A Styled Life

Alex Standley
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Business

Welcome to A Styled Life, the podcast for purpose-led female founders & senior leaders ready to use style as a powerful tool for confidence, impact, and influence. I'm your host, Alex Standley, multi award-winning Personal Stylist, Speaker and Sustainable Fashion Consultant, with two decades of experience in the fast-paced world of fashion. Join me as we redefine success from the inside out. This podcast isn’t just about clothes. It’s about personal power, purposeful style, and creating a life that aligns with your values. So whether you’re running a business, leading a movement, or stepping into your next chapter, you’re in the right place. Each week, we’ll dive into the world of personal style, sustainability, female empowerment, and living with intention. Through real stories, expert insights, and plenty of inspiration.

  1. 9 hr ago

    Shopping Preloved with Confidence & Building A Purpose-Led Female Founder Brand Antonia Johnstone

    When you pay a little more for something and it stretches you, you think harder about it. Then you treasure it. Antonia Johnstone said this halfway through our conversation, and it sums up why preloved luxury matters for women who lead. Sign of the Times has been selling preloved luxury in London since 1976, and this month it begins its 50th year. Antonia took it over in 2019, inheriting a business that ran on handwritten slips, cheques and receipt books stacked in the attic. Three months later, lockdown closed the doors. She moved the stock into her flat, modelled every piece herself and worked from 4am to midnight to get it online. Sign came out the other side fully digital, and she marked it with a green Gucci suit she still describes as empowering to wear. We talk about building confidence as an introverted founder, why what you wear speaks to investors and clients before you do, how Sign spots what’s coming back before it trends, and why a classic bag can hold or grow its value while a high street piece loses most of its worth the day you buy it. As a buyer, I was surrounded by newness and bought into far too much of it. The pieces I still treasure are the few I chose with real intention, like an embroidered Needle & Thread jacket my daughter has already claimed for when she’s older. This conversation is a reminder that the best wardrobe is built from pieces worth passing on. TIMESTAMPS 01:03 Fifty years of Sign of the Times 02:38 A £10 dress and a light bulb moment in Bath 04:58 Why shopping preloved asks you to know your own style 06:58 When starting a business felt less daunting than an interview 08:07 Building confidence through exposure (pitching to a room of investors) 10:31 Keys, cheques and receipt books: taking on a 40-year-old business 11:59 Lockdown: modelling every piece from her own flat 15:07 The green Gucci suit and the moment it marks 16:05 Why paying a bit more makes you treasure it 20:01 Walking with women through life’s biggest moments 22:25 Tatler meets Waitrose meets your naughty aunt: honouring 50 years 25:48 Leading with resilience, fairness and a lot of fun 32:09 How a founder or senior leader can start shopping preloved 35:57 How Sign spots what’s coming back 38:27 Handbags as assets and wealth passed down 46:11 Quickfire questions KEY TAKEAWAYS A timeless piece is personal. It’s the one you love enough to keep.What stretches you to buy, you think about. What you think about, you treasure.When you are the face of the business, what you wear speaks before you do.Confidence grows each time you put yourself in the room.Online, buy what you know works. In store, ask an expert to help you branch out.Ready to build a wardrobe of pieces worth keeping? If you’re a founder or senior leader who wants what you wear to carry the same weight as your work, Identity to Impact takes you from identity through to shopping with intention. 👉 Book a free Style Strategy Call: https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call CONNECT WITH ANTONIA & SIGN OF THE TIMES Shop online or visit the flagship on Chelsea Green. Website: www.signofthetimeslondon.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sign_ofthetimes/ https://www.instagram.com/antoniajohnstone/

    Shopping Preloved with Confidence & Building A Purpose-Led Female Founder Brand Antonia Johnstone

  2. 21 Oct

    Confidence, Style and the Power of the Pause for High-Achieving Women with Gemma Lea Edelman

