I absolutely love your top* - where did you get it from?

* top / dress / trousers / blouse - insert as necessary!
And 5 reasons why I am blogging

You know that really stylish friend whose outfits you absolutely adore but don't feel like you can ask this question for fear of being a copycat?  Or the one that you love to go shopping with as she will always point you in the right direction?  Come on we all have them - I have two that I can think of off the top of my head!  Well bloggers are an extension of that I think.

I started finding blogs when I stumbled across a few that caught my interest.  They still remain my favourite bloggers today.  Avril at A Life to Style, Donna at I Won't Wear Sludge Brown, Beth at Style Guile and Lizzy at What Lizzy Loves.

Then slowly I realised that sometimes I was that friend.  I got asked to go shopping, to encourage friends to step out of their comfort zone, to choose a special occasion outfit.  I learnt that I loved running around the shops choosing outfits for others.  I also get asked a lot 'where did you get that top* from'?

So I tentatively dipped my toe into blogging.  I asked my son to set up an easy to use website for me.  I thought of a name - I was approaching 50 and I wanted to feel fabulous so that was easy.  I started an Instagram account just for my blog and outfits.  I was very shy but I decided to go for it.

Here are my top 5 reasons why I blog!

1. I love to help others.
2. I love style and I love sharing ideas.
3. I don't go out to work or have a regular excuse to dress up so sharing my outfits gives me that excuse!
4. I love shopping - by myself or for friends.
5. I enjoy learning new skills and the technical side is certainly challenging me.​

Browsing in John Lewis with my daughter

​Donna at I Won't Wear Sludge Brown has recently published two excellent blog posts - she had got a bit disillusioned with the endless consumerism and perfect lives posted on Instagram and it had made her question her blogging future.  But after sharing her concerns she had a lot of feedback - we love what you do, don't stop!  So she wrote about her blogging plans going forward - and it is all about honesty and being real.

It came at a time when I have been planning my blogging future.  I had decided I definitely wanted to do more with Fifty & Fab but I didn't want to be that annoying blogger that seems to appear in a perfect, different outfit every day.  With amazing photos and an endless supply of new clothes.  Wearing stiletto heels when really they are probably at home doing their housework or on the school run like the rest of us.  I also don't want to be posting so many 'must have' new clothes that you end up becoming a shopaholic (if you aren't already, I am) and spending too much or you get fed up of me not keeping it real.

So when you see me on Instagram or posting a new blog about what I'm wearing, I can assure you that it is very real.  I will have recycled a lot of what is already in my wardrobe and mixed it with one or two (or more) new season pieces.  I will have done the housework and the school run..  I will have taken the dogs for a muddy walk or done a workout and rushed home to change.  I will be stressing over what to cook for dinner and do I need to run into Waitrose?

And if you see something I am wearing that you love - then ask me for the details or take a look to see if I have posted a link to that item or something similar.  Or look in your wardrobe and decide if you already have something similar you can wear differently?

I am really hoping to work with a few more brands in the future, I will tell you if a post is a gifted item or a sponsored post.  I am especially keen to work with smaller brands - I have noticed from my recent networking just how many amazing women are out there setting up small but inspirational businesses.  There are so many to share and tell you about.  Which I am planning to do soon.

But most of all I want to INSPIRE YOU TO FEEL FABULOUS too.  I hope you can look at me and my life and think I could do that, I could wear that, I could exercise a bit more.  Or whatever it is that you love and will help you feel fabulous!

And because of this I decided to start my own hashtag on Instagram #beingfiftyandfab I'd love you to share what you are doing, what is making you feel fab that day or how you live a fabulous life!  Post a photo on Instagram and tag it #beingfiftyandfab and I will share some of my favourite ones every month!

Social Media can be a tough place to be sometimes.  Some days I look at my feed and think 'Really?' - is her life really that perfect?  Does she never slow down?  Etc!  But it can also be a huge positive in our lives.  I have met some really lovely women since I started and there is no doubt it has given my confidence a boost.  This is an excellent Podcast from the lovely Gabrielle Treanor - all about the social media trap and how to handle it.  Do listen!

Love from
Michelle xx

Boden Diana Dress (some colours on discount)

Above: Donna from I Won't Wear Sludge Brown, Avril from A Life to Style, Beth from Style Guile and Lizzy from what Lizzy Loves