Own Your Time Mette Baillie
I’m joined this week by Mette Baillie, founder of Freja Designer Dressmaking on Own Your Time.
In this uplifting and insightful episode, Sarah chats with award-winning designer and dressmaker Mette Baillie, founder of Freja Designer Dressmaking in Edinburgh. With decades of experience crafting timeless, made-to-measure garments, Mette brings a deeply intentional and sustainable approach to fashion… one that goes far beyond trends.
Key takeaways from this episode:
Mette’s journey from childhood creativity to professional couture
How what you wear can literally change how you show up and how others perceive you
The surprising link between clothes and productivity
Why a capsule wardrobe can help you reclaim your mornings (and your sanity)
Simple ways to make your wardrobe more sustainable, without sacrificing style
Connect with Mette Baillie on LinkedIn here.
Join her free group on Facebook with dressmaking tips and tricks here.
And lastly, follow her on Instagram here @FreyaDesignerDressmaking.
Read the transcript:
00:00 What if running your business didn't mean sacrificing your time, your health, or your weekends? Welcome to Own Your Time, the podcast where we trade hustle culture for mindful, sustainable success.
00:14 I'm Sarah Stewart, and around here we're all about getting more time for what really matters. Today I'm chatting with Mette Baillie, an award-winning, mature designer, dressmaker, and educator based in Edinburgh.
00:29 Mette is the founder of Freja Designer dressmaking, where she's been creating timeless, made-to-measure garments for over two decades now. She's passionate about helping women feel confident and powerful through clothing that truly reflects who they are.
00:46 Mette also teaches dressmaking, empowering others to craft their own wardrobes with intention and joy. Let's get into it. Welcome. Thanks for joining me on your time.
00:59 So much. Um, I would love to start at the beginning and I think about what it was that sparked your love for making clothes, and I guess maybe a little bit about your story about how that then evolved into a business.
01:15 Yeah, so I'm from a family of dressmakers. My granny was incredible. She had five daughters and made everything for them, sort of, and repurposed things and stuff.
01:26 My mum is also a decent dressmaker, um, and then, My first, like, I, I did make clothes for my dolls.
01:35 Longer than, like, I never played with them, but just made them close. And I was, I remember just early memories of, like, Mary Quant and things like that.
01:45 And I drew Mary Quant outfits for my dolls. And I, you know, there was the signers that I was already aware of, really young.
01:51 When I was nine, my mum helped me to make my first outfit for myself. And I loved it. I just absolutely loved it.
01:59 It was Um, kind of like little house on the prairie, so it was like, um, almost quite a utilitarian skirt, but it had sort of frills and stuff on it, and then I had a waistcoat with a shiny satin back, and I loved it.
02:13 But I think what, what I loved most about it was how it made me feel different to just running around normal kids clothes, and then also how I was perceived different.
02:26 I think it is such a fascinating thing how our close is an inevitable language, um, that we can use to communicate, um, lots of things with, and many don't use that sort of opportunity.
02:40 So, uh, that was good, and the good thing was I was like nine, so it was kind of years, I grew a lot, but I only like, grew the lemons, so the toes, so kind of stayed the same, so I had that outfit for years.
02:50 Wow. You know, my arms and legs grew longer, but I just, I just loved it. And that just made me really into dressing, and then I started making things.
03:00 And I've, I mean, I think by the age of 13, I made all my own clothes and they were so outrageous.
03:07 And they were just, I was so playing with this thing of like, what, like, what if I wore this? What, how would people, It refers to me and stuff, and I still love it, you know, I still, um, love that.
03:20 Like, I ride a motorbike and I think people pursue me very differently when I'm in my big boots and my leather than when I'm in here in my Kuchio studio.
03:28 And it's just fascinating, because I'm the same person. Yeah. Isn't that interesting? And so, how did then the love for making clothes yourself?
03:40 What then? What was the past then to turning that into business? Yeah, well, so I'm, so there was two kind of pasts in my life that I was always exploring and the other thing is like I'm really interested in sports and any physical activity and I've done that on really high levels and different sports
04:00 and stuff. So the whole thing also for me is about how the body performs in different clothes and also how we can restrict ourselves.
