A Styled Life

About A Styled Life

Welcome to A Styled Life, the podcast for purpose-led female founders & senior leaders ready to use style as a powerful tool for confidence, impact, and influence. I'm your host, Alex Standley, multi award-winning Personal Stylist, Speaker and Sustainable Fashion Consultant, with two decades of experience in the fast-paced world of fashion. Join me as we redefine success from the inside out. This podcast isn’t just about clothes. It’s about personal power, purposeful style, and creating a life that aligns with your values. So whether you’re running a business, leading a movement, or stepping into your next chapter, you’re in the right place. Each week, we’ll dive into the world of personal style, sustainability, female empowerment, and living with intention. Through real stories, expert insights, and plenty of inspiration.

Publisher

Alex Standley

Category

arts · business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

31 Jul 2025

Latest episode

28 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

55 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   28 Oct 2026

   Shopping Preloved with Confidence & Building A Purpose-Led Female Founder Brand Antonia Johnstone

   When you pay a little more for something and it stretches you, you think harder about it. Then you treasure it. Antonia Johnstone said this halfway through our conversation, and it sums up why preloved luxury matters for women who lead. Sign of the Times has been selling preloved luxury in London since 1976, and this month it begins its 50th year. Antonia took it over in 2019, inheriting a business that ran on handwritten slips, cheques and receipt books stacked in the attic. Three months later, lockdown closed the doors. She moved the stock into her flat, modelled every piece herself and worked from 4am to midnight to get it online. Sign came out the other side fully digital, and she marked it with a green Gucci suit she still describes as empowering to wear. We talk about building confidence as an introverted founder, why what you wear speaks to investors and clients before you do, how Sign spots what’s coming back before it trends, and why a classic bag can hold or grow its value while a high street piece loses most of its worth the day you buy it. As a buyer, I was surrounded by newness and bought into far too much of it. The pieces I still treasure are the few I chose with real intention, like an embroidered Needle & Thread jacket my daughter has already claimed for when she’s older. This conversation is a reminder that the best wardrobe is built from pieces worth passing on. TIMESTAMPS 01:03 Fifty years of Sign of the Times 02:38 A £10 dress and a light bulb moment in Bath 04:58 Why shopping preloved asks you to know your own style 06:58 When starting a business felt less daunting than an interview 08:07 Building confidence through exposure (pitching to a room of investors) 10:31 Keys, cheques and receipt books: taking on a 40-year-old business 11:59 Lockdown: modelling every piece from her own flat 15:07 The green Gucci suit and the moment it marks 16:05 Why paying a bit more makes you treasure it 20:01 Walking with women through life’s biggest moments 22:25 Tatler meets Waitrose meets your naughty aunt: honouring 50 years 25:48 Leading with resilience, fairness and a lot of fun 32:09 How a founder or senior leader can start shopping preloved 35:57 How Sign spots what’s coming back 38:27 Handbags as assets and wealth passed down 46:11 Quickfire questions KEY TAKEAWAYS A timeless piece is personal. It’s the one you love enough to keep. What stretches you to buy, you think about. What you think about, you treasure. When you are the face of the business, what you wear speaks before you do. Confidence grows each time you put yourself in the room. Online, buy what you know works. In store, ask an expert to help you branch out. Ready to build a wardrobe of pieces worth keeping? If you’re a founder or senior leader who wants what you wear to carry the same weight as your work, Identity to Impact takes you from identity through to shopping with intention. 👉 Book a free Style Strategy Call: https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call (https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call) CONNECT WITH ANTONIA & SIGN OF THE TIMES Shop online or visit the flagship on Chelsea Green. Website: www.signofthetimeslondon.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sign_ofthetimes/ (https://www.instagram.com/sign_ofthetimes/) https://www.instagram.com/antoniajohnstone/ (https://www.instagram.com/antoniajohnstone/)

2. 

   21 Oct 2026

   Confidence, Style and the Power of the Pause for High-Achieving Women with Gemma Lea Edelman

