Speaker 1: You're listening to Amma Mia podcast. Mamma Mia acknowledges the
Speaker 1: traditional owners of land and waters that this podcast is
Speaker 1: recorded on. Whoever said orange is a new pink with
Speaker 1: seriously disturbed laurels for spraying groundbreaking?
Speaker 2: Oh my god, you have to do it. You live
Speaker 2: for fashion.
Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Nothing to Wear, the podcast that
Speaker 1: solves fashion problems and levels up your wardrobe. I'm Lee Campbell,
Speaker 1: and every week I talk to an expert who helps
Speaker 1: us work out how to get more out of the
Speaker 1: clothes we already own and tells us exactly what is
Speaker 1: and isn't worth adding to our wardrobes. Picture this, It's
Speaker 1: thirty five degrees outside, the sun is blazing, and the
Speaker 1: last thing you want to do is put on anything
Speaker 1: remotely resembling officewear. But some people do work in a
Speaker 1: corporate environment and a little tiny mini cotton dress I
Speaker 1: ain't gonna cut it. So today's guest is here to
Speaker 1: save us from all those what do I wear? Summer
Speaker 1: mornings when you're heading to work? Meet Virginia Jenkins aka
Speaker 1: v By day, she's the competition lawyer, and by night
Speaker 1: or whenever she has a spare moment, She's on Instagram
Speaker 1: and TikTok posting about her effortlessly chic office ready outfits,
Speaker 1: with over eighty five thousand Instagram followers hanging on her
Speaker 1: every post. They look to V for practical inspiration on
Speaker 1: how to dress chic in an arguably not very chic environment.
Speaker 1: The office then add heat to the problem. So in
Speaker 1: this episode, we're going to talk about how to curate
Speaker 1: a summer work where Wardrobe and her go to tricks
Speaker 1: for staying polished in the middle of a heat wave.
Speaker 1: My friend V, who I see at the occasional event.
Speaker 1: I'm excited I've roped you into the studio. I don't
Speaker 1: know how you fit it in your schedule. But new
Speaker 1: guests answer a couple of questions before we get into
Speaker 1: the topics. So please, can you describe your style in
Speaker 1: three words?
Speaker 2: Three words? Well? I did a lot of reading to
Speaker 2: determine my three words, and it was like a real
Speaker 2: serious thing on the internet. I even bought Amy Smileovig's
Speaker 2: book The Creative Pragmatis. Yeah. I adore her and Alison
Speaker 2: Bornstein's Where It Well, and I read it because I
Speaker 2: both have different approaches to how you find your three
Speaker 2: words but my three words are so classic to my
Speaker 2: foundational word, because my style is that its core classic.
Speaker 2: Then it's comfortable. That's how I want to feel.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, I haven't even thought of my words
Speaker 1: at alone. Research This is amazing.
Speaker 2: So it provides so much structure once you've got those pio.
Speaker 2: It did a little bit because comfortable doesn't sound very glamorous.
Speaker 1: Now it feels like traxit pants, but that's not true.
Speaker 2: That's right for me. It's got a bit of a
Speaker 2: double meaning in the sense that that's how I want
Speaker 2: to feel, but it also reflects.
Speaker 1: But then it makes you feel confident because it's right, and.
Speaker 2: It's like it reflects the relaxed nature of my life.
Speaker 2: Now it's not as dressy as it used to be
Speaker 2: because you know, I've got kids in the picture and
Speaker 2: things like that. But it's also because I'm petite. It's
Speaker 2: got a bit of a double meaning there too, because
Speaker 2: I walk into a store find things off the rack
Speaker 2: and they're not going to necessarily fit my proportions, so
Speaker 2: it's a bit of a remind they're not to sort
Speaker 2: of not to compromise anything, and just to make sure
Speaker 2: the filter that's right, and so comfortable's got a few
Speaker 2: sort of layer of My third word, which is my
Speaker 2: aspirational word, is elevated.
Speaker 1: Yes, oh you're all of those. That's your Your aspirations
Speaker 1: is a reality.
Speaker 2: Oh thanks. It's a little bit of something, a little
Speaker 2: bit of something special, something extra. I always try and
Speaker 2: like inject a little bit of that. Yes, And so
Speaker 2: I think like I approach that like for when I'm
Speaker 2: getting dressed for the office, yes, but also when I'm
Speaker 2: getting dressed for weekends.
Speaker 1: Stuff off you running around with the kids.
Speaker 2: That's right. I'll pop on some earrings just to get
Speaker 2: myself fee a little bit more elevation.
Speaker 1: Well, you know, seeing you in real life occasionally and
Speaker 1: following you like devotedly following on Instagram. I approve of
Speaker 1: all three. Next question, So the theory we hear all
Speaker 1: the time, we wear ten percent of our wardrobe ninety
Speaker 1: percent of the time. So the stuff we grab where
Speaker 1: love rewear, make sure it's washed so it's ready to
Speaker 1: go again. You're ten percent. What's in there?
