HF Digital Cover

"You need to feel just as good at the end of the day as you did at the start."

he ‘OG influencer’ on the resurgence of the blog, spring styling and why getting dressed is a “form of self care”. Lydia Millen has become synonymous with a particular brand of refined British elegance—an aesthetic that appears effortless yet is undoubtedly the product of years of meticulous curation. But, like many of us, her signature style was not a birthright; it was the result of experimentation, evolution, and a deep-seated appreciation for timeless fashion. The year was 2010. The world was in the thrall of crop tops, chokers, clear heels, and skinny jeans. Sex and the City 2 had just hit theatres, and fashion's most devoted enthusiasts took to Tumblr and Blogger to share their sartorial musings. Among them was Lydia Millen, a then-aspiring style maven documenting her outfits with a pink digital camera, blissfully unaware that she was laying the foundation for an enduring career in the digital fashion landscape.

oday, Lydia remains a staunch advocate for the power of the original blog. They’re making a comeback, she

Lauren states that “For me, the most challenging part is having to wear so many hats at once. I feel like I've learned so much from being here. But sometimes there's not enough hours in a day because there is just so much to do and I want to do it to the best of my ability. No two days are the same, which is great, but there’s a lot to juggle.”

f all the platforms at her disposal, YouTube holds a particularly special place in her heart. “Its the most special platform” she explains. “It just feels like you're having a conversation with your audience. I love connecting with people there.” Aside from her well-heeled family members, her ultimate style icon and inspiration is The Princess of Wales. “I think that the way she dresses is exquisite. She never misses,” she says admiringly. “Even when she plays around with brighter colours and patterns, and I really enjoy the way she champions a breadth of fashion styles from high end to high street, because I think that that's what style is.” Lydia’s own wardrobe is a masterclass in classic tailoring and elegant occasionwear—attributes that made British heritage brand Hobbs the perfect collaborator for her recent H! Fashion cover shoot. Set against the idyllic backdrop of stables in Northamptonshire, the shoot was a dream realised. “It felt surreal,” she confesses. To be in that setting, surrounded by farmland, fashion, and her horse—Atlas and his paddock friend Romeo— was a ‘pinch me’ moment. “my dad popped down to have a look as well.” Dressed in the brand from head to toe, Lydia’s classic, timeless and elegant style was on full display for the day. Though it was hard to choose a favourite look from the shoot, the one that surprised her most and the one she is most excited to get her hands on is the “pinstriped waistcoat look that I wore in the tack room, because the fit on the waistcoat and the tailoring was just impeccable. A more structured finish, but yet you feel comfortable.” Comfort, she insists, is as crucial as style: “You need to feel just as good at the end of the day as you did at the start.” Her love affair with Hobbs extends beyond the shoot. As the warmer months approach, she’s particularly enamoured with a polka-dot shirt dress from the brand’s SS25 collection. “It fits like perfection” while also having a “more structured collar and delicate pleats to the skirt,”she gushes. “I love a spring polka dot moment, and I can't wait to wear it on a boat with a straw boater in the height of summer. It’s so Pretty Woman-coded.”

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“I’ve always loved Estée Lauder because my mother used it growing up. I find it very nostalgic. But also the packaging is just beautiful and timeless, and of course, the products speak for themselves. They're super reliable and long lasting, it's never let me down yet.” Ray confides that “I have pretty oily skin, and the Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup SPF 10 Foundation sits natural matte, so I haven’t had to worry about touch ups. My complexion looks flawless, but the makeup doesn’t feel heavy.”

Lydia wears HOBBS Darracott Dress

Lydia wears HOBBS Groombridge Linen Waistcoat and Trousers

"I started with a blog, and so for me, it holds such a special importance in my journey. It's where it all started"

Ray wears dress and belt from Kenzo and earrings from SO-LE Studio. Nat wears hoodie and skirt from Tory Burch and earrings, necklace and bracelet all from Tilly Sveaas. Lauren wears playsuit, jacket and turtleneck all from Max Mara and earrings from MAM Originals