   Most of us have one thing we reach for on the days that count. The earrings, the lipstick, the jacket that makes us stand a little taller. We call it a finishing touch. What if it’s doing far more work than that? In this episode of A Styled Life, I’m joined by Gemma Lea Edelman, Conscious Business and Leadership Consultant, mentor and creator of the Inner Compass Method. Ten years ago, Gemma’s life ticked every box. Then her body shut down, and doctors told her to prepare for a future that might include a wheelchair. What followed was a forced pause she now calls the greatest gift of her life. We talk about getting dressed as a ritual, choosing what to wear on the days your hormones have other plans, and why your body can only hold your dreams to the level your nervous system can cope with. I recorded this the day after I’d finally made time to clear out my own wardrobe. Some pieces I loved simply didn’t feel like me anymore, and it reminded me that this work needs space, even for those of us who teach it. If you’ve been running on autopilot, consider this your permission to pause. KEY TAKEAWAYS Getting dressed can be a ritual that tells your body who is walking into the room. Sometimes the doing is in the not doing. What you choose to wear matters less than the energy you choose it from. Your body can only hold your dreams to the level your nervous system can cope with. Ask how the future version of you would show up today, then start acting like her. TIMESTAMPS 04:05 The power of a pause 06:35 Clearing my wardrobe and the dress that no longer felt like me 08:40 Being you in every arena 14:28 Style as nervous system regulation 16:03 Dressing on the days your hormones have other plans 19:57 The forced pause: a shiny life put on hold 28:13 Why your nervous system sets the limit on your dreams 32:59 The Inner Compass Method and the courage of recognition 39:31 Human Design, Gene Keys and fitting the work to the woman 42:08 Showing up from a place that feels safe 44:23 How would the future you show up today? 46:13 Quickfire wardrobe questions READY TO DRESS FOR WHO YOU ARE NOW? If this conversation has you looking at your wardrobe differently, and you’re ready for how you dress to reflect who you are today, a Style Strategy Call is where we begin. It’s a free, no-pressure conversation. 👉 Book yours here: https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call (https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call) CONNECT WITH GEMMA Gemma runs retreats in the UK and Spain and six and twelve month mentorships. You’ll find her upcoming retreats and current availability on her website. Website: https://www.gemmaleaedelman.com (https://www.gemmaleaedelman.com/) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gemmaleaedelman/ (https://www.instagram.com/gemmaleaedelman/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gemma-lea-edelman-844a742a4/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/gemma-lea-edelman-844a742a4/)

3. 

   14 Oct 2026

   What to Wear on Camera: A Personal Stylist's Guide for Dressing for Video, Podcasts and Pitches

   You've said yes. The podcast interview, the pitch video, the panel that's being live streamed, the brand film for your website. It's in the diary, it will be online for years, and one question is sitting at the back of your mind: what on earth do I wear? This episode is my answer. On camera, people don't get your voice filling a room or the energy you bring when you walk in. They get a small rectangle, mostly your face and whatever sits around your neckline. That means your outfit is doing far more of the talking. I cover the practical side first, the things the camera picks up that a mirror never will: microphones, fabric, pattern, colour and your background. Then we go deeper, into making sure the woman on screen looks and feels like you, because that is the version people will find, share and remember. I've watched so many women be warm, funny and full of energy right up until the camera starts rolling. Then the shoulders rise, the smile goes and work mode takes over. So often the outfit is part of that. Dress as the version of you that you think a serious professional should look like, and you'll perform that version on screen. This episode is about dressing from who you actually are, so your outfit comes off the list of things you pick apart when you watch it back. What's left is a woman people recognise in a single frame and remember long after the clip ends. TIMESTAMPS 1:03 - What to wear when you'll be on camera 2:14 - Why the camera changes how an outfit reads 3:52 - Microphones, fabrics and staying cool under the lights 6:14 - Patterns, prints and colours that work on screen 8:45 - Test your outfit before recording 9:16 - Dress like yourself, not your job title 11:36 - When black works, and the psychology of colour 13:47 - Creating a recognisable visual signature KEY TAKEAWAYS On camera, the frame is mostly your face and neckline, so the colour closest to your skin carries your whole first impression. If you're managing your outfit, you're not managing the room. Every fidget is recorded. Decide how you want people to feel when the clip ends before you decide what to wear. Black is powerful when you choose it because it makes you feel strong. Worn to avoid being seen, the camera picks that up threefold. Your signature is what people recognise in a single frame, before they've read your name. Your next camera moment is already in the diary. The recording will outlast the day. It will sit on YouTube, in podcast feeds and on your website for years, introducing you to people long before you meet them. That first frame should do what your work already does: make the right people take you seriously before you've said a word. Room Ready Style is built for exactly this. We start with your identity, translate it into a signature style that is undeniably yours, and build two outfits for the moment ahead. You sit down, press record and never give your outfit a second thought. The woman people find online is the same woman they meet in the room, and she's the one who gets rebooked, referred and remembered. 👉 Book a free Style Strategy Call: https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call (https://www.alexandrastandley.co.uk/service-page/style-strategy-call) Know a woman who has just said yes to her first moment on camera? Send her this episode before she gets dressed for it.

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Spotify

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

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