    Most of us have one thing we reach for on the days that count. The earrings, the lipstick, the jacket that makes us stand a little taller. We call it a finishing touch. What if it’s doing far more work than that? In this episode of A Styled Life, I’m joined by Gemma Lea Edelman, Conscious Business and Leadership Consultant, mentor and creator of the Inner Compass Method. Ten years ago, Gemma’s life ticked every box. Then her body shut down, and doctors told her to prepare for a future that might include a wheelchair.  What followed was a forced pause she now calls the greatest gift of her life. We talk about getting dressed as a ritual, choosing what to wear on the days your hormones have other plans, and why your body can only hold your dreams to the level your nervous system can cope with. I recorded this the day after I’d finally made time to clear out my own wardrobe. Some pieces I loved simply didn’t feel like me anymore, and it reminded me that this work needs space, even for those of us who teach it. If you’ve been running on autopilot, consider this your permission to pause. KEY TAKEAWAYS Getting dressed can be a ritual that tells your body who is walking into the room.Sometimes the doing is in the not doing.What you choose to wear matters less than the energy you choose it from.Your body can only hold your dreams to the level your nervous system can cope with.Ask how the future version of you would show up today, then start acting like her.TIMESTAMPS 04:05 The power of a pause 06:35 Clearing my wardrobe and the dress that no longer felt like me 08:40 Being you in every arena 14:28 Style as nervous system regulation 16:03 Dressing on the days your hormones have other plans 19:57 The forced pause: a shiny life put on hold 28:13 Why your nervous system sets the limit on your dreams 32:59 The Inner Compass Method and the courage of recognition 39:31 Human Design, Gene Keys and fitting the work to the woman 42:08 Showing up from a place that feels safe 44:23 How would the future you show up today? 46:13 Quickfire wardrobe questions  READY TO DRESS FOR WHO YOU ARE NOW? If this conversation has you looking at your wardrobe differently, and you’re ready for how you dress to reflect who you are today, a Style Strategy Call is where we begin. It’s a free, no-pressure conversation. 👉 Book yours here: https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call CONNECT WITH GEMMA Gemma runs retreats in the UK and Spain and six and twelve month mentorships. You’ll find her upcoming retreats and current availability on her website. Website: https://www.gemmaleaedelman.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gemmaleaedelman/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gemma-lea-edelman-844a742a4/

    Confidence, Style and the Power of the Pause for High-Achieving Women with Gemma Lea Edelman

  3. 14 Oct

    What to Wear on Camera: A Personal Stylist's Guide for Dressing for Video, Podcasts and Pitches

    You've said yes. The podcast interview, the pitch video, the panel that's being live streamed, the brand film for your website. It's in the diary, it will be online for years, and one question is sitting at the back of your mind: what on earth do I wear? This episode is my answer. On camera, people don't get your voice filling a room or the energy you bring when you walk in. They get a small rectangle, mostly your face and whatever sits around your neckline. That means your outfit is doing far more of the talking.  I cover the practical side first, the things the camera picks up that a mirror never will: microphones, fabric, pattern, colour and your background. Then we go deeper, into making sure the woman on screen looks and feels like you, because that is the version people will find, share and remember. I've watched so many women be warm, funny and full of energy right up until the camera starts rolling. Then the shoulders rise, the smile goes and work mode takes over. So often the outfit is part of that. Dress as the version of you that you think a serious professional should look like, and you'll perform that version on screen.  This episode is about dressing from who you actually are, so your outfit comes off the list of things you pick apart when you watch it back. What's left is a woman people recognise in a single frame and remember long after the clip ends. TIMESTAMPS 1:03 - What to wear when you'll be on camera 2:14 - Why the camera changes how an outfit reads 3:52 - Microphones, fabrics and staying cool under the lights 6:14 - Patterns, prints and colours that work on screen 8:45 - Test your outfit before recording 9:16 - Dress like yourself, not your job title 11:36 - When black works, and the psychology of colour 13:47 - Creating a recognisable visual signature KEY TAKEAWAYS On camera, the frame is mostly your face and neckline, so the colour closest to your skin carries your whole first impression.If you're managing your outfit, you're not managing the room. Every fidget is recorded.Decide how you want people to feel when the clip ends before you decide what to wear.Black is powerful when you choose it because it makes you feel strong. Worn to avoid being seen, the camera picks that up threefold.Your signature is what people recognise in a single frame, before they've read your name.Your next camera moment is already in the diary. The recording will outlast the day. It will sit on YouTube, in podcast feeds and on your website for years, introducing you to people long before you meet them. That first frame should do what your work already does: make the right people take you seriously before you've said a word. Room Ready Style is built for exactly this. We start with your identity, translate it into a signature style that is undeniably yours, and build two outfits for the moment ahead. You sit down, press record and never give your outfit a second thought. The woman people find online is the same woman they meet in the room, and she's the one who gets rebooked, referred and remembered. 👉 Book a free Style Strategy Call: https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call Know a woman who has just said yes to her first moment on camera? Send her this episode before she gets dressed for it.