Speaker 2: When I think about the ten percent of things that
Speaker 2: I wear, I think shoes come to mind quite a bit.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean too, actually, because I'm just like I
Speaker 1: know you're comfortable.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I've got a pretty solid shoe collection, a lot
Speaker 2: of very beautiful, uncomfortable shoes, make sure, And so I'm
Speaker 2: always finding myself gravitating towards closed toe sandals at the moment.
Speaker 2: That's been a thing for the past.
Speaker 1: Closed toes sandal, Yeah, Like, what do you mean?
Speaker 2: So like, I've got a lot of I've got a
Speaker 2: heap of strappy I'm just holding my foot. Stop by
Speaker 2: the way, No, that's going to mean nothing to people listening. No,
Speaker 2: but yeah, I wear a lot of closed toe sandals
Speaker 2: from the office. Also appropriate, work appropriate, super comfortable. Yeah,
Speaker 2: but they're airy, That's why they're airy. But it means that,
Speaker 2: like my heels, a lot of things don't get as
Speaker 2: much airtime as they should. I may be wearing one
Speaker 2: pair of sneakers when I'm like doing exercise and things
Speaker 2: like that, and so that's who that makes up.
Speaker 1: But then I walk into a shoe shop, I'm like, pretty,
Speaker 1: I know, buy it?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: What else? Are you a jean girl? I mean we're
Speaker 1: about to talk corporate, but what are you grabbing? Is
Speaker 1: it a good quality tea?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I've got like crew neck teas that I love
Speaker 2: wearing to I go two pairs of jeans that I
Speaker 2: always wear. And I think the other key thing, the
Speaker 2: key category that makes up my ten percent, which I
Speaker 2: think is something that a lot of people can relate to,
Speaker 2: would be my active wear.
Speaker 1: Same.
Speaker 2: And it's like particularly the stuff that I have from Lululemon. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and it's not just fader, It's right, it's not just
Speaker 2: the stuff that I'm wearing when I'm working out, Oh no,
Speaker 2: because I rarely work out, but I've got a busy day,
Speaker 2: so I just put that on. That's right. I wear
Speaker 2: like a lot of their casual stuff and it's so comfortable.
Speaker 2: Like I work from home quite a bit, I still
Speaker 2: have to show up and feel put together. Yes, but
Speaker 2: there's only so much that you can achieve in sweatpants. Yeah,
Speaker 2: tell your let's get home.
Speaker 1: But then you're not gonna wear like a full on
Speaker 1: blazer if you don't need to unless you'ret of the day.
Speaker 2: Yeah. So I think luzer Lemon provides like that perfect
Speaker 2: amount of like elevated sounds have a.
Speaker 1: Very similar ten percent. Okay, So we're talking corporate wear
Speaker 1: for two reasons. Firstly, because we've had so many guests
Speaker 1: on this show and this MoMA mea office and team.
Speaker 1: We can you know, it's a creative workplace, so we
Speaker 1: can wear pretty casual things, and a lot of workplaces can.
Speaker 1: But on the flip side, a lot of professions aren't,
Speaker 1: you know, they're what I call serious careers, like lawyers
Speaker 1: or doctors. I've got some friends that are solicitors. You know,
Speaker 1: they're in kind of proper corporate environments. And it's also
Speaker 1: very hot right now. Immediately when I think corporate, I think,
Speaker 1: you know, a blazer, a long pant, whatever. But then
Speaker 1: it's summer and it's getting hotter and hotter and hotter,
Speaker 1: and I can imagine the corporate conundrum. I just made
Speaker 1: that up of you know, getting to and from work
Speaker 1: hopefully works relatively well, their conditioned, but you might be
Speaker 1: running between meetings and so you've got to look put
Speaker 1: together and you don't want to drop dead from heat exhaustion.
Speaker 1: So we're going to cover all of that, But first
Speaker 1: I want to ask you you have two lives. Essentially,
Speaker 1: you're a content creator, but you're also a lawyer. So
Speaker 1: tell me about that and the wardrobes, the different wardrobes
Speaker 1: if there is for.
Speaker 2: Me, because what I share online is essentially what I'm wearing. Yeah,
Speaker 2: it's the same, which is great.
Speaker 1: So your audience are probably office workers, you know, career corporate.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, so I'm essentially I work full time as
Speaker 2: a lawyer, and then I share what I wear online
Speaker 2: for my audience. Yeah, and it used to be strictly
Speaker 2: just workwhere when I first started, it's now expanded into
Speaker 2: what I was that pre lockdown, pre lockdown when everything wonders,
Speaker 2: things have changed, and I navigated that shift with my
Speaker 2: audience online and they were probably going through it too.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I think that's right. Sefually working in traditional corporate jobs
Speaker 2: and then all of a sudden working from home to
Speaker 2: suit pants, which was amazing totally Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly despite what was happening in the world. Your
Speaker 1: bottom for.
Speaker 2: Comfy, Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1: So what was your you know, I guess it's different
Speaker 1: for each workplace, So what was the general vibe or
Speaker 1: dress code for your work and career pre lockdown?