04:09 Advanced ourselves in terms of what clothing we wear. Um, so I wasn't quite sure if I was going to go the sports route or the sort of design route but I ended up, I've done PE course and I've also done design but they have kind of weirdly been interlinked.
04:28 And there's lots of things that I was like, when I came to the UK, I realised how many women were skirts and I thought, oh, I'm not used to seeing that.
04:36 And then I realised this because in Denmark, were 80% of the women, they cycled to work. So like, a pencil skirt is like really inconvenient, you know?
04:43 So there's those things that I think we should wear clothes that basically enhance our lifestyle and doesn't prevent us from, You know, taking that extra walk at lunchtime or, you know, go out even if it's windy or you know, I think they can give us, close with a bit of context and a little bit of thought
05:06 , they can give us a bit of life, you know, in that way. Yeah. Love that. And you've mentioned, um, In the pitch that you submitted to me about sort of clothing and how that can also impact productivity and it can be a really powerful productivity tool.
05:27 Um, do you maybe want to share a little bit on that and how, you know, thinking about what we're waiting and then influence our mindset and how we perform?
05:36 Yeah, absolutely. So, uh, I, um, I actually work with a big influence organization in Australia that's called my style and they, um, they are working a lot on sort of promoting women.
05:51 Different sizes and things, you know, and saying like average size is size 16. So why do you all the clothes are made in size 8?
05:59 And, um, but they basically encourage people to wear different clothes and promote different sizes and different, different things. So, but they've done a lot of sort of background research.
06:10 And one of the global, um, research is they did, they asked, I think it was like 36,000 women or something and they asked them.
06:19 If clothes had an effect on how they felt and something like 98% said yes. And so all of those, so they kept asking into that and they all said, so if they were clothes they loved, they were more productive and they were more confident and they were more happy.
06:36 And I was like, oh my goodness, like, why would we not tap into this? And I think, I think clothes should be It should fit you, and it should enhance you, and it should almost be like your personal branding.
06:51 But what it also should be, it should be almost like a hands-free phone, you know, you should not be thinking about it.
06:58 You should be, have that organised in the morning and get dressed for whatever you have for that day. And then that should step in the background.
07:07 There should not be any noise, where you think, oh no, I'm standing here, it's giving this presentation, and all day I'm wearing my skirt is too short.
07:14 You know, you need to have, you need to, you you need to step in the background, it should not be any noise in your performance during the day.
07:22 It should just kind of be an underlying thing. And then in that way, I think it's a huge productivity tool.
07:29 And I, as you know, I was telling earlier, like, I really play with the roles of, like, how you feel and how you're perceived and how, and just how you come across in different clothes.
07:41 And, and I have done, I've used that in, in my life, like, for example, I honestly, I dread, like, anything finance in my business.
07:48 I absolutely dread it. But I actually have this, um, Date with myself when I have to do this so I put on like a suit and I I become really strict with myself and I become the accountant and and I think you can like I know it's kind of maybe extreme and people think I would maybe like it's not something
08:07 I go around and share but I still think you know you can do that you can put yourself you can you can adapt like how you And I think a lot of like a lot of us will probably remember COVID and how we didn't have anything but pajamas on for like a couple of years.
08:24 And how in the end we were like, I think it affected our performance, you know, it was just like, oh, nothing matters, everything.
08:35 I also know, like I don't have any children, I know women who's had maternity clothes and they also have this thing that once that's over they're like, I don't want to see these clothes again that that is over and done with, they were, they were speaking to me differently and, you know, they were good
08:49 for that period but, um, and I think, you know, there's all these things that we need to take into consideration and just use for our advantage, for our purpose.
08:59 Yeah. I love that idea of, you know, having the date with yourself but dressing like, you know, as you would be going into like a finance meeting kind of thing.
09:09 I think that's really clever. Okay, and so you did touch there on sort of that getting ready in the morning, and I think a lot of us will relate to that scrabble for outfits in the morning and what am I going to wear and you know trying to, you know, they might have time that it can sometimes take to
09:29 make a decision, and I know you advocate for a capsule wardrobe. Which can then sort of help with decision fatigue and save time.
