A love letter to London…
There are some places that just feel like home, and for me, East London is one of them. After nearly ten years of previously living and working in London, I’m very excited (and slightly terrified!) to be moving back and making the city the new home of Colours & Costumes. This time, though, I’m not moving back to London to find a job. I’m moving back to make this my job.
From 28th September, Colours & Costumes will be a full-time London business, and I’ll be launching the full range of my colour analysis, styling and visual branding services from my new place in East London, which feels like a pretty big milestone for me.
When I started Colours & Costumes, I knew I wanted to combine all of the things I love, colour, fashion, costume, film, storytelling and helping people feel genuinely great about themselves. Since then, the business has grown into something much bigger than I initially imagined. Now I want to bring it into the city where I feel it belongs.
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One of the things I’m most excited about is being able to work more closely with young creatives. London is full of actors, writers, directors, designers, photographers, musicians and all of the incredibly talented people who make the creative industries what they are. But when you’re starting out, figuring out how you want to present yourself can be surprisingly difficult.
What should you wear to a casting? How to present yourself authentically online? What colours actually work for your headshots? How do you create a wardrobe when you’re constantly being told you need to look “professional”, but you also want to look like you?
And perhaps most importantly, how do you develop a personal style without spending an absolute fortune? That’s where I come in.
I want to be the person to help young professionals learn how to use colour, lines and styling to feel more confident and comfortable in themselves. Whether that’s for an audition, a headshot session, a networking event, a show or simply everyday life.
I’m particularly excited about working with actors and other creatives on Visual Branding, helping you understand what you want your image to communicate and how you can create a wardrobe and colour palette that actually feels like you.
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And I want to work with the creative industries too!
Moving back to London also means I can finally start building the creative industry side of Colours & Costumes properly.
I’d love to work with theatres, drama schools, production companies, film and television productions, talent agencies, casting directors, photographers, costume departments, creative businesses and so much more.
There are so many different ways that colour and styling can be useful behind the scenes.
From helping clients to understand their most flattering colours for headshots and self tapes, to supporting productions with colour and visual research, costume consultation and character styling, I’m really interested in exploring where my expertise can fit.
If you work in a creative field and think there might be something we could do together, I would genuinely love to hear from you.
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But I also want to have some fun with it. Not everything has to be serious!
One of my favourite things about colour analysis is that it can be incredibly social. So, once I’m settled back in London, I’m hoping to work with some lovely local businesses to put on a few events before the end of the year.
Think colour analysis, cocktails, shopping, clothes, good music and meeting new people.
I’d love to run events where women can discover their best colours, learn more about their body shape and understand what actually suits them, without feeling like they need to completely reinvent their wardrobe. One of my biggest goals with Colours & Costumes is to help people shop better, not just shop more.
I want you to know what colours you should be looking for when you walk into a shop. I want you to understand which shapes and silhouettes make you feel amazing. I want you to be able to look at your wardrobe and actually know what works.
And hopefully, that means buying fewer things that end up abandoned at the back of the wardrobe six months later, taking up much needed space in your London flat.
If I can help you save money and look better, that feels like a win to me.
So, if you're a London business with a fun space, a fashion, beauty, lifestyle or creative brand, a bar, restaurant, studio or shop and you fancy hosting a colourful evening with me, please get in touch!
I’m very open to ideas, collaborations and slightly ridiculous event concepts.
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There’s something really lovely about returning to a place you once called home, but doing it as a completely different person.
I first moved to London nearly ten years ago. I’ve worked there, studied there, made friends there, had countless nights out there and spent far too much money on clothes there. Now I’m coming back with a business that I’ve built myself, a much clearer idea of what I want to do, and a very long list of things I want to try.
I’m incredibly grateful that I get to make Colours & Costumes my full-time job. It’s something I’ve been working towards for a long time, and I’m so excited to see where it can go.
So, East London, I’m coming home. And if you’re a creative, a business owner, a production team, a photographer, a theatre, a brand, or simply someone who wants to feel like the main character in their life.
I hope I’ll be seeing you soon. xo