Once when on an island somewhere in Thailand, I had my astrology chart read. It was quite an incredible experience and the female astrologer, who had never met me before, was able to tell me about myself in personal details certainly unbeknown to her, before reading my chart. One of the of the strong topics we touched on was femininity / women; and the strong influence this topic will have in my life. With Venus as my guiding planet – femininity is a strength if treated correctly, she said (I am an Aries with Aquarius rising, guided by main planet Venus).

This topic makes sense as my life has been dominated by female power and also fragility since I was born. My grandmother, one of 6 daughters in a strong female led family; yet also tinted with tragedy and vulnerability and mental illness was rife in my grandmothers lineage of women. My own mother who was my very best friend and main inspiration / motivation, was also an incredibly smart and artistically talented women, with incredible strength- although I lost her far too soon to a heart disease we did not know she carried.  Furthermore, I also have my Mother in law which is leading a very strong female dominant family with a rich and powerful heritage, yet again, they have all faced their struggles in life, although overcome them and learnt to live through various ups and downs that life throws at us as women in particular. The strength we carry is in relation to our own vulnerability and I find that intriguing. I am also convinced we do carry a sixth sense in shape of our intuition, and that we all need to harness and FEEL this much more in our lives. We can turn our emotions into something very powerful and beautiful.

All of us deal with our femininity an various ways and that is our our own prerogative. I have often been told- and being told still to this day that I am sometimes perceived as arrogant and dominant – qualities that apparently do not suit a woman. Had I been a man, these qualities would not have been a problem, but certainly an accreditation to me.  It is lucky for me, I suppose, that I stopped caring what other people think of me long ago. After some teenage trauma of rumors about me, I came through and realised it didnt really affect who I am at all – my life continues in spite of other peoples opinion, and I stand strong by this. I hope all women felt the same!

I have always been inspired by women, and imagery of women throughout art and photographic history – I feel there is something very magical about women in art and that they portray a certain kind of depth and mystery which I find very appealing. Furthermore, I am incredibly interested and inspired by various cultures and especially women of other cultures. I have learnt slot about west African Women through my mother in law, I am intrigued by native American culture and history and vowed to educate myself further in the field. I also love the beauty of the Geisha, although I am also very aware of the tragic circumstances it can hold. Goddesses throughout history fascinate me as do their history; Venus, Aphrodite, Venus, Khali, Freya, Cleopatra, Ishtar, Selene, Nefretiti, and so so many more.

It is thus quite understandable that I choose to explore this inspiration and fascination in my work, and will continue to do so much more going forward. I will also post many more blogs about female led historical figures and cultures as I think it is vital we all learn more about our own heritage.

to sum up, I would also like to say that although fascinated by this topic, this does not mean we dislike men or masculinity in any way. In fact- we will be toughing on this subject as well. I adore my husband; the man by my side and I am proud to be his wife. I am also a proud woman and so the journey to further discovery starts here. Enjoy.

Freedom of Ztyle is a Sustainable and Ethical Fashion company with the aim to Reclaim and re-educate people about fashion. We are the opposite of Fast High street fashion; we offer one of a kind pieces of clothing Accessories and jewellery  that have been up-cycled or completely designed and hand made in our Studio in Liverpool.

Why can we call ourselves Sustainable and Ethical? We support a CIRCULAR ECONOMY  which means we completley favor goods and materials already in circulation rather than newly produced. Production industries (in any field, but lets focus on textiles and fashion related goods) are a heavy burden on our environment as well as exploitation of people in countries less fortunate (we will go in to these matters more in depth in separate Blog posts) and so we offer Fashions ethically and sustainably sourced by using materials already in circulation; for example Vintage clothes, fabrics and trims; unwanted or no longer needed materials and clothes which we acquire from the general public as well as companies who are offering job lots or clearances.  We then take these clothes and materials and make One-off special pieces which you can ONLY find from us. Each design are unique and will not be replicated. even though there are similar items- no 2 will ever be identical which means our customers will have an item completely unique and exclusive to them! An item for life rather than fast throw-away fashion!

Freedom of Ztyle also sell hand picked Vintage and designer brand second hand items which can fulfill any wardrobe. We endorse Creativity in personal style and we often market our clothes as Unisex as we have very few boundaries on what either sex is “supposed” to be wearing. We do not follow trends religiously, but acknowledge the inspirational movements of style within various groups of trend setters. We do not discriminate and we endorse diversity in age, gender and ethnicity. We also celebrate Creativity within personal style. Mix it up- Go BOLD, go WILD and feel completely FREE to be who you are!