    What to Wear on Camera: A Personal Stylist's Guide for Dressing for Video, Podcasts and Pitches

  4. 7 Oct

    The Expert at the Back of the Room:Personal Stylist on Being Seen as the Authority as Female Founder

    You've spent twenty years getting very good at what you do. Then you watch someone with a fraction of your experience step onto a stage, call herself the expert and get booked off the back of it. You're pleased for her. And on the drive home, a voice asks why that isn't you. The rules that built your reputation were good ones. Let your results speak for themselves. Keep your head down and be brilliant. They work beautifully with people who already know you. They stop working the moment you walk into a room of people who don't: a conference, a panel, a podcast audience, an investor watching a sixty-second video. Those rooms decide who you are before you've said a word about your experience. I share why the most accomplished woman in the room is so often the one nobody remembers, what the science of enclothed cognition tells us about clothing and performance, and why authority looks different on every woman. As an introverted extrovert, I know what it means to walk into a room full of strangers and have my style do the introducing for me. That is the shift I want for you. You'll learn: The white coat experiment and what it reveals about how you performWhy the obvious picture of authority so often reads as a costumeYour authority markers: the specific reasons people already listen to youHow warmth, calm or humour translate into colour, texture and detailManaging the room instead of managing your outfitTimestamps: 0:01 — Why experienced women can feel overlooked as experts 1:18 — The career rules that keep women in the background 2:16 — A client’s story: success that wasn’t visible to the room 3:14 — The gap between who you are and how you show up 4:38 — How clothing shapes confidence and perception 6:04 — Why expertise can go unnoticed when your style blends in 7:50 — Making your personal authority markers visible through style 8:17 — Using identity work to reconnect with the parts of yourself you’ve softened 10:02 — Dressing as the woman you are and shifting your focus to the room 10:31 — A personal story about being recognised through style 11:26 — Why being memorable leads to rebooking and referrals 11:55 — A practical exercise: choose three words for how you want to be seen Ready to be read correctly before you speak? If you have a panel, keynote, launch or new role in the diary, Room Ready Style is built for that moment. We pin down your identity and your signature style, then build two outfits ready for the room. 👉 Book a free Style Strategy Call to find out if Room Ready Style is the right fit: https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call Send this to the woman you know who's the best in her field and the last to say so. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexandrastandley LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-standley-personal-stylist Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=500777031 TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@alexandrastandley

    The Expert at the Back of the Room:Personal Stylist on Being Seen as the Authority as Female Founder

  5. 30 Sept

    Find the Courage to Be Yourself: Reinvention, Style Confidence and Colour with Emma Chapman Jewels

    Most of us wait to feel ready before we change our lives. We wait for permission, for the right moment, for certainty that it will work. Emma Chapman did the opposite. She left a successful career in film PR and moved to Jaipur alone to teach herself an ancient jewellery craft from the ground up. Emma is an award-winning British jewellery designer, who lives between Somerset and Jaipur and has worked with the same family-run workshops in India for over fifteen years. But the thread that runs quietest through her story is one most women will recognise instantly: learning, after years of hiding, to dress for the body you actually have. Emma's story is a masterclass in following a calling before the path is clear. We talk about the burnout that pushed her out of a glamorous industry, the leap of faith that took her to India, and the world behind her work: goldsmiths who lead their days by astrology, the meaning gemstones carry, and why she stopped chasing trends and started designing only what she loves. Then the conversation turns personal. Emma is honest about her weight changing over the years, the wardrobe full of sizes she can't get into, and the tent-dress phase where covering up only made her feel worse. It's a conversation for any woman who has waited to fit into something before she lets herself feel good. KEY TAKEAWAYS The burnout hiding underneath a glamorous careerReinvention as a series of brave choices, not one clean leapHow astrology shapes daily life, and the stones people wearThe honest limits of the word "sustainable"Investment dressing and pieces made to be passed downDressing your body as it is now, not the size you're waiting forWhy jewellery holds its power through every change of shapeColour, confidence and the courage to be seen TIMESTAMPS 04:20 — Servicing everyone else's creativity, expressing none of your own 05:33 — "I can't do this anymore": the pivotal weekend 08:00 — Jaipur, gemstones and a leap of faith with no plan 16:22 — Why women get stuck at the point of reinvention 17:46 — When you focus on something, everything conspires 20:55 — Astrology, goldsmiths and the day you must wear green 25:03 — The energy objects carry, and how Emma cleanses her pieces 28:35 — Leading the trend by refusing to follow it 33:23 — Is there a tension between luxury and sustainability? 38:23 — Fast fashion, landfill and the case for buying one, not six 39:32 — Melting down a grandfather's ring: jewellery as reinvention 41:16 — Growing bolder with age, colour and what suits you 42:03 — Comfort, dresses and feeling good in your own clothes 44:04 — Why British women are afraid of their own jewellery 46:04 — Jewellery holds its power through every change of shape 51:03 — The "one day I'll fit into it" wardrobe If this conversation landed for you, and you're ready to stop dressing for who you were and start dressing for the woman you actually are, a Style Strategy Call is where we begin. It's a free, no-pressure conversation. Book yours below. 👉 https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call CONNECT WITH EMMA CHAPMAN Website: https://emmachapmanjewels.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmacjewels/

