If you were out in London this weekend, you might have come across something rather unexpected…
More than 100 women came together on Saturday, March 21, to march through the capital in protest of being told they look like ‘mutton dressed as lamb’.
Known as the Mutton March, it was part of a grassroots movement dedicated to championing female confidence, by challenging ageist and sexist tropes regarding how women ‘should’ dress.
It was the perfect act of revenge for anyone who has ever told they’re ‘too much’ and naturally, there was an array of fabulous outfits on display – think bright colours, feathers, capes and a lot of leopard print!
Why was the Mutton March organised?
‘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.
It was held on Saturday, March 21, and featured 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 was intended to 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.
‘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 headmistress’s 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 flair 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, which can be perceived as ‘too much’ and jar people.
‘At a networking event once, a woman took a real dislike 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.
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.
More than 100 women registered to join the 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.
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 went 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’.
Speaking after the march, she added: ‘It was spectacular with people travelling for the day from Wales, Scotland, and every corner of England to join this wonderfully empowering and inclusive march.
‘We had a ball and chanted our way down the Kings Road and shared our super important message. Freedom of expression.
‘Mothers came with their daughters, our marshals were in their twenties, shepherding us midlife women and joining in the message that freedom of express is for decade of your life.’
She adds: ‘We are already looking ahead to next year, and it will be bigger and better.
‘We want to take this global. We have the right to protest, so we’re also doing it for our international sisters who cannot protest freely.’
‘A glorious day for women’
Those who have taken part in the day have praised Amanda and hailed the march as ‘beautiful’.
Olivia Marocco took to Instagram to say: ‘On Saturday, I joined Amanda in London for the very first Mutton March. It mattered to me to be there. Because I believe, now more than ever, that women need to keep showing up – visible, vocal and unapologetically themselves.
‘And what a day it was. The sun came out, King’s Road was buzzing and shoppers stopped in their tracks, intrigued, amused, curious as 100 women in the most glorious array of bright, colourful, creative outfits marched in joyful unity.
‘What Amanda has created is the beginning of something real. A movement that says: women, and all diverse communities, have every right to take up space, raise their voices, share their opinions and do so safely. That message is needed.
‘I feel so genuinely blessed to be surrounded by extraordinary women, each building on their own terms, each keeping their individuality fiercely intact. We may have marched as muttons and lambs on Saturday, but we are absolutely not the type to follow the herd.’
Others called it ‘phenomenal’, ‘brilliant’ and said they ‘loved’ the march.
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