In this episode of A Styled Life, Alex sits down with Dani Diosi (menopause support coach, hypnotherapist, NLP Master Coach & trauma therapist) to unpack what really happens during perimenopause and menopause and why it can feel so disorientating.

Dani explains the neural side of menopause, why confidence and body image often take a hit, and how years of conditioning around “thin = good” collide with a changing body.

Together, they talk about the fashion industry’s age gap, the pressure to look younger, and why confidence isn’t a “look” it’s a practice. They also share practical mindset shifts: moving from cardio-and-calorie obsession to strength, longevity, and self-worth, plus why tracking symptoms can help you advocate for yourself with a GP.

Episode highlights

02:34 Dani’s career pivot: from pregnancy/postnatal to menopause support
05:00 “It’s not just hormones” why menopause is neural
06:57 Beauty standards, body change, and the midlife “double whammy”
09:00 Why the “ideal body” keeps changing (and why it messes with us)
12:18 The upside: the freedom of caring less and people-pleasing less
16:19 How menopause can change how you dress (comfort vs hiding)
19:15 “My wardrobe hasn’t caught up with my mindset”
20:20 Fashion’s ageism problem + “where do I shop now?”
24:20 Weight-loss jabs: why they don’t solve the root confidence story
28:10 What women struggle with most: self-doubt, body image, brain fog
33:15 Why old fitness rules stop working (cardio, cortisol, weight retention)
34:41 Senior women doubting themselves in meetings: confidence impact
39:00 The oxygen mask truth: self-care isn’t optional
43:20 Alex on shifting from “calories burned” to strength + longevity
49:10 “If you’re mid-40s, you’re likely perimenopausal” (even without hot flushes)
50:30 Dani’s menopause symptom tracker: how it helps you advocate at the GP
54:45 Quickfire style Qs: jeans, beige neutrals, the gold birthday dress

Connect with Dani:

https://www.instagram.com/danidiosicoaching/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dani-diosi-coaching/

Download the menopause symptom tracker:

https://danidiosi.com/menopause-symptom-tracker

Book a free style strategy call with Alex:

https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call

What happens when the career that once defined you…stops fitting?

In this episode of A Styled Life, Alex Standley Personal Stylist is joined by Rosie Nixon, founder of Rosie’s Reinvention Retreats, author of the Stylist novel series, and former Editor-in-Chief of HELLO! Magazine. They talk about the moment Rosie came close to burnout, how perimenopause and “always on” culture collided, and why reinvention isn’t a one-time pivot, it’s a mindset for the rest of your life.

They also dive into style: how clothes can support your mental health, why dressing “too power dressed” can change the tone in a room, and the freedom that comes from understanding what truly works for you (not what the job, the trend cycle, or social expectations say you should wear).

We cover:

• Burnout as a breakthrough (and what changed after)
• The “pause, reflect, organise” formula Rosie now teaches
• Identity beyond your job title
• Why confidence and clothing are more connected than we admit
• Sustainable style shifts: pre-loved, investment pieces, and letting go of “outfit repeating” shame
• How to start a reinvention when you feel stuck: begin with joy

Episode highlights

• 00:34 Rosie’s magazine career journey (Red, Glamour, Grazia, HELLO!)
• 01:23 The “perfect storm” that led to burnout (2022)
• 03:46 Stress, nervous system burnout, and perimenopause overlap
• 06:59 Why “busy” became a badge of honour (and why it’s breaking us)
• 08:00 “Reinvention mindset” navigating change over and over again
• 10:51 The swan effect: looking fine on the surface, flapping underneath
• 14:36 Who am I if I’m not editing a magazine? (identity beyond a role)
• 17:46 Rosie’s Reinvention Retreats + the PRO method: Pause, Reflect, Organise
• 22:26 Rosie’s style evolution: colour, storytelling, confidence, and dressing for the room
• 25:24 Dressing for authority without feeling inaccessible
• 30:38 Confidence, trends, and the rise of sustainable style (and why outfit repeating is cool now)
• 35:56 Where to start if you’re ready for change: start with joy
• 40:23 Quickfire: most-loved item in Rosie’s wardrobe
• 42:48 Quickfire: what Rosie has “too much of” + the wardrobe detox
• 46:07 Quickfire: trend regrets (Camden market, grunge, the “smelly coat” era)
• 47:47 Rosie’s new book on reinvention (late Aug / early Sept)
  

Connect with Rosie:

Find out more about Rosie and her reinvention retreats:
https://www.rosienixon.co.uk/

Follow Rosie on socials

https://www.instagram.com/rosiejnixon/

Book a free style strategy call with Alex:

https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call

Capsule wardrobes are everywhere, but most advice doesn’t work for high-achieving professional women and female founders whose lives, leadership roles, and visibility have evolved.

