Ep.58 Fashion Freedom: Abbey Booth's Guide to Unleashing your Rebellious Personal Style

Discover the power of personal style with my guest, Abbey Booth, who traded the corporate world for a life of creativity and rebellion. Abbey, a stylist and educator at the London College of Style, helps women break free from conventional fashion rules to express their unique selves. Listen as she shares her transformative journey from advertising to styling, illustrating how individuality in clothing can unleash a bold new you.

Our conversation highlights the incredible impact of small wardrobe changes on confidence and self-expression. She shares her experiences of moving from marketing to fashion in London, emphasising how creativity in style can distinguish you in professional settings. Abbey and I explore how fashion isn't just about spending power but about using imagination to enhance your identity and create meaningful connections.

Join us as we navigate the evolving world of fashion and business, focusing on empowering women to balance personal passions with professional responsibilities. We discuss the rise of experiential shopping and how the pandemic has transformed consumer expectations. With insights from Abbey, learn how to embrace everyday style transformations and find joy in dressing for yourself. Stay bold, stay rebellious, and keep making mischief with us.

Find Abbey here: https://www.storieswithclothes.com/

Chapters

• 0:00 Rebel Style
• 10:52 Personal Style Journey and Confidence Building
• 21:12 Empowering Women in Fashion and Business
• 33:24 Everyday Style Transformation
• 38:38 Stay Bold With Mischief Movement

Transcript

Abbey Booth: 0:00

I always think the smallest things often have the biggest impact long term because it's the start of your journey and it shows you that actually you can do it and the other side is super exciting.

Zoe Greenhalf: 0:13

Hey there, welcome, or welcome back to the Mischief Movement odcast. I'm Zoe, your guide on this journey to shake up the status quo and design a life that truly makes you feel alive. Shake up the status quo and design a life that truly makes you feel alive. If you've ever felt disconnected, stuck on autopilot or trapped in a life that feels more like a treadmill than an adventure, you're in the right place. I know that change can feel scary, so let's turn down the fear and crank up the fierce as we transform your life from the inside out. Whether it's solo episodes packed with actionable advice or interviews with some absolute badass human beings who've dared to defy the norm by living life their way, we're here to inspire, activate, empower and challenge you each week. My mission is simple to help you reawaken your rebel spirit, break free from mediocrity and design a life that's anything but dull. You only get one wildlife, so what are you planning to do with yours? If you're ready to stop settling, start living boldly and create a positive impact along the way, let's dive in and stir up some mischief together. Now buckle up and let's go. Now buckle up and let's go.

Zoe Greenhalf: 1:31

Welcome back to the Mischief Movement podcast, the show where we ditch the ordinary, spark rebellion and inspire you to design a life you don't want to escape from. So today's guest is nothing short of extraordinary, a true trailblazer who's redefined what it means to own your style and live life on your own terms. Meet Abbey Booth, a rebellious stylist with a mission to empower women of all ages and shapes to embrace their unique, badass selves. Abbey's journey has taken her from the world of high stakes advertising and marketing at a national newspaper to running her own boutique and now to styling and teaching at the prestigious London College of Style. In this episode, we dive into Abbey's wild ride from window displays to runways, her rebellious take on fashion and how she's helping women embrace who they are, who they really are, unapologetically. So get ready to feel inspired, break some rules and unleash your own style rebellion, Right. So this week I am joined by Abbey Booth, which I'm very excited about because you do something really fun, don't you? So what is your mischief, Abbey?

Abbey Booth: 2:38

I love helping women kind of break the rules. So I'm a personal stylist and what I say is that I help women understand like the guidelines around style and then I show them how to break the rules. So I think I've always been a little bit of a rebel and my clients definitely are quite rebellious, but perhaps don't know it or perhaps lost touch with that, and I think I'm really good at finding that sort of rebel within and releasing it and letting it kind of run wild so that my clients can have loads more fun with their clothes.

Zoe Greenhalf: 3:11

I love that. How exactly do you do that? Because I love this idea of having a bit of an inner rebel. I think most of us have probably got one um, but using clothes and style to bring that out. You must be really creative also to be able to do that, I think yeah, I've always been creative.

