Interview with the best stylist in London when you need a confident boost

Catherine Hayward is a London based personal stylist. She has worked as an assistant buyer at both Browns in South Molton Street and Whistles in Oxford. Then she went on to do showroom work for designers like Nicole Farhi, Paul Costelloe, French Connection and Amanda Wakeley.  She started working as a personal stylist in 2008 when she set up her business and website ´catherinehayward.co.uk´, and since then she has worked with hundreds of clients.

Hayward describes her personal style as “a mixture of all the different centuries, put together in a harmonic way, that fits me. I like a lot of colors and patterns and I am slightly androgynous and quirky”. Colours are something that she loves to use. She feels it helps brighten your face, and also spread a little colour to the people around and make them happy. 

With the experience of dressing multiple different types of women Catherine has required a unique repertoire and can style every woman with the end goal for them to look amazing. Her outfits really pop, and always have a fun and colourful touch that brightens the mood in the rooms she walks into. When describing why she loves styling women she said, “I get consumed with all my clients, I really need to get inside the head of each individual. I love to see how far I can push the boundaries of colours and patterns. Needing to imagine who they can be and what their life is like and how they feel about themselves. That is what is fascinating, to get to know a person so deeply to know what each individual would feel amazing dressing in.” 

Not everyone is comfortable with the way we are, according to ´dosomthing.org´ 70% of girls avoid daily activities such as going to school when they don’t feel pretty. Navigating low self-esteem is a very important part of Catherines job. She said that it is one of the best parts of her line of work to see a change in her clients self-esteem. With a story she will never forget, she said “The client was a lesbian who had recently come out of the closet and therefore felt like she wanted to change the way she dressed. I made her avoid skirts and dresses, as she did not feel comfortable in them, and put her in a range of other types of clothing. Later I received a phone call from her saying that she had gone out in her new clothes and after only 15 minutes she had already received so many compliments on what she was wearing.”  Over the next months the client noticed her confidence flourished, all because of the change in what she wore. Over the years, many of her clients, like this one, have been at a turning point in their life, and as a consequence wanted to change their style. “This is where I come in, as often they don’t know where to begin with dressing themselves, so it’s my job to put them on the right track.”,she said with a smile on her face. 

Many look at clothes as a materialistic thing but Catherine doesn’t feel it is. Explaining that when you change something you really don’t like about yourself and get a good response from the outside world, this is something that is huge to your self-esteem. Everything slowly starts to change and you get more confident and try new things. Catherine says “I believe it also changes how they make decisions because now they feel good about themselves, feeling and seeing the people around them respond well to what I wear and get more respect. It also helps you make the right decisions like now I’m gonna do what’s best for me. I’m not gonna let people treat me badly anymore, because I have respect for myself again.” Explaining that confidence all around is really boosted. 

Not only dealing with different clients and their wishes and self-esteem, the weather is also a factor that needs to play into consideration. Hayward shares one of her secrets that she recently found- “I find that many types of wool are very itchy on the skin. Recently I actually have found a brand called Kari Traa that I feel has a perfect balance of wool. It’s a brand that also has amazing colours and fun patterns which is something that I really love to use. It’s made of Merino wool and it doesn’t itch on the body at all. I love wearing it when I am outdoors going skiing and when the weather is deadly I always use it as my first layer.” 

After Catherine discovered the brand “Kari Traa” she looked further into Scandinavian fashion and what she found, she loved. “In my opinion, the Scandinavian style is the best in the market right now. Scandinavian fashion is not so tight-fitting and at the same time very fashionable” She thinks that Scandinavian fashion has evolved because of gender equality. “I see how women and men are very much equal in the Scandinavian Society. The women, regardless of age, do not need the “acceptance or permission” of men for which style of clothing they choose. They must not explain themselves to anyone.” 

“I think there is another family dynamic in Scandinavia and there is more 50/ 50 in the parenting role and in the way they live over there. While men in Europe are more in control over their families, including their wives. I do believe that Scandinavian women are more independent and this independence results in their own fashion choices. For example, you do not see so many women with deep necklines and short skirts in business life in Scandinavia.” 

Catherine Hayward quoting Yves Saint Lauren “I hate fashion, but I love style”, ending with a message to explore the boundaries and don’t follow the mainstream but find yourself.