The Italian Essence

A Retreat for Women Who Want to Feel Beautiful, Confident and Themselves Again There’s something life-changing about giving yourself space to pause — to step away from the noise of everyday life, breathe, and reconnect with who you truly are. For many women over 50, this moment marks a turning point: a time to rediscover confidence, beauty, and joy — both in how they dress and how they live. That’s what the Style & Soul Retreat  is all about. Set against the timeless beauty o

It’s amazing what can trigger a feeling of self-doubt. This morning, I headed down to the sea for my swim. As I came out of the café where we usually have our post-swim breakfast, a woman walked past in jeans, a top, and a furry jacket. She looked fabulous. But strangely, that wasn’t what unsettled me. What made me wobble was the fact that I was wearing a simple beach dress over my swimsuit. Only the day before, I had felt scruffy and underdressed, so this morning I made an e

Bill Gove said - "If I want to be free, I've got to be me. Not the me you think I should be, not the me I think my wife thinks I should be, not the me I think my kids think I should be. If I want to be free, I've got to be me so I better know who me is". Most of us will go through life living someone else’s version of it. Not because we want to, but because we don’t know any different and this has been instilled in us since the moment we are born. Why do we allow ourselves to

The Midlife Mindset Makeover: Thriving in Your Prime Art is good for the soul and for your mental health - stay with me on this one ...! This has been scientifically proven, but I don’t need any sort of report or Government Enquiry for me to know that I always feel so much better mentally when I have been to an art gallery, visited a museum, gone to a classical concert or watched the ballet or opera.  There is something about the arts that speaks to me.  They still my mind an

Whether you are employed or work for yourself your brand image is very important - here's how to do it You only get one chance at a first impression - You will probably have heard that expression, but it is oh so true and can bear being repeated. How you present yourself to the world, tells so many stories about you before you even open your mouth.  In fact, people will make their minds up about you almost from first setting eyes on you. So, you really have to think about wha

If you would like to start your journey to finding more "me time", then why not book a complimentary call with me? Email info@elinorsalter.com - I promise you, darling, you won't regret it!

I have been thinking a lot about what style actually is, who has it and whether we can all achieve it. Walking through the streets of Milan, Rome, Verona and even the small town of Tarquinia in Italy, I am constantly struck by how stylish someone looks, but they are all differently dressed. Yes, some of them are dressed “classically,” and that is more often than not how we imagine a stylish person to be. But, I recently saw a girl walking up to the college near my house and

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that thinking about your style and image is wrong. Don’t let anyone tell you that thinking about clothes and how you look makes you “ditsy” and shallow. Don’t let anyone ever make you feel silly for adjusting your makeup during the day. And please, never, ever, let anyone make you feel you have tried too hard! You know what I mean - when you walk into a party or a cafe and the person you are meeting there says something like “oh, I didn’t re

Do you want to update your wardrobe and refresh your look? If you’re ready to experiment with your favorite clothes, there is a very simple way to do it: just try combining prints in one look! You know that I love the stylish looks that the Milenese put together - the mixing and matching of prints and colours, so I am unapologetically putting together 3 ways of pulling off the look! Also read https://www.yourstylerenaissance.com/post/how-to-dress-like-you-come-from-milan Why

Last week I did a "soft launch" of my online course. This brought on all sorts of "imposter syndrome" issues as you can imagine! I was worried that it wouldn't look professional enough, that the platform it was on wasn't high tech enough, that I sounded stupid, etc, etc, etc - the list goes on! Then I took myself to task. After all, I am a 56 year old woman, trying to cope in a digital age, which quite frankly I didn't sign up for in 1964! So what if it isn't high tech - no

So many of the clothes I own are geared towards my life in Italy. Linen dresses and shirts, long flowy skirts, Tshirts, white jeans and ankle length trousers, strappy sandals or mules. These are the clothes I love and the clothes that make me smile when I put them on in the morning. They make me feel free, happy and they tell the outside world exactly who I am. So, it has been quite a struggle to keep dressing for "me" during this grey, wet, cold winter. I think a lot of p

I have NOTHING to wear!! We all say it! The cry of women all everywhere – whilst staring at a wardrobe full of clothing! Why do we think this and why does it immediately stop us in our tracks and make us feel depressed and negative? Well, the main reasons are these: 1. We have too many clothes and these are causing chaos and overwhelm in our cupboards. We need to give our wardrobes a good purge every 6 months or so and make an inventory of what we have in there. If there