Abbey Booth: 3:30

I think it wasn't encouraged in me as a child particularly. I think I got pushed very much down sort of an academic route and it's really interesting. I think it's given me a lot of insight into you. You know my children Now I'm a parent in that their interests are true, their interests are real and it doesn't matter that they're younger. They're still their interests and it's still potentially going to be their passion for life.

Abbey Booth: 3:55

And I think at the time it just wasn't really understood and my parents thought if you did art it was because you wanted to be an artist and there was no thought or understanding about creative thinking. You know I'm not a brilliant artist, but you know I'm a really creative thinker, I think outside the box, and I think they just couldn't grasp that concept and felt that it would do me a disservice long term. So I wasn't allowed to do art, gcse, for example, and I felt really upset about that. And it wasn't that I was a brilliant artist, but I think I just thought differently about things and I loved the self expression and the process of it and I ended up having to do sort of business studies and you know quite academic things, I think, to be fair, you know, the business studies have stood me in good stead because I've got quite a commercial brain as well, and you know I love marketing and how that mixes in with my business. But it's interesting how I've sort of come back to that creative mindset and creative thinking and just shows that it was always there. It just needed to be enabled to be flourished. I see it like it's my duty to try and share that feeling of letting your true self out, which often we bottle it up, don't we? Because we're in a corporate environment or perhaps we're in a, you know, a traditional family environment where self-expression is not particularly encouraged or understood.

Abbey Booth: 5:18

Yeah, and all of my clients, like you said, everybody has a slightly rebellious streak in them, you know, wanting to do things differently. I think as humans, we're scared to step out of that. You know it's. That is safety, isn't it? It was designed to keep us safe, to keep us all in a pack, you know, looking the same, feeling the same.

Abbey Booth: 5:36

But actually to step outside, that is really brave and it takes a lot of courage to do that and I think that's why. That's why I love working with the women that I work with, because it takes a lot of courage to do that, and I think that's why I love working with the women I work with, because it takes a lot of courage and bravery to step up and say I want to work with a stylist in the first place, and then it takes a lot of courage for them to dig deep and really understand why the why to me is so important. You know, why do they want to change things about the way that they're feeling about their clothes? And it always comes back to the inner feeling. So I feel like it's dressing the soul outwards is who you really are, that self-expression and then enabling them to choose clothes and styles that make them feel fantastic and like the best versions of themselves. As cheesy as it sounds, it does kind of capture the essence of what I do and and how I do it yeah, it's.

Zoe Greenhalf: 6:29

It's really interesting the way, um, I was also thinking that it's so much about how a person feels, isn't it? It's the self-expression on the outside, but it's, it's. It's what it's doing to the person on the inside and, as you say, like people do have to be brave in order to take that step, because it it, it's, it's change, it's. I wonder whether the people that you work with are going through some sort of change or some sort of shift and they're like this is another piece in that puzzle, or perhaps it's the first piece, perhaps it's the first step in a process that then I don't know, gives them the confidence to make further changes.

Zoe Greenhalf: 7:12

What what's?

Abbey Booth: 7:12

your experience been in in terms of yeah, definitely, I would completely agree with that. It's always a change in circumstance or life, so it might. It could be anything from um a divorce, coming out the other side of a divorce and feeling like you're a different person to what you were, or perhaps you want to leave behind that person that you were. You're stepping into a new phase of your life. It could be a change in career or job. I work with a lot of female founders, so women who've left corporate environment and set up their own businesses and suddenly realise that, oh, all the focus is on them. Set up their own businesses and suddenly realise that, oh, all the focus is on them, they are solely responsible for their business, and suddenly the way they look, the way they feel, the way they're showing up is super, super important and really powerful for them. I love working with those women.

Abbey Booth: 7:55

I work with a lot of women in business in senior roles who want to still feel relevant. They don't want to feel kind of traditional in that they're senior. They need to be kind of respectful of the work environment that they're working in, but still want to feel like, like themselves. So it is definitely usually a transition or a trap of change. You know I work with a lot of women who just recently retired as well, and that's really interesting for me. I love working with those women because all of a sudden they have more time or less time. If they've got loads of hobbies which, you know, my mum, my mum does you can never get hold of her because she's here, there, everywhere, but all of a sudden they don't need to dress for anyone else. You know they're not trying to fit into a work environment or, um, you know any, anything else that they might be doing. It's total freedom. And sometimes that's quite scary for women because it's like, oh my, my goodness, I've always been a mom or I've always been a teacher and so I have to dress quite appropriately or whatever it might be, and all of a sudden it's that sense of freedom. That's exciting but also quite scary.

