Friendships and The Launch of The Over 40 Collective, #O40Co.

Regular readers might recall that I’ve said on several occasions that THE best thing to come out of blogging is those friendships made with fellow bloggers. Last February, these six other women and I attended a blogging workshop and there, we bonded and realised that our diverse styles and personae lent themselves to becoming a group. A squad stronger than the sum of its parts, firmly underpinned by friendship, mutual support and honesty which we named The Over 40 Collective. You can read more, (and see some behind the scenes fun), in this earlier blog post which I wrote after a weekend together in London, during which we shot the professional images you see below with the very talented photographer Rachel Vogeleisen.

Today, one year on from the day we first met, The Over 40 Collective website has launched and we couldn’t be more excited. Our aim is to showcase those brands that target our demographic to show how seven different women can bring their own interpretations to that brand. The first set of photographs shows us each wearing a “signature style” which highlights our different styles.

I’m sure you’re familiar with all of the girls by now, but I’d like to tell you a little more about each of them if I may. So from left to right on the photograph above…

Michelle Lyndon-Dykes, The Barefaced Chic.
Michelle is our Welsh dragoness. At first, she appears to be rather scatty and has been known to “break” our Dropbox folder of shared photographs, but she is in fact a talented business woman who has a heart of gold and can fly a plane. She has two grown-up children and writes with warmth and humour, often tackling quite emotive and personal subjects.

Michelle Tyler, RetroChicMama
Michelle T is our Antipodean contingent, having moved from Sydney, Australia 20 years ago. This feisty mama of three is passionate about the environment, favours slow-fashion and is curating a wardrobe for life. She’s not afraid of airing her political opinions and does so with intelligence and integrity. Her “Menoposts” tackle the subject of The Menopause with both refreshing honesty and with humour and are an excellent resource for women in this age-group.

Catherine Summers, Not Dressed as Lamb
A photography graduate, Catherine’s blog is always a feast for the eyes. She is always willing to offer advice and support on the technical side of blogging and is incredibly generous with her support to the whole blogosphere. She can construct a complete conversation with just emojis, (that we all actually understand), and can always find the perfect GIF to represent any given situation. Catherine has an award-winning blog which as well as her outfits, (and she embraces colour and pattern like no other), features blogging and photography tips. She founded the hashtag #iwillwearwhatilike and she loves giraffes!

Lisa Lenkh, The Sequinist
Lisa is our American girl who moved to Britain 14 years ago. She’s the sparkliest member of the Over 40 Collective and sporting sequins while taking her young son to nursery is quite the norm. A former high-flying banker, she has a passion for travel. Her photographs are always stunning and she writes with such eloquence and knowledge, that her blog posts would not go amiss on the pages of Vogue.

Nikki Garnett, Midlife Chic
Nikki exudes style, class and elegance and has legions of loyal readers who agree. She is the mother of three boys and lives in the Lake District from where she runs her marketing business. At first, she appears to be quite sensible but she’s a closet party girl who managed to “lose” her toenails after dancing all night at a festival. Intelligently and articulately written, her blog posts are a wealth of information for women looking to be as chic as she is.

Annette Hoeldrich, Lady of Style,
Annette is our Bavarian beauty who treats London as her second home. She has a daughter at university in England and a son at university in Germany. She loves wine and football, favours a monochrome palette and wears faux leather leggings better than anyone I’ve ever seen. She writes her blog posts in both German and English and although her English is impeccable, she is always keen to learn more colloquialisms from us.

It’s a privilege to count these amazing women as my friends. The support and friendship we show is really quite incredible and I think we each know that whatever we do, six other women have our back. That is a very special feeling.

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Love Lizzy x

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