Welcome to 5 Things Friday!

A new place for us to get together, chat all things fashion, style tips, travel guides,beauty buys and so much more!

So a massive ‘Hello’ and ‘Thank You’ for joining me here. I’m not going to lie, this has been a big deal for me over the last few months; deciding to take the leap and finally have the confidence to do something I’ve wanted to do for some time but never have had the time or the self-belief that I could.

So why this and why now?

I’m a people person and there is nothing I treasure more than my female relationships, my daughters and girlfriends. Not long ago I was chatting to my bestie at work, discussing how I would love to use all my experiences from my 7 years on Instagram; my styling edits; my fashion tips; and my personal experience of how it feels to navigate through all those times in our lives when we feel lacking in confidence, have lost our sense of style or just feel invisible. I wanted to create something that I felt would help other women similar to me.

Listening to my followers, I know that lots of you have often felt invisible and insecure as you hit ‘middle age’ and are looking for help and reassurance and this has led me to create a place where I can share my knowledge, experiences, and recommendations.

So, this is why I started 5 Things Friday.

Don’t get me wrong….I’ve wanted to do it for a while but those insecurities, I’m not a writer, I’m not a stylist, have stopped me. It was only when I chatted it through with my friend, and explained I was too scared to just do it, that she reminded me of how nervous I was when I first put myself out there on Instagram and how that leap of faith has led me to where I am today!

So how did it all start?

Probably like many of you, I’ve had times in my life when the last thing I’ve thought of is myself or how I look. In my thirties I was a SAH mum, running a small business, with a family of four girls, a husband who was working all hours, and very little time for fashion or anything other than the everyday juggle.

As the girls got a little older, Facebook was created and, through a private Facebook group, I was able to share my everyday outfits and general chit-chat with other like-minded women.

After a few years, some of the members migrated over to the new app on the block - Instagram. One in particular, Michelle, had gone public on her account and was successfully writing a blog as well. I tentatively started an account too, but being extremely nervous about letting anyone see it, I only had it on private, that way I could share stuff without letting any friends who didn’t get it or the general public, see it.

Looking back, I laugh at this ‘secret’ I kept hidden, but I also get it when women say they don’t feel confident to do something new, believe me, I’ve had and still have those feelings! One day, Michelle messaged me, she told me I should ‘open’ my account and share it with everyone; that I was good at this and other women would appreciate my everyday outfit posts and styling. At the time I was in my mid-forties, my girls were becoming more independent, I’d gone back to teaching part-time and was enjoying this new freedom of a little more time and money to develop my wardrobe for the ‘new’ me.

Again it was a friend who talked me into doing it, and I clearly remember the day I opened it to everyone - that feeling of complete panic, mixed with a little excitement about where this could go.

Fast forward 7 years and here I am. I’ve grown a following of over 100K women who, like me, are looking to dress for the everyday but with a sense of style and confidence, that they don’t have to conform to any notion of ‘dressing their age’. I get daily DM’s from followers who say they feel ‘fashion has forgotten them’, that they don’t know where to go to buy clothes or how to put them together but that my account has helped them ‘rediscover themselves’.

And those little girls have all grown up!

So why 5 Things Friday?

Over the years my account on Instagram has grown, really grown! So has the amount of time I spend on there. I still work part-time in education and I still have a busy family life (can’t see that ever changing!) My DM box has gotten huge and I’ve not been able to get back to all the requests for style help or questions. That, combined with sharing my holiday destinations and everyday life has meant that I work long hours, late evenings, early mornings and weekends. While I love it, I want to create something that is different, without the restrictions of Instagram algorithms, somewhere I can use my styling expertise in a more personal way and without fearing that it’s only going to take one hacker and it all could be gone!

I’ve wanted to create something for my most loyal followers, where we have a space that YOU can ask for my help and where I can share my styling knowledge and advice in an accessible way.

I asked you to let me know what you enjoyed most on my Instagram. Fashion, styling, travel recommendations, and general chit-chat. So let me introduce to you to what you can expect here.

Paid Subscribers (£4.99per month / £55per year)

You will get…

• 5 Things Friday - Full access to the 5 Things Friday edit - my weekly round-up of 5 things that have sparked my interest that week. It might be a great pair of jeans, a new recipe we’ve tried, or a review of a beauty product. You’ll get this every Friday morning, just in time for a quick read and a brew.

• The Monthly High Street Fashion Edit - You will get the complete round-up of the best buys on the high street. My wardrobe has always been 90% high street and I’m always looking for classic, cool items that won’t break the bank.

• Insider Travel Guides: I’ll give you unlimited access to my holiday recommendations, where I stayed, what we did, restaurant reviews, and what to wear. Basically the complete itinerary!

• Exclusive Community Access: I’ll offer opportunities for you and other paid subscribers to ask me style questions, offer help with dressing for certain occasions, or how to make the most of your wardrobe. I’m open to varying ways of doing this so it works for everyone, so it could be videos or Q&A’s- or a combination.

Founding Membership - £199 per year.

• Foundling members get everything paid members get as well as a virtual Styling Session with me for 45 mins. This is a chance for a one-on-one wardrobe edit to help you make the most of your existing wardrobe, help with dressing for an occasion, and make any recommendations to help you achieve your ideal wardrobe. (Please note, there are only a very limited number of founding memberships available)

and if you’re happy remaining as a free subscriber?

Great, For the most part, you’ll be getting a taste of 5 Things Friday, with the occasional extra style post to hopefully give you a taste of what you're missing.

Free Subscribers

You will get…

• The 5 Things Friday newsletter - I'll be posting a weekly Friday edit of fashion finds, beauty and lifestyle tips, style edits or travel recommendations, and anything that I think You NEED TO KNOW that week, free subscribers get access to the first 2 items delivered straight to your inbox.

• The Monthly High Street Fashion Edit - Each month I’ll give a round-up of the best buys on the high street at any one moment. These will be items that give YOU the luxe look at high street prices.

So, phew ….that’s it! Thank you if you made it this far. All that’s left for me to say is I’m really pleased you’ve joined me in this community. This is your space to ask for help, and have a say in what you’d like to see, I’m always open to questions and requests.

I’ll see you on Friday!

Love, Melissa x