Abbey Booth: 8:55

So it's definitely a change in a change in circumstance. It might be a financial change as well. Suddenly, perhaps I've got a little bit more money. So a lot of empty nesters, perhaps kids gone to university and, um, thinking, oh, I've got a bit more time for myself. And where did I go? Where have all those years gone? And what about me. Those are a lot the questions that come up a lot. So yeah, it's definitely a change in situation or any. It's like an evolution I think we're always growing anyway but it's definitely a shift in life or circumstance. Yeah, so yeah, and and you're right, sometimes it is the first step and other times it's a continuation of a journey. So it might be that I'm coming in midway through, when they're feeling a little bit more confident and then want to challenge themselves or want to take it to the next level.

Zoe Greenhalf: 9:43

So it's really interesting at what part I come into their, into their story it's interesting, um, the way you mentioned the word challenge, because sometimes we feel like, you know, challenges such it's, such a. It could be such a big thing, but it could also be a really small thing, like like challenging yourself to wear something that you wouldn't normally wear, but with your encouragement, you know, you might be more willing to accept a bright pink dress or I don't know, something really vibrant that perhaps you wouldn't normally try. That in itself is quite a challenge for some people, isn't?

Abbey Booth: 10:18

it? Yeah, absolutely, and I always think it starts with the small things. So I run a really lovely membership called the Style Squad and often the changes that have the biggest impact on those women are the small things. And we start really small. It's like, you know, add a necklace, so small, but actually the change is quite dramatic over the coming weeks. It's an eight-week membership kind of programme, if you like. It's more than a programme, a programme. Program sounds dull. It's really exciting and beautiful, um, and supportive.

Abbey Booth: 10:52

And I do become their style cheerleaders because once they make that small change and realize actually the world didn't fall apart. Nobody stared and laughed at them in the street or all the things that we imagine, the, the narratives that we tell ourselves. Actually someone gave them a compliment and they felt great about themselves and all of a sudden you see, it gives me goosebumps just talking about it you see this whole world opening up to them of possibility and excitement and change and they realise that the challenge can be what they want it to be and it can be as small or as big as they want it to be. For some women, even the thought of, say, tucking in a top that's massive. It seems small to perhaps other people, but for them it's huge.

Abbey Booth: 11:33

And then when they do it and realise that again the world doesn't fall apart and actually they feel a bit more connected to their style and they can see the difference it's made to their overall look and feel, then they're away, they're looking for the next challenge. So I always think the smallest things often have the biggest impact long term, because it's the start of your journey and it shows you that actually you can do it and the other side is super exciting. So yeah, completely agree. Yeah.

Zoe Greenhalf: 12:03

And what's been your journey to get to where you are now in terms of have you always worked in fashion or was it? Was it you know? I know you talked to me about the fact that you, you had this creativity inside you at the beginning, but you weren't sort of allowed to go down that route. So at some point it sort of re-entered your life yeah, yeah.

Abbey Booth: 12:24

I went into marketing and advertising and so I didn't go. I decided not to go to university and I wanted to get out to work and earn my own money. I've always had a real feeling of independence and my parents were going through a really messy divorce and I just wanted to leave home and not have to go back. And I went out to work and I moved to London in my early twenties. And I love hearing this story back, because now I think, oh my God, I was really brave. I don't think I really appreciated it at the time, but I went to London. It sounds like an old fashioned fairy tale or something, but I went to London.

Abbey Booth: 13:03

I'd met these girls once. I looked at house with them. I didn't know any of them and I just said, yes, let's do it. And we rented a house together and I hadn't got a job. I didn't know where I was going to work, but I thought I'll just make it work. You know, I'll get temping, I'll do whatever I have to do.

