enjoyed mixing basics, wardrobe staples and more fashion-led pieces.

3 tips to find your fashion groove:

As I’ve been on this journey for a fair while now, I’ve picked up some tips along the way and if like me, you’re stuck in a fashion rut, or your confidence is at an all-time low, or you just don’t feel like you anymore, for whatever reason, then have a go at these 3 things to see if you can find your fashion groove too:

Dress for your shape and size. Sounds obvious doesn’t it? But one thing us mamas do, or those of us that have lost weight, is forget to to drop a dress size with it. Or we stay in boxy cuts, tented tops and baggy trousers. I realised that in trying to hide my shape/size, I was actually making myself look bigger. When I started to wear the next size down and wearing cuts that showed my shape, I felt about a million times better.
Get the basics right. Even if it means having a right royal clear-out, it’s important that you have the correct basics in your wardrobe. For me, fashion in my thirties is all about simplicity, the right silhouettes and quality pieces. For you, it might be something different. But either way, you need good underwear, a good pair of jeans, maybe some leggings, a couple of vests/tees, a nice blouse and a fab jumper or two. It’s worth taking the time to try these things on, to make sure they fit properly, that they’re comfortable and are versatile (ie. that they go with lots of other items in your wardrobe). If you feel good in your basics, you’ve got the best foundations to build the rest of your look.
Be the you that you want to be. I was definitely stuck with my twenty-something, pre-kids me in mind. I imagined wearing fashion-y dresses, impractical heels and not enough structure. I could get away with this 10 years ago, but when I actually thought about it, that wasn’t the me that I wanted to be now. Instead, I want to be chic, relaxed and less formal, stylish and with an element of fashion. I wanted to know about the trends, but adapt them for my personal style, rather than adapt me for the fashion trends. This has been a game changer for me.

By constantly revisiting this three steps, I’m enjoying fashion in my thirties and can’t wait to continue experimenting with fashion, developing my personal style and enjoying what I wear and how I feel in clothes. I promise, we can all feel food in clothes, even if you don’t feel that way now.