Stressed But Well Dressed

Dahlia is joined by Loulou Storey to discuss all things 'festive dressing' and the link between Clothes, Confidence and a Positive Mindset during Christmas (which can sometimes be stressful).

As a stylist Loulou gives her top tips on getting in the spirit of festive dressing without feeling the need to look like tinsel town, finding your seasonal style and owning it and keeping your cool in the Christmas chaos.

Loulou and Dahlia reflect on outfits of Christmas past and talk about intentional dressing for Christmas 2024.

The episode covers everything from the (in Dahlia's view) very unnecessary Christmas jumper to navigating the tricky topic of gifting (giving and receiving) and managing Christmas sales madness.

Loulou's fashion career started on the shop floor, where she worked from the age of 14. By age 30 she was managing large teams for some of the biggest retailers in London’s West End - Anthropologie and Hobbs. She received a first in Fashion Marketing from The London College of Fashion where she discovered her passion for sustainable fashion.

Loulou became a style coach in 2016,  and works both in Brighton where she is based and all over the world - helping clients to uncover their unique style and to unleash their power through their clothes. She has witnessed first-hand how overwhelmed and confused so many people feel when it comes to dressing themselves, so Loulou developed a process that gave people the confidence to express themselves and to build a wardrobe tailored to their lifestyle. Loulou called it the Storey Style Method.

Using the Storey Style Method, Loulou encourages people to discover their own style by understanding their style taste, ambition and natural style instinct. She uses a style words method which helps clients to create a style that truly embraces who they are and ensures they are making the impression they desire.

Dahlia is joined by Jodie Hill to discuss 'Dopamine Dressing' and taking ownership of your personal brand.

Jodie shares her perspective on dopamine dressing and explains why she has built a law firm that is people centric and has a culture where work can work for everyone. She explains how she felt in her previous career as a barrister where she worked in an environment where she felt she couldn't truly be her successful and the impact that had on her mental health.

As the founder of Thrive Law she has sought to change the legal profession for the better creating a more inclusive environment where everyone has a role and everyone can belong.

Jodie shares her view on personal brand, staying true to who you are and navigating the complexities of having a large following on social media channels.

Jodie is a neurodivergent employment and HR law solicitor, ED&I consultant, coach and trainer, author, and campaigner.
A qualified barrister initially called to the Bar, Jodie then cross-qualified to become a solicitor in 2013. Her mental breakdown in 2017, which she now describes as her “mental breakthrough”, led her to establish Thrive Law in 2018. It was the first law firm in the UK founded with wellbeing and mental health at its heart.
Today, Thrive Law, headquartered in Leeds and with teams in the North West, London and the South West, delivers HR and employment law support to employers and employees.

Dahlia is joined by Alex Ayin to discuss the link between clothing and high performance.

Alex shares his view of what it means to be part of a high performing team, why it is important to always go the extra mile and what it means to truly form a collective team identity that bonds, unites and inspires greatness.

Dahlia and Alex discuss the link between clothes, confidence and positive mindset and Alex shares some of the personal memories of clothes going all the way back to his school days.

As someone who has focussed on helping organisations to develop high performing teams, Alex is open about the fact that clothing hasn't always been a part of the conversation but through the podcast he challenges himself to think about how it factors into the discussion.

Alex Ayin has advised Fortune 500 leadership teams on how to attract, retain and develop top talent while at Wiser. He also helped build one of the fastest growing startups in Europe (Social Chain) with Steven Bartlett before joining the exec leadership team at THG to help them successfully execute what became the largest tech IPO in the UK, raising £1.88 billion and valuing the company at almost £5.4 billion.

Alex’s ability to build high-performance teams and cultures was built from a successful sporting career where he was part of a National Championship-winning Water Polo Team and played rugby in Spain’s top division helping the team reach their first national final in the club’s history.

Alex launched Elite Team Tactics to share the learnings from the most successful teams across all sectors (sport, tech, military, aerospace and much more) to enable other business leaders to build their own high-performing teams. This Elite Team Leadership Programme is the next evolution where Alex has talent the first-hand experience from inside some of the most successful, high-growth companies and combined those with the tools and tactics he has found by researching and interviewing some of the highest performing teams in the world (Red Bull, FBI, NZ All Blacks, Google, Tesla and more)."

Dahlia is joined by Emma Davies and Ruta Sudmantaite, Fractional CMOs and hosts of the Blame it on Marketing podcast.

The episode delves into 90s fashion and all those moments we have bought things that we absolutely blame on marketing. We talk about the importance of selling things

Dahlia asks Emma and Ruta to help her understand thealgorithms that enable us to be targeted with certain products and the conversation explores the growth of social media as a shopping channel. Emma and Ruta caution the ease of conversion through social media and advise thattransparency from both brands and influencers is critical.

They also discuss the risks around route to market and product validity when purchased throughnew channels such as Tik Tok.

The conversation includes an exploration into how Emma andRuta link together clothes and confidence, discussing times when they feel they have been judged because of what they wear and exploring the choices they make to feel empowered in their roles – particularly when they meeting new clients.

Ruta asks Emma and Dahlia who they choose to get dressed up for and when dressing up is celebrated vs the pressure to show up when walking into unknown environments.

Emma and Ruta’s advice: Don’t ever worry about being toomuch, know that showing up as how you want to be and how you want to dress is enough!