Abbey Booth: 13:21

And two weeks before I was due to move in, I got a call from a company that I'd been for an interview for months before and had got down to the final two and then not got the job. And another department rang me and said, oh, so-and-so, said I should phone you. Um, we've got a job. Um, do you want to come and chat to me about it? And I went to go and chat and got the job and was like oh yeah, when can you start? And I was like, oh, I'm moving to London next week, so I could start next week. And they were like great, so it all sort of slotted into place really quickly and I went and did that and that's fantastic. And I was working for the mirror group and I had no idea where it was when I moved in. It could have been anywhere in London. And when I moved in, the girl said to me, oh, where's, where's your job? And I was like, oh, it's somewhere called Canary Wh. And they were like come out here. And we went out there and they're like it's there, and I could see the tower twinkling from the bottom of our cars. It's so funny. I was like that's how I how naive I was like I had no clue. And they found it hilarious because they were like, oh, my god, it could have been like the other side of London, yeah, and actually I could walk to work and anyway, it was an amazing experience.

Abbey Booth: 14:30

I got to go horse racing all over Europe. It taught me so much about clothes, that job which sounds weird, but we did a lot of entertaining, a lot of hosting a lot of events and the people I was mixing with horse racing people. They were extremely wealthy and no one ever turned up to an event wearing the same outfit and I was like there's little old me in my little house toddling along, walking to work. And I was like there's little old me in my little house toddling along walking to work. And I was like how can I? I can't compete with them in terms of money. I've got to be creative. And it was like it switched my creative brain on and I started a shop in vintage shops and I would go to fabric shops and I just got really creative in my outfits and soon I got quite well known for my outfits because it was the only way I could get seen.

Abbey Booth: 15:14

I was quite young at the time so you know it's a lot of like oh, she's really young or what does she know, type thing. You know, um, and I'd lived on a horse racing yard, so actually I knew quite a lot. But, um, you know, there's that kind of misconception that if you're young you don't know anything. Yeah, you haven't got anything to bring to the table. So I got noticed, first for my outfits, and it was so powerful because everyone really like, oh I wondered what you were going to wear today. And then I was in and then I was having conversations with people and then people realized actually I was really good at my job and they trusted me and and it went from there. So that that was almost like my ignition, if you like, into the power of clothes and how you know you don't necessarily need to have loads of money, but you just need to be open and creative and thoughtful about it. And it really kind of set me off and I I loved that job. It was incredible. It was amazing what I had my children.

Abbey Booth: 16:01

I was then the manager of the department, had an all-woman team and with a big budget, and and then I had my daughter and I was like I can't go back and do that job.

Abbey Booth: 16:10

It's a lot of travel, it was weekend work, it's a newspaper, so I was there till often eight, nine at night and Saturdays, sundays, bank holidays, and it was just too much.

Abbey Booth: 16:20

But that gave me an opportunity to really think about what I did want to do and I think I've thought to myself if I don't do what I perhaps always wanted to do and love, I'll always regret it, because now I've got this opportunity of having time, so I had a bit of time out and decided to retrain and we'd moved house in between. It was all quite full-on, but I retrained in visual merchandising so window displays and and, yeah, merchandising in a store and set up my own business so I could fit it around the children because I had a second. Then I had two really quickly, which seemed like a brilliant idea at the time, but it was yeah, I mean actually two under two that weren't twins, so they were doing different things and there was not a lot of sleep and a lot of drama. My kids were really active like mad minions and so I wanted something that's between them um 18 months.

Abbey Booth: 17:17

Okay, yeah, mine have got 22 months, so, yeah, it's quite a lot it makes them quite competitive with each other, even though, yeah, there is that difference but they're quite competitive. I mean, mine are 16 and 15 now but, um, yeah, there were total nutters. But that was a lovely job because it um, you know, it meant I could fit it around them and it was really creative. And I was going into uh shops. I did a lot of work with fabric shops and that taught me so much about the way fabric hangs and moves and doesn't move and sits, and so I had to be super creative because with those displays I had to kind of basically make a dress or make an outfit to go in the window and I'm grateful for that because it did teach me so much about the feel and the fit of a piece and it kind of is a natural evolution.