Speaker 2: So pre lockdown, I worked mainly in private firms, and
Speaker 2: the dress code there was I think what they call
Speaker 2: business casual, So it's not business formal, that's like very elevated.
Speaker 2: Business casual is still suits and blazers and things like that. Yeah,
Speaker 2: the silhouettes were always pencil shape. Yeah as well, like
Speaker 2: I've FINELOI in our for almost fifteen. Yeah, so I'm
Speaker 2: sort of reflecting that show.
Speaker 1: Back in the day, like you had to wear like
Speaker 1: stockings and everything, or am I making that up?
Speaker 2: Stockings wasn't a thing, that's yeah, I think I was
Speaker 2: probably that predated my time, but it was definitely slim lines,
Speaker 2: high heels. I punished my feet inten centimeter heels, and
Speaker 2: it was just a thing everyone did.
Speaker 1: Look at magazines back in the day. It was the same, yeah,
Speaker 1: and it was unspoken for us. But you just you
Speaker 1: just want to just sight club shoes.
Speaker 2: So you punish your feet in them. Sometimes you have
Speaker 2: you change from your flats to your heels after committee,
Speaker 2: but that would be even like why are you doing that?
Speaker 2: Like why can't you just punish your feet the entire day.
Speaker 2: It would be a flex to be able to commute
Speaker 2: from home to the office and home again, just in
Speaker 2: the one.
Speaker 1: Period shoe and I'm assuming like a pump or a
Speaker 1: court shoe, like not a stiletto. Yeah, not as.
Speaker 2: I would wear stilettos, but I would went like a pump. Yeah, no,
Speaker 2: no toes out okay, no that even sling backs were
Speaker 2: frowned upon. But I mean there's been such a shift
Speaker 2: like yeah, but I think that was just a very conservative,
Speaker 2: traditional office environ.
Speaker 1: Yeah, pretty narrow in terms of the options of the
Speaker 1: final look.
Speaker 2: Yes, that's right.
Speaker 1: Okay. And for you, has that changed post lockdown or
Speaker 1: do you think at industry wide as you know, sort
Speaker 1: of corporate, has it relaxed a little bit?
Speaker 2: Oh? Absolutely, it's relaxed a lot.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 2: And so now I dressed to a smart casual dress
Speaker 2: code okay, and our office actually applies a dress for
Speaker 2: your day policy, so everyone can exert Everyone can exercise
Speaker 2: their own common sense, which is great to have the freedom,
Speaker 2: but you also get a very wide range of outfits.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: But that's not to say that when I have a
Speaker 2: big meeting, like a big serious meeting, yet I'm not
Speaker 2: putting on something that is a little bit more structured
Speaker 2: and you know, meeting the occasion.
Speaker 1: Any are dressing for the for your day?
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1: I wonder if anyone has to get pulled aside and
Speaker 1: saying the day in your head and the day on
Speaker 1: your body is it's two different things. The last few
Speaker 1: years you've had more flexibility. But how do you in
Speaker 1: general avoid boring corporate work outfits? Because I think also
Speaker 1: corporate people are often busy or up earlier doing a
Speaker 1: million things, and it's so easy just to go into
Speaker 1: water from and go black pants, black jacket, and they
Speaker 1: might be lovely, but how do you keep it fresh
Speaker 1: or you know, make sure there's still a bit of
Speaker 1: your personality in your corporate outfit. Is it about the planning?
Speaker 1: Is it about the accessories?
Speaker 2: I keep those three style wards in mind, and I
Speaker 2: think that's the ones that you asked me about in
Speaker 2: the beginning. That's provided me with a lot of structure
Speaker 2: to have a bit of a play because I do
Speaker 2: think that there is still a place for a pair
Speaker 2: of black pants.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, absolutely, yeah, it's but there's still the
Speaker 1: way they bought from events fifteen years ago.
Speaker 2: That's right.
Speaker 1: That's you don't have to wear that every single day,
Speaker 1: like you know, corporate borings. I won't bother yeah, yeah, And.
Speaker 2: Corporate were back in the day as well, was really expensive.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, and I would spend I remember spending four
Speaker 2: hundred dollars on a pencil skirt that I would never
Speaker 2: wear now because it's just so old school, whereas now
Speaker 2: you can sort of there's no hard and fast line
Speaker 2: between work where you're wearing off.
Speaker 1: Yet there's not those few stores that you'd go to
Speaker 1: only for your work, right right, Yeah, yeah, that's my
Speaker 1: next question. So can you run us through. We're going
Speaker 1: to talk about hot first, like the hot weather, I mean,
Speaker 1: you're very hot, but then we'll get into justunch work stuff.