“We’re going for a drink after the shoot as we don’t want to waste this makeup!” Lauren laughs. “I’ve loved the Double Wear Smooth & Blur Primer today, and the makeup artist has shown me the perfect way to do my eyebrows using the Brow Multitasker.” Moonlighting as our cover models, does the team feel pressured to look like the stars we feature? “I don’t, because I know how much goes on work goes into it” Lauren states. “It takes a village, whether it's the people doing the makeup, fixing the hair, or the stylist making sure that everything looks perfect on set, and the photographer lighting and retouching the images. The crews are all professionals, whereas 90% of people are not professional makeup artists.” Sharing how her approach to beauty has changed, she continues “Perhaps it’s a gradual shift as you get older, but now I prefer to focus on my skincare over makeup. If the base is prepped and it feels good, then like the rest sorts itself out. I always apply Estée Lauder's Advanced Night Repair Serum, and then I use a sheer layer of foundation and some mascara. A lip gloss is always important and I do my eyebrows. I’m a five-minute makeup girl.”

ast-forward fifteen years, and few of her contemporaries from the golden age of blogging have managed to sustain their influence. Yet, Lydia has become a household name and seamlessly transitioned through the social media epochs, from Blogger to Instagram, YouTube, and now TikTok, amassing a loyal following of over 1.5 million on Instagram alone. Her fashion roots run deep, a legacy she credits to her immaculately dressed grandparents. “My grandma’s style is just unbelievable—she is an icon,” Lydia beams, “I've done quite a few videos about her on my TikTok, and every single one of them gets millions of views.” But it was her grandfather, who worked as a master tailor at Huntsman on Savile Row, who provided the earliest blueprint for her love of precision tailoring. “I was always going to end up doing something like this,” attests Lydia. “When I was 16, I was coding my own websites, uploading photos, and documenting my life.” As Lydia grew up and headed off to study marketing at university, her blog joined her on her journey as her creative output. “I needed that outlet. You have to be creative when you’re on a university budget, and it was such an interesting time for the industry.”

insists.“I started with a blog, and so for me, it holds such a special importance in my journey. It's where it all started, and it's so beautiful logging onto someone's website and seeing their personality jump from the pages at you and you know where you are and you know who this person is and what they represent.” Since the blogging era social media has transformed into the powerhouse it is today, with Instagram, YouTube, and now TikTok leading the charge. Lydia was one of the first to embrace this shift, adapting effortlessly to the newfound freedom of self-managed apps. “Instagram was a natural sort of transition because I started using it before it was a photo-sharing app - when it was just an editing app. It was quite funny actually because there was this bizarre transition when your photos just became public.”

“The most amazing part of my job is seeing brilliant creative teams putting together looks as it constantly gives you inspiration for what to wear, and that’s the really fun part of getting to do what I do.”

Ray raises the issue that “The line between my life and work is really blurred now. What am I wearing today – is that content? If I’m going to an event after work, is that my personal time or work related? I feel like in my head I'm constantly editing reels!” Reflecting on the opportunities and experiences afforded to them by working in fashion, the chance to witness first-hand the work of the world’s leading and emerging designers remains a thrill. “I’ve learned so much about the industry, and attending fashion shows is my favourite part” says Lauren. “London Fashion Week was hectic but honestly the most amazing experience.”

Another hero ensemble for summer on her list is the brand's three-piece linen suit in oatmeal, a style staple she instantly confirms when asked, “If you could only wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it be?” She replies “I think it's comfortable, but it also looks really put together and perfectly walks the line between both. I'd still be able to go out and make a good impression, but I'd also be able to come home and snuggle on the sofa.” When she and her husband Ali made the move to the countryside to their “partially off-grid” home seven years ago - which doesn't have a mains water supply and requires the local farmer to visit every few months with his dog Fluff and deliver a handwritten invoice - Lydia introduced new considerations to her daily wardrobe. Practicality now plays a larger role. “As we move into spring, layers are really important. I love a well-structured shirt worn over a warm, cosy roll neck with a pair of jeans and some boots because if I'm not in the house, I'm outside doing the chickens or I'm in the garden. Today I've got to pop out and get shavings for my horse's bed, so there's always something that I need to do.”

Ray wears top from Siedres, shawl is stylists own, skirt from N21 by Alessandro Dell’Acqua and earrings from Vintage Christian Dior at susancaplan.co.uk . Lauren wears dress from Self Portrait, tights from Calzedonia and earrings from Julietta at KOIBIRD. Nat wears jacket and skirt from Louis Vuitton and earrings and cuff from Swarovksi

From far left: Nat wears jacket and trousers from Tom Ford, shoes from Gina, necklace from Swarovksi and earrings from susancaplan.co.uk. Hoodie and skirt from Tory Burch, earrings, necklace and bracelet all from Tilly Sveaas and boots from Giuseppe Zanotti. Jacket and skirt from Louis Vuitton, tights from Falke and earrings and cuff from Swarovksi