Abbey Booth: 18:06

It went from there I fell in love with retail because I was in the windows and I realised actually what I wanted to be doing was talking to the people in the shop. Yeah, and I worked for a big um occasion wear boutique and she was like, why don't you come do a day a week on the shop floor? Because you seem to get on really well with the, with the clients and I did, and I just loved it. I love that feeling of helping a woman feel beautiful and, yeah, that's it went on from there.

Abbey Booth: 18:35

I opened my own shop about three years later, um, and I designed it to be and feel like your best friend's bedroom when you're getting ready together on a on a night out, and so that people felt really comfortable and that they could just come and be themselves and not feel like they didn't deserve to be there. So in my local town there's two quite expensive shops, teaks, where not necessarily always very particularly friendly to people. So I just felt there was a gap for something that was beautiful, affordable and made women feel like they absolutely deserve to be there. Yeah, and it kind of went from there.

Zoe Greenhalf: 19:15

I can imagine that you were really sort of attentive to the details in that case. When you talk about creating this environment where people feel comfortable, what kind of things were you thinking about as you created that?

Abbey Booth: 19:28

I know how I felt when I went into a shop and I wasn't appreciated and it just made you feel horrible and worthless. And then it starts to make me feel angry because I was like how dare someone else make me feel like that? I'm still a valuable person and I just I felt like there must be other people like me out there that still, you know, that wants to feel welcome and safe. And I think shopping for a lot of women can be actually quite traumatising and, you know, quite a daunting experience. You know it's like oh, if I go into a shop, is it going to be too expensive for me and I'm then going to feel really awkward. Is it going to be the size is going to be too small for me and I'm going to have that horrible fear. You know I'm a size 16, so you know I totally get it. You know I can't shop in somewhere like Zara. I don't want to shop in there anyway because it's not a very friendly experience. But that's a whole other story. But you know I never wanted women to feel like that with me coming into my shop and I totally knew how they felt because I'd felt all of those things and more. Now I'm quite tall, there's a lot of me, I'm quite clumsy and you know I wanted to make people feel really supported and safe and cared for and I think you know that's something that's definitely translated over into this, my styling. And it's really interesting because my most recent reviews have all used the word word care, and it makes me so deeply proud. I love that. They have seen that and experienced it and understood it and then explained it to other people. That level of care and that definitely started to emanate from having that experience of being, you know, in the boutique and wanting people to feel really, really special. So you know it was about making them feel really welcome.

Abbey Booth: 21:12

I did lots of events and and the first event I did you know you're always worrying, oh, people gonna come and they were queuing down the road and I didn't had a tiny little shop and they were queuing down the road like half an hour before it started and I was like, oh, there's a real, there's a real need.

Abbey Booth: 21:28

People really want an experience and I think we're actually seeing that now in retail, after after lockdown and covid, people want an experience when they go shopping because they could just shop online and it's a faceless transactional experience. But what they want to do is feel something, learn something. You know, come away and have having thought about things you know whether it's sustainability, or you know it's color or whatever it might be, and I love the fact that you know there's lots of small businesses out there doing that and now the bigger businesses are suddenly wanting to do it as well, because they've realized, actually people have a choice about where they spend their money. People work really hard for their money and when they decide and choose to spend it with you, you need to honor it and respect it and treat it with the, the value that you know that's gone into making that, that decision. So, yeah, very long way of saying it, but but yeah, it's always in the detail and the level of care.

Zoe Greenhalf: 22:28

I love that we're talking about care, because my experience of the fashion industry was more similar to the devil wears prada and I think a lot of. I think that film has actually done a lot of damage to the way that women see um the fashion industry as a whole. But do you have like a favorite moment, um in sort of your career up until now, working with women, helping them feel amazing, like a real high moment? Or or maybe a favorite client where you just think their transformation was just such a reward for you?

