Scrolling through the photos on my phone, I found the perfect one of me, wearing a long, floral, green dress, taken in the back garden a few days earlier by my husband Geoff. I edited the picture slightly, making sure it was bright enough but still natural. Then I added a few hashtags and uploaded it to my Instagram page, excited to see what my followers thought. It was June 2018 and a week since I’d set up a new Instagram account, dedicated to my love of all things fashion. Already, my new hobby was having such a positive effect on my confidence, and as people began commenting, telling me I looked great, it was the boost I needed.
I’ve always loved fashion and wearing the latest trends, but after becoming a mum to George at the age of 42, in 2005, I lost my confidence. I’d had a successful career working in marine insurance, but had just been made redundant, and when George arrived eight weeks premature, and had to spend three months in hospital while his lungs developed, I struggled to cope.
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