09:40 Do you want to share a little bit more around the capsule wardrobe piece? Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of obsession about uh, to get the capsule wardrobe down to the absolute minimum number.
09:53 I'm not at all as extreme as that and I think it really depends on your lifestyle. Um, but I think In the whole grand scheme of things, I think far too many people have far too many clothes and that they open the wardrobe and they close almost jump out of them, you know, and, um, By having much less
10:16 and having the pieces like you pull out and think, you know, this one, I feel amazing in that, you know, so I'm keeping that one.
10:24 And, and this one, you know, this one keeps me warm on the cold the day, so I'm keeping that one, you know, that we have some really good pieces, and I think it really works, um, if we have a, I mean, all these minimalist say they really wanted all to be white, grey, beige and black, you know, I think
10:41 that's hideous, you know, I think we need lots of colour and, um, but more than maybe potentially the more sort of expensive bits, you know, maybe your, um, more investment pieces that they are more neutral in colours and then pick a range of neutrals that go together, you know, I've got all mine, I
11:00 like, Blacks and Grey's and Navy's, you know, so they can all interlink, you know, where other people would be, maybe tan and, you know, browns and beiges and stuff like that.
11:12 And then you've got like a basic range of clothes and then you can take this, this season's wild lime or emerald green or whatever and pop in with it.
11:23 But just in general, like By better things and by less, you know, it's so disheartening that they've washed twice and they're just going to fit the dog, you know.
11:35 It's just so sad. And the whole thing of it is that there are some people that have had really, you know, not been treated very well for making these and then you wear them.
11:48 I mean the bin and now we've got these sitting on the landfills, you know, I just think in so many levels we should have less and just cherish that and look after it and so on.
12:01 Yeah. With regards to the mornings, I would always, I plan my out, I'm not like completely, but I would, I would plan, I would know what I would be wearing during the week and different days, you know, some days I would be flying facing and I would just have something slightly nice on and the days I'm
12:20 not flying facing I'm usually more active and, and, um, and I just would wear clothes, I would like wear a kit, you know, bent down, stand up and, you know, move around a lot and, you know, and also, um, Like, I consider a lot about, you know, maintenance of the clothes, because that's also quite hard
12:41 on the environment. And I think that we wash clothes far too much, you know, um, like, I like wearing like waste clothes, pinnacles, and things like that, because I don't need to wash them, although I'm like, well, I'm sort of past the meaningfuls, and I don't have these hot situations anymore, but you
13:00 can just wash Whatever you have underneath, like a blouse, a t-shirt, the vest, you know, you don't need to wash maybe the main gamut as often, hang it outside in the misto, you know, and just, um, air them a little bit, you know, they don't need to be washed and washed.
13:16 It's a lot of work, it's a lot of, um, cost on the environment and also, uh, pocket, you know, and it's not necessary, you know, wear an apron, you know, when you cook, you know, yeah.
13:29 It's quite basic, you know, but it's just sometimes we just don't think about it. But it's interesting. Yeah, it's interesting on the washing clothes.
13:42 Part because when we washed our clothes by hand, we weren't washing them as often at all. And then with the advent of the washing machine, the like our standards changed.
13:57 And so it was the, you know, the washing machine that was there to sort, I think it was, you know, in part like a safety thing.
14:04 So it was safer using the washing machine. And it was also their design to save time. But in actual fact, we're then washing our clothes so much, I think it's taking more time because we're doing it more often.
14:18 Yeah. And things like, um, wool jumpers and things like that, you know, they've got landling in them. It's almost like, I mean, a sheep doesn't shower every day, you know?
14:28 It's like, it's almost build into like being some level of self-cleaning, you know? And it's, it's so much better. So that's the kind of things that I like to wear and like to buy.
14:39 And, and I don't, I don't watch them enough a lot, you know? I do my running gear and stuff like that, but not a lot of the other things.