Abbey Booth: 23:06

I've got so many lovely, lovely experiences I mean the one that just comes to me very quickly now because I went to one of her events recently is um, a client of mine who has a hugely successful business and asked me to help her shop and buy outfits that she felt suited where her business was going and the direction of it. And I love the thought behind it that she wanted to dress for the woman that she was becoming, not even the woman she is there now, but the woman she was becoming, and I really appreciate the thought and the yeah, the challenge that that that was for her. And being in a changing room with women, it's really intimate setting. It's quite scary, especially for a woman that's used to making all the decisions, all the choices being very proactive, you know, and suddenly putting their trust in another woman that often they don't know that well, often with the shopping experience I've never met them before. I meet them on the day. You know we do a lot of prep work but often it might be on zoom or on screen because they don't live locally and you know this is there's such a huge level of bravery involved in that and trust and the trust is massive.

Abbey Booth: 24:19

And then on the day often it can be there's a bit of pushback because all of a sudden they realize that they've now got to get undressed in their underwear with this woman that potentially they've not not met in person. And I kind of almost love that because it shows me that the journey they've come to get there and the level of faith that they've put in me, and I then have to repay that to them tenfold. And I kind of say to them and that particular client this happens with a lot but that particular client was like I don't know, I don't like anything here, I can't, I can't do it, no, no, no. It's very, very like you know, almost like this, a physical reaction, and you know, it's a case of talking through that and saying to them you know, you are brilliant at what you do, I am brilliant at what I do, and why you're here is because you found something in me that you thought I could help you with and I can. But you have to trust me.

Zoe Greenhalf: 25:18

Yeah.

Abbey Booth: 25:19

So just try to close. If you hate it all, that's fine, it's absolutely fine. There's absolutely no pressure. And then you can gradually see the relaxation happening, the body language changing, and with that particular client, two dresses in, she was like, well, I just bloody love it all now, don't I? And that third dress that she tried on, that she really pushed back on, is now her favorite piece and she regularly has photo shoots wearing that, and that's what I love. And it's those moments that are precious to me, because it takes a lot of courage to do that and the pushback is powerful because it shows me how far they've come. But also I need to reassure them that they can trust me and and so, yeah, that's one example, but it does happen a lot, and I always say to people if it might happen, but don't worry about it, because we're going to work through it. And actually it's those moments where you really grow and you really find out how brave you really are, and I love those. I'm here. I'm here for those moments.

Zoe Greenhalf: 26:20

Yeah, and on like a more of a personal level, what are some of the steps that you've taken to intentionally design your life the way you've done it? Because you know that's one of the things that I always encourage in people. It's this idea of you've got to make life work for you and you've got to make this sort of your passions and your career work for you as much as you can within your own sort of environment and limitations. Um, I know that running your own business it's never going to be a walk in the park, but what are some of the steps that you've taken in order to sort of feel that sense of freedom or be able to be there for your kids and sort of just juggle life in the way that you do?

Abbey Booth: 27:05

yeah, that's a great question. I think there's a number of things. I get really lonely because I'm either with clients or I'm here in my studio, which is beautiful and I love it. But I think you can then spend a lot of time in your head and if a day doesn't go to plan, I think what happens when you're on your own and running your own business is it can spiral really quickly into a space where you're like well, that was a disaster, well, that's it, I might as well call it quits. Whereas if you're in a team environment, you're like well, that was a disaster, well, that's it, I might as well call it quits. Whereas if you're in a team environment, you're like oh yeah, that was a bit crappy. Well, tomorrow we can try this, let's go and have a coffee. And it dissipates that fear and that spiral.

Abbey Booth: 27:45

So for me, one of the biggest things was getting out there and being around other people, and so I do a lot of co-working and that in turn helps me be, feel calmer, feel energised. You know, my energy comes from being around other people. I love being around other people. I'm very comfortable in my own space, but for work-wise, I love that energy. It's so empowering and uplifting and that, in turn, helps me be a better wife, a better mother, a better friend, because I can give more.

Abbey Booth: 28:18

Then, when I have spent all day spiraling and feeling, you know, writing endless notes and getting into a tricky space, I can't then come into the home environment and, you know, be a parent that's listening and being attentive, whereas when I come in from having spent a day with women I was out co-working yesterday and then, coming back, it's like I can't wait to see my children then because I'm like, oh, what have you been doing? What have you? You know what you've been up to? So I think that, for me, was one of the biggest tools that I've found, and I'm in a most amazing community of women that I joined in lockdown online and it's now in person, and that lady's called Danielle and she's just recently launched this amazing app called flock here which is for women.

