I am married to a lovely man who is now 60 years of age and rarely looks in the mirror – this is despite my nagging and pleading that he really should be aware of how he might appear to the rest of the population before venturing out of the door. Despite this stubborn ‘maleness’  even he now wears a daily moisturiser, uses a balm to help him shave (though without a mirror to guide him) and has his own favourite brand of hair gel (once again applying it without the aid of a mirror). So if my man can take up the habits which were once confined to the female species, there’s a huge chance that all the other males out there will be doing the same. We’ve heard recently of the manliner (eyeliner for men) and mancara (mascara) but it seems there is nothing that is sacred to the ‘new’ man of today. If you want to see what I mean, check out www.e-mancipate.net. This is a website, one of many apparently, that teaches a man how to wear tights. Not just any old tights, but pink ones, flowery ones and of course, the staple American Tan. It even shows them how to deal with ladders. Not sure my hubby is ready for Mantyhose yet, but who knows. It would certainly make a great Christmas ‘stocking filler’!!

It’s been a very busy week for me and you must have been wondering where I’d got to. I’ve been with lovely clients every day and I have a business trip to New Zealand to prepare for and my Finding Your Fabulousness workshop taking place this Wednesday- so busy but happy. I am a very lucky woman – I know. Those of you that read my blog and e-zines will know that I’m hot on great customer service and what struck me was that the service levels in department stores seem to have risen since the credit crunch has been announced. I was personal shopping in Leicester at the Highcross shopping centre on Friday and every assistant in John Lewis seemed to ‘pounce’ on me after a few seconds of looking round. Usually I can never find anyone to help me, so some good must have come out of the bad times. Prices were keen also, with John Lewis offering 20%, Debenhams 30% and House of Fraser up to 70% off some items. There’ll be nothing left for the January sales at this rate.  It also struck me that despite this, the sales floors were pretty quiet for this time of year. Perhaps we are all taking stock, literally, to see what we can cut out or at least reduce expenditure on. In our circle, we have pledged to spend a maximum of £15 per person this year. It requires some creative thought but I hope that my friends and family will appreciate what Michael and I will be presenting to them this year. Once you get over the initial shock it becomes quite an exciting challenge if, like me, you really want to give gifts that you know will be enjoyed by the recipient.  Christmas cards will be eliminated in favour of a charitable donation, which also makes sense.  If you’re feeling the pinch in your household budget, Delia Smith’s ‘Frugal Food’ is back in the shops and she shows you how to make a Christmas lunch for about £3-4 per head. To stretch things further, you can always sell your unwanted clothes on e-bay or at a dress agency or run a swishing party, where you and your friends swap your clothes with one another.  Other tricks include shortening hemlines so that an old dress becomes a tunic, swapping buttons on a jacket to give a new look and feel or buying a beautiful scarf or pair of gloves  to liven up and old coat. Accessories, of course, will always come to your rescue so make the most of them to change your style and image cheaply and easily.

I’m a big believer in Fashion Feng Shui®, maintaining that what you wear is as influential on your life as your home and business decors. It teaches you how to dress with mindfulness and intention so that your clothes express your authenticity and attract your deepest desires and I’m happy to have been the first licensed practitioner in the UK for quite some while now. It was therefore a great pleasure to be interviewed last night by the founder herself, Evana Maggiore, on a call with over 50 participants including some from New Zealand, who must have got up at the crack of dawn to listen in. I hope I was able to give something to those listeners as I believe that a continous strving and thirst for knowledge has always been a massive driver for me. In the last month, I have been so fortunate to have been with some of the ‘greats’ in the image world. Authors and teachers such as Evana (www.fashionfengshui.com), Brenda Kinsel (you must read her 40/40 book – www.brendakinsel.com) Carla Mathis (www.bodybeautiful.net) and Dylan Jones (Editor of GQ magazine) have come into my life to inspire and nurture my intellect and my soul.  My coach, who is also an inspirational author, must have been on my wavelength last week when she wrote her blog about her clothing choices. She realised that as we progress along life’s path our feelings for what we want to wear on our bodies changes accordingly. It’s like the garments have a chemistry which needs to match our own on a cellular level. I firmly believe we have a modicum of the potential knowledge we could have about colour wavelengths and how they resonate with us as individuals and that, whether you believe it or not, wearing specific colours can help us to achieve what we need in our lives. Our clothes do more than just clothe and style us, they can nurture, promote, power, soothe and so on. That’s why I advocate occasionally trying something on in the changing room without looking in the mirror before you buy. You’ll know if it’s right for you or not – try it and see.  For Karen Knowler’s blog go to http://www.karenknowler.typepad.com/living_magically/