Larina Dress £169

Eva Floral Silk Dress £349

Mia Spot Dress £189

Darracott Dress Coming Soon

Linen Wide Trousers, Coming Soon

Alessia Linen Waistcoat, £129

Alessia Linen Jacket, £189

Groombridge Linen Wide Trousers, Coming Soon

Groombridge Linen Waistcoat, Coming Soon

Jude Leather Slingbacks £139

Lexia Leather Courts £149

Ros Leather Courts £99

Nadia T-Bar Satin Sandals £149

Shop Lydia's look

Soft linen

Alessia Linen Jacket

Tailored jacket

Wide leg

Buttoned waistcoat

Soft stripes

Lydia wears HOBBS Alessia Linen Waistcoat, Jacket and Trousers and White Spot Larina Dress.

Dressed in the brand from head to toe, Lydia’s classic, timeless and elegant style was on full display for the day. Though it was hard to choose a favourite look from the shoot, the one that surprised her most and the one she is most excited to get her hands on is the “pinstriped waistcoat look that I wore in the tack room, because the fit on the waistcoat and the tailoring was just impeccable. A more structured finish, but yet you feel comfortable.” Comfort, she insists, is as crucial as style: “You need to feel just as good at the end of the day as you did at the start.” Her love affair with Hobbs extends beyond the shoot. As the warmer months approach, she’s particularly enamoured with a polka-dot shirt dress from the brand’s SS25 collection. “It fits like perfection” while also having a “more structured collar and delicate pleats to the skirt,”she gushes. “I love a spring polka dot moment, and I can't wait to wear it on a boat with a straw boater in the height of summer. It’s so Pretty Woman-coded.”

When faced with a style dilemma, she turns to a guiding principle “What would older Lydia think?” “Will she regret not wearing the dress or the scarf or whatever it was that made her happy when she's old and in her armchair rocking and knitting? And so I just think ‘wear the scarf’ and ‘wear the beautiful coat’ or whatever it is that makes you happy.” Lydia tries to think about ‘old Lydia’ rather than what anyone else thinks about her style. And so far the adage has made getting dressed “really fun.” For someone whose career has been built on documenting fashion, Lydia remains refreshingly candid about the nature of personal style. “You never really feel like you’ve ‘got it,’” she muses. “I've just tried to simplify things over the years and just wear the things that make me feel loveliest.” And that, in the end, is what true style is all about.

“I've just tried to simplify things over the years and just wear the things that make me feel loveliest.”

Lydia wears HOBBS Groombridge Linen Waistcoat and Trousers

"I like to dress well. it's almost part of my self-care"

Lydia wears HOBBS Eva Flora Silk Dress

espite her ever-changing schedule and outside jobs list, Lydia views getting dressed every day as a form of "self-

care.” Yet, regardless of the setting, getting dressed remains a ritual, something she talks on in her much-loved book, Evergreen. “I've never really been someone that doesn't celebrate dressing well, whatever I'm doing, even if that is when I’m spending the day in the garden. I like to dress well when I'm doing it. People find it nuts, but it's almost part of my self-care. It makes me feel so lovely.” The biggest shift? Her once-cherished heels have taken a backseat. They “gather a lot more dust these days,” she admits. But they still make an appearance for grand occasions. “I like to make an effort and I love occasion dressing - whether I'm going to somewhere like Ascot or going to the film music gala, for me, that's the time where my dresses and heels get a chance to shine.”

oday, Lydia remains a staunch advocate for the power of the original blog. They’re making a comeback, she

Lydia wears HOBBS Mia Spot Dress

oday, Lydia remains a staunch advocate for the power of the original blog. They’re making a comeback, she insists.“I started with a blog, and so for me, it holds such a special importance in my journey. It's where it all started, and it's so beautiful logging onto someone's website and seeing their personality jump from the pages at you and you know where you are and you know who this person is and what they represent.” Since the blogging era social media has transformed into the powerhouse it is today, with Instagram, YouTube, and now TikTok leading the charge. Lydia was one of the first to embrace this shift, adapting effortlessly to the newfound freedom of self-managed apps. “Instagram was a natural sort of transition because I started using it before it was a photo-sharing app - when it was just an editing app. It was quite funny actually because there was this bizarre transition when your photos just became public.”

Ros Leather Courts £99

Nadia T-Bar Satin Sandals £149

Jude Leather Slingbacks £139

Lexia Leather Courts £149