14:47 Yeah. I'm in mind. So I'm like planning ahead for that. And so when you plan out your outfit, like in terms of, you know, if we think about your capsule wardrobe, like I love the, I love the idea of the, the investment pieces that are neutral and then maybe weaving in some of the more on trend colors
15:11 , you know, depending on the season or whatever. Is there like a number of pieces that we would be thinking of in terms of a capsule wardrobe?
15:22 I, I mean the minimum, the, the, the ones that like, there was, there was somebody doing like a test, was it 33 garments to wear for three months or something and just like, but I think that's far too little and I think it's also depending on what sort of lifestyle you have because Uh, you know, that
15:40 person obviously had no black ties, for an example, the pieces and, you know, and I think, uh, you know, we both like doing lots of sports and we do need like changing the clothes all the time, you know, and sports and stuff.
15:53 But I think like, I would have like a good, like, outer garment for, for, for spring and, and then the North, spring summer and like, one that go like summer and winter almost, like, there are two different ones and then, I think Jack it's really good because it can be used as out of garment, hmmm.
16:16 And then they can use indoors in the winter, you know, that you have instead of a cardigan or something. And then I just layer a lot.
16:23 So I've got little sort of little twinsets and things like that I can layer. And, and then some high quality like t-shirts and vests and stuff.
16:32 So you can have them underneath your clothes so that they can take the washing and they can take the beating, you know, and then keeping your auto garments so they don't need to wash as much.
16:43 I love like waist cords, pinnacles and stuff like that because I can just wash one away on the knees and I think they look really different.
16:50 Um, like today I'm wearing like a denim pinnacle and I can wear that with just like a t-shirt as I have now.
16:56 I can wear it with a wooly jumper and the winter and I can put it See through sheer blouse on in the evening, and that's my, you know, my outfit.
17:05 So, um, things that can double over and do different things. They're just wonderful, you know. Um, they're nice. I, I did the project 3334, um, so I did it for the three months with just the 33 items and, um, Yeah, it was, it was hard, and you're right, because if you, depending on what you're doing,
17:30 if you are having to go out or, you know, and you've got the gym and various things, I mean, I don't think I would have been able to stick with it long-term.
17:38 And I think also, maybe to, like geographically depends on where you are, because here in Scotland, the weather can be so changeable.
17:50 You know, I-I don't necessarily have a summer wardrobe, because sometimes the weather's so bad I'm still putting on my winter coat.
17:58 I don't. No, I-I think it's-I think it's too much, but when you then think about-I don't know what the average amount of garments that a-a Scottish woman would have in her wardrobe, but it's by far more than 33 and she probably, but she might only wear 33 and then get red, you know.
18:18 Get rid of the ones that you don't like or don't don't that confidence and don't make you feel, wow, look at me today.
18:26 Yeah, and I think I think that's the the key bit, you know, it's the waiting things that make you feel good.
18:33 Um, and so yeah, you've talked about like the investing in those key pieces. How how do we start to identify or sort of know what those key Pieces should be that we're investing our money in.
18:50 Oh, that's a hard one. So, like, I've got, I've got, um, I've got a tart and jacket. I made for myself in 1994, and I think, I mean, I haven't worn it every day, but I definitely worn it every month since 1994.
19:07 I think last summer it got a new lining, but honestly you wouldn't, you wouldn't notice that it had, um, that it wasn't brand new.
19:15 And I, I don't think I've worn it once without getting comments on anything. Oh, is that within Westwood or what's the tartan and, oh, are you really an Anderson and all this and, and I just love it.
19:26 It's like, um, conversation piece, you know, I love that jacket and it's, although it's tartan, I feel it's almost like a neutral, almost like you say like a leopard print is a neutral, like, And I just, I just love that.
19:40 So, I mean, I would never be without a tartan jacket in a capsule wardrobe. And I don't think you find me, er, sort of, capsule wardrobe, but, er, people saying that.
19:51 So, um, the, the tartan jacket is amazing. And then, so I would have like jeans, and I would have classic trousers, you know, that they could swap and change that.
20:01 I also would wear skirts and that, with this jacket, I could wear long skirts, short skirts. Um, but my pin-a-force is like my go-to, for sure, and that would be denim leather, suede, silk, you know, a tweed, you know, anything.