Season 6, Episode 6: Never be boring (with guests Simon Berwin and Tina Boden)

In a doubly special episode Dahlia is joined by guests Simon Berwin and Tina Boden to get their perspectives on Clothes, Confidence and a Positive Mindset.

Tina is Mrs North Yorkshire and advisor to businesses across the North. Simon has worked in the textiles industry for his entire career having first sold fabric for suits and now working as an advisor.

The conversation covers everything from how it felt working with Paul Smith and Philip Green to the celebration of independent shops, and the micro businesses that are vital to the high street and local communities.

Tina and Simon discuss their unique experience working with a variety of businesses but have a shared piece of advice for listeners: Never Be Boring!

This episode is full of stories and laughter. Enjoy!

To celebrate International Men's Day 2024 Stressed But Well Dressed has collected the perspective on Clothes, Confidence and a Well Dressed Mindset from some of the male guests featured on the podcast.

The episode looks at two very different views of the traditional suit, the need for a festive jumper, the link between clothes and confidence and some advice on how to find your own way to show up in a world where we are at risk of conforming to the algorithm of life.

Included in the episode is an insight into how the US Ski and Snowboard Association used clothing to improve mindset and actually get faster at their sport through what they were wearing!

Featured in the episode:

Jonathan Straight: Season 6, Episode 3 'Talking a load of rubbish'

John Byrne: Season 2, Episode 5 'Getting into character'

Paul Abbott: Episode 10: 'Event Dressing'

Simon Berwin: Season 6, Episode 6 'Never be boring' *

Simon Bourne: Season 3, Episode 2 'This Charming Man'

Ryan Berman: Season 3, Episode 8 'Encouraging Courage'

Alistair Vince: Season 2, Episode 8 'The power of perspective'

Dahlia is joined by Christine Armstrong to discuss the link between Clothes, Confidence and Mindset in a number of situations. Christine gives her view on the future of work and the frenzied world we live in. She shares how her style helps her show up and shapes who she is in her role as an researcher, advisor and on stage as a key note speaker.

Dahlia and Christine discuss the perception that clothes can create - and also the misconception that are sometimes attached to who we are based on what we wear.

Christine Armstrong studies the world of work. She writes, researches, speaks and vlogs on what the trends and data tell us is and isn’t working.

She previously co-founded Jericho Chambers, an early example of flexible and hybrid work and writes regularly for the Times and Telegraph. She was recently named6th out of the top 50 Future of Work influencers in the world and named a top 50 workplace leader 2023 for driving cultural change.

Christine is also the author of ‘The Mother of All Jobs: how to have children and a career and stay sane(ish)’, published by Bloomsbury. The book is based on six years of interviews with working parents, employers, leadership experts and carers. 

Dahlia is joined by Tamara Hinckley to discuss the space where parenting, ambition and identity meet.

Dahlia and Tamara discuss the journey into parenting and how it feels to become a parent, maintain your career and also maintain a sense of self. Tamara uses various clothing examples to explain how her personal style has evolved over time.

Her story takes the listeners on a journey from working in Finance in New York to a career in Tech on the West Coast, explaining how she has navigated personal growth, pregnancy and parenthood all at once. Expect everything from Louboutins to iconic blazers and a pair of power pants.

Included in the episode are her tips on managing the multitude of demands that come from juggling a leadership role, the need to be present for your children and the ability to retain a sense of personal identity all at the same time.

Tamara works as a Tech Exec in San Francisco and authors newsletter 'Half Moon Hustle' discussing the intersection of ambition, wellness, mental health and motherhood. Her newsletter can be found here.

Dahlia is joined by Jonathan Straight, entrepreneur and NED to discuss how he built a business out of rubbish and waste management.

Jonathan explains how he has used eyewear to create an iconic personal brand and how his clothes have been intertwined with his selling strategy over time.

The discussion includes Jonathan's reflections of how his personal style influenced the way he ran his bin business and how even a bin can be 'well dressed'!

As the owner of almost 400 (!) pairs of glasses, Jonathan has a look for every day of the year and he talks about how experimenting with frames has been a key part of his style journey.

Jonathan Straight is a pioneer of recycling in the UK and Founder and former Chief Executive of Straight plc. Jonathan grew the company from a one man operation into the UK’s leading supplier of kerbside recycling containers with an annual turnover of £30M.  Whilst volunteering at a Leeds recycling non-profit,  Jonathan spotted an opportunity in the recycling container business. He initially worked as a consultant to the McKechie Group plc, before establishing his own company in 1993 supplying container solutions for separated waste. Following 10 years of sustained growth Straight joined the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market with a view to fuelling further growth. Straight plc supplied more than 25 million kerbside boxes, baskets and cadies to local authorities across the UK and had rapidly growing international operations. The company made several acquisitions and transitioned to manufacturing most of its products in house.

Having sold the business in 2014, he currently has a plural career with interests in the arts, creativity, tech-for-good, waste management and surplus food. He is also a published and exhibited photographer.

Dahlia is joined by award winning journalist Sophie Merrick to discuss the link between clothes, confidence and storytelling. Sophie is News Editor for Bauer Media’s radio stations in the North West of England.

Sophie shares her experience of working in news media and her responsibility to communities across the North West to share their stories respectfully and accurately.

Dahlia and Sophie discuss the use of clothes to build trust and gain the confidence of others, as well as how we use clothes for our confidence and self esteem.

Expect a conversation that discusses local storytelling, the need for empathetic journalism and what happened when Eurovision came to Liverpool!