A Cool Content Creator & Athlete Shares Her Fashion Tips & Secrets To Success

Sport runs in the family. My sisters excelled in high jump, and my brothers are sprinters. I actually train with my youngest brother, a former footballer turned sprinter, and both of us are working towards the 2024 Olympics or 2025 World Championships. Initially, it was tough to balance training with academics – my father really prioritised the latter. As the years went by and my siblings also started doing sport, it was more actively encouraged, making it much easier to train. At this stage of my life, the only thing driving me is the knowledge that I still haven’t reached my full potential and I’m determined to do so.

I specialise in the heptathlon, a two-day event featuring seven disciplines – hurdles, high jump, shot put, the 200m, the long jump, javelin, and 800m. My strongest event is the hurdles. During the indoor season, I also do pentathlon – five events in a single day. My training regimen involves four to five sessions per week, lasting approximately three or four hours, encompassing all the events, as well as lots of strength training.

Trying to juggle motherhood, fashion and sport requires me not to think about everything at once. Instead, I think about what I have to do in groups of two. For instance, “First I need to train and then cook dinner.” That way it doesn’t seem quite as daunting. My husband started coaching me in 2016. The first few years were quite difficult, as we’re both stubborn and a lot of sessions would end in arguments. Now when we step on the track, it is strictly business.

A must have big goal – the 2024 Olympics – with smaller milestones in between. For example, making it to the World Athletics Indoor Championships in March. To perform at my best, I need to lose some of my baby weight and start winter training to get physically lighter, faster and stronger. It's important to be okay with failing, it's a great source of learning.

After being told many times to pursue fashion, I finally took the plunge around 2019. It's been a big learning curve, but I’ve really found my style in the last year or so. My personal style is quite minimal. I love mixing masculine silhouettes with feminine pieces and, occasionally, challenging myself with trends. It’s quite hard to say exactly what inspires me – style is everywhere. Recently, it came from a random Pinterest post of the SS99 fashion show, which put me in a real 90s phase.

I’ve never been afraid of experimenting with fashion. There are a lot of choices I look back on and think are questionable but that’s part of being on a style journey. A good way to build confidence is to follow creators or celebrities you like, making a note of their outfits. From there, try to identify the basics of their looks and add these pieces to your wardrobe.

The five items every woman should have in their wardrobe are a white oxford shirt, a good-fitting pair of blue jeans, a versatile belt, a loose white t-shirt and a statement piece. All these pieces are so hardworking and versatile and can be worn casually or dressed up.

I was first introduced to Ralph Lauren many years ago – primarily through its cable knit jumpers. I vividly recall saving up to buy a white V-neck sweater, which I still have today. Ralph has always been a luxury brand I’ve loved – mainly because of the American vintage aesthetic. It’s so 90s. I’m a big fan of the straight leg, caramel trousers – I loved length and the way they fell (it’s hard to find the right fit when you’re 5ft 10”).  My favourite look from the shoot has to be the striped shirt outfit; a current trend is ‘old money’ and this falls right into that category.

Whenever I'm unsure about what to wear, my go-to choice is a blazer and jeans. Then I then decide on the footwear, leaving my top half for last. This final decision hinges on the occasion and its level of formality. I only follow trends that fit with my personal style. I selectively adopt and incorporate trends into my wardrobe, sometimes even reviving past ones. Currently, the trend I’m loving, and I may have gone slightly over the top with, is red. It’s a great colour to add to your wardrobe – so elegant and chic.

There’s still a lot of work to be done regarding diversity and inclusivity in the fashion world. It's so important to see everybody's body type, race, gender and age reflected in fashion. I remember shopping online when I was younger and never seeing models who looked like me and it’s quite sad that this is still a problem. I’m still educating myself on sustainable fashion, too. I have been trying to make better choices and resisting the urge to impulse buy. Instead, I’ve been adding pieces to my wish list and thinking how many ways I could style it before buying it.