The Link Between Style & Confidence
5 Powerful Takeaways from Elizabeth Day & Annie Swain
The day after a brilliant event is often when the ideas properly settle.
I’d just spent an evening at a live style and confidence panel hosted at Phase Eight, featuring author and podcast host Elizabeth Day alongside stylist Annie Swain, who has worked with and styled for Trinny Woodall.
It was warm, generous, and refreshingly honest - the kind of conversation that reminds you that style isn’t about rules or trends, but about how you want to show up in your life!
I left with five takeaways that felt worth sharing.
1. Style’s real job is to get you out the door
Annie described her role as a stylist in the simplest - and most helpful - way I’ve heard: her job is to help you get out the door and into the room.
Whether that ‘room’ is a meeting, a stage, a dinner, or simply the school run, what you wear can either support you or quietly hold you back. When your outfit does its job properly, you stop thinking about it - and start focusing on what you’re actually there to do.
Confidence doesn’t start when you arrive. It starts when you get dressed.
2. You don’t need a “signature style”
This question came from the audience, and Annie’s response really resonated.
Yes, if you naturally gravitate towards a certain look and feel comfortable being known for it, that’s absolutely fine. But a signature style shouldn’t become a box you feel trapped in.
Style should evolve as your life evolves. Your weekends, your work, your body, your priorities - all of these change, and your wardrobe should be allowed to change with them.
I know my own style has become far more casual than it was ten years ago - but it’s considered casual. I now invest in those pieces because that’s where my life is lived.
That shift hasn’t diluted my style; it’s strengthened it.
3. Always wear something that makes you feel sexy
This moment caused a lot of laughter - and a fair few knowing smiles.
Annie shared that she always wears something sexy, every single day. For her, it’s a black lace bra. She never wears anything else. No one else needs to see it - but she knows it’s there.
It’s such a small, private detail, but it creates a quiet sense of confidence. Something beautiful next to your skin that’s just for you can completely change how you carry yourself.
And rather amusingly, I later realised I’d unknowingly done exactly the same thing that evening, I too was wearing a black lace bra!
4. When trying something new, try this
Elizabeth shared one of the most practical confidence tips of the evening.
When you’re trying a new style or feeling unsure about an outfit, take a photo - and crop your head out of it.
Without your face in the frame, you become far less critical. You can look at the outfit objectively, the shape, the proportions, how it sits on the body, without citiscing yourself.
I do something similar during photoshoot fittings, and it genuinely works. You see the clothes for what they are, rather than judging yourself.
5. Confidence comes from preparation, not panic
Annie’s final point was perhaps the most important of all: confidence in your style comes from preparation, not last-minute decisions.
Trying outfits on five minutes before you need to leave is almost guaranteed to leave you feeling flustered. Instead, she encourages setting aside time, ideally ahead of the week, to try things on, experiment, and really get to know what’s in your wardrobe.
She even shared that Trinny plans outfits in detail on a Sunday evening. That level of preparation removes stress and frees you up to feel confident when it actually matters.
I couldn’t agree more. The better you know your wardrobe, the easier it is to show up feeling like yourself.
What I Wore
Phase Eight kindly dressed me for the event, I wore their Pleated Dress in this fabulous green which is available now online and in store.
