The Fold Woman Competition

How do I choose the women we feature on The Lifestyle Edit? It’s without doubt the question I get asked most. In fact, it was the first question Polly McMaster put to me when we sat down for lunch a few months ago to talk about her label The Fold. It’s a difficult question to answer without giving you a bit of context so bare with me.

First and foremost, September is a big month for us here at The Lifestyle Edit as it marks an anniversary of sorts: it’s been six months since we first opened our virtual doors so to speak. By now, regular readers will know my story and how The Lifestyle Edit came into being. It was the beginning – I hoped – of a new way of thinking about life and style. A place that recognised that just because you’re interested in fashion doesn’t mean you aren’t interested in anything else. In fact, it’s because we’re interested in style that that permeates into everything we do, from the places we go out to eat and travel, to the interiors in our homes, the fitness classes we attend and the beauty products we swear by. But more than that, I wanted to create a place that also tackled the important issues we all encounter in an accessible, relatable way.

The Fold Woman CompetitionThat’s where our careers section came in. It was my mission to rally a pool of fiercely intelligent, razor sharp women from a whole host of backgrounds to share candid accounts of their careers and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. My hope was that their stories would strike a chord, or at least leave you inspired with the knowledge that even some of the most successful women have hit roadblocks along the way.

If there is one thing I’ve learnt from these women, it’s that having wobbly moments and not getting things right the first time round is actually okay. No blip is insurmountable. Sometimes you have to dive in feet first and trust that the rest will fall into place.

I chose Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as our first cover feature becomes she perfectly embodies that message. “I’m a big believer that when opportunities pop up in life, they should be taken,” she told me. “Sometimes things don’t work out and life throws you a curve ball but I always try and trust the fact that wherever I am today is where I’m supposed to be. The good, the bad and the challenges are there to learn from.”

Suits actress Meghan Markle is another incredible woman that epitomises the type of women we’re drawn to. At her first audition where she was set to play ‘Hot Girl No 1’ and simply say hi to Ashton Kutcher in the film, A Lot Like Love, she was adamant not to play yet another pretty, nameless girl and convinced the director to write more lines into the script.

“It’s so incredibly important to have strong female characters. To not just be the ‘girlfriend’ or the one who wiggles about in pencil skirt,” she told me. “As an auditioning actress, you are hungry for a work and are willing to say yes to things that you may not actually want to do…I am 33 years old and am so over that. I would rather speak up, respectfully voice my opinion and be able to sleep at night feeling good about the choices I’ve made.”

Even Foxes more recently talked to us about the importance she places on having integrity, working hard and creating work that has longevity. But it hasn’t just been about celebrities. Roberta Benteler broke down what it took to set up Avenue 32 at the tender age of 26; Oxygen Boutique founder Joanna Nicola spoke candidly about the trials and tribulations everyone faces when starting out on their own; Lauren Stevenson gave us a lesson in not allowing fear to hold you back and Lyst’s Jenny Cossons urged us to start believing in ourselves and asking for the promotions (and salaries) we deserve. “Too often people are held back by self doubt or fear of failure, and while I totally get it, it’s such a shame – you’re stopping yourself before you’ve even begun,” Styloko’s Emily O’Brien told me in her profile piece. “So what if you fail? What if you succeed?”

There have been so many incredible stories and anecdotes over the past six months, I could literally be here forever and that’s partly where Polly comes in.


The Fold Woman Competition


The Fold Woman CompetitionIn the same way we profile women here on The Lifestyle Edit, The Fold London have a whole section on their site dedicated to celebrating incredible women from the likes of Sky News presenter Sarah-Jane Mee to Grace Belgravia founder Kate Percival. That’s why we’ve decided to join forces to launch an exciting competition to find “The Fold Woman”. We want you to nominate a woman in your life that encapsulates all of the above – someone who inspires you or has pushed through challenges to become the power woman they are today. It can be a friend, a colleague, a mentor, your mum – anyone you feel embodies that.

When asked to nominate my The Fold Woman, there was no question that Susie Young would be among that class. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by dynamic women who I not only have had the opportunity to work with and learn from, but also women I’m fortunate enough to call friends and Susie is certainly both.

In her role as PR, she is a force in every sense of the world, albeit a softly spoken, self-effacing one. There is no such thing as a problem in Susie’s world. Instead, there are challenges, win-win situations and objectives to be set. In the rare occasion a blip does arise, she’s already spotted it, created an action plan a, b and c (not to mention contingency plans for each) long before anyone else has spotted the issue to begin with.

She is a risk taker too. It was her decision to leave the security of her job to set up her incredible events company Knot & Pop that gave me the confidence to pursue my burning desire to go out on my own too. Ever since, she’s been a sounding board, confidante and one of my favourite people to have a grumble and a glass (read: multiple glasses) of wine with on those occasions when things can feel overwhelming. The best part is, we get to go through this incredible professional journey together.

So now I hand it over to you. Simply visit TheFoldLondon.com and write a brief sentence about who you’re nominating and why. If successful, you and your nomination will win a styling session at The Fold, an outfit to take home each, a makeover including a cut and colour at Easton Regal and your own feature photoshoot and feature on The Fold website. The completion closes at 12pm on Tuesday 15th September so don’t waste time. Nominate here today.

Images by Kylie Martin. Susie and Naomi are dressed in The Fold London.