INTERVIEW with Meagan Jurkiewicz || Founder of Embracing Me Collective
SD: Hi, Meagan. For my readers who don’t know you yet, can you please introduce yourself?
MJ: I’m Meagan (Megz) I’m 45, a mother of 4 adult children 19, 22, 25 and 28, and a 16 year old stepdaughter. I’ve been a psychologist for nearly 18 years - I run Embracing Me Collective specialising in therapy for women and girls.
And anyone who knows me, would tell you - I love Taylor Swift, Pilates and anything fashion !!!
SD: What does fashion mean to you?
MJ: I think I’ve been in love with fashion since around 4, when I insisted I wear my own outfits out. I was doing fashion parades around the house for my mum at three or four years old! As an only child, I had a very big imagination, and for me, fashion was always about fun, flair, colour and, most importantly, being unapologetically me.
As I’ve moved through the different chapters and eras of my life, fashion has always come along for the ride. Through the highs, the lows, the reinventions and the “who even am I right now?” chapters, fashion has given me joy and a way to express the woman I am becoming.
I love that you can create an entire story through what you wear. - what I call your “fashion love story.” Sometimes it’s the dress, sometimes it’s the shoes, sometimes it’s a ridiculous pair of earrings that simply make you smile. Every little piece can say something about who you are.
And I think that’s what I love most about fashion — it’s not about following the rules; it’s about writing your own story. I’m not dressing to fit a certain age, a certain body, a certain standard or someone else’s idea of what a 45-year-old woman should look like. I’m dressing for me.
If I want to wear a bright pink dress on a gloomy day because it makes me happy, then that’s exactly what I’m going to do!
Fashion, to me, says: This is me. I love who I am. I’m allowed to take up space. I’m allowed to have fun. And I am perfectly imperfect, exactly as I am.
And really, isn’t that what embracing me is all about?
SD: What’s the most important thing to you at the moment?
MJ: I think the most important thing for me right now is rediscovering me — embracing who I am, accepting who I am, and exploring this new chapter of my life.
For so many years, I’ve been a mum, a wife, a dog mum, a psychologist, and someone that so many people have relied on. My children have now all moved out, and I lost my beautiful dog last year. My husband is a police officer and works a lot, and I work a lot in my own profession too. So, for the first time in a very long time, there is space in my life that is just… mine.
At 45, I feel like I’m at this really beautiful turning point. Rather than asking, “Who needs me?”, I’m starting to ask, “Who am I, and what do I want?” I want to take a step back, realign, and rediscover the woman underneath all of those roles. I want to embrace the new me — not because I don’t love the woman I’ve been, but because I’m excited to discover the woman I’m becoming.
Being true to myself is also hugely important to me. I want to stay connected to my values, my beliefs and the things that genuinely matter to me, rather than feeling like I have to fit into anyone else’s expectations of who I should be.
And then there’s Embracing Me Collective. Building my brand and creating something that reflects my passion for supporting women and girls is incredibly important to me. I’m particularly passionate about suicide prevention and early intervention. Having experienced the impact of suicide attempts within my own family, and friends it’s an area that holds a very personal place in my heart. I want to use my experience as a psychologist to support women and young women, to create connection, build hope and remind people that their story can change, and you can truly “live for the hope of it all”.
Ultimately, if I can touch even one person’s life and help them feel more understood, more confident, more hopeful or more accepting of themselves, then that matters to me.
Whether that happens through psychology, fashion, or a combination of the two, I want what I do to be about helping people embrace who they are.
And I think that’s what this chapter is really about for me too:
Embracing me. Being me. Rediscovering me. And giving myself permission to explore who I’m becoming.
SD: What’s in your handbag?
MJ: Oh dear… this is probably going to expose me!
I don’t actually carry a big handbag. I’m much more of a clutch or small handbag kind of gal. The problem is that, despite the size of the bag, I somehow manage to travel very heavily.
I think that comes from being a mum for so many years and having everyone constantly relying on me. I’ve always been the person who thinks, “You might need this…” — and apparently that mentality has followed me straight into my handbag!
At the moment, you’ll find about four different lipsticks and lip glosses because apparently one is never enough. There’s Band-Aids, multivitamins, and, very importantly, my Embracing Me pen, which I genuinely don’t go anywhere without. I’ve got business cards, makeup powder, various little touch-up utensils and, of course, a lash brush. I never leave home without a lash brush!
There’s perfume, women's hygiene products, breath mints, my keys, loose change and probably an assortment of things that absolutely do not need to be in there.
And then there’s Panadol. I don’t even really take Panadol myself, but I have it just in case someone else needs it. Because apparently I’m still in my mum era!
If you went through my handbag right now, you’d probably be in there for quite some time. I could definitely do with a good cull, but I think there’s something very me about being prepared for absolutely any situation.