20:17 Um, and then some some good, um, basic garments, um, would be wooing, uh, yeah, probably nearly around, you know, everywhere fine moves.
20:29 And then, and then also some cotton and some, and some silk mixes, yeah. Nice. So I, I have a leopard print jacket that I wear a lot, um, and I'm, I'm similar, like I think even when it, it's, it's quite old, not as old as yours.
20:49 Um, I do have a leather jacket that I'm pretty sure is probably about 20, 25 years old now. Um, So yeah, I've, I've got a couple of pieces.
21:02 I think even I have a denim jacket from when I was 16 years old still. Oh, it's amazing. But it's almost becoming like an old friend and I think also like good, good fabric, like good, you would never get that with like a full leather, but you get that with leather and jeans and that you almost get that
21:19 sort of thing where they weld to your body, you know, and it's like, and I also, I am fascinated with sort of the The wear of clothes, like, how, um, how they get, like, um, you know, knees get worn and the thighs get worn and the jeans and stuff.
21:38 I just love that sort of gentle wear and just like, that it gets used. I love that. And you just don't get the stat in, in a sort of manmade fiber or a full leather or something.
21:50 I know that, um, I was hearing that, um, you know, People that make like fancy computer games that it's actually they've got people employed to develop like how the fabrics change so that they can make, um, real versions of people that like fallen off a horse or whatever, like how the garments then deteriorate
22:13 . And I just, I think it's wow. I know. That's amazing. Wow. That's like a lot of thought, then it's going into that.
22:23 That is fascinating. I know. Um, okay. Um, so, you, you've transitioned also now into teaching dressmaking. Um, what, what inspired that shift in your business?
22:41 Well, I have, I obviously have this culture of business where I've made, um, made Misha close for, for ladies for many years and And I love it, but I also understand that it's not something that everyone can afford, and also that I would like people to take a more active role in their clothing, you know
23:03 , I would like them to, um, you know, plan what they buy, you know, so they have a nice wardrobe and not just like impulse buy and they come home with like all items that don't go together.
23:15 And then a lot of women Have come to me and had things made and they have said, oh, I would love to be able to do what what you do and then also a lot of women have said I look at clothes in a completely different way and you've told me so much and I shop very differently now, you know and all of this
23:34 and I I just felt like I had A lot to give. I've worked with close and I've completely been obsessed with close all my life and I've worked with them professionally for so long and I wanted to give some of that away.
23:46 So, um, I teach this dressmaking course and it's, uh, there is both this, the, the teaching is both about like, technical, how do you attach a collar or how do you sew a sepon and stuff.
23:59 But it's also about how do you dress, um, for your body shape, how do you, Enhanced like how your body looks because, um, I think if we turn around like, there's always these ideals and everyone thinks they should be thinner and they should be taller and if they've got no moves, they want big b****,
24:21 if they don't, uh, they want big b****, they want small b****. You know, all of this, we have all these ideals that we're fighting with all the time, but I think if you start to take a different angle to your clothes and start to, uh, Make them yourself you become you you get another relationship with
24:38 your body because you sort of like oh yeah, you know I've got these big b**** that I have inherited from my aunties and we all have them and I just know I need to add a little bit more there and then I take the garments in a little bit more there and you become more objective about it because you just
24:54 know that that is how you have to dress and that is how you um Adapt your garments to, uh, have them optimal for your body, so that is a big part of it that I want to teach this kind of, I don't know, body acceptance and, and just learn, um, teach you how to make the most of what you have because most
25:15 of our cards are genetically bad, you know, so it's not so much we can do about it, you know. Yeah.
25:21 Yeah. And so you yourself are running, you know, you've got your culture business, you've got your course, you have an online community.
25:33 How are you managing your time? And, you know, and yeah, how do you fit everything into your working week? Yeah, I must say that I work a lot of hours, but I sort of, Planned myself.
25:49 So it's a couple of years ago, like I really struggled like with I felt like I had to be always available and and I sort of re-structured things quite a bit.
25:58 So These days I work a sand fairly early and then I go home or I go out running or I go to gym at four o'clock and then I take a few hours out, uh, and then many evenings I go back and I do an hour or two hours, but I would do something gentler.
