Editor’s Letter: Hey Guys, It’s OK to Experiment With Your Style

After months of darkness, coats, turtlenecks, and layering, I’m feeling excited to start playing around with my style again. I’m writing this letter on my couch with the windows and doors open, the afternoon sun streaming through the house. I recently moved, and I think this might just be the first time I’ve had a chance to be at home at this time to enjoy the light. As I sit here, I have emails popping up in my inbox from my favourite retailers celebrating the dawn of a new season and new arrivals. While we’ve been spring trend forecasting for the last couple of months, the weather is only just starting to warm up, and it finally feels right to start shopping. This month on Who What Wear Australia, we’re celebrating fashion as fantasy and encouraging our readers to experiment and get lost in the art of ‘getting ready’.

There are two ways I see the process of getting dressed. First, as a uniform. It’s what we put on each morning to feel a certain way—it’s often the first thing people recognise about you, so what you wear has to say something about who you are. But aside from that military approach, I see ‘getting dressed’ as an art-form. Your clothes can and should tell a story—a story of a life stage, the memory of a holiday. What we wear can have a sensory effect, and this month we’re encouraging you to think about that notion as you’re getting dressed each day. Allow yourself a little extra time and reach for the accessories you’re ‘saving for a special occasion’ or the dress you thought you can only get away with wearing to a certain event. The time is now—the dawn of a new season, where it’s time to just ‘go for it’. 

Halloween falls this month, and while not a huge national event in Australia, I’ve definitely noticed it gain steam over the last few years, and I can’t help but think it might have something to do with the opportunity to let free from ‘social norms’ and wear something completely away from what we’d call our usual style.

On a personal note, I'm turning 30 in a few weeks (October 20 if anyone is reading and wants to send me their @OldCeline to celebrate), and it’s had me thinking about how style evolves as we get older. I’m working on a piece, and I’d love to hear from you. If you’d like to contribute your thoughts, please slide into my DMs (@amandabardas) or email me [email protected] so we can chat!

Shop the pieces i love this month