Abbey Booth: 29:04

Yeah, I went to launch the other night. So I'm a like a founding member, if you like a bit, and I feel so proud of it and that for me, has been one of the biggest things member, if you like of it, and I feel so proud of it and that, for me, has been one of the biggest things in in my kind of working life as a, as a female founder, and also, I think, exercise for me. Exercise for me has been such an interesting journey because in my 20s and definitely part of my early 30s, I used exercise as a form of punishment. I tried to make my body smaller, actually being able to switch that energy of it not being a punishment, it actually being joy and something I do for my mental health and my well-being, and to be a strong woman into my 70s, 80s, whatever you know my lifespan is going to be. I think that's another massive switch for me and it's something that I prioritise and I make time for. And now my children are older, you know I don't need to be here. And now my children are older, you know I don't need to be here to get them ready in the mornings. I don't need to be getting them dressed and it's like, oh, suddenly I can get a bit of time back to go for a run or do a strength workout, yeah, so that's another big, massive thing for me. Um, I think those two combined are probably the the biggest thing, and try not to feel guilty about taking the time as well. I think that's massive and I think that's taken me a really long time to do like.

Abbey Booth: 30:25

If I'm working in the evening, you know, realistically I can't then work all day at you know, 150 pace without it affecting me in the evening. So it's recognizing that. You know, like I had a workshop last night. So yesterday morning I went for a two, two hour walk with my friend and it was gorgeous and I'm like I didn't feel guilty about that at all, whereas four years ago I would have totally beaten myself up about that really. But I said, oh, my god, you know you need to be doing this. You need because we've been drilled in this nine to five and this working harder, where you know, all of this absolute rubbish that we, you know we don't need.

Abbey Booth: 31:02

And some people work better at different times of day as well. You know some people are morning people. I get up early but I like to potter. I was saying to you when we were going on the course night I like to potter and I like to have my coffee and I like to do a workout, I like to see my cat, and it's like those things are really important to me and I think it's recognizing that, recognizing when your flow time is.

Abbey Booth: 31:23

You know, I work really well between four and eight, which when you've got young children, it's just literally the most rubbish time, because it's when you're doing dinner, you're like doing bedtime, you're doing a story, and all the time my mind would be like but now I make two days a week, I'm not available and you know my husband does the cooking on those two days and I am not available and I'm working and I think that's great for my kids to see that that I'm prioritizing myself and my work, but when I'm with them I'm really present and really there. So I think you know those are, those are the big things for me.

Zoe Greenhalf: 31:56

I think it's not being guilty about taking the time out, it's exercise and doing it for the love of it rather than trying to be smaller and and being around other amazing people as well yeah, that I think those are all really, really valuable things and, um, it's, you know, it's just that sort of level of self-awareness as well, to know when you work best and to make those times a priority where you can, and to not feel guilty if you're doing things a different way, because, at the end of the day, you know we are going against the nine to five hustle culture. Um, because that's what designing a life around the things that we love is all about, you know, making it work for us. So I think those tips are so valuable. Thank you for sharing them.

Zoe Greenhalf: 32:42

Um, what, what do you think you'd like your sort of takeaway message to be to somebody listening to this today? Um, I know that you love this sense of sort of empowering people and I imagine perhaps somebody listening feeling a bit scared or challenged by this idea of of trying a stylist or even just buying something different. Um, would you have sort of one takeaway piece of advice or message that you'd want to leave them with?

Abbey Booth: 33:16

oh gosh. Yeah, I've got probably so many things I'd love to share, but I think I think one of the biggest things is the smallest thing. Interestingly, it's making the small changes and I think if you can create 10 minutes for yourself it's just 10 minutes, it's not that much time and just have a look through your wardrobe and pull out something that perhaps you haven't worn for a while and wear it and just think what's the worst that could happen. There's nothing bad going to happen. Potentially everything good that can happen, and it could be a beautiful necklace that you save for best.