Speaker 1: Do you have favorite items that you do wear for
Speaker 1: corporate life when it is unbearably hot?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I mean I think that dressing stylishly for work
Speaker 2: in the summer, particularly in Australia, I think that's a
Speaker 2: bit of a mystery. It's so hard, that's right. And
Speaker 2: I think that, like exactly what you said earlier, like
Speaker 2: your work day doesn't just start from when you're in
Speaker 2: the office, because all the stuff you do for when
Speaker 2: there's commute ye, maybe you're dropping kids off, that's right,
Speaker 2: dropping kids off, waiting at a train station with nowhere on,
Speaker 2: hopping on a crowded train, having a heavy bag, all
Speaker 2: that sort of stuff. And just with the shift in
Speaker 2: my dress code as well, I just sort of wanted
Speaker 2: to canvasite just in case people are working in different professions.
Speaker 1: Yes, well that is it, and everyone's got something slightly different.
Speaker 2: Yeah. For me, it's summer work where boils down to
Speaker 2: two things. It's the fabric choice and it's having a
Speaker 2: good set of basics because you're a sentally down to
Speaker 2: the one layer that you can really to express yourself.
Speaker 2: I think that's why like fashion, people like colder weathers
Speaker 2: so much.
Speaker 1: If they can do the really cool blazer, but then
Speaker 1: the coat that they don't properly put on all right,
Speaker 1: but your noxious shoulder, yeah that day to day Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So there's the layering and there's the textures, whereas
Speaker 2: here you've just you just got one. And so for
Speaker 2: me the fabrics, I think you want to opt for
Speaker 2: something that's light and breathable, so things like linen and
Speaker 2: cotton they're kind of no brainers. There are also some
Speaker 2: synthetic fibers as well that are breathable and moisture wicking,
Speaker 2: like you know, like the active were stuff. Yes, but
Speaker 2: there's a brand called Euphemie which is an Australian label,
Speaker 2: and they also use some of their technology in their
Speaker 2: work where too, because they're predominantly a workwear label. Yeah,
Speaker 2: so you're getting a little bit of that. Yeah, because
Speaker 2: you get stress sweats.
Speaker 1: Yeah, of course you do it. Sweat a huge presentation exactly. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you've got a.
Speaker 2: Crazy deadline, you've got a horrible west or something like that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's right. You can't in the office, that's right. Yeah. Wow.
Speaker 2: And then I guess in terms of like the favorite
Speaker 2: pieces that I have that at my go tos, So
Speaker 2: the first is shirting. Obviously, like linen shirts are great
Speaker 2: because you know, they've got the airflow and they're breathable.
Speaker 2: I think they're also versatile in the sense that you
Speaker 2: can wear them as a shirt, yes, as they were made,
Speaker 2: but then you can also wear them over a tank
Speaker 2: as like a shacket. Yeah. And I really like doing
Speaker 2: it on.
Speaker 1: The weekend or even though that's.
Speaker 2: For a bit of a relaxed look. So I think
Speaker 2: that's summer work. Where item number one.
Speaker 1: Okay, a good natural fib or breathabule shirt.
Speaker 2: That's right, A good loose that's right, breathble shirt.
Speaker 1: Yes.
Speaker 2: The next item for me sounds a little bit specific,
Speaker 2: but it's cotton poplin dresses.
Speaker 1: I don't think love we love specificity. Trust me, that's
Speaker 1: good okay, cotton poplin specifically. Okay, so that's that kind
Speaker 1: of stiffer, yes, yes, stiff.
Speaker 2: They're tied a wee bit of achine to it. Yeah.
Speaker 1: So see I immediately think white, but I'm assuming you're
Speaker 1: probably thinking different color.
Speaker 2: Yes, different color. Yeah. Cotton poplin is like cotton's ritzier cousin. Yes,
Speaker 2: and it's it just it looks so much more elevated,
Speaker 2: and you get pieces that are more elevated made in
Speaker 2: that fabric.
Speaker 1: Yeah. And it's a bit more structured, so it lends
Speaker 1: out's right, So it.
Speaker 2: Flows a little bit more. There are some designers like
Speaker 2: Scanlan Theater or they do a really good cotton poplin dress,
Speaker 2: but I appreciate their price tag isn't accessible to everybody. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and so there's also an Aussie label called fou Ameina.
Speaker 1: Oh I love this stuff.
Speaker 2: Is so good, isn't it. They've got an amazing range
Speaker 2: of cotton poplin dresses in beautiful colors. That's where all
Speaker 2: my color is coming from, actually from their dresses. And
Speaker 2: it's roughly half the price of a Scalon theaterre dress.
Speaker 1: Okay, and the cuts work appropriate, The cuts are I'm
Speaker 1: assuming you wouldn't do sort of a shoe string strap
Speaker 1: or no.
Speaker 2: You wouldn't you do like a play on a shirt dress? Yeah,
Speaker 2: a button down something sleek covered. But yeah, you can
Speaker 2: do something. Yep, they've got things with shoulders on them.
Speaker 2: But I think as long as it's flowy and like
Speaker 2: a high neck, yeah, I think that's appropriate for the
Speaker 2: office I need.
Speaker 1: I mean not that I work in corporate, but you've
Speaker 1: made me inspired by that. What else?
