“I have people message me privately and say my account has helped them and they are the same size as me”
Laura Peskey from Hull is a finalist in the UK Top Influencer awards 2026 in the fashion category(Image: styledbylaurap)
A Hull woman who began making videos of herself trying on clothes in a bid to feel more confident after the birth of her second child has been nominated for an influencer award.
Laura Peskey, 34, is a finalist in the UK Top Influencer Awards in the fashion category. The Hull mum-of-two has spoken of how she struggled to find clothes that suited her as a mid size 14-16 and felt “stuck in a rut”.
In March last year, Laura launched TikTok and Instagram channels which featured her trying on different styles of clothing as she experimented with her look. They were a huge success and, ultimately, helped Laura and hundreds of other women feel more confident with their post-partum bodies.
Laura told Hull Live: “I’d just had my little girl and obviously your body changes and everything like that, I was thinking for a while I wanted to start a channel for other people like myself who have put a bit of weight on from the birth.
“I was feeling a little down about myself and I thought, ‘You know what, I am going to start doing a little channel.’ I didn’t think anything would come out of it, but in the past year it has just grown massively.”
At the time of writing, Laura has more than 6,800 followers on Instagram and TikTok. She also has a growing Facebook community, with 1,700 followers.
Laura said people leave “really positive” messages and tell her “how brave I am to do this”, which has encouraged her to keep it up. There are some mean-spirited comments, but Laura said they are in the minority.
“I have people message me privately and say my account has helped them and they are the same size as me and wouldn’t think of wearing something,” she added. “Then they’ve seen me wear it, and they’ve gone out and bought it, and it’s changed how they think about their body,” she said.
As well as shopping on popular online sites like Boohoo, Laura makes videos styling second-hand fashion from charity shops and the online marketplace Vinted. “I like to do little hauls like that as well,” she said.
The awards will be held at the Assembly Room in Newcastle on May 3. People can vote here, with Laura listed under her username as ‘styledbylaurap’.
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