26:17 I would do something like, you know, um, it wouldn't be something that was like a huge task on my brain or emotional or anything like that.
26:26 Um, but, uh, that is how I work these days and I just have like, quite, um, strict barriers because I used to have like, Always like have appointments in evenings and you know all different things like that but but that is my thing and I almost feel like my my day start again when I'm finished exercising
26:43 because I do exercise every day and then I sort of draw a line on and then I'm like fresh I'm starting again you know and I can do stuff would you stuff at home or whatever so that's that's how I work yeah Yeah, interesting.
26:57 And I think the exercise as well sort of then does reenergize you when you're, when you're moving your body and things.
27:05 So that, yeah, that's, uh, probably quite a good time to exercise if you're then going to do a little bit of work later on in the day as well.
27:14 Yeah, yeah. Yeah, nice. And then how about sort of You know, rest or creativity for yourself, like outside of the business.
27:24 How, how do you carve out time for yourself? Well, I, I do take, I do take time, like, um, you know, I take time out where I would, um, My, my, my biggest sort of joy is scuba diving, so I'll go like really far away.
27:42 Um, but I don't get to go so often. It's a big commitment to do that. So that's one of my loves, you know.
27:49 Um, I just love being outside in nature. I love water. So, um, I try to do these things like swim, be in water, scuba dive when I can.
27:59 Um, I, yeah, just run, swim, you know, things like that. Be with family. So that's that's the kind of things I like to do.
28:09 Yeah, nice. And you mentioned a motorbike as well. Yeah. Do you spend much time on your motorbike? Uh, I would like to spend more, but I do love to just jump on that and just drive out into the to the open land.
28:23 I think it's amazing. Like it's really good. Um, just think about the road, think about your skills on the roads and yeah, no, it's amazing.
28:33 Yeah. I think I'd be a little bit scared. I've never, I've never been on a motorbike before. I think I would find it a bit frightening, but yeah, I think the older I get, the less risks I take, like, yeah, I don't know, I feel like I'm, Yeah, I don't know.
29:03 I think I would be too scared. Not sure if I would have started riding motorbikes or started scuba diving if I didn't know in my mid fifties if I hadn't done it all my life.
29:14 I don't know, but now I'm like safe as anything. Yeah. Oh, nice. And we touched before about sort of the sustainability element, which is something that's really important to me as well.
29:28 And so how does that then Sort of intersect with time, thinking around how we shop, and I know you've touched on, you know, that we're buying too many things.
29:40 Um, but also that element of, like, looking after the clothes. And again, you, you'd mentioned that we shouldn't be washing our clothes as much.
29:48 Um, what, what are you, what are you thinking on that in terms of, like, the sustainability and the timepiece? Well, I mean that whole thing about ordering God knows how many things from somewhere and get them home and then send them all back again.
30:06 You know, uh, that is not very good. You know, uh, many of those things they just get put in the bin because it's too labor intensive to just, um, sort them out and put them back up for sale.
30:17 You know, it's not, it's not very good. The whole, uh, the amount of miles is in not in those things.
30:22 And then if you then have them and you only I know there's some people that only wear them once they've been seen once on Instagram in them and then that's it that's done.
30:31 I just, it just makes my heart plate, you know. I think you can obviously access your eyes, you can dress things up and down so you don't have to look identical every day of the year, although you have lesser clothes.
30:43 Um, also the whole thing about, um, just like small things, like if the zip goes, learn to put a zip in.
30:52 I mean, it takes a minute, you know. Your button pops off, or even if you want a new fresh look for your shirt, put a new whole new set of buttons on and it looks completely different, you know.
31:05 Um, uh, put a dart in if you, uh, if you feel there's a bit baggy, put a dart in and it certainly looks much nicer, you know, in its suits you and things like that.
31:16 So I think there's a lot of things that we can do just with what we have. And just, like, try and think about what have we got, what can we do from that, you know, um, take, put a hem up or, you know, just repair, you know.
31:31 Yes, yeah. Like that. Yeah. I think that you're, like, you're right. There are so many people that just then throw the things away.