Speaker 2: What else? Summer knits some I know that sounds like
Speaker 2: a bit of an oxyd.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I've got a few knit tanks. Oh,
Speaker 1: you could do like a nice high knit tank kind
Speaker 1: of thing.
Speaker 2: Yeah, like cotton knits because they are quite breathable and
Speaker 2: they look because it's the idea of an elevated basic,
Speaker 2: they look a lot more basic than a creen neckt
Speaker 2: which I have nothing against. Yeah, sometimes you want a
Speaker 2: little bit of variety. Yes, I love my cotton knit
Speaker 2: tops from Aniquan a Uniclor have a great selection and
Speaker 2: they're all so great when the air con is set
Speaker 2: to Arctic in the office, and it gives you an
Speaker 2: additional bit of like.
Speaker 1: Yeah, because it kind of knows whether it warm me
Speaker 1: up or cool you down. A little bit.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a bit of a magical work where.
Speaker 1: I and you mentioned closed sandals. So do you have
Speaker 1: any brands or work where appropriate sort of styles. Yeah,
Speaker 1: closed toast sandals have been a real thing for me
Speaker 1: for the past few years.
Speaker 2: I love the closed TOAs sandals from bad footwear comforts.
Speaker 2: I never thought that I would be so enthusiastic over
Speaker 2: for dietrist design. Shoes are the ones that I would
Speaker 2: see in the pharmacy.
Speaker 1: Totally, and homis that were on the side.
Speaker 2: Ye, comfort first fashion, not even a yes whereas bad.
Speaker 2: It's just they've got all these trendy designs. They're great.
Speaker 2: They've got heels as well, like traditional heels you know
Speaker 2: you would wear back in the day.
Speaker 1: Sure, you know, yeah, like a like a kind of
Speaker 1: air hostess courts that's right, like a courtshe Yeah, they've
Speaker 1: got a really they've got stylish options there. But I
Speaker 1: think the closed tost sandal is just a really nice
Speaker 1: flowed my mind. Yeah, I even thought to do a
Speaker 1: style like that. I love that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's great. They've got a heap of fishermen sandals.
Speaker 2: I never thought that I would be a lawyer wearing
Speaker 2: fisherman sandals too and from work. But that's what I'm
Speaker 2: doing run the office. Yeah, I love them. A lot
Speaker 2: of people are doing it too, so.
Speaker 1: You've influenced them.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think so you can do it.
Speaker 1: When you go shopping, do you, you know, consciously look
Speaker 1: for items that are versatile enough for your non lawyer life,
Speaker 1: for you know, the weekends. Do you find that it's
Speaker 1: the way you style items that then means they're versatile. Yeah.
Speaker 2: For me, I don't shop for work where anymore. I
Speaker 2: shop for just my wardrobe, but I do want to
Speaker 2: ensure that it can be styled for both, and so
Speaker 2: there has to be an element of elevation to it.
Speaker 2: There has to be something a little bit dressy about
Speaker 2: it or I would feel comfortable wearing it to the office.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Sure, and that's when I can justify adding something to
Speaker 2: my wardrobe. There is an element of that, for sure.
Speaker 1: And that's kind of your words as well. Elevated. So yeah,
Speaker 1: it's your radar anyway, You've got to get your three words.
Speaker 1: I don't know. Mine would be a bower bird and
Speaker 1: if it's on sale, and depends on what mood I'm in,
Speaker 1: I mean, I guess it's probably easier to dress down.
Speaker 1: You know, say you've got a beautiful oversized blazer you
Speaker 1: can wear to work, easy to wear that on the weekend.
Speaker 1: But if there's just really something really great and casual,
Speaker 1: or you're going on a holiday, obviously you'll still buy
Speaker 1: stuff that's not for your lawyer life.
Speaker 2: Right, absolutely, Okay, Yeah, so I've got a lot of
Speaker 2: casual stuff down. Yeah, because I'm not in the office
Speaker 2: the majority of the time anymore. I'm no longer in
Speaker 2: the office five days a week work like many people.
Speaker 2: That's why it's very handy. I mean two days a week.
Speaker 2: It means that I have an amazing workway wardrobe that
Speaker 2: doesn't get as much time as it should.
Speaker 1: And you're probably jumping on a zooms You're like, queer, God,
Speaker 1: just put this top on it.
Speaker 2: That's right there, you go. Yeah, but no, it's really
Speaker 2: dressing for my comfortable self now.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I love that.
Speaker 2: I love how it's shifted, but I still want to
Speaker 2: feel put together.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I think that if my workplace was dressy and still
Speaker 2: in that business casual dress code, I would still be
Speaker 2: shopping for two separate wardrobes.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Right, But because that's shifted and transitioned to a more
Speaker 2: relaxed code.
Speaker 1: But I also think you're helping other people sort of
Speaker 1: do that in their own way, even if their workplace
Speaker 1: is slightly more corporate than yours. I think you show
Speaker 1: the versatility well of items that can really do both roles.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's Yeah, that makes me feel nice
Speaker 2: when you say that that's the aim.
