Facing the Menopause with Menopausal Style

Facing the menopause with menopausal style

There’s been a lot of talk in the press and on TV, radio and podcasts over the last few months about the menopause. Once a topic that was never discussed, never covered in Sex Education or Reproductive Science at school and generally never even mentioned between females themselves…. this has all started to change. The menopause is a  stage of life that will happen to all women regardless of whether they have had children or not.

Symptoms

Whilst the prospect of no more periods is a positive thought… this often seems to be the only positive in a sea of physical symptoms that many women have to endure; hot flushes, insomnia, vaginal dryness, low libido, weight gain, night sweats and memory loss to name just a few. Perhaps the worst symptom that women have to suffer through is the drop in confidence, self-esteem and positive body image that often accompanies the physical symptoms. Having to go through some, if not all of these physical changes, it’s no wonder that we start to feel low especially when peri-menopause and the menopause often comes at around the same time that our children start to fly the nest..

Confidence Boost

However, luckily help is at hand in the form of a session with a personal stylist. If you have reached your late forties to early fifties without having your colours done or been on a personal shopping spree now is definitely the time to consider having a session. It’s hard enough to dress and shop without good insight into what and why you should be buying and wearing let alone after you factor in: weight gain, change of weight distribution from hips and thighs and bum to tummy and waist, dryer skin, looser/flabby skinny, thinning hair, hairs sprouting on the face..all delightful? attributes of the menopause….

Finding out about your natural colouring and style

Also, the loss of confidence that can accompany these physical symptoms can be very debilitating. However, even just one session with a personal stylist i.e. having a colour analysis to see what colours suit you best and why can put the spring back in your step.. You may feel tired, have a thicker waist and a lower libido but you certainly know what clothes to wear near your face making the most of your natural colouring and therefore making you look younger, more vibrant and happier when you look in the mirror… this can only be a good thing. The style analysis (where you discover how to make the best of the body shape you have now) can also be very useful as you will gain full insight into how to disguise the spreading waist and show off the thinner legs and flatter bottom and how to dress for the age and lifestyle you have now. This can be very liberating as there’s no time to dwell on how your body used to be pre-kids and/or pre-menopause… we focus on the here and know and without a doubt you will feel energised and ready to focus on your 50 something future.

Menopausal Dressing

Some quick tips to helping you deal with the menopause and to wet your appetite for working with a personal stylist would be:

• Dress in layers…  this can be a very useful way of dealing with the dreaded hot flushes… you can remove your cardy/jacket, shirt and just keep the camisole on as the hot flush comes then pile some or all of the layers back on as it goes…

• Wear natural fibres: silk, wool, cotton or linen…these natural fibres allow the skin to breathe and will also help with the temperature spikes when a hot flush comes on

• Typically weight goes on to the tummy and waist in the run up to menopause… the best way to disguise this is to draw attention to your shoulders, bust and chest or hips and legs. Draw attention to the bust and above area by wearing necklaces and/or lightweight scarves or interesting detailing on shoulders and the top part of sleeving. Draw attention to legs by wearing tops that end no lower than the hip bones and wearing full length trousers and form fitting trousers if you have shapely thighs. Also wearing empire line or bubble type dresses allow the fabric to skim over the tummy disguising the extra weight carried there.

• Invest in great shoes and bags… there is no greater joy than buying a new pair of shoes and regardless of how you feel about your menopausal body, sporting a new bag or shoes will only help you feel better plus they always fit even if you are having a ‘feeling large today’ kind of day.

Follow up

For any questions about this blog or to contact me to find out how I could help you dress well call 07500 443974. If you like this blog please share with your friends and/or comment and to get regular updates on  what to buy and how to wear it please like my facebook business page and subscribe to my monthly newsletter on my homepage.