Have you ever noticed that the jars of herbs and spices for different brands are all shapes and sizes? Different supermarkets, different brands, the contents of the jar are the same spice or herb but the wrappers do vary in the colours used on the packaging as well as the shape? This got me thinking about how much those little jars remind me of people! (It was clearly a “big shop” with a big queue for the checkout, hence my train of thought was not on my shopping but bear with me and I will explain!)

Looking at those jars, the colours used on the packaging are designed to appeal to different audiences, some colours representing the brand, some designed to get your attention over other brands of the same herb or spice, and others using colours that represent the contents of the jar (like green for herbs and orange for spices).

Its all down to clever marketing, but this got me thinking about how our clothes are our packaging and how the colours that we wear impact our moods and how we are portrayed by others – ie how we “market” ourselves. We all have our own style and favourite colours – the trick is finding which colours suit you the most and suit your own body (jar) as well as your style personality but it doesn’t stop there!

All those jars on the shelves were different shapes and sizes, some smaller, some taller, some rounder, some slender – just like our own body shapes and so we also need to consider clothing that fits our contours – whatever those may be. Let’s face it, if you see a jar of chilli powder on the shelf with a baggy saggy label hanging off in a grotty colourway it wouldn’t be appealing and you probably wouldn’t choose that one over the one that has a well fitting label in a colour that represents the brand or what the contents actually are!!

Then the penny dropped…… “ahhh so that’s why ‘The Spice Girls’ were called ‘The Spice Girls!’ Not just named Baby Spice/Sporty Spice etc, but they were all different shapes of spice jars AND with different clothing style packaging just like those jars on the supermarket shelf (I also think they were all single when they first teamed up so could be another reference to being ‘on the shelf’ there too 😊 lol!!).

‘The Spice Girls’ as a group were a clever marketing concept designed to promote their individual appeal to different people which at the time was very different to how other groups or girl bands were portrayed, usually with a collective identity rather than promoting the individuals within, and again, this got me thinking … (whilst STILL in the queue for the checkout!) … about the similarities here at Tortue.

Just like ‘The Spice Girls’ our Team have specialisms in different things and when you “tell us what you want, what you really really want”, we share our knowledge and work together to help you get what you want and find your “zigazig ah”!

Ruth is our specialist in all things petite and our “go to” practical advice for shorter ladies. Being 5ft herself, she totally understands your struggle to find things that fit and flatter and is here to help.

Karen is our colour specialist – if you haven’t joined our Style Online Facebook Group yet, I suggest you do as you will find a brilliant video where she talks you through how to work out the colours that suit you best.

Michelle is the tallest member of our team and our expert for all our tall ladies – she totally understands your daily challenges in finding clothing that fits your proportions and knows the inside leg measurements for all our trousers/jeans off by heart!

Lizzy exudes body confidence and gives fabulous advice for those dealing with the day to day practicalities of a stoma. She is co-hosting a Style Online session on 21st Feb to talk about body confidence with our fab Consultant Sophie. Pop it in your diary as its going to be a fab session that you can either watch live or on replay once you are a part of the group.

Suze is our trained Bra Fitter, expert in helping you get the foundations right for your outfits – she is also super at accessorizing so our “go to” for complete outfit building.

Alison Macrae is our “Sporty Spice” – curling, tennis and skiing are just a few of her passions and can help you dress for your active lifestyle.

Alison Falconer is our travel expert and our go to for capsule collection advice, clothing that travels well and packing light tips!

And that’s just a few of the team, we all bring something different whether that is coastal chic, city chic, country chic, sporty chic, mum chic, office chic, relaxed chic or menopause chic! Basically, whatever your body shape challenges our fabulous team are all shapes and sizes and between us we can help – you just need to “tell us what you want”!

Did you know that you can now book a FREE Style Session? Just pop over to our website, answer a few questions and we will match you to a member of the Team who can help you. These 15 mins sessions can be done online or in person and will give you a taster of our service. We also have vouchers available for a more in depth Personal Styling Session that make great gifts for family and friends - just hop over to the website at Tortue.uk for more information or contact your own Tortue Style Consultant.

We are a friendly bunch, we don’t judge, we just help you to get the style that you want, so that you look good, feel good and your clothing gets you compliments!

Angela x