Speaker 1: So you mentioned carrying heavy bags before, and bags in general.
Speaker 1: What do you look for in a good work bag.
Speaker 2: I like a bag that can fit all my stuff.
Speaker 2: I used to be a crazy bag, used to have
Speaker 2: separate bags for my lunch and my Yeah.
Speaker 1: I'm still a cute handbag, and then this, and then
Speaker 1: I'm like oh wait and then and I've got three bags.
Speaker 2: I want everything just compact.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I'm not her yet.
Speaker 2: Oh when you do get there, and you do future,
Speaker 2: you will be very happy, I know.
Speaker 1: So are you? You know? Have you got a few
Speaker 1: sort of smaller bags for weekends lash evening where, but
Speaker 1: mostly you're a tote that can take it all.
Speaker 2: I'm a tote person. I've got a few designer totes
Speaker 2: whenever I want to inject a little bit of that. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I've also got some very functional, some very stylish ones
Speaker 2: too from Belroy. I love their toes because I've got compartments.
Speaker 1: Never heard of them.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's compartments for everything.
Speaker 1: I love a compartment.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's amazing Leroy. Yeah, it just makes life so
Speaker 2: much easier with packing.
Speaker 1: Doesn't You're not rummaging around, that's right.
Speaker 2: And then yeah, I've got a range of cross body
Speaker 2: bags that I rely on. Yeah on the weekend.
Speaker 1: Would you do a backpack for work or absolutely?
Speaker 2: I am a total backpack person. Yes.
Speaker 1: So you can get stylish enough backpacks to wear to
Speaker 1: the office.
Speaker 2: You can. You can get tote packs. Have you heard
Speaker 2: of these? They're like a multi it's.
Speaker 1: Like a transformer for a bag.
Speaker 2: Yes, it's like it's like a two in one multifunctional bag.
Speaker 2: We can wear it as a tote or as a backpack.
Speaker 1: Oh wow, that's very cool.
Speaker 2: I discovered those just after lockdown lifted, like when we
Speaker 2: were returning back to working. Yes, I think I can
Speaker 2: twenty twenty one or twenty twenty two. Yeah, and I
Speaker 2: haven't looked back because when I commute to the office,
Speaker 2: I'm dropping the kids off on foot. Yeah, and I'm
Speaker 2: hopping on.
Speaker 1: The tree probably carrying stuff for them, holding their hands.
Speaker 2: And also, you.
Speaker 1: Know, I've won my handbag on the same side for
Speaker 1: you know, decades, and my back is not enjoying it.
Speaker 2: No, and so yep, you need to get on the
Speaker 2: backpack train.
Speaker 1: Okay, but it's nice to sort of chop and change.
Speaker 1: I do like change on my bag. Occasionally. I hate
Speaker 1: it when I get somewhere and I'm like, oh, whatever,
Speaker 1: that one thing's in my other bag. But it is
Speaker 1: a nice way to kind of switch things up.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's very much part of my outfit, my bag. Yeah,
Speaker 2: so I will. I won't keep the same bag all
Speaker 2: the time. Very easily, chance for it. As long as
Speaker 2: it carries everything. Long, it carries everything. Compartments are great.
Speaker 1: Okay, yep, love it. You touched on footwear before, so
Speaker 1: now in these you know your modern life right now.
Speaker 1: You don't change to get to the office or you
Speaker 1: just go. These are work appropriate, They're comfortable, and I
Speaker 1: can go the whole day, whole.
Speaker 2: Day, that's right. So I'll wear at the moment because
Speaker 2: it's so hot. Closed dow sandals are a thing. Strappie
Speaker 2: sandals ballet flat like a ballet flat. Yeah, I mean,
Speaker 2: I get like it gets really sweaty. I agree when
Speaker 2: you're walking.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and there's not often, I mean, depending on the brand,
Speaker 1: but most of them don't have much support.
Speaker 2: No, they don't have much sport. But I'm more of
Speaker 2: a loafers person, I've got to say, so loafers would
Speaker 2: be my thing.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I do love a loafer with a worklow
Speaker 1: I do too.
Speaker 2: I have the whole element of like masculine.
Speaker 1: Me too, like the Gucci loafer, but it doesn't have
Speaker 1: to be the Gucci loafer, but just the visual reference.
Speaker 1: You know, can get really great affordable ones.
Speaker 2: Very classic. The Gucci loafers are the ones that I
Speaker 2: always wear. Yeah, trying to get the costper wear down.
Speaker 2: I've had them for about three years now when they're amazing.
Speaker 1: Oh, I've got a roop off pair of them, but
Speaker 1: I think they're almost dead, so I probably should have
Speaker 1: just bought the real one.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they're great. But when things need to be a
Speaker 2: little bit more serious, you need to be a bit dressy,
Speaker 2: then I will wear a low heel okay, but five
Speaker 2: centimeters is my limit. In summer it will be a
Speaker 2: sling back that ex ventilation.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and that's like a pointy court shure.
Speaker 2: It's a pointy courtshoe.