Because if you’re a fashionista, you need to be prepared for a fashion emergency.
Broken nail? I’ve probably got something.
Need a lipstick? I’ve got options.
Lash catastrophe? Lash brush.
Headache? Panadol.
Bad breath? Mints.
Need an Embracing Me business card? Of course.
So, yes, my handbag may be small… but it’s basically a bag for a woman who likes to be prepared.
And honestly, if you need something, there’s a pretty good chance I can pull it out of my clutch.
SD: How would you describe your personal style?
MJ: I’m The Style Boss on Instagram, so I think my personal style is really about being the boss of me. I wear what I love, what makes me feel good and what feels like me.
If I had to describe it, I’d say feminine first, with a little fun, flirtiness and fashion flair thrown in. I love colour, and I’m always going to be drawn to a beautiful pink piece. But I’m not necessarily someone who believes everything has to match perfectly. I might pair lime green with fuchsia pink, add some statement earrings and throw on a fabulous pair of shoes. If I love it, I’ll make it work!
For me, fashion is about having fun and creating an outfit that makes me feel confident. I’ll find something and think, “Love that. These earrings will work. These shoes will work.” Sometimes it all comes together beautifully, and sometimes I cross my fingers and hope it looks as good when I actually try it on!
I also think knowing your body is really important. It’s about understanding what you feel comfortable in, what flatters you and what makes you feel like the best version of yourself.
And I have a very Cher from Clueless approach to getting dressed. I’ve taken photos of every item of clothing, every pair of shoes and all my accessories, and created an album on my phone. When I’m putting an outfit together, I can use the photos to create little combinations and see whether everything works visually before I try it on. It’s basically my own digital wardrobe — very Cher, very organised, very fashionista!
One of the loveliest things is that I’m often stopped when I’m out shopping by women, men and even young girls who tell me they love my outfit. Just recently, around five women stopped me to compliment a dress I was wearing. It was a dress I’d had from Sheike for seven or eight years, and I had actually been thinking about selling it!
It was such a beautiful reminder that sometimes the pieces we think are old or that we’ve had for too long are actually the pieces that still make us look and feel amazing.
And hearing someone say, “You look beautiful,” at 45 can sometimes be a little difficult to accept. You almost think, “Are you sure? Are you just being kind?” But I’m learning to simply say, “Thank you,” and let myself receive the compliment.
So I think my personal style is feminine, colourful, fun, flirty and a little bit unexpected. It’s about embracing what I love, knowing what works for me and never being afraid to wear something just because it makes me happy.
And my biggest fashion reminder would be: don’t be too quick to get rid of those older pieces. They never really go “ out of style “
SD: What would you say to your younger self?
MJ: I think I would simply say: “You’ve got this.”
When we’re younger, it’s so easy to compare ourselves to everyone around us. We look at magazines, social media, other women and all these ideas of what we’re supposed to look like, how we’re supposed to feel and who we’re supposed to become.
I started modelling when I was just 14, competing in the Pam Tamblyn modelling competitions, and I absolutely loved that world. But being exposed to modelling and beauty standards at such a young age also taught me how easily we can start measuring ourselves against an idea of perfection.
I think we put so much pressure on ourselves to be this, to look that way, to have the perfect body, the perfect life, the perfect career, the perfect relationships. And those expectations can affect us emotionally, mentally, psychologically and physically.
So I think I’d tell my younger self:
Embrace it.
Embrace every chapter. Embrace the awkward bits. Embrace the mistakes, the heartbreak, the uncertainty, the things that don’t go according to plan. Because those chapters are going to help build you.
They’re going to make you stronger. They’re going to make you more resilient. They’re going to teach you things you could never learn if everything went perfectly.
I’d tell her to trust herself more.
Trust your instincts. Trust your voice. Trust yourself enough to take risks — whether that’s with fashion, relationships, your career or life in general. Don’t be so afraid of getting it wrong.
Because it’s okay to fail.
Failure doesn’t make you less of a person. It doesn’t mean you’re not good enough. Sometimes failure is simply another chapter in the story. It makes you real.
And I think that’s something I understand much more now at 45: we don’t become ourselves by getting everything right. We become ourselves by living it.
So to that 14-year-old girl who was starting out in modelling, I’d say:
You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to look like everyone else. You don’t have to have it all figured out.
You’ve got this. Trust yourself. Take the risk. Wear the dress. Make the mistake. Learn from it. And most importantly, embrace every version of you along the way.
Meagan’s Links:
Embracing Me Collective Website: https://www.embracingmecollective.com.au/
Embracing Me Collective Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/embracing_me_collective_
Embracing Me Collective Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61592659065293
The Style Boss: https://www.instagram.com/the_style_boss_/
Photo Credits:
First Photo: Taken by Salt Story Studio
Second Photo: Taken by Samy Studio Works; HMU by Dazzling Finesse