If your wardrobe feels full yet frustrating…
If you’re buying outfits for moments rather than your real life…
If getting dressed feels harder than it should, despite being competent everywhere else…

This episode explores how to build a capsule wardrobe for high-achieving women that supports identity, presence, and real life, without restriction, dullness, or conformity.

In this episode, Alex Standley Personal Stylist & Sustainable Fashion Consultant, reframes the concept of a capsule wardrobe through an identity-led, strategic lens. She explains why traditional capsule wardrobe advice often fails professional women, leaders, founders, and speakers, and how to create a wardrobe system that works for work, visibility, Zoom, travel, and everyday life.

You’ll learn why capsule wardrobes aren’t about having fewer clothes, but about having the right foundations, how personal style archetypes transform a capsule from generic to powerful, and how colour, structure, and sustainability play a key role in creating ease and confidence.

Episode Highlights

00:01 — Capsule wardrobes for high-achieving women (why the usual advice doesn’t work)

01:20 — The real problem: wrong foundations, not too many clothes

02:40 — What a capsule wardrobe actually is

03:12 — Why capsule wardrobes fail without identity
The missing piece most capsule wardrobe guides ignore.

03:45 — Style archetypes and identity-led styling

05:32 — Buying for events vs buying for real life

06:45 — When your life has changed but your wardrobe hasn’t

07:47 — Getting your neutrals right in a capsule wardrobe

09:30 — Foundations first, personality second

10:15 — Do you need to get rid of everything?

11:10 — Sustainable capsule wardrobes for professional women

12:35 — Capsule wardrobes for Zoom, speaking, and visibility
13:55 — The real point of a capsule wardrobe

Ready for Your Wardrobe to Match Who You’re Becoming?

If you’re stepping into bigger visibility: leadership roles, speaking, media, or simply being seen more, and you want to be remembered for your unique presence, not a polished version of everyone else…

The Luxe Style Formula is Alex Standley’s 1-to-1 strategic and transformational styling work for high-achieving women stepping into visibility and leadership.

This is high-level, intimate work, which is why Alex works with just three private clients per month.

👉 Book a free Style Strategy Call below to find out more

https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call

Connect with Alex on Socials:

https://www.instagram.com/alexandrastandley

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=500777031

www.tiktok.com/@alexandrastandley

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-standley-personal-stylist

In this deeply honest and powerful conversation, Alex is joined by holistic health coach and Pilates studio owner Jessica Galinsky to explore what it really means to live and dress with intention.

Jessica shares her journey through major personal and professional transitions, including explant surgery, evolving her business, and redefining her identity in her 30s. Together, Alex and Jessica unpack the parallels between holistic health and personal style, both rooted in listening to your body, drowning out external noise, and making choices that support who you’re becoming.

This episode is an exploration of:

• Why so many women disconnect from themselves during seasons of change
• How style can be a powerful tool for self-reconnection and confidence
• The link between sustainability, health, and what we put on our bodies
• Letting go of outdated beauty ideals and reclaiming your power
• Why investing in expert support can collapse time, overwhelm, and self-doubt
  

If you’re navigating a new chapter, personally, professionally, or physically, this conversation will remind you that you don’t need to become someone new. You get to return to yourself.

⏱ Episode Highlights

02:45 – Treating the root cause, not the symptom
Why holistic health, and holistic style, require looking at the whole person.

04:20 – What living with intention really means

07:10 – Style as identity work
Why successful women often lose touch with what they actually love to wear.

08:50 – Putting yourself back on the list
How style (and health) are often the first things women sacrifice.

10:40 – Confidence, authenticity & being seen
11:55 – Explant surgery, body image & courage

15:30 – From anger to empowerment
Reclaiming power from harmful beauty standards and societal conditioning.

17:45 – The value of expert support
19:50 – Style outcomes that last

22:55 – Sustainability & conscious choices

26:30 – Clothing, hormones & health

27:45 – Advice for women entering a new chapter
Why being “held” during transition is transformational.

30:20 – Favourite pieces, wardrobe confessions, and nostalgic fashion moments.

✨ Key Takeaways

• You don’t lose confidence because of age or change, you lose it when your outer world no longer reflects your inner truth.
• Sustainable style isn’t about perfection; it’s about intention and awareness.
• Dressing with purpose can support major identity shifts, from body changes to leadership evolution.
  

