SHE’S a middle-aged mum-of-three who shops for clothes in the supermarket and loves a bit of fake tan.
But in the fashion world, influencer Kat Farmer – aka Does My Bum Look 40 – has the kind of A-List selling power reserved for the likes of the Kardashians and the Princess of Wales.
I can’t stand style snobs who’d ban fast fashion – telling people to not buy new clothes is patronising, says Kat Farmer[/caption]
Kat teamed up with George at Asda for a 26-piece edit of spring staples with a bohemian vibe at a budget price[/caption]
Since launching her blog 15 years ago, to claw back a semblance of a career after kids as a personal stylist, Kat’s sartorial choices have become ‘must have’ items.
One Instagram post about a pair of John Lewis x Awake Mode studded kitten-heel boots prompted 12,000 people to click on her link to purchase, while modelling a beige M&S polo-neck jumper got 3,238 people trying to buy and a £79 Albaray mesh dress sold out.
She’s also fronted campaigns for Estee Lauder and is an ambassador for beauty brand Gatineau, as well as fronting BBC1 show You Are What You Wear and presenting fashion segments on This Morning.
“My audience has grown with me and what I’ve always done is very much shared elements of my life, without a script,” she explains.
“None of it is well thought through, it’s very off the cuff and how I feel.
“I think if you do that and can continue doing that, your audience knows you and there is a level of authenticity that you can’t buy and you can’t fake.”
Kat says the fact she can sell out an item for stores does not bring pressure.
“None of the companies can predict what is going to sell,” she says.
“What I will say is that certain items transcend all styles, like a particular pair of M&S black trousers that did well.”
In an arena where so many tone-deaf content creators are constantly pushing expensive products on followers feeling the financial pinch, Kat is determined to offer affordable options within the reach of the average middle-aged woman.
“I do a thing called Steal v Spree, so if an item is going to be out of people’s budgets or is vintage, I find more cost-effective alternatives,” she says.
“Supermarket fashion is incredible. The quality is brilliant, it’s convenient and it opens fashion up to everyone.”
And she’s got harsh words for the fashion elite who look down on the high street and supermarket brands that normal mums love.
“People in the higher echelons make assumptions about these ranges without bothering to look at them,” she says.
“I’ve sat on many panels with very senior fashion writers, discussing topics like sustainability.
“I’ll always remember one person whose solution was don’t shop the high street and don’t consider ‘fast fashion’, stick to charity shops and vintage.
“And I told her that in an ideal world, that’s admirable, but are you telling 98 per cent of the country they are not allowed to buy anything new?
“It was so patronising and unrealistic.
“If we’re going to teach people to be sustainable, we should share knowledge on how to wear something to make it so.
“Don’t go out and buy four dresses – buy one and then learn to wear it in different ways.
“Be more circumspect in what you’re buying, not where you’re buying it from.
“Yes, we’d all love to be draped in handwoven cashmere from Norfolk, but who is really going to spend 700 quid on a jumper?”
It’s this brutally honest but warm and relatable attitude that has turned Kat, 52, into one of the biggest British fashion voices on social media.
Kat is determined to offer affordable options within the reach of the average middle-aged woman[/caption]
Fifteen years since starting her blog, she has 374,000 Instagram followers and 211,000 Facebook fans who are fiercely loyal.
Kat is equally loyal in return, posting almost daily and dedicating long hours to interacting with comments and messages.
She’s also refused to present a ‘perfect’ image online, mixing up fashion with the trials of raising her kids – now 20, 18 and 16 – as well as her mental health struggles, grief at losing her mum and her divorce.
While she won’t comment on other accounts, Kat confesses her pet hates are fast reels packed with too many looks and influencers making you jump through hoops to find out where an item is from.
“It’s too much effort to click links and sign up. Can you just tell us? I think the majority of women of my age haven’t got the time or inclination – and it’s all a little bit grabby.”
Instead, Kat loves to share her finds and to demonstrate to women that they don’t need to be a prisoner to trends.
“We all have very different personalities and ideas of how we want to look and be perceived,” she says.
“If you are to achieve that and feel confident in how you dress, it’s not necessarily subscribing to trends that don’t fit in with who you are or want to be.
“I like to talk about how I wear a piece, then give options of how you might wear it.
“It’s not about dressing as a mirror image of somebody whose style you like. You want to emulate them, not wear the exact same.”
‘Emboldened my choices’
While a lot of women feel less confident to wear certain looks as they hit midlife, Kat says turning 50 has emboldened her choices.
“My knees are absolutely awful,” she says. “One looks like Les Dawson’s face and the other is Bernard Manning.
“It’s always really bothered me but as I’ve got older, I’ve realised the world is not going to fall off its axis if I get them out.
“I’ve learned that none of us sit on a beach and think: ‘God, look at that girl’s awful knees’.
“However, rightly or wrongly, I do feel more comfortable when I’ve used fake tan. Without it, my legs look like a plucked chicken.
“My family is Irish but while my daughter has beautiful alabaster skin, mine is more corpse.”
The decision to end her marriage of 20 years a couple of years ago has also changed how she dresses.
Are you telling 98 per cent of the country they are not allowed to buy anything new?’
“Before I had children, I wore a lot of black but as soon as I had babies, it seemed really wrong. I wanted colour and that was my entire look for about 18 years,” she explains.
“I think it was also a way to get me going in the morning.
“Colours can work very well as a mask. Bright colours say you are jolly even if you might not be inside.
“So many new mums have a crisis about their clothes.
“They panic about how to dress because you are a different person after motherhood and your old wardrobe is reminiscent of the old you.
“The only other time I’ve ever experienced that was getting divorced.
“All I wanted was to wear black again – but in a good way, not in a melancholic way.
“It felt sophisticated. I felt bold and empowered in it.
“I’ve gone back to a bit of colour, like grey, lilac and taupe, but not the bright colours.
“I don’t need the mask any more. This is me.”
It’s this brutally honest but warm and relatable attitude that has turned Kat into one of the biggest British fashion voices on social media[/caption]
Now she’s teamed up with George at Asda for a 26-piece edit of spring staples with a bohemian vibe at a budget price.
“Everyone is saying that this year, boho is back – but for me, it never went away,” says Kat, who lives in London and previously worked as a headhunter.
“It’s a bit like skinny jeans. Some of us have continued wearing these things because we love them.
“I was a child of the Seventies and I loved those Flake adverts that were ethereal and cool and whimsical.
“This edit has that feel but at the same time, I think it’s really practical and easy to wear.
“It’s also very friendly to the non-toned body or if your shape has changed as you’ve gotten older.
“The fabrics are floaty but sheer, so you don’t look like you are wearing a tent.”
- Style Stories by Kat Farmer for George at Asda is available in sizes 8-24, priced from £8. Launches online and in stores from Monday.
CLEMMIE PICKS SIX FAVOURITE PIECES FROM KAT’S NEW RANGE
- Wide leg mid-wash jeans, £22
- Navajo jacket, £30
- White boho blouse, £20
- Floral dress, £26
- Grey T-shirt, £8
- Leopard print sandal, £12.50
