Hello and welcome to my wardrobe. I started taking daily outfit selfies a few months ago, and I found that it’s really helped me get dressed more thoughtfully. Why though?
Well, I think it’s because I have made sure to take photos of various versions of an outfit as I build it — sometimes dismantle it — and then rebuild it, slightly tweaked. A different top. Swap out a jacket. Switch bags. Try a different shoe. Tuck in. Tuck out. Half tuck. Undie-tuck.
Looking back, I can see some themes (the most expensive items in my wardrobe aren’t the ones I wear the most) and I can also try to break down why certain outfits just don’t feel or look right. In the moment, that can be harder.
DISCLAIMER: Most of the clothes I wear are not currently available because I am a person, not a shop. And so while I’ve tried hard to remember and share the labels of each item, I haven’t linked to them because most are no longer on sale but you may be able to find something similar by the same label or in the same store.
Mostly though, I share these outfits as inspo not as a shopping guide. Spend more, spend less, spend nothing and mix things up that you already own. You do you and we will agree not to judge each other’s fashion choices. Deal.
In no particular order, here are 22 of the outfits I wore in May.
1. Grey maxi dress with glitter sparkles.
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This dress is from SJC Made For Travel which is the small independent label started by Sarah Jane Clarke who was one half of Sass & Bide before she and her co-founder Heidi Middleton sold their label to Myer. It was exxy and I like to counter program my fancy clothes by wearing them casually. Slides by Bassike and a white singlet does the job here but I couldn’t quite land on whether to belt it (it came with a belt) or just tuck it into my undies which can sometimes help give something shape.
2. Jeans but make them pants.
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These look like jeans but they’re actually linen pants from Zara that are meant to look like faded jeans. I tried it with a couple of different tops; at first, I tried an LMND striped shirt with an Among Equals bag that lifted it a bit and gave the outfit some personality. In the end, I decided on a graphic t-shirt. Bassike slides again.
3. Burgundy pants.
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I bought these pants from Cue because I really liked the colour and I also bought the matching shell top which I then returned because it just looked shapeless on me and I couldn’t make it work. I wasn’t sure what colour to wear with it and surprisingly, lots of different colours popped up. The green top was an old Seed knit, and the shirt was LMND in one of my autumn colours (after having a colour analysis).
4. Jeans and a tee.
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I like wearing my jeans long. I can’t remember where these are from but I liked mixing this colour of mid-denim with this dark teal Bassike tank which is surprisingly good for seasonal autumns. And the blue tie-dye tee is also Bassike. How fun is the pink bag — it’s Mon Milou from my local boutique Dutch Hideout.
5. Green midi skirt on crack.
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I always feel most myself when I’m totally mismatched. Make of that what you will. The feminine skirt (I can’t remember where it came from) clashes horribly with the purple trainers and gold socks? WTF. I like the autumn coloured tee, and the coat is an old one I got in a no-name store years ago.
6. Sparkle wrap-mini but make it corporate.
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High-low. Casual-formal. Warm-cold colours. I like a contrast. If this skirt looks familiar, yes, it’s also from SJC Made For Travel and is part of the same range as the dress (I also bought the shirt and I will love all three of them forever). Instead of wearing it with the matching shirt — which I wore to the Strife premiere last year, I chucked on my LMND shirt with some Birkenstocks and then swapped them out for these Zara kitten heels. And I had to play around with tuck-or-untuck. Also: the bag! It’s a magazine bag that I bought from a vintage store 25 years ago when I worked in magazines. I bring it out for special occasions.
7. Grey sparkle trifecta.
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Told you the shirt is also great. It’s long enough, and the fabric is thin enough that I have different options to wear it: untucked, half-tucked and tucked in. Again, the Bassike slides chill the whole thing right out.
8. But where are your pants?!
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This is an old Zara skirt that looked a bit boring with the lining full-length. I didn’t get a picture before I cut it super short. I had to try lots of different tops to see how I could make it work and finally landed on a long-line jacket. This one is part of a suit from Lee Matthews and because it was chilly, I threw a Karen Walker coat over the top. My favourite part of this outfit is the Radical Yes boots with Lurex socks.
