Mum's hippy influence turned me into a little raw mushroom eating rugrat wearing all kinds of weird-patterned, flowy dresses until I could tie my own hair and decided I was a big enough girl to choose my own clothes. Colour coordination was unthought of and the wackier the print, the better.
From there I started to understand that people wore clothes to suit their personality. Going to a small primary school allowed me to experiment with my uniform and try to make it look as cool as possible. My red-headed best friend and I would call each other up every morning before leaving the house to make sure we had matching long striped socks on and our hair tied exactly the same, usually in two high ponytails, because how were we meant to run the playground if we weren't exactly the same?
In my last year of primary school I decided I didn't want to be the centre of attention anymore and that I got along a lot better with the boys who hadn't turned into bitchy little creatures like all the girls had. I got mum to take me to the opshop where I chose some knee-length blue shorts like the ones all the boys wore and then went through three weeks of getting different hairstyles, each time cutting an extra centimetre off my long blonde hair. In my year seven school photo I could've fooled anyone that I was actually male.
High school sucked because the girls were girlier than ever and the boys didn't want to hang out with girls, even if they looked the same. It took me a whole year to realise I had to actually start caring about what I looked like and that comfort wasn't the most important thing. To help me a long I decided I needed an interest. Music was that interest; black band t-shirts and old denim jeans/shorts were a plenty.
Over the next few years I remembered that I was a girl as my breasts became more prominent and my body began to curve, I realised I had to be careful because oversized clothes could make me look fat and that's the last thing I wanted. Parties became a regular thing on weekends and so I was in need of different outfits, the amount of clothes grew but somehow there seemed to be less material than before.
I was still very lost with who I wanted to be at this stage and I started getting sick of being cold. Money made it hard to have the latest dress from the surfshop so I started regularly visiting opshops and to my surprise I actually found some really cool items. I took on the 'indie' trend with open arms and began wearing button-ups and vintage jumpers.
When I moved to the city I really felt like a country bumpkin and hated being so different. This is where my current love for monochrome and simple outfits came to life. I decided that I didn't want to stand out and that I could enjoy being comfortable but still look acceptable in public.
Since I started working in fragrances, I have been exposed to a whole new world of fashion and have learnt so much about the minds behind the wardrobe. The idea that designers like Azzedine Alaia make clothes to accentuate the figure and that fashion isn't just about covering up but can make you feel amazing because you look amazing. Knowing how to dress and using this to express your identity is easy if you understand the stories of the people that designed the clothes.
