Denise is 50, and truthfully, for those who didn’t know her age, you wouldn’t assume to ask as a result of she radiates life and confidence. You don’t even take a look at her and consider an age. You see a trendy girl in command of her personal narrative. Which she is. However so are every of us. And that is what’s the magnetic draw her followers must her content material whether or not they notice it or not – she reminds us all that WE are in command of how we present up and nobody has the fitting to intervene with that. She’s in that unmistakable season the place confidence replaces efficiency. Her work displays it too – daring floral styling, romantic silhouettes with an edge, an all-pink room the place she movies numerous her content material, and portraits that really feel much less like trend shoots and extra like very sturdy declarations: It is a girl over 45. Take it or depart it.
She lives close to Amsterdam together with her husband and their 10-year-old son – immersed in household life whereas working a artistic universe that feels each intimate and international with over 1.3 million Instagram followers – no small feat since she’s quickly grown that viewers since Corona instances. And these days, that universe has expanded into one thing tangible you possibly can maintain in your palms: her two books, with the most recent being The Information: Boldly Blooming, Unapologetically You.
One yr in the past vacationing in Forte dei Marmi, watching her son play within the sand, she turned to her husband and mentioned, “I believe it’s time for a brand new ebook.” And that was it.
4 years earlier, her first ebook The Artwork of Getting older Unapologetically had discovered its means into the world by a conventional writer and into the hearts of many ladies who had been quietly craving illustration and reassurance. This time, although, Dee wished greater than one other photograph ebook. She envisioned one thing hotter, extra supportive – one thing that felt just like the AndBloom neighborhood itself, compressed into paper type.
As a substitute of standing alone as the only real voice of the challenge, she invited different ladies to step in. Eight specialists contributed insights throughout areas that matter deeply to ladies in midlife: peri-menopause, diet, motion, private fashion, emotional wellbeing. To not supply “fixes,” however companionship.
She mentioned one thing throughout our video dialog above that completely captured the spirit of the ebook:
“I wished it to really feel like a finest buddy.”
Not preachy.
Not prescriptive.
Not telling ladies who they need to grow to be – however strolling beside them as they’re.
And that, in some ways, is Dee’s superpower.
She doesn’t place herself as somebody above ladies – educating or correcting – however as somebody amongst them, reflecting their magnificence again at them. Her portraits don’t really feel styled to perfection; they really feel seen. Every girl within the ebook seems absolutely herself – not softened, not erased, not digitally smoothed into neutrality – however vivid and actual.
The ebook itself is a real collective creation. Her closest collaborators had been woven into each step: her finest buddy Dayenne Bekker, styled each shoot; a make-up artist was introduced in to boost pure magnificence slightly than masks it; the collage artworks are by long-time favourite Saskia Kemperman; the playful coloring pages come from Instagram buddy Mathilda; and the structure was formed by Yuri, her graphic designer, who intuitively captured the ebook’s emotional rhythm.
No massive company groups.
No shiny manufacturing fluff.
Only a circle of girls making one thing significant collectively.
Listening to Dee communicate, I used to be reminded why her work resonates with ladies — particularly over 40, over 50, and past. She stands in a fantastically uncommon house: the place class meets honesty, the place trend meets emotional depth, and the place growing older isn’t one thing to appropriate, it’s one thing to increase into.
She doesn’t promote the fantasy of reinvention.
She celebrates the ability of continuation.
We’re not “carried out” blooming at any age – we’re merely evolving into deeper, braver, extra self-possessed variations of ourselves.
Love,
Holly
Supply: Decor8