🔗 Connect with Jessica

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holistichormone.coach
  
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soulshapefitness/

• Jessica is also hosting an upcoming in-person experience, ALIVE, find out more below: https://www.vidafemme.com/alive

Book a free style strategy call with Alex:

https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call

Colour analysis is one of the most powerful and most misunderstood tools when it comes to personal style, confidence and visibility.

In this solo episode, personal stylist and sustainable fashion expert Alex Standley breaks down colour in a practical, easy to understand way, cutting through confusing rules, TikTok filters and generic seasonal palettes.

If you’ve ever wondered:

• What colours actually suit me?
• How do I wear colour without feeling too visible or unprofessional?
• How can colour support my confidence and personal brand?
  

This episode will help you understand how to use colour intentionally, in a way that feels authentic, flattering and empowering.

Alex explains how colour works on an emotional and psychological level, why personality matters more than rigid systems, and how identifying your own wow colours can transform both your wardrobe and how you show up, especially if you’re visible, on Zoom, speaking, or building a personal brand.

This episode is ideal for women who want:

• clarity instead of colour confusion
• confidence when getting dressed
• a wardrobe that supports their lifestyle and leadership presence
  

⏱️ Episode Highlights

00:00 – Why colour is one of the most transformational style tools

00:27 – Why colour feels overwhelming

01:23 – Colour psychology & communication

01:51 – Using colour for visibility (Zoom, speaking, leadership)

02:20 – Choosing colour intentionally (real-life examples)
03:14 – What are “wow colours”?

04:44 – Do you have to wear your brand colours all the time?

06:27 – What matters more: what suits you or colour psychology?

07:20 – When colour feels too visible

08:15 – How to start wearing colour (without forcing it)

10:03 – Why generic colour palettes don’t work
The limits of seasonal colour analysis and why personality matters.

11:31 – Bespoke colour analysis vs generic systems
Why feeling good matters more than “rules”

✨ Key Takeaways

• Colour analysis should feel personal, not prescriptive
• The right colours can increase confidence, visibility and presence
• Wearing colour does not make you unprofessional, intention matters
• Three to four wow colours can simplify your wardrobe and personal brand
• Confidence with colour is built gradually, not overnight
  

Book A Free Style Strategy Call to find out more about working with Alex 1-2-1:

https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call

Connect with Alex on Socials:

https://www.instagram.com/alexandrastandley

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=500777031

www.tiktok.com/@alexandrastandley

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-standley-personal-stylist

In this week’s episode of A Styled Life, we go deep into the connection between imposter syndrome, identity, confidence and personal style, and why so many trailblazing women feel a disconnect between who they are and how they dress.

I’m joined by Confidence Therapist and working-mum champion Gemma Holmes, also known as The Peer Coach. Gemma specialises in helping overstretched women release anxiety, dismantle identity-level self-doubt, and build real embodied confidence, not the “fake it till you make it” kind.

Together, we explore:

• Why imposter syndrome is an identity issue, not a skills issue
• How clothes can unintentionally fuel self-doubt
• How motherhood reshapes the way we see our bodies, our confidence and our style
• Why “costume dressing” keeps women stuck and disconnected
• How comfort, confidence and authenticity work together, not against each other
• Why showing up as your whole self is a nervous-system decision, not a fashion one
• How to rebuild your style after motherhood, identity shifts or big life transitions
  

Gemma also shares her personal journey, from shrinking herself in male-dominated environments to reconnecting with her body after motherhood…and the jumpsuit epiphany that changed how she dresses forever.

This is an episode for any woman who has ever felt “too much”, “not enough”, or “almost herself” when she gets dressed.

Episode Highlights

• 00:00 — Why Imposter Syndrome Shows Up in Your Wardrobe
• 01:18 — Dressing to Shrink, Hide, or Blend In
• 02:55 — Losing Your Style in Leadership Roles
• 03:58 — Motherhood, Body Appreciation & Reclaiming Identity
• 05:23 — Why Dressing Like Someone Else Fuels Imposter Syndrome
• 09:17 — Visibility, Safety & Why Women Hold Back
• 16:52 — Too Bold, Too Feminine, Too Much?
• 24:11 — How Practical Seasons (Like Breastfeeding) Shape Identity
• 30:24 — Comfort vs. Confidence vs. Casual
• 33:31 — Personal Brand vs. Authentic Self
• 41:09 — When You Don’t Feel Like Yourself Anymore
• 46:33 — Letting Go of Old Stories to Embrace Who You Are Now
• 49:27 — Resources to Support Working Mums & Confidence
  

Book A Free Style Strategy Call:

https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call

The free Confidence Playbook for Working Mums:

https://gemmaholmes.co.uk/the-confidence-playbook-for-working-mums/

Connect with Gemma on socials:

https://www.instagram.com/thepeercoach

https://www.linkedin.com/in/thepeercoach/

https://www.facebook.com/ThePeerCoach

Cost-per-wear is everywhere right now, from wardrobe apps to social media trends promising a “smarter” way to shop. And while cost-per-wear can be a powerful tool, most conversations stop at the maths.

