Menopause changes many things: our energy, our hormones, our confidence, and, for many women, even our reflection in the mirror. Clothes that once felt effortless suddenly don’t feel like us anymore. That’s where Claire Causton, also known as The Menopause Stylist, steps in. Claire helps women rediscover their identity through style, guiding them to dress with confidence, self-compassion, and joy through the physical and emotional shifts of midlife. In our conversation, she shares how style can be a powerful act of self-expression and reclamation, not about trends or approval, but about reconnecting with the woman we’ve become.

Many women say menopause changes not only their bodies but also how they feel about their clothes. From your perspective, how does style support women through this transition?

Two major shifts in menopause have a huge impact on how women feel about their body and their clothes. The first is we wake up one morning and have suddenly put on a stone overnight – that’s what it feels like anyway, our body shape actually changes, and that means the last 20-30 years of working out what suits us and makes us feel good just doesn’t work anymore. The body shape changes and weight gain mean our clothes just don’t look the same – we feel like we look frumpy. This is exactly what happened to me 4 years ago, which is how I knew I needed to speak directly to women in menopause.

The other major shift is that we start to change, our likes and dislikes, our tolerance levels, our need to feel accepted, our drive to serve and nurture, all change. Coming out the other side of this is pure joy with no F***S given, or so I hear. I’m nearly there. In the meantime, all that mental shift due to fluctuating hormones can trigger anxiety, depression, mental fatigue, and an inability to make a decision. It’s no wonder we lose our way with our style! On top of that, we start to feel invisible as we hide in oversized baggy clothes because doing anything else is just too overwhelming!

But style is and should be a projection of who we are inside, and by focusing on how you want to show up in the world, it can help you define and reconnect with your identity. For us women, our sense of confidence and self-esteem is deeply tied to how we feel about our reflection and by helping women feel good about what they see in the mirror (it has nothing to do with looking good for others), it’s helping them feel more confident and thus more seen and heard.

What are the most common style struggles women in midlife share with you, and how do you guide them to solutions that feel authentic?

As midlife women, we’re caught between grieving for our previous body and the clothes we loved to wear and worrying about looking like mutton dressed as lamb – the worst expression ever to describe a woman, by the way. On top of that, we don’t see ourselves represented anywhere. The marketing gods have yet to catch up to the fact that midlife women have disposable incomes and need new clothes due to all the major body shifts going on.

Because we’re not being represented by stores, women are lost; they’re asking, Where do I shop? They want to know the one shop they can go to so they don’t feel old or frumpy or like they shouldn’t be there. They’re worrying about what they ‘should and shouldn’t’ be wearing for their age, which trends are acceptable for them to follow and more often, they just simply have no idea about what to buy or how they want to show up in the world.

A lot of the work I do with women starts with shifting their mindset to realise they don’t have to wait until they’ve lost weight to start feeling good about themselves and invest in themselves with the right clothes that fit them properly, and they’re excited to wear. It’s all conditioning. Our generation was made to believe that ‘heroin chic’ was the ideal body to aspire to. We’ve been bombarded with messages telling us we need to ‘get back into those jeans,’ ‘drop a dress size,’ ‘look ten years younger’ I could go on. All of that was about selling us stuff. Diets, products, magazines, the latest exercise class trend and the ‘IT’ bag, remember that?

We always work on mindset first because that’s where the problem really lies, not your body. Then we have some fun and explore different style vibes, and create a moodboard of how they want to show up in the world. At this point, they’re feeling inspired and excited by clothes again. From there, it’s finding the key pieces in the real world that will bring their style to life and help their wardrobe work harder for them. The results are nothing but pure, authentic style, unique to every woman I work with.

What three simple styling tips can instantly boost a woman’s confidence during perimenopause or menopause?

