You may know Emma on Instagram as @sittingdownstyle or as Emma Birch. Emma wears many hats and is best described as a style influencer, diversity campaigner and a disabled model with passion in spades for ethical and sustainable fashion and design.
Four years ago her life was changed forever after a three storey fall left her paralysed from the chest down with no hand function. Things changed when she started to adapt. She had makeup splints made and worked hard to learn to dress herself again, as well as typing and writing. She rediscovered her personality through art and fashion.
‘I felt like an idiot the first time I wore red lipstick to the gym, but so proud I’d applied it myself.’
Based in London and always interested in fashion and design, Emma wanted to integrate her style into her posts and showcase that great looks can be accessible to everyone – so @SittingDownStyle was born. Despite amassing over 30,000 followers Emma still gets amazing messages from fans all around the world who support her positive outlook on disability, fashion and design. Emma has been able to keep her day job in a museum and also enjoys decorating her adaptable flat and working with great, ethical and sustainable brands.
Her interior style is a combination of furniture collected in Morocco and Istanbul, with vintage items adding lovely touches. Emma has balanced adaptable city living with her own taste and style. She feels very blessed to have access to great adaptable features such as moveable surfaces in the kitchen and a wet room to make the morning shower a little easier.
Emma looking stylish 
Emma loves her shoes 
Gloria from Women of Inspiration Candle range (black)
‘I love indoor plants and gorgeous scented candles, I’m enjoying a ‘Women of Inspiration Candle’ at the moment, the sea spray and oakmoss scent has been filling my home for days!’
Emma’s home is shared with a large collection of vinyl, dresses and shoes. She works with charities that are very close to her heart, ‘Little Lives’ which raised money for disabled and disadvantaged children and ‘Smart Works’ which raises funds to get women back into the workplace offering help with CV writing, interview techniques and work clothing.
‘Fashion and design has opened a door for me that I thought was shut for good in A&E, I’m pleased I was wrong.
Emma has worked hard to be rebuild her life and has gone back to work, got a new flat and a very new perspective of how to live, respect others and be comfortable in her own skin. She has so much to share with other and a lot for us all to learn from.
‘I have had very uplifting experiences as a disabled person and also some crushing ones. I think my perspective of living with a disability is to just keep striving to make the best of each day and celebrate the small wins.’
She has been able to turn an interest in sustainable and ethical fashion into a positive platform to encourage varied representation and support inspirational people and amazing brands.
See more about Emma’s work
You may also enjoy reading https://darlingmagazine.co.uk/fashion/spring-fashion-edit-lets-give-the-tracksuit-a-run-for-its-money/
