The smile is gentle, not judgemental. Her eyes flick purposefully over the floral Oliver Bonas frock I bought last year during maxi dress madness. ‘So,’ asks Rachel, crossing her arms .
‘Do you like yourself in that, Amanda?’ Do I like myself in this abomination? Hell no! It makes me look like a Laura Ashley lampshade. Sometimes all you need is an honest — and highly qualified — pair of eyes to tell you what you’ve been seeing all along.
Journalist Amanda Platell (pictured) follows the advice of UK-based stylist Rachel Fanconi. Dress, £995, epokwoman.com; earrings, ashianaaccessories.com; bangle, larkand berry.com; heels, stevemadden.co.uk.
The eyes I’m referring to here belong to stylist-to-the-stars Rachel Fanconi. She’s the British woman who has transformed Helen Mirren for the red carpet and styles an array of British talent, including Claire Foy, Joanna Lumley, Dawn French, Emily Watson and Rachel Weisz.
She’s now launched a wardrobe detox and styling service, meaning that those of us whose lives are more stair carpet than red carpet can get some of the A-list treatment.
Rachel (pictured left) says that clothes should be divided into three categories: gifted, sentimental and keepers. Blazer, £1,295 and blouse, £795, louise kennedy.com; trousers, £129, mintvelvet. co.uk; earrings, £150, vanpeterson.com
Two years ago, I didn’t need Rachel. Aged 62, I had zing-aplenty, with a great job and a busy social life. And of course I had the wardrobe to match.
Then Covid struck. Before you could say Zoom, my designer dresses had been replaced with leggings and T-shirts. Stripped of what normally gives me joy, I completely lost my style mojo.
After two years, suddenly all those outfits felt dated. An additional challenge was the realisation that in my 60s my body shape is changing, leaving me with rails of dresses I can never wear again.
Coat, £705 and skirt, £215, fenwick.co.uk; top, £59, baukjen.com; trainers, £179, solebliss.com; bracelets, £55.50 and cuff, £72, ashianaaccessories.com; earrings, £185, vanpeterson.com
Print dress, £219, Stella Nova at thebiascut.com; orange court shoe, £229, lkbennett.com; gold hoops, £200, van peterson.com.
I have five wardrobes in my house, full of expensive clothes — but ironically I had nothing to wear.
The first step was for Rachel to do a wardrobe audit.
I’d feared she’d be terrifying, like Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. Rachel, however, is actually chic and gently persuasive.
Her advice is to divide your clothes into three categories. There are ‘gifters’ to go to the charity shop or friends — these are the pieces that don’t fit you or are unflattering. Then there are the ‘sentimentals’ — clothes that you won’t wear again but have a strong emotional pull — to be stored away. Finally, there are the ‘keepers’, items you cherish and could incorporate into a new wardrobe.
Rachel is not a proponent of the ‘ i f you’ve not worn it for six months or a year it should go’ school of thought. She believes most women have pieces that may be old but can be reworked.
Detoxing my clothes was a surprisingly emotional process. For example, when Rachel pulled out the Amanda Wakeley dress I wore to my parents’ funeral which doesn’t flatter my current figure; definitely one for the ‘sentimentals’ pile.
Or the Roland Mouret I’d slithered into on my first date with the second love of my life. Rachel suggested it’s so beautiful we could try and get it let out by a good tailor. Recycling old frocks when fashion is one of the world’s biggest polluting industries made me feel good.
Dress, £795, winserlondon. com; earrings, £37.50, ashianaaccessories.com; heels, £295, terrydehavilland. com
By the end of the process, we’d slimmed down my collection to just one wardrobe of clothes I actually wear, with space for new items she would pick out for me. And two enormous bags of clothes were destined for a better place.
It’s easy to get into a fashion rut without realising it. Rachel pointed out that I didn’t have many shirts, wearable jackets or casual dresses in my collection. As for colours, I have become addicted to black and navy.
The next step was for her to buy some new items to complement my wardrobe while instructing me to invest in Spanx. Yes, Spanx! I’m probably the only woman left on the planet who hasn’t discovered these gifts to the expanding middle-aged midriff. Rachel recommends you always wear shapewear under dresses for special occasions, but can get away with clever tailoing for day-to-day.
Next I discovered that you have to trust the stylist when she brings out something and your initial reaction is ‘yuck’.
Take the Stella Nova orange flower print bias cut dress. To me it looked worryingly like another Laura Ashley lampshade, but Rachel assured me that it would work, explaining the position of the ties would define my waistline, and the on-trend balloon sleeves add a touch of fun.
And she was right, of course. I also loved the LK Bennett orange shoes, which could add a pop of colour to a black dress, dark jeans or neutrals.
Long beaded dress, £1,950, elizajanehowell.com; silver platform heels, £325, terrydehavilland.com
Meanwhile, I instantly liked the blue Jaeger blazer and two-in-one striped boyfriend shirt cleverly combined with a camel jumper, white jeans and Peacock boots, which are only £26.
‘White jeans always look fresh,’ Rachel agrees. ‘These jeans aren’t skin-tight, instead they’re a more flattering straight leg shape. And the cropped length is perfect for these transitional spring months.’ Rachel believes a blazer is a wardrobe staple — particularly for those of us who haven’t worn officewear for a while.
‘The structure of a blazer is an effective way to update all those lockdown dresses and knits and makes you feel put together,’ she says. ‘A wardrobe of good neutral jackets will last years, as the basic blazer shape never goes out of style.’
And she brought so much colour to my dull life. The red Winser London maxi dress accentuates your midriff and makes your legs look endless. This is going straight into my wardrobe; with boots I could wear it to work, and with heels I could wear it anywhere. Though it’s long, the flash of leg stops it looking frumpy. ‘This shade of red is such a positive colour and is great for you,’ Rachel explains. ‘As we age, it’s nice to reassess which colours are the most flattering, as this does change with alterations in hair colour and skin tone.’
I so adored the green Epok Woman dress, with its cinched waist. The khaki Max Mara coat and yellow skirt are gorgeous, although I’m wary of linen, which can end up looking like a crumpled bag. However, Rachel suggested I couldcreate the look myself with an old Max Mara navy coat and my own striped tops.
lazer, £150, Jaeger at marksandspencer. com; top, £385, and jeans, £180, trilogystores.co.uk; boots, £26, peacocks. co.uk; earrings £250 vanpeterson.com
Rachel advises that white trainers are a great choice in middle age, as they’re comfortable and youthful looking.
The striped navy and white trousers by Mint Velvet, at £109, were immediately purchased — the vertical stripes cleverly elongating my legs.
As Rachel reminded me, I already have an Amanda Wakeley navy silk shirt from years ago, and I can get a more affordable white blazer than the Louise Kennedy she picked out, which costs over £1,000.
The items she chose for me could be styled in different ways — the blazer would work with the skirt or floral dress, and there are many more options when mixed with my existing wardrobe, too.
Of course, you can’t have a session with a celebrity stylist without including an Oscar-ceremony-worthy dress.
What can I say about the Eliza Jane Howell beaded number? Simply sublime, it made me feel like a million dollars. I don’t have many opportunities to wear it — yet for one moment I was transported onto that red carpet.
So fast forward two years, I have a new, refreshed wardrobe: some things old, some things new, some things borrowed — that beaded dress is sadly out of my price range — and some things blue.
My new look is certainly helping me feel refreshed, too: my mojo is back.