Speaker 1: Okay. And see what I love about that is now
Speaker 1: they look great with you know, Bermuda shorts are a
Speaker 1: little dress like. You can wear them non corporately as well.
Speaker 2: Yeah they do. They're great. They're quite versatile. So yeah,
Speaker 2: I find those low heels do double duty in that sense.
Speaker 1: Yes, And I don't want any higher anyway. And I
Speaker 1: don't work in corporate. I just want to be comfortable.
Speaker 2: No, But like that's the thing I used tonish my
Speaker 2: feet intents. I don't know how I did it. I
Speaker 2: love it.
Speaker 1: We've all been there so not just summer in general.
Speaker 1: But can you just share your favorite I mean when
Speaker 1: I say share your favorite corporate wear brands, the thing
Speaker 1: is I think for me, I used to go, okay,
Speaker 1: Q Jackie E jack Is that was that? It was
Speaker 1: she that was a shop way back at you know,
Speaker 1: I've never been corporate, But now I feel like you
Speaker 1: could probably walk into most stores in a Westfield and
Speaker 1: find work appropriate clothes and not. But what are some
Speaker 1: of your favorite brands that you do wear?
Speaker 2: Favorite brands that are wearing at the moment aren't strictly
Speaker 2: workwear labels like you say, I feel like you can
Speaker 2: find a blazer anywhere as well. But for me, Anna
Speaker 2: Kuan is currently a favorite. I think love she can
Speaker 2: do no wrong, and she's got these amazing knit dresses,
Speaker 2: like these cotton nit dresses that are great. Yes, I'm
Speaker 2: wearing a vest at the moment.
Speaker 1: You are.
Speaker 2: I really love her stuff. I love Folmina, who I
Speaker 2: mentioned earlier. I do some great dresses. I play on
Speaker 2: a shirt dress which I really love. There's a workwear
Speaker 2: label in London called The Fold. They do some really
Speaker 2: good traditional corporate workwear, okay, but they've also tailored it
Speaker 2: and twisted now for the modern woman, because I recognize
Speaker 2: the shift.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Sure, Scanlon Theater is great too, agreed and doesn't like
Speaker 2: scann On?
Speaker 1: But yes, are you in the Facebook? There's a Facebook group?
Speaker 2: Yeah? There are? Are they?
Speaker 1: I love those?
Speaker 2: Yes? Yeah. Scanlon Secondhand is like you really feel like
Speaker 2: you've achieved something absolutely and.
Speaker 1: Still because it's such good quality if someone's taking care
Speaker 1: of it, I'd go Secondhand for sure, exactly. And do
Speaker 1: you ever do the more audible brands, like if you
Speaker 1: looked at Zara Zara workwear.
Speaker 2: I love Unicloth Yeah, I love is great work. Yeah,
Speaker 2: so they're too. Yeah, they've got two massive stores in
Speaker 2: the city, so it makes it easy to browse. Yes,
Speaker 2: I think they do really good basics. That would be
Speaker 2: the two i'd recommend.
Speaker 1: Love it before we get into bougie and budget Any
Speaker 1: last tips tricks, advice for corporate wear, corporate dressing hacks.
Speaker 1: You know, it's it's the new year. Maybe people want
Speaker 1: to inject some new style. And if they do work
Speaker 1: five days a week and think, oh, that's just you know,
Speaker 1: my boring office job, what's your recommendation.
Speaker 2: For me, Because particularly in summer, when you're just sticking
Speaker 2: to the one layer and your outfits are quite basic,
Speaker 2: don't scrimp on the accessories. Add some mearings here and
Speaker 2: there at a necklace, and there are so many ways
Speaker 2: that you can do it in a budget friendly way.
Speaker 2: You don't have to, you know, fork out on crazy
Speaker 2: expensive jewelry. You can get a lot of the gold
Speaker 2: plated stuff or the gold for may that's not going
Speaker 2: to tarnish, its waterproof. I really like adding those little
Speaker 2: bit It's a frosting okay around my head and all
Speaker 2: my body. Yes, I love you, Yeah, And it really
Speaker 2: makes your outfit quite interesting.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and then if maybe you're going for afterwork drinks,
Speaker 1: I don't know. I'm too old to people still do that.
Speaker 1: But then you still feel a bit fish That's right.
Speaker 2: It's a bit of an old life for me as well.
Speaker 2: But I know you do. You feel a bit smash
Speaker 2: even at eleven a m. Yeah, you at your desk,
Speaker 2: why not? Yeah, you're not going to get much use
Speaker 2: of it. Otherwise you may as well pop it onhr
Speaker 2: D you or even to the office. That's right.
Speaker 1: I love that.
Speaker 2: It's very expensive.
Speaker 1: How old are I've pretended I work in the corporate
Speaker 1: environment so I can play along. Let's start though, with
Speaker 1: your bougie what's your bougie items? It can be boogie
Speaker 1: is you want? We've had very boogie on here?
Speaker 2: Okay, all right, my bougie item, I've got it. Here
Speaker 2: is my Selene handbag.