1. It’s common and normal for women to gain extra weight around the middle, and they are driven to hide it and cover up. My tips would be not to try and hide your tummy, but to draw attention away from it by adding colour to your outfit. This will draw your eye rather than your tummy, add interest to the top half of your outfit, like a bold print or statement earrings
2. Create balance in your silhouette by adding volume on your top half, such as puffy sleeves or shoulders, batwing sleeves, or a loose top tucked in will all work well to distract your eye from your tummy and create balance.
3. Don’t forget the details; these finish your outfit and create enough interest to distract you from areas of your figure you’re feeling self-conscious about and help you feel really put together.

Many women feel invisible in midlife. How can style be a tool to step back into visibility and self-expression?

Style is a reflection of who we are; it speaks volumes about us before we even open our mouths, which has an impact on how others interact with us. By aligning your physical appearance with your personality and your values, you make stronger connections with those around you; they see the real you immediately, and that feels really good. To be seen and heard again is powerful for women in midlife because we still have a lot to say and do right?

So when our style aligns with who we are, with no holding back or toning down, to allow for other people’s opinion of how we should look, we feel more connected with the woman in the mirror than ever. We hold ourselves differently, we stand taller, and we feel more confident. Others react positively to that energy, and so starts a positive cycle of confidence continually validated by those new and existing connections.

Every single client messages me days later telling me about all the compliments they’ve had; they didn’t believe me when I told them to expect it.

For women who feel “stuck” in old habits, dressing the way they did years ago, how do you encourage evolution while staying true to themselves?

I feel like that is the entire purpose of the menopause journey, we’re living longer than ever and will be in perimenopause or post menopause for half our life if we’re lucky and evolving out of that first version of us into the second version of us can only be about being true to yourself, because what else is there? It’s our time to shine, to be selfish, to put ourselves first, lack of Estrogen helps with that! There is no other option than to be true to ourselves; it might be a difficult transition, but the emergence from the chrysalis is empowering and joyful. Showing women HOW they can be true to themselves by exploring their style vision and then finding the clothes to bring that vision to life, showing them it’s actually possible, is how I help them make that transition.

What would you say to women who feel guilty about investing in their wardrobe at this stage of life?

It’s natural and is something I hear frequently. I do my best to inspire and empower women to take this time as their own and replay back to them how much they’ve put others first, how much of themselves they’ve sacrificed in the first part of their life, and now it’s their turn to benefit from their own hard work, resilience and success. Many start with baby steps by just booking a 15-minute Style Clarity Call to find out what’s possible and quickly realise this is an investment in themselves that will last a lifetime. The clothes may change, but the confidence and sense of personal style will remain.

It’s also about setting an example to our daughters, that we as women are equally as important and worthy of investment, that over 40 doesn’t mean you’ve got nothing left to give and that it’s a whole new chapter that should be approached with curiosity, positivity and confidence.

If you could leave midlife women with one message about style, body confidence, and identity, what would it be?

Your identity and your body are yours to own; they are unique to you, and you deserve to look and feel like you every day, no matter what size or shape you are now. Take the chaos of menopause and channel it to become more you than ever before.

Claire’s work is a beautiful reminder that style isn’t superficial, it’s soul work in motion. As women in midlife, we’re not meant to fade into the background; we’re meant to evolve, to take up space, and to be seen. The right outfit won’t fix everything, but it can be the spark that reignites how we feel in our skin, confident, grounded, and fully ourselves. As Claire says, your body and your identity are yours to own. So maybe this season, it’s not about “getting your old self back,” but dressing for the woman you’re becoming.

If you’re ready to explore what’s next for your wardrobe (and yourself), Claire offers a free 15-minute Style Clarity Call. You can book yours here.

If my words have helped you, a small contribution here will allow them to continue reaching the women who need them most. Also, don't forget to join me on Substack, where I share my Love Notes, a gentle pause in your week to reflect, realign, and reconnect in midlife. It’s not just another newsletter; it’s an intimate circle where I offer fresh intentions, soulful prompts, and simple but powerful shifts to inspire purposeful, creative living. Together, we’ll uncover the small but meaningful changes that help you design a life that feels beautifully your own.