‘I was so shocked,’ Amanda FitzGerald, 55, tells Metro. ‘It was such a gross insult.’
In June 2025, PR strategist Amanda was stood outside a Tube station, posing for a photo in her signature leopard print captain hat. As she beamed, a man walked by and loudly called her ‘mutton dressed as lamb.’
Perhaps ironically, Amanda was on the way to a business event in London, where she was due to give a speech on personal confidence and visibility.
‘For a minute it really knocked me,’ says Amanda. ‘But then I thought: “Why should he tell me how I should be dressing?”
‘I like to wear bright, dopamine clothes as a form of self-expression. Why the hell can’t I dress like this?’
Back home that night, Amanda went straight to Etsy, and as an act of defiance, ordered herself a fur cape.
It was in that moment that an idea was born: she decided to organise the first ever Mutton March.
Taking place at 1pm on Saturday, March 21, the event will feature a parade of women strutting down the King’s Road in Chelsea, ‘wearing whatever they like, however they like’, wielding placards and chanting phrases like ‘too loud, too bold, we refuse to do what we’re told.’
Amanda says the march will celebrate all women who have ever been told they don’t fit the mould.
‘After my divorce, I discovered leopard print’
Amanda has loved bold, patterned clothing for as long as she can remember.
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‘I used to be a goth punk when I was a teenager,’ she tells me, as we sit down for our Zoom interview, for which she’s wearing a red lip, fur cape and her leopard print hat.
‘I was sent to the headmistresses office after every assembly because I would crimp my hair, which wasn’t allowed.’
Rebellious with her style, she reveals that she lost some of that flare during her marriage, which ultimately ended in divorce: ‘Looking back at photos I can see that I was quite plain at times during my marriage.
‘I was living in an Essex village and became quite conservative in my dress sense’.
But when she was newly single, she discovered leopard print and says the end of her marriage was a turning point: ‘I found my freedom and my ultra self-expression came rushing back to me’.
Beaming, she tells me she’s now the proud owner of over 30 pieces of leopard print clothing.
Rocking catsuits and extravagant feather wings on a regular basis comes with its challenges though.
She shares: ‘I was standing at the bus stop once, wearing a gold denim jacket, green leopard print trousers, and black boots. A bloke turned to me and said: “Excuse me love, are you a comedian?”.’
And it’s not just her fashion choices that have riled people up in the past.
‘I have quite a lively personality this can be perceived as ‘too much’ and jar people.
‘At a networking event once, a woman took a real disliking to me simply because I was being happy and cheery. She ended up storming out.’
It’s moments like these that have encouraged her to kickstart her ‘mutton’ movement.
Women attending the Mutton March say:
Abbey Booth, 50: ‘I’ve always been told I was too much and too emotional. I’m a hair stylist, and I post photos of my work, as well as my own short hair, to my business’ Instagram page. One post when viral and was trolled by people who all had to say something nasty to tell me about my short hair. All it did was make me go shorter’.
Nooshin Bakhshi, 43: ‘A boyfriend once said to me: “You’re perfect but I wish I could just tune you down as you’re too loud”. He’s now an ex!’
Claire Sceats, 47: ‘I’ve spent my l whole life being told I’m too quiet. At school I was always being told to contribute more in class. I’ve never really minded that, but the comment I’ve never forgotten is when I went to see Cirque du Soleil. I was totally absorbed and at the end, a lady sitting next to me told me I really should enjoy it more! I was so taken aback. I hadn’t realised I was meant to be performing too. I was a lot younger then, but I’m here to celebrate everyone being themselves, and that’s what makes life interesting’.
‘Women are joining from across the UK’
After sharing her story on LinkedIn, Amanda could sense the appetite for her Mutton March ‘vision’, noting ‘it was quite clear that it hit a nerve’.
‘I set up the Eventbrite page and sought the help of an events director, to help out with logistics. I also got a photographer, videographer, and someone to help with social media, and email marketing for the day.
So far, over 100 women have registered for the Mutton March, and Amanda affectionately refers to them as ‘Muttonistas’.
‘We’ve also created a WhatsApp group so the Muttonistas can speak to each other before during and after the event,’ she adds.
‘They’ve been sharing their powerful stories as to why they are joining and I am blown away by the positivity and interest in the march.
‘Women are coming from all across the UK. There’s someone coming from Glasgow, from Liverpool, from Portsmouth, all over’.
And if you can’t make it in person, fear not, you’ll be herded into the ‘satellite muttonista’ crew, a term given to anyone joining the march remotely online.
The march will end at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park with a number of short uplifting speeches.
Amanda emphasises the march is a space for every woman, across all ages. She’s encouraging attendees to bring daughters, nieces, and sisters.
The goal is to encourage women to find their voices, to be confident, and visible.
‘From Saturday onwards, I just want everyone to wear whatever the hell they want,’ she says.
‘In fact, at 1pm on the 21st, I encourage anybody, everyone across the world, to step out on their high street with pride. This needs to become a global movement’.
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