Brix Smith Start chats about bringing back beachwear
And now television fashionista and boutique owner Brix Smith Start is boosting up 50-something-year-old British ladies by bringing them back onto Bournemouth beach with an exciting campaign with online clothing retailer, Isme.
Brix tells FemaleFirst: "Isme set about designing a range of clothing for women over 50, taking into account things about women's bodies that may have changed.
"What they did with the swimwear was really clever, they were cut with great support and colours, so we did a photoshoot on the beach with models that were over 50 in this fantastic swimwear."
A new survey has revealed that a staggering 66% of women feel very uncomfortable and unconfident when it comes to donning on the beachwear and Brix believes that with the right choice in one-pieces, that could change.
"I would give ladies that have little or no confidence the advice of get supported swimwear and find something that's cute and they like. I would usually go for one all over colour and not a pattern, I like that better," Brix advises.
"The same with swimwear, when you get to that certain age, go for the support. You don't build a house without the foundations!"
As shown in the shoot, the fuschia palette works well for women of all shapes and sizes. It's bright, bold an
d injects life into not only complexion but personality too. Navy and Charcoal are two of Brix's favourite colour choices as they are 'softer and less aging on the skin.'
"The collection considers the cut at the height of the leg, where the support is that brings it in the waist and at the boobs too. Isme have taken into consideration the areas where women can feel vulnerable about," she explains
"Certainly as a stylist I've learned that that women that hit and are over 40 and 50 are in a t
ransitional period in their style. You cannot wear what you wore when you were 20 or 30 - your body has changed.
"You think differently about yourself, you look different and there's different things you're going through emotionally," she continues.
This is not just limited to beachwear as confidence in styling can be an issue throughout some women's wardrobes.
"You have to reinvent the way you dress at 40. If you dress too young and you're wearing what you did at 30 in your closet you're going to look like mutton and that will age you, but you don't want to wear old lady clothes either on the other hand.
"What you have to do is start to think and really be clever with what you're wearing. I believe you have to go more classic...but with a twist," Brix says.
She recommends finding yourself a perfect template for your shape to fit you, such as a great dress: "It's important to get pieces that really fit you and some inverstment pieces, you don't have to spend a lot of money as you can get these on the highstreet, like a great dress, great trousers a couple of blouses - things that you can really work in different ways."
"I love to use bold accessories to update it, to give it a twist and your own personal style," adds Brix.
Support is key to every wardrobe. Get it right and you'll take inches from your figure, get it wrong and you'll be trapped in baggy clothes forever.
The Gok's Fashion Fix guru says: "When you have the right bra it can take a size off you, literally you can go down a dress size. By lifting the breasts you expose the waist and you'll give the clothes the right proportion and they fit right. You even hold yourself better, all kinds of things happen.
"The same with swimwear, when you get to that certain age, go for the support. You don't build a house without the foundations!"
Encouraged by her mother to express herself through styling from a young age, Brix has found her vacation in helping women find their perfect look. She feels that dressing correctly and creatively is a powerful thing.
"When you feel good with what you're wearing you project that confidence and get it back from the world and I'm passionate about that."
Brix says the most rewarding aspect of fashion and styling is watching a woman come to her desperate to look her best and leaving her beaming, standing up straight, glowing and flinging their hair back.
"I'm a fashion shrink because I understand what people's problems are and I can help them through certain issues, she enthuses."
"That for me is the whole thing. It's almost like healing with clothing!"
FemaleFirst Jenna Fordie
twitter: @Jenna_FAM