Speaker 1: She's beautiful.
Speaker 2: That is actual. Please. This is the Carbostone.
Speaker 1: Oh yes, beautiful.
Speaker 2: And even if I'm saying right, Caver Carby, don't ask me.
Speaker 1: Yeah, fancy, that's gorgeous.
Speaker 2: It's their toe bag, which is discontinued. That I love
Speaker 2: this bag, and particularly when you're wearing something very basic. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I could just be wearing a T shirt and just
Speaker 2: very loose trousers. Yes, I put this on and I
Speaker 2: feel like my entire and it feels your laptop. It's
Speaker 2: my laptop. It's all of the things I need for
Speaker 2: the day. I've even got a little liner for it
Speaker 2: to like have the compartments it is from. It's from Etsy.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, I need that.
Speaker 2: And so then I've got all of this stuff because
Speaker 2: I know otherwise I just go crazy.
Speaker 1: Well, it doesn't. You rummage around, you can't find anything
Speaker 1: that's clever. And you know, bags like that you can
Speaker 1: buy secondhand, but even if you do buy a new
Speaker 1: from store, they last forever.
Speaker 2: They really do.
Speaker 1: And that would look fab at a kid's birthday party
Speaker 1: in jeans and a tea and greatful work. Yes, I
Speaker 1: love how I'm justifying your bougie purchase that you've already bought.
Speaker 2: That's right now. I love wearing it. Took the office. Mainly,
Speaker 2: I don't trust my boys and they're sticky things to
Speaker 2: bring it anywhere on the case. Maybe when they're a
Speaker 2: bit older, but no, that's it's a great Oh, that's beautiful,
Speaker 2: great work bag.
Speaker 1: Well, my pretend bougie. Well it's a real bougie, but
Speaker 1: my pretend corporate life. There's a brand called Silk Laundry.
Speaker 1: It's an Aussie brand, and I figured that silk is breathable,
Speaker 1: so I'm gonna wear that to my fake corporate job.
Speaker 1: It's the Silk Laundry Relaxed blazer, and it's literally, I mean,
Speaker 1: you can tell me if I'm approved. This is kind
Speaker 1: of a deep forest green.
Speaker 2: I really love that color because it's seeny.
Speaker 1: Like silk, but it's not like that. It doesn't look
Speaker 1: like cheap, tacky satin, and it's super breathable. So I
Speaker 1: would obviously wear that just in my non corporate life.
Speaker 1: But I feel like you could wear that, you know,
Speaker 1: with a beautiful skirt or pants and you know, maybe
Speaker 1: one of those sleeveless knits underneath, and it's still sort
Speaker 1: of work appropriate, and you could still wear that into winter.
Speaker 1: It's very sort of transseasonal. Yeah, the color makes sense.
Speaker 1: So it's four hundred and five dollars, which is expensive,
Speaker 1: but also for silk. I mean, I love everything Silk
Speaker 1: Laundry does. But that's just my fake corporate life blazer.
Speaker 1: We're in an office at the moment, I know, but
Speaker 1: what you should see, you know, Muma, me and people
Speaker 1: are wearing anything, anything, and I mean that lovingly, like
Speaker 1: we can basically whatever we like and we're very lucky
Speaker 1: that way. You're dressing for your day too, Yeah, I dressed. Yeah,
Speaker 1: we're dressing crowd day.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 1: Before you came in, I was dying a period pain.
Speaker 1: I had my belt off and my shoes off, lying
Speaker 1: on the couch. I don't know if you can do
Speaker 1: that in every lawyer firm. Your budget please, my friend,
Speaker 1: My budget is.
Speaker 2: Hiding underneath these headphones. But it is a pair of earrings.
Speaker 2: So these are a pair of earrings that I got
Speaker 2: from Arms of Eve. They're an Australian label. They've got
Speaker 2: a few stores now, I think in BONDI yeah, things
Speaker 2: like that. But this is what I was talking about
Speaker 2: in terms of jewelry. So it's gold plated, heavily gold plated,
Speaker 2: so it's it doesn't tarnish. And earrings of this ilk
Speaker 2: are roughly between eighty and one hundred bucks, and it
Speaker 2: just means that you can wear things that all last
Speaker 2: a long time. They're hyper wallergenic as well if you've
Speaker 2: got sensitive ears. So I really love wearing these.
Speaker 1: And again on the weekend and on the weekend.
Speaker 2: Yes, I wear them all the time. I feel like
Speaker 2: my outfit is incomplete now if.
Speaker 1: I don't out an accessory that's right, particularly earrings. I
Speaker 1: know it's weird, and they don't they call it tabletop
Speaker 1: dressing because everyone looks from the sort of the waist,
Speaker 1: so it's like the necklace or the ear rings, and
Speaker 1: it's just like her life's put together.
Speaker 2: Yeah, she's got her life sword. But it might just
Speaker 2: be Yeah, that's right, misleading, isn't it.
Speaker 1: But no, that's well, my fake corporate life. I actually
Speaker 