Abbey Booth: 33:51

What is best? Every day is best. No, it's like wear the sequins. I'm wearing sequins today, so I'm like I love sequins. The weather's awful, I want to cheer myself up. So treat every day as best and get the thing out of your wardrobe, whatever it is. Is it the red dress? Is it the sparkly shoes? No, is it the big bold necklace? Is it just a little bracelet? But that you save it for best? Wear it. Just wear it because every day is best, and then tell me what happens when you wear it, because I know what will happen. You're going to feel bloody fabulous and then you're away and then you're like, what else can I do? And then it's like that rebel is coming out and you are just having the best fun. You know fashion should be fun and it is for everyone. You know it isn't exclusive, style isn't complicated, it's the application of small details and you just start small and you build from there. So that is my message thank you so much.

Zoe Greenhalf: 34:52

Where can people find out more about you and what you do?

Abbey Booth: 34:56

so I'm on Instagram. I probably spend my the most of my time on Instagram and my business is called Stories with Clothes, so you can find me there. I have a lovely website that I've just updated called storieswithclothescom, so people can pop on there. I've got lots of lovely blogs on there. I have a free body shape guide as well. My big passion is body shape, so you can pop over there and get your free guide and have a little mooch around and get inspired and see what you think. I'm on LinkedIn as well. Um, as Abby B, if LinkedIn is, is your place. I don't spend loads of time on there because I'm I'm a bit like oh, I'm not really sure this is my space, but I'm trying, I'm trying. Yeah, I feel the same. Yeah, three main spaces. I do have a Facebook page. I've got quite a big following on Facebook, but I'm just not a Facebook person, um, but I am there. So those are the sort of probably the four main spaces that you can. You can find me perfect.

Zoe Greenhalf: 35:50

Abby, thank you so much, been an absolute joy you're so welcome.

Abbey Booth: 35:54

Thank you for having me.

Zoe Greenhalf: 35:55

Thank you so, just before I leave you, here's your rebellious recap of this week's episode. Number one you don't need to be an artist to be creative. You can be a creative thinker without ever needing to be able to draw. It's just about thinking outside the box. Two if you're longing to do things differently or you're struggling because you feel like you don't fit in, remember that we are wired to seek a sense of belonging and find our tribe, so stepping away from that is a bold move that requires courage. Three if you've never really considered your style or you found fashion intimidating, think of it as dressing the soul from the inside out and wear what makes you feel like the best version of you. Four often it's the smallest changes that create the biggest impact. In the case of fashion and style, it could just be adding a statement necklace or painting your nails, but you can adapt this philosophy in life too, because little steps help you build confidence and then momentum. Five trust yourself. Listen to your gut, jump in when it feels right and the universe will meet you halfway. Whether that's a job, a move or a career pivot, follow the threads of the things that make you feel alive. 6. You don't need lots of money to create style or realise a dream, for that matter. You just need to be open and thoughtful and creative about it.

Zoe Greenhalf: 37:23

Seven Abby turned her struggle with balancing a career and family life into an opportunity to look at her options. So ask yourself if you don't do what you've always wanted to do or loved, will you regret it? Eight if changing careers feels like too much of a jump or you're not sure where you'd like to end up eventually, you can still choose an interim job that feels good, whether it's something linked to your real passion but not quite the one, or whether it's a part-time, bridging job that keeps the momentum and the money coming in whilst you build your dream alongside it. Nine know yourself If you're designing a life that truly lights you up. You can't afford to follow someone else's blueprint. Know what makes you happy, so, whether that's with some co-working, creating a morning routine or breaking up your day with exercise, make time to figure out what feels good to you, so you can then show up energized and present in the other areas of your life, not resentful or feeling guilty. And number 10, every day is for best, so wear the sequins, because fashion should be fun.

Zoe Greenhalf: 38:36

That's a wrap on another episode of the Mischief Movement podcast. That's a wrap on another episode of the Mischief Movement podcast. If today's content stirred something in you, let's keep in touch on Instagram or connect with me on LinkedIn. You can even click the link in the show notes to sign up to my Mischief Mail newsletter, where you'll get exclusive insights on upcoming episodes and your chance to submit questions to future guests. But shh don't tell anyone, it's our secret. For more info on ways to work with me and some fun free resources, check out the website themischiefmovementcom. Until next time, stay bold, stay rebellious and, of course, keep making mischief.