Most style writing tells you how to find your style. Few touch the running commentary that turns getting dressed into a daily self-attack. A reflection on how the inner critic shapes what we wear, what we say about ourselves, and the cost of dressing from a place of self-criticism.

A personal response to attending the Appearance Matters 11 Conference at UWE Bristol, the phrase that stayed with me, the body image research that landed, and what I’m bringing back to my counselling practice.

From the woman in head-to-toe black to the wardrobe of gorgeous clothes you no longer wear, clothes can disguise us in ways we don’t always notice. A reflection on what we wear when we want to hide and what it might be telling us.

‘Your body is your home.’ It’s one of my favourite sayings and yet so many of us are completely disconnected from the body we live in, whilst investing enormous care in the homes around us. A reflection on what it might mean to come home to yourself.