In this solo episode, Alex Standley (Personal Stylist and Sustainable Fashion Consultant) shares the deeper layer of cost-per-wear most people never hear about. Drawing on 15 years as a global fashion buyer for brands including Marks & Spencer and Amazon, Alex explains why cost-per-wear isn’t a formula, but a decision-making skill.

This episode continues last week’s conversation on body confidence and identity. Because once you reconnect with who you are now, the next question becomes: How do you shop smarter without falling back into old habits?

Alex breaks down how cost-per-wear actually starts before you buy anything, shaped by fabric choice, garment construction, fit, quality, longevity, and lifestyle alignment.

Through real-life examples from knitwear and coats, she shows why cheaper clothing often becomes the most expensive option over time, and how understanding quality can save you money, reduce waste, and simplify your wardrobe. She also breaks down the most common mistakes women make when buying clothing and why.

This episode is for you if you want to:

• Shop more intentionally
• Build a sustainable wardrobe that lasts
• Avoid repeat buying and fast fashion regret
• Understand what quality really looks like
• Create a wardrobe aligned with your identity and lifestyle

✨ Episode Highlights

01:59 — The part of cost-per-wear most people never hear about

02:51 — Where cost-per-wear actually begins

03:17 — What 15 years as a global fashion buyer taught me about quality

04:43 — Knitwear and the biggest cost-per-wear mistakes

06:36 — Why the “expensive” option is often the economical one

07:03 — Spotting lifetime quality when shopping secondhand

08:42 — Why women don’t make poor purchases because they’re careless

09:32 — The two wardrobe patterns that drain confidence

10:00 — Why cost-per-wear is really about owning better

Book A Free Style Strategy Call:

https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call

Connect with Alex:

https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk

https://www.instagram.com/alexandrastandley

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-standley-personal-stylist

In this powerful conversation, Alex sits down with Body Confidence & Empowerment Coach Becky Jones to explore one of the biggest confidence blockers for women: sizing, body image and the narratives we’ve absorbed about our worth.

Together, they unpack how the fashion industry, 90s diet culture, and years of conditioning have shaped the way women judge themselves by a number on a label, and how we can finally let that go.

Becky shares her own journey of breaking free from “the numbers”, why so many women still hold on to outdated ideals, and how identity, beliefs, and self-compassion can shift how we see and dress ourselves.

Alex brings in her sustainable style perspective, discussing how body acceptance, dressing with intention, and reconnecting with your true style identity can radically transform confidence, without changing your body at all.

This episode is a gentle but transformative reminder that your worth is not defined by your size, and that both mindset and mindful style can help you reconnect with the woman you are today.

Highlights:

00:01 Why sizing is one of the biggest confidence wobblers for women

00:39 Becky on “magic numbers”, 90s diet culture and tying worth to weight

03:21 Alex on inconsistent sizing on the high street and why the problem isn’t your body

06:13 The shoe-size analogy that helps women detach from clothing labels

07:30 Breaking limiting beliefs: “Is this story actually true, or just inherited?”

10:57 Alex on “New Year, New You” and why you don’t need fixing

11:24 Becky’s identity-and-values work to tune out toxic transformation culture

15:25 Reclaiming childlike experimentation with style (and why you can’t “get it wrong”)

19:29 “You can’t out-exercise a poor relationship with your body” – why mindset comes first

22:53 Becky’s own style story: from shrinking at school to mixing grunge, vintage and goth

29:01 Alex on authentic style, leadership presence and connecting with your audience

35:29 The binge–restrict loop, and how a gentler approach leads to lasting change

41:35 Alex on using clothes, colour and “best pieces” as a fast confidence reset

43:53 Anchor points and 20-minute workouts: realistic self-care when life is full

💡 Takeaways

• Old beliefs about your body can be challenged, not just tolerated.
• Your body will change through seasons of life – and that’s normal.
• Confidence grows faster when you dress for who you are now.
• Style can be a wellbeing tool, not a source of pressure.
• Experimenting with clothes builds self-trust, not “mistakes”.
• Small anchors and daily habits keep you grounded when confidence dips.
  

Connect with Becky:

https://www.instagram.com/the_empower_coach/

https://join.theempowercoach.com/empower

Book A Free Style Strategy Call:

https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call

Connect with Alex:

https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk

https://www.instagram.com/alexandrastandley