finding my way back
Sarah Baird
This is a story about fashion. Except it isn’t really. It’s a story about confidence, identity and the unexpected journey of finding my way back to myself.
Perhaps that’s why so many of the women I meet today see something of themselves in it too.
I grew up in the beautiful village of Alloway in Ayrshire and, from as early as I remember, my dad called me ‘Sassy’, a nickname that has stayed with me. Not because I was loud or rebellious, but because I always seemed to know what I liked, and that certainty showed up through clothes.
I loved rummaging through charity shops, searching for hidden treasures amongst the rails. While other people saw second-hand clothing, I saw stories. The cut of a jacket, the colour of a dress, the quality of a fabric. Even then, I understood that clothes were never really just clothes.
As a teenager, I worked in Razzle Dazzle and later Next on Ayr High Street. Anyone of a certain age in Ayrshire will remember them. They were part of a thriving high street and gave me an early glimpse into the excitement fashion could create, the anticipation of new trends, the confidence of a great outfit and the joy people found in expressing themselves through what they wore.
“When I was fourteen, my gran and aunt took me on an unforgettable trip to London. Looking back, none of us realised quite how much it would shape me.”
For a girl from Ayrshire, it felt like stepping onto a film set. Camden Market buzzed with colour, music, and characters unlike anyone I’d ever seen before. Harrods felt impossibly glamorous, Covent Garden was alive with energy and that evening I saw Starlight Express in the West End, in awe.
For the first time, I understood there wasn’t one way to dress, one way to live or one version of who you could become.
My passion took me to Glasgow, where I studied for a degree in business and fashion. It was the era of the supermodels, Versace and Chanel, of Britpop, grunge, glamour, neon and leg warmers, a time when fashion felt exciting, expressive and full of possibility.
A university study trip to Paris offered an unforgettable glimpse behind the scenes of the fashion world, while Glasgow’s vintage stores became my second home. Give me rails of vintage Levi’s and forgotten treasures over a nightclub queue any day.
After university, I joined Next’s graduate management programme before building a successful career that took me in directions I could never have predicted. Like many women, life became busy with work, relationships, family commitments and everything that comes with building a life.
Then came my late forties. Outwardly, life looked fine, yet somewhere along the way, I’d lost a little of myself; my spark, my confidence, my sass.
In my head, I still felt thirty, but life suddenly felt unfamiliar. I remember standing in front of a wardrobe full of clothes and feeling as though none of them belonged to me anymore.
Not because the clothes had changed, but because I had.
With support from an incredible nurse practitioner at my GP surgery, I began accessing help, including HRT. Around the same time, I attended a women’s health event at Dumfries House Health and Wellbeing Centre.
Sitting in a room full of women having honest conversations about confidence, change and the realities of midlife was both reassuring and inspiring. As I shared my idea for The Sassy Edits, I realised many of us were carrying the same doubts and self-questions.
How many opportunities had we talked ourselves out of through fear of judgement, criticism or getting it wrong?
I went home that evening, opened Instagram and pressed ‘post’.
The Sassy Edits began with a single Instagram post and a decision to stop waiting for confidence before taking action.
“Today, I help women rediscover their style through wardrobe edits, personal shopping, online sourcing and events that bring women together. But what I’ve come to realise is that clothes are often just the starting point.”
Beneath the questions about outfits, trends and what to wear is usually something much deeper: confidence, identity and the challenge of recognising ourselves again in a busy and ever-changing stage of life.
Women don’t need reinvented, they need reconnected. The women I meet aren’t looking for a whole new wardrobe. More often, they’re looking for themselves.
I’ve come to believe that the journey through midlife is less about reinvention and more about returning. Returning to what feels right, what feels authentic and what feels like you. The clothes simply help you find your way back.
The Sassy Edits is, of course, a nod to the nickname my dad gave me all those years ago. But it’s also a reflection of how I want to approach life now; with curiosity, confidence, humour and a willingness to keep evolving.
I’m delighted to be joining Ayrshire Magazine as a regular contributor. Over the next few editions, I’ll be exploring style, confidence, midlife fashion and the conversations that matter to women right now, the dreams we’re pursuing, the stories we’re rewriting and the moments worth celebrating along the way.
Because midlife isn’t just something to get through, it can be the beginning of a whole new adventure.
Sarah Baird | Founder, The Sassy Edits
Midlife style, confidence and conversation for women 40+
Instagram: @thesassyedit_
Email: hello@thesassyedits.com