    Find the Courage to Be Yourself: Reinvention, Style Confidence and Colour with Emma Chapman Jewels

  6. 23 Sept

    Why Your Style Became Public Property:Style, Feminism & Refusing to Shrink with Nicky Denson-Elliott

    Why does a woman's appearance get read as public property in a way a man's rarely does? A politician's wife stands next to her husband and the internet decides her dress is fair game. A woman pops to the supermarket in her gym kit and strangers line up to tell her to cover up. This conversation is about what sits underneath all of that. And what it costs women who are trying to be seen. In this episode of A Styled Life, I'm joined by Nicky Denson-Elliott, founder of The Wilder Collective and host of the Women's Business podcast. Nicky calls herself the professional feminist, and she builds spaces that help women own their value, take up room, and stop apologising for it. We get into the double standard around how women are seen, the internalised misogyny most of us are carrying without naming it, and why style is not frivolous but a tool women can use to walk into a room and feel they belong there. This is a conversation about power as much as it is about clothes. I used to shrink when people said "I see you everywhere." It landed like a dig, and every instinct told me to make myself smaller. Learning to stay visible on my own terms, without performing, has been some of the hardest and most important work I've done. It's exactly the work I now do with the women I style. WE EXPLORE • Why women's appearance gets policed while men age into "distinguished" • Internalised misogyny: the judgement you feel is your conditioning talking • Taking flattery off the table and dressing for how you want to feel instead • Using clothing to turn up your confidence before you walk into the room • Why "can I pull this off?" is the wrong question • Feminism as fuel, not something to hold in until it makes you ill • "Who am I to do this?" and why authority isn't a follower count • Separating a safety response from a genuine "this isn't me" TIMESTAMPS 08:00 — Claiming "the professional feminist" out loud 11:00 — Midlife, perimenopause and the eyes-open shift 20:00 — Why women's appearance is treated as public property 25:10 — The double standard, from Demi Moore to Andy Burnham's wife 28:00 — Style, power, and the fear of judgement that keeps women small 39:30 — Bold, colourful and growing into her style 44:24 — "Pulling it off" is an energy shift, not a rule 51:55 — The real blocks around visibility: who am I to do this? 58:51 — Advice for the woman mid-reinvention If this conversation landed for you, and you're ready to stop dressing for who you were and start dressing for who you want to be seen as, a Style Strategy Call is where we begin. It's a free, no-pressure conversation. Book yours below. 👉 https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call CONNECT WITH NICKY Website: https://www.thewildercollective.co.uk Podcast: Women's Business Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickydensonelliott?stkn=Mjlncm0zNGp6cjln

    Why Your Style Became Public Property:Style, Feminism & Refusing to Shrink with Nicky Denson-Elliott

  7. 16 Sept

    Wardrobe Full Of Clothes & Nothing to Wear? Dr Dion Terrelonge on the Psychology of Personal Style

    Retail therapy has never once fixed the feeling it was meant to fix. Dr Dion Terrelonge, a chartered psychologist known as The Fashion Psychologist, explains exactly why, and what to do instead. It starts with Dion's own story: an outfit from Tammy Girl, chosen entirely by her as a child, and what that taught her about identity before she had any language for it. We talk about why clothing becomes the first tool most of us use to work out who we are, and why so many adults never finished that exercise for themselves. We get into all you need to know about style & the way you shop: why your Instagram feed has quietly started dressing everyone the same, why women police other women's style and call it good advice, and why a purchase can feel like relief for about a day and nothing more. Every one of those patterns has a specific, doable fix once you can actually see it. Dion also shares why she can spot bad quality in seconds now: an unfinished seam, an unlined jacket, a hem that gives up before you've worn it once. She talks about internalised misogyny, the unspoken rule that tells capable women to tone themselves down before they're taken seriously, and where that rule actually comes from. The thread running through all of it is choice. Who gets to make it, who's been taught to hand it away, and what it takes to take it back. TIMESTAMPS  02:07 — The first outfit that was entirely her choice  09:02 — Age twelve, and clothing as the first identity tool  15:35 — Why teenage style has flattened into one global look  19:50 — Dressing like "a primary school teacher" to be taken seriously 22:53 — Letting go of permission for good 25:39 — Internalised misogyny, and women policing other women's style 34:07 — The truth about retail therapy  37:44 — Swindled by Zara, and what unfinished seams reveal about quality  39:19 — The addiction cycle behind overconsumption, and how to punctuate it  42:34 — Why a full wardrobe can still feel like nothing to wear  47:37 — What dopamine is actually for, and why fast fashion hijacks it 49:03 — Alex's TEDx talk, Oxfam's research, and why intention keeps clothes in rotation  KEY TAKEAWAYS The first outfit that's entirely your own choice teaches something about identity that stays with you for life.If retail therapy worked, you wouldn't need to do it again.Your social feed has quietly flattened everyone's style into the same look. Recognising that is the first step to shopping outside it.Internalised misogyny tells capable women to tone themselves down to be taken seriously. Nobody actually told them to. They absorbed it.Overconsumption isn't fixed by willpower. It's fixed by deliberately punctuating the cycle until your brain stops reaching for it automatically.Most full wardrobes aren't short on clothes. They're short on things anyone actually chose. If this conversation changed how you're thinking about how you want to show up in your style, a Style Strategy Call is where we start putting that into practice. 👉 Book yours here: https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call CONNECT WITH DION  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefashionpsychologist_ Substack: https://askdrdee.substack.com/

