Hello or Hola!

The life and style of a fashion and celebrity stylist living in Mallorca

Hello and welcome to this new platform. It is a new home for my work and a way of connecting to you, my lovely audience, and bringing you more of what you love.

Here is a bit about me, just to fill you in for anyone new here and a recap for those who have been with me for some time.

I started my career on the fashion pages of the Daily Mail back in 1994, fresh out of University having done a textile degree (and a lot of partying—RIP Hacienda) in Manchester. I had always loved fashion, and at the age of 15, I tore an article out of a teen magazine and stuck it on my wall, documenting 'A day in the life of a Fashion Editor'. From that day on, my goal was to pursue that career path.

Whilst at Uni, I knocked on a lot of doors (by knocking, I mean calling them on the phone persistently as it was pre-Email). I spent every opportunity doing work experience on magazines that now sadly no longer exist in paper format. After my first week on She magazine, it cemented my ambition, and from then on, there was no stopping me. I did an internship at Cosmopolitan and another at Company magazine (although I nearly gave it all up after the fashion director made me cry!) Fast forward 3 years, and I was offered the role of fashion assistant at the Daily Mail. From there, I became Fashion Editor of a small independent fashion magazine, Scene, followed by a similar role at Shine, the grown-up sister title to B and Sugar. I did a stint at Condé Nast at Tatler, working across their fashion supplements. Then my last full-time editorial role, before having my twin girls, was Fashion Director of Harrods magazine. Some of my work is below.

When my twins were approximately 3 months old, I had a call from a stylist agent asking if I was available to style some of the cast of the new production at The Royal Opera House. I jumped at the chance and called in all the troops to look after my girls (my mum and aunt). I expressed enough milk for a few feeds (by this time they were on bottles and breast), and off I went to the shoot. It was amazing, and it was there that I realised I wanted to carry on working, just not full-time in an office environment, even if it was a publishing one.

I got myself a styling agent and embarked on the world of a freelance stylist, and the rest is history, as they say. I entered the world of TV and light entertainment shows and never looked back. I worked on Fame Academy, the first incarnation of Dancing On Ice, Popstar to Operastar, Grease is the Word, The Match, Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, nine series of The Voice UK and many more. I loved it. There is nothing quite like the adrenaline rush when a show you have been working on for weeks is about to go live. And I got this buzz nearly every weekend.

In between the TV work, there were many shoots for Hello magazine, styling celebrities and getting a sneak peek into their lives. It was there that I met some of my wonderful personal clients, whom I still work with to this day. There were also plenty of advertising shoots for well-known brands, trips all over the world (Costa Rica was my favourite), and red carpet styling for premiers, music awards, and the BAFTAS. It really is the dream job.

You can watch my advertising show reel below.

I have so many stories which I will share with you over time. And some of them are a bit juicy!

And now, my life looks a little different. In August 2023, I moved to Mallorca with my husband and our 11-year-old daughter. My twin girls stayed in the UK and went off on their adventure to their first year at University.

'Let's give it a year,' we said, but that year flew by, and we woke up one morning and basically decided to stay. I will share a lot more about that another time, as it seems you are all very interested in what life is like here and how we made the move. Not to mention, what does our youngest think of it here, what the school system is like, where are our favourite secret spots, and so on. I will share this with you all on here and more.

So what can you expect from me on here?

If you already subscribe to my emails, you will still get Friday favourites in your inbox for free.

By subscribing to my Substack, you will also receive the weekly edits I have been publishing for some time, plus some discount codes from your favourite brands.

You will also receive an email once a month about my life in Mallorca—my favourite boutiques, where you can get the best breakfast, the turquoise bays you only see in pictures, the best boutique hotels for a girlie weekend, where to go with the teens, and what to do on a rainy day. But you can also send me your questions, as this is going to be tailored for you.

I look forward to building our community here, and thank you for coming along.

Love Gayle x