My last posting mentioned that M&S are about to launch a clothing range aimed at women over 45. According to today’s Telegraph, it looks like they been pipped to the post by George at Asda. Fiona Lambert, their brand director, realised that Asda were leaving ‘unloved’ a whole section of their customer base and it needed to be addressed (no pun intended).  The solution – Moda- a collection of classics in beautiful fabrics with attention to detail, that are also on trend. Real thought has put into what goes into their first collection due out in March 2009, so you’ll find: jeans and trousers with a higher waistband to stop the overflow of expansive flesh; skirt and dress hemlines are slightly longer but stop short of frumpy; dresses have sleeves; coats are tailored and knitwear is pure cashmere or angora-mixes. Good news too are the prices which start at £14 for jeans and £30 for a coat. Another range, Dress Point is a collection of dresses that are refreshed every 6 weeks and, like Moda, come in sizes 8-22 which is also great news for those of us who are small or fuller figured. The men have not been forgotten and Boston Crew has been launched for the over 45 male, so you can do your shopping together while picking up the weekly groceries. So make it a date for your diary to pop along to your nearest store next March.

I read in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph two journalists’ comments about the once mighty Marks & Spencer (now rebranded as M&S) the bastion of all retailers, once renowned for its fantastic customer service, quality products, fair pricing, great food and staff that were a cut above the rest. The brand that all other clothing retailers aspired towards. Well in 2008, profits are massively down and so we turn to the credit crunch as the source of the trouble. Poppycock! I agree with the Telegraph journalist, Sarah Mower. M&S, despite its fabulous advertising campaigns involving the beautiful Twiggy, Myleen et al  which originally did entice me into the store -  only to find that my local shop had none of the things I wanted in stock and I would ‘ need to go to London’ – has lost the plot with where it’s going. It is trying to be everything to everybody and has lost sight of its core customer. Leaving aside underwear, I would say that M&S used to appeal to women of a slightly older age range. Well, I am one of them that fits into this category and I stopped shopping there ages ago. Why?  Firstly, the merchandise is not set out to entice you to buy. Walking into the store, you find sections of cashmere sweaters, followed by T-shirts (even in Winter), then track suits and so on.  Compare with John Lewis where garments are arranged on mannequins so you are able to see how they fit together to create a fantastic ensemble. The average consumer wants shopping to be easy and most have no idea how to put an outfit together. The retailer needs to make it simple and fun and to awaken our imagination to the possibilities, otherwise the purchased garment hangs in the wardrobe for months and months unworn because we don’t have anything to wear it with.  John Lewis, Debenhams, Top Shop have their own Fashion Advisors/Personal Shoppers and they are free of charge, so if you really can’t work out what to buy they will help you, as will someone like me who is trained to do just that because we understand you, your preferences, your physicality and so on and we can scan a shop in seconds and root out something that will make you look stunning (or whatever else you want to achieve).  M&S? You can’t even find anyone on the shop floor to ask, let alone to help you find an outfit. All staff are safely stationed behind a checkout desk or in the fitting room. Older women, and I’m classing myself as one, do not want to be wearing the same as anyone else they might meet on the street. Unfortunately, the Per Una range is instantly recognisable on the wearer (though it has its fans) and seems to have stood still over time with a plethora of garments being updated in a different colour way each year rather than introducing something new and modern to the collection. The skirt lengths reach the floor and although that might be on trend at the moment, it hasn’t been for the rest of the time they have been hanging there.  We want to look unique. The Limited Collection and Autograph sections are certainly nothing out of the ordinary and I could find better elsewhere.  Some ‘older’ women will venture into Top Shop, Zara, Mango and the like but more are scared to. The sense of feeling too old and being laughed out of the store overshadows the urge to buy, even though it can be successful (see my previous blog about the skirt I purchased and the fantastic service I received). M&S, this is your chance to shine.  Apparently, there is a new range aimed at the 45 plus woman due out imminently.  My feeling – don’t hold your breath – but I hope I’m wrong.