31:41 And it's interesting on the, like, Taking an outfit and then, you know, you touch there on like, accessorising it differently or whatever.
31:51 I think I've just made my peace that I'm okay being seen in the same thing over and over again. I do have quite a small wardrobe, I would say.
32:03 And I maybe have like, I mean, it's different now that I work from home and I, you know, I'm working for myself, but I, Pretty much live in either like gym clothes or I'm in my jeans and I've got a couple of like sweatshirts that I would wear and I just wear them constantly and I'm okay with that.
32:27 Yeah, totally. You don't have like somebody but they've got a Zoom jacket. No, I know. I was on one Zoom call once.
32:40 It must have been, Maybe, maybe a couple of months ago. And, uh, I was off camera, but then we were, I didn't realise that we were going to be put into little breakout rooms.
32:51 Oh yeah, yeah. And so I had to then put my camera on, but I was there in like my house coat.
32:57 I was like, apologising. I was like, I'm just keeping it real like here in my house coat. Love it. Um, but yeah, that it was when it was a little bit cooler.
33:14 Um, okay. Uh, such a good conversation. Like, I, um, I, I love, I do love clothes and you're right in terms of, like, how things make you feel.
33:27 And like, for instance, I've got one, I've got this sequined dress that I absolutely love and it was a gift from my sister.
33:35 Pretty sure it was for my 30th birthday. Um, so it's now, what, 13 years old. And it's, I, I know when I wear that, I feel good and I, I do still sort of wait it every now and then.
33:49 Um, and I, it tends to be if I've got a black tie event to go to, that's not, that's normally what I wear.
33:57 Um, and as I say, I like, I'm okay with it being, you know, in photos over and over or whatever.
34:03 Um, but I'm not, um, I'm not, Passionate about following trends. I don't think. I think I just sort of do my own thing, um, and like the leopard print jacket.
34:16 I've had it for such a while now, but then all, you know, these things are cyclical aren't they? They come background.
34:22 I know. Yeah, absolutely. That's funny. Okay, so I've got a little lightning round. A couple of quick questions to ask you.
34:34 Um, I've called it so quick. I love a, I love a little part. Okay, so, matter, what's one piece of clothing that you couldn't live without?
34:48 Oh, easy. My tartan jacket. Yes, I thought you might say that. I do, I do love the idea of your tartan jacket.
34:55 You'll need to send a picture so that we can, We'll do, it's Anderson tartan. Okay, and then, what is our, Time-saving habits or tool that you use in your business.
35:09 Oh, that's got to be AI I use and I I know that the world is kind of split on that topic, but I am just fascinated with AI and how I can use it.
35:21 I use it for all kinds of things, but I think actually my my most favorite use is just almost like a brain dump.
35:29 Saying, oh, I've got these thoughts and this worked before and this didn't work and I'm a bit unsure and going forward and just type and type and type and then ask AI, can you make sense of this?
35:42 Yes, so I that is amazing just sort my my head but actually I'm very similar to you in the sort of tools I do use through the the day I time-blog I've got a big Bank of stuff and it's a used trailer rather than a Santa was all like projects that may happen or may not happen that I look at and see what
36:06 what I need to work on this this week and and all this kind of stuff. Yeah. Amazing. I I tried to use trello and it just didn't stick with me.
36:18 Yeah. So it's interesting how like you do need to experiment to find the right the right tool. Okay, and then what's your go-to way to reset when you're feeling overwhelmed or busy?
36:35 Oh, just outside. Move outside. Run. And I love, I love lifting, I love going to the sauna, so those kind of things are just, I am, I don't know, since getting old, I need a lot more time on my own, as well, sort of to reach out, whereas I used to be much more social, but I think I'm really on.
36:59 At work, you know, a lot, so I really need to just be alone and do these things also, run, cycle, get some fresh air in the face.
37:08 Yeah, yeah. It's, um, I think nature and being outside like that is also really, Underrated in terms of the impact that it can have, um, but the, I mean, a lot of my friends make an effort to be outside, um, but yeah, I know, I know that plenty people don't, um, whereas yeah, it is really impactful.
