5 Things Friday
A week of outfit inspo, a Trinny London makeover and what to wear to go clubbing at 54? Just an average week then!
The paid subscriber chat is giving me so much intel on what you’d like to see on your weekly check in here on 5 Things Friday. Thank you so much for sharing! A few weeks ago it was requested that I let you in what my week looks like outfit-wise, and give some real-life inspiration using pieces from my wardrobe. I love checking out how other people's days look on social media and how that compares to mine. Let’s face it, we are all a bit nosy, and I personally enjoy knowing everything from what someone eats for breakfast to what they wear to do the supermarket shop! So, I’m doing my own bit of sharing below, but, first, for those of you who are new around here, a BIG HELLO, and a little bit about me.
Last year, I gave up my part-time teaching job to concentrate full time on my Substack and Instagram. I’d been clinging on for a few years, gradually reducing down to 2 days a week, mostly because it seemed REALLY scary to think of this as my full-time job! I’m fifty four, I’ve never trained in fashion or writing, so how could I consider this anything other than a hobby? A major factor in my decision to take that plunge was exhaustion. I’d spent the last few years juggling part-time teaching, full-time content creating, and then I started my Substack in 2023. Add in having elderly parents and in-laws, who both lived some distance from us, and it felt like something had to give. So, I took a leap of faith and now work from home writing my newsletter and my Instagram. Whether you’ve been here since the start or have just subscribed, I’m truly grateful that you’ve found me here. This little like-minded community is something I’m very proud of and I hope you all get something out of it. We have a paid subscriber chat where you can ask anything, and we all try and dip in with our thoughts and opinions, so don’t hold back from joining in.
If you’re a free subscriber, I’d love you to consider upgrading. For less than £1/week you’ll get a weekly dose of fashion, beauty and styling as well as access to all the archives including travel reviews - and, of course, the chat. Totally worth it!
So now you are all up to date, let's take a deep dive into my week - I’d love to say a typical week, however, no week ever looks the same!
Monday
A bit of a life admin and work mix today. My day started with a 9am zoom call with a brand and PR agency I’ve been working with on a paid collaboration. I was going straight out after my meeting, so opted for a comfortable but smartish look. I bought the pale yellow linen Cos shirt as I need to wear something other than T-shirts! I bought a similar style last year in black, and loved it, so thought a butter yellow would be a good contrast. I find this slight cropped style works well with midi skirts and linen trousers (basically my summer wardrobe). My skirt is Asceno (from a few years ago), Arket has a similar one. It’s a wrap style and has pockets, so it ticks a lot of boxes for me, and sandal weather has just started so I got out my Prada nomad sandals, from a few years ago, to go with it.
The meeting was over in an hour, so I did a few hours at my keyboard writing up treatments for work collaborations and answering emails. I find all this stuff fascinating, for someone with no background in social media. Despite having a few offers over the years, I’ve never been interested in getting signed by an agent. Someone once said to me ‘if you’ve built up your own business, then why hand over 20% to someone else?’ I’m someone who likes to have control over everything I do, and it’s very important to me to be authentic - something I think is missing from a lot of content creators. It does mean though that I’m in charge of all my admin, which takes up a good chunk of my working week, especially when dealing with PR agencies.
My afternoon was spent at the hospital having a final check-up on my foot. I somehow managed to damage a toe last year, although I’ve got no recognition of doing it. So now I have a permanently crooked toe… oh the fun of getting older!
Tuesday
An admin day at home, which was mostly spent at my keyboard. The weather perked up this week, so the linen trousers have become my favourite comfy-at-home look. I bought this Uniqlo set in navy and also in brown. It’s so easy to mix and match and a no-brainer look for when I’m at home.
In the evening, I caught up with some of my oldest friends I met when pregnant with my first daughter. Twenty-seven years later, and ten children between us, we meet up every few months and always have lots to talk about! I wore a Rixo linen skirt (Use code Melissa32) and my Nobody’s Child waistcoat, which was a fab buy last year.