Photos: Vogue UK. Styling by Siobhan Lyons. Photography by Will Turner.

Meet my newest style heroine: Rachael Proud; the super-cool creative director of Raey, the in-house collection at matchesfashion. Until now, Proud has kept a low profile, remaining quietly behind the scenes, but this season she’s stepped forward to model her favourite pieces from the collection.

It’s always good to see a confident woman of around-about-my-age proving that style doesn’t have a sell-by date. And I can relate to these images because she looks natural and make-up-free and the images haven’t been photoshopped to the hilt. This woman is Proud of her age.

The designer’s pared-down, elegant tomboy aesthetic features luxury basics, on repeat, ‘ I find it hard to wear full-on fashion,’ she said in a Vogue interview, ‘ I wear things which feel right which I’ve collected over the years. And I think like a man when I shop: If I find the right T-shirt or pants, I buy four of them.

I think a lot of women want that…’

I’m into this kind of Stealth Style and building a uniform around the clothes you love. Although Raey prices are what I call ‘Wait For The Sale’ (and occasionally refer to as: Go Straight To Arket), Proud confirms the emphasis is on quality and simple clothes designed to last. And I do like the look of the certified organic cotton jeans (£140), the lovely silk and wool blend printed scarves (£125) and the recycled cotton animal print track pants (£125). The collection is built around classic-with-a-twist wardrobe essentials but there’s always a chic print or interesting silhouette to perk things up.

I could definitely go for a pair of fancy track pants this winter…

There’s a recent interview with Rachael Proud in Vogue HERE.

More Stealth Style, below:

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