37:33 I think if you can look far away, you can suddenly have some big ideas. I think if you just didn't look at a screen, you can't, you can't think big, you know, yeah, you need, you need space.
37:45 Yeah. One of the, one of the interesting studies that I, um, it was around healing, and so I think there was like a scientific experiment done where it was people in hospital recovering from.
38:00 Whatever, I don't know, recovering from something and some of them were in a ward where they just could see a blank wall and some of them had a window where they could see outside and see nature and they healed quicker than the people with a blank wall.
38:17 So yeah, stuff is like things like that that just show the power of it. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. Is there anything matter that we haven't covered that you would like to share?
38:33 Um, I think at one point you had asked me about, um, what eros that I thought that most people were doing in terms of their wardrobe.
38:42 Yeah. I think one of the things that people do is that they look at other people or either friend or celebrity or something and think, oh that looks really nice.
38:52 And then it just doesn't translate to them. So I think it's very much about, like, being a lot more aware of, like, who you are, what your body shape and, like, all these different things in terms of, um, of what suits you and just kind of start to learn yourself, um, get to know yourself in that way
39:16 . I actually have, uh, a few, I know it sounds a bit like I'm a crazy stalker person, but I've got a few Pinterest boards with people who've got Like celebrities, um, that I like.
39:26 This got similar body shape to me, maybe similar age, or also, um, you know, hair, tone, skin color, things like that, different ones so that I can see up.
39:39 That actually looks quite good on them, you know, and then I can kind of use that slightly as inspiration, because sometimes I may be a bit too conservative about picking stuff that I always, like, pick the same thing, you know, but it's, um, yeah.
39:55 So that's a tool, also, to use, so not wardrobe mistakes. That's a great idea, and I think, so I do use Pinterest, and I've got a board.
40:06 About like style and clothes and stuff like that. But I do the opposite way. It's like all these like models or, you know, and it's who have nowhere near the same body shape as me.
40:20 And, um, I can't quite tall as well. And I've kind of factor that in can be quite difficult. So that's really interesting to then like, you know, find a celebrity who's more And similar shape and things.
40:35 Yeah, I really like that idea. And there are some really amazing women, um, when, like, doesn't look like models, but just dress amazingly or have an amazing use of color or whatever.
40:48 And I just love, um, I'd love that. I love following them and stuff, but you can learn from them. And it's quite easy, like, on, like, you can sort of want Pinterest.
40:57 You can make a search for, say, you know, pear shape. Um, going to a wedding in the summer, you know, and then, then you can sort of see different ideas and stuff and then sort of try and think about all that, that looks good.
41:11 That's a good idea to like, maybe, you know, dress well for my body type and stuff like that. Yeah, I love that.
41:19 And I love that you're also, you know, you touch that you bring that into your dress making course as well.
41:25 It is amazing. Yeah. Um, where can people find out about your courses and where can they find you? So my business is called Freja so it's F-R-E-J-A.
41:37 It's, it's Freja, it's a Nose goddess of beauty and fertility and that's just Scandinavian spelling because I know in English it's spelled that Y.
41:45 So Freja design a dress making, my website is www.freja-fashion.co.uk and you can find both about my wearing glasses, my mother of the bride outfits, my tartan jackets and, um, on my course on my website and then I've also got that really busy social media, um, sites and so they are all under
42:05 the same kind of umbrella. Amazing. So do you sell the tartan jacket like the one that you have? Uh, I've got one very similar, yeah, yeah.
42:15 It's too tart and but it is, um, It's actually a check that, that one on the website, but I'll get around to putting some tartan jackets.
42:24 It's been on my list for a while to get them up. Oh, amazing! I, I will need to go in and look at that.
42:30 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, well listen, thank you so, so much for joining me. It's been a real pleasure. It was fun to do.
42:40 Thank you for now, Sarah. Okay, bye for now. Bye. Bye. Thank you for listening to On Your Time. If you enjoyed today's episode, maybe you've been nodding along, scribbling some notes, do me a favour and leave a quick review or a comment.
42:57 It really does help. And please share this with someone who needs a little bit more calm in their calendar. Until next time, bye for now.