Joanne Hegarty on why people unfollowed an Insta photo - YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Sign in Welcome!Log into your account Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password Search Sign in Welcome! Log into your account Forgot your password? Get help Password recovery Recover your password A password will be e-mailed to you. YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Home Fashion The Chic List What s wrong with this picture By You Magazine - January 16, 2022 Fashion columnist and influencer Joanne Hegarty on the interesting reaction to a festive photo. Sequin skirt from Aquazarra. Top by Cos. Shoes by Jimmy Choo.. The opening scenes of the Sex and the City sequel And Just Like That… see Miranda and Carrie talking about the big white elephant on the set: where’s their other best friend Samantha? Of course, everyone knows that in real life Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie) and Kim Cattrall (Samantha) no longer speak to each other after a huge fallout about loyalty, feelings of exclusion and one (SJP, of course) being paid more than the other. It’s an honest picture, I think, of how tricky female friendships can be. Naively, I used to think that this was something we grow out of. But, as the Sex and the City gals prove, that isn’t the case. And although many of us shout very loudly about women supporting women, too often the reality doesn’t live up to the fine words. It’s a sad fact that the way we women treat each other isn’t always the nicest. Rather than pretending this doesn’t happen, I think we need to be more truthful about it. And put a stop to it the minute you feel it happening to you– just as we would if a man was treating us badly, emotionally or physically. Working in the fashion industry, full of wonderful female creativity and packed with emotions, I often see how when women are not feeling the best about themselves, they try to put other women around them down in a way that’s incredibly damaging. I’ve experienced it first-hand. Last year, I removed myself from the company of one well-known influencer –I blocked her on Instagram – because I’d had enough of her undermining ways. Then, just before Christmas, after I posted this photo of myself in a festive sequined skirt, happy at the thoughts of a few drinks, 40 women unfollowed me. I’ll be honest: this stung. So, rather than just shrug it off, I decided to call it out and ask why my happy skirt made them feel like they wanted to chop my virtual head off. I posted the photo on my Instagram Stories with a caption explaining what had happened. It got an interesting reaction. On the positive side, many of the 15,000 women who viewed it sent lovely messages – proving lots of us really do support one another. One said my ‘crime’ had been to look slender – while she’d been comfort-eating mince pies. But the difficulty is that it only takes one woman– or 40 in my case – to make you feel bad about yourself. I may have been smiling in the picture but inside I was just as full of Covid-induced anxiety as everyone else. So here is a heartfelt resolution for 2022. Let’s not drag other women down to make ourselves feel better. Pair with leggings and knee-high boots. Blazer, £135, arket.com Just the right kind of slouch. Trousers, £280, Acne Studios, net-a-porter.com Cosy bouclé – what’s not to love? Coat, £190, cosstores.com Goes beautifully with browns and camels. Bag, £79, cosstores.com These will dress up knits and dark winter days. Earrings, £55, Shyla, libertylondon.com Sporty side-stripes look chic with a structured jacket. Leggings, £95, Norma Kamali, net-a-porter.com Follow me on Instagram @thestylistandthewardrobe RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR Rochelle Humes has launched a gorgeous new edit with Next Shop the YOU Magazine Instagram YOU picks the best new-in buys from M& S Popular in Fashion Laura Jackson has teamed up with Next for the chicest knitwear January 22, 2020 Holly Willoughby’ s birthday dress is another Zara bargain February 10, 2020 The Instagram-famous & Other Stories wool blazer is back in stock August 31, 2022 Lorraine just wore Emma Willis’ Next collection from head to toe March 17, 2020 The prettiest spring dresses under £100 March 1, 2022 Everyone is buying Holly’ s gorgeous gingham Oasis dress May 14, 2020 13 bargain dresses to buy in ASOS’ s extra 20 per cent June 10, 2020 This £20 H& M dress is set to be the social media June 26, 2020 Stacey Solomon x Primark is back for a third collection with July 20, 2020 Searches for this perfect heatwave summer top style are up 5000% August 10, 2020 Popular CategoriesFood2704Life2496Fashion2240Beauty1738Celebrity1261Interiors684 Sign up for YOUMail Thanks for subscribing Please check your email to confirm (If you don't see the email, check the spam box) Fashion Beauty Celebrity Life Food Privacy & Cookies T&C Copyright 2022 - YOU Magazine. All Rights Reserved