9. Sea and Sand.
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This LMND shirt is not officially one of my 'autumn' colours but f**k it. I’m obsessed with the colour and it brings me such joy. I chucked it on with these Lee Matthews wide-legged tan pants and I’m wondering if they’re just too much fabric on me. I think maybe they are, which is why I had to tuck in my shirt and I felt like it was all a bit stiff. I tried a couple of different coats over the top and wore some Adidas Sambas underneath but I wasn’t really feeling this outfit. I don’t think I’d repeat it.
10. What I did not buy.
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I found these photos from the Cue change room in my phone from earlier this year when I was first starting to try autumn colours. I now have regrets. Wish I’d bought the pants. And yes, I did buy the burgundy top and bottom but returned the top and re-homed the pants. The jacket shapes look better in these photos than they felt in the change room. Cue makes great cuts but this particular shape swamped me and was too nipped in the waist. I feel like I was too short for these jackets.
11. I returned this skirt.
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New look, who dis. I love an asymmetrical neckline. I think it’s a really flattering look when you want to be a bit sexy but not show that much skin. I tried these outfits on at home without a bra and I ended up taking the shoes and skirt back. I just couldn’t imagine getting enough wear out of them in the life I have but I do like them for someone else’s life!
12. What to wear with linen pants.
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What would you call the colour of these pants? Khaki? Slate? Slahki? Linen can be tricky so I tried these St Agni pants two ways. First, with a stripey knit from Bellerose and then with my Bassike tank and Cotton On linen jacket. The Adidas Sambas made both look fresh.
13. My fave tee rn.
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I can’t explain why I love this tee so much. It’s from Clare V and it’s just the right amount of soft. These jeans are made of tencil or something very soft and I wanted a tighter ankle so I slipped some hairbands around my ankles and tucked the hems around them to make them look like harem pants. The sandals are like Tevas but with pearls from a brand called Arizona Love. My Cue cropped trench just makes everything look better and more polished, I swear.
14. A little black dress, what?
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I know, right? Who even am I wearing an LBD, but I love this dress even though I can’t remember where it’s from. The clompy shoes are from Husk and the jacket is Rails from a Byron boutique called Enzo & Toto.
15. Sweats but make it a bit corporate.
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These are trackies from Bassike but in these photos, they just look like slightly wrinkled regular pants. I don’t know if you can see that what looks like a camo print on this knit is actually skulls. The jacket is Barney and Jac — a small label out of Orange (I also have this jacket in orange, true story). Adidas Spezial trainers.
16. Power of V.
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I’m always looking for fine knits in good colours. This one is from Uniqlo and was on sale for $39. I’ve been looking for the right colour to wear with these pants I also got on sale from Dutch Hideout where I also got these gold kitten heels by Zoe Kratzmann.
17. Red and I'm not sure what.
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I’ve had these pants for a while — I got them from Husk — and I’ve been trying to work out what colour to wear with them. On the left, it’s a neutral-coloured knit and on the right is a shirt from Cue. Shoes are cream flats from The Iconic.
18. Earthy.
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Can you see how much I’m leaning into earthy colours? LMND shirt and Bassike skirt with some old mules from Rubi shoes. My necklace is Alamais who do really nice jewellery.
19. Taylor's leftovers.
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I bought this tee from Sportsgirl when Taylor was in town and always like wearing red with these very very old Sass & Bide jeans with the gold sequins. The jacket is H&M and the shoes are Billini slingbacks. Super comfortable.
20. Bo-ho with boots.
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The Wrong Shoe rule is all about making an outfit look modern by wearing the opposite shoes to the ones you 'should' wear with a particular look. And that’s how I’m wearing these extremely chunky Rachel Comey boots with a floaty dress from Byron Bay and a suit jacket.
21. Weekend shorts.
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These Hammil & Co jogger shorts are the perfect ones for this era when I’m not going to wear Bermuda shorts and linen shorts feel too old but cut-offs feel too young. With Sambas or Birks, they work and I have them in a bunch of colours including of course denim. And white! Worn with a Hammil & Co tee.
22. Double denim.
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Denim cami with loose denim jeans and strappy kitten sandals, I wanted to wear a casual jacket, so I grabbed this Nude Lucy windcheater and threw on a bunch of gold necklaces.
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