    Wardrobe Full Of Clothes & Nothing to Wear? Dr Dion Terrelonge on the Psychology of Personal Style

  8. 9 Sept

    What Secondhand September Taught Me About Personal Style: A Stylist's Preloved Shopping Secrets

    Most women are taught to want the next thing. The drop, the trend, the piece everyone is wearing this month. But the pieces that actually make you feel like yourself were never about being new. They were about being you. Worn in. Chosen slowly, and kept for years. Alex Standley, Personal Stylist & Sustainable Fashion Consultant, marks Secondhand September with the story behind her own shift. Fifteen years as a global fashion buyer meant a wardrobe built on constant, unconsidered newness. A pregnancy, a rabbit hole into sustainability, and one green jumper on eBay changed that. Alex shares what changed when she slowed down, and the practical approach she still uses today to shop preloved, from upscale charity boutiques to the menswear rail. This episode is for women who want a wardrobe that reflects who they are, not what the high street is selling this season. Key Takeaways Style was never about being new. It was about being you.The eBay jumper that started a seven-year shiftDoubling how long you wear a garment cuts its lifetime emissions by 44%The pieces that last are the ones you'd buy again tomorrow, not the ones bought in a rushWhy the menswear rail & upscale charity boutiques deserve a proper lookPreloved is not a compromise. It is often where your most treasured pieces live Timestamps 01:03 Why Alex started rethinking her wardrobe07:00 The purpose of Secondhand September09:21 How to buy preloved well: sellers, sizing, and the menswear rail12:06 Buying off season: planning strategy14:56 The wardrobe edit: what earns its place and what doesn't17:31 Using trends as a lens, not a rulebook18:51 Where real personal style lives Ready for a wardrobe built on intention? If you want support building a style that is genuinely yours, Alex's Style Identity Blueprint starts with getting clear on who you are and translating it into a knockout style. A Style Strategy Call is the place to find out if it's the right fit. https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call Mentions: Rebound Store, Brighton — reboundstore.comPhoenix Style, Wimbledon and Cobham (Paige) — phoenixstyle.co.ukThe Preloved Edit, St Albans (Sarah) — https://theprelovededit.com/The Green Muse, Bristol — thegreenmuse.co.ukOne Scoop Store, East London — onescoopstore.comStyle with Purpose, Thursday 24th September 6pm alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-with-purpose-the-identity-editInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexandrastandley• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-standley-personal-stylist

    What Secondhand September Taught Me About Personal Style: A Stylist's Preloved Shopping Secrets
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5
out of 5
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About

Welcome to A Styled Life, the podcast for purpose-led female founders & senior leaders ready to use style as a powerful tool for confidence, impact, and influence. I'm your host, Alex Standley, multi award-winning Personal Stylist, Speaker and Sustainable Fashion Consultant, with two decades of experience in the fast-paced world of fashion. Join me as we redefine success from the inside out. This podcast isn’t just about clothes. It’s about personal power, purposeful style, and creating a life that aligns with your values. So whether you’re running a business, leading a movement, or stepping into your next chapter, you’re in the right place. Each week, we’ll dive into the world of personal style, sustainability, female empowerment, and living with intention. Through real stories, expert insights, and plenty of inspiration.

Information

  • Creator
    Alex Standley
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    55
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Alex Standley

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