Be Yourself – Everyone Else is Taken

When I was a little girl I’d haul the clothes out of my mother’s closet and play dress up. Everything was miles too big; the dresses were like capes and the shoes like boats, but size was of no consequence. I was always game for a garment extravaganza and that’s exactly what I’d create. I’d enjoy many happy hours amidst swathes of clothes and shoes, lost in a world of fashion and fantasy, conjuring crazy fashion get-ups. As I grew older, I continued to periodically raid the racks of my mum’s wardrobe, but I was decidedly more discerning. I’d swipe a white vintage blouse with a lace collar and cuffs perhaps, or a silk scarf to add a little whimsy to an ensemble.

It was then that I began to develop my own fashion style, forming ideas about my favoured silhouette, the prints and colours I preferred. I’m savvy stylist now and I know exactly what looks I like or loathe. But it all started in the mid-eighties when I was five or six, in my mum’s bedroom when I’d pair drainpipe denims with a waist-cinching tunic, drape a denim jacket over my shoulder and shove my too-small-feet into cork-soled wedges. Trailing scarves, beads and handbags in my wake, I’d twirl in front of the mirror and declare how fabulous I looked. And I truly believed it too. Oh the unbridled uncomplicated confidence of youth. How wonderful it is. How woeful that we lose it.

Some 20 years later and my children climb into my cupboard and do exactly the same thing. Even my boys. My dresses are dragged into the garden for fairy princess parties, my tights become superhero bandanas and my blazers are fashioned into military regalia. Soon my daughter will start pilfering pieces to add to her own style – to write her own fashion story. My eldest son already has a penchant for a three-piece suit, a bowtie and braces. My youngest son simply adores heels!

Just as we follow our own path in life – in terms of where we choose to live, our friends, partners, careers, interests, food preference… So too do we forge our own path with fashion. We choose the style that best reflects who we are.

And there is simply no style more unique than yours.

Through this blog, we’re going to share with you all things fashion. We’ll look at fashion tips, trends, styles and stories. Revealing everything from how to wear crazy Christmas sweaters and cool 3D digital print jumpers to hilarious suits and conventional choices for the more reserved. From fantastic and frivolous to classic and understated. We’ll keep it light and fun. But always real. Because keeping it real is always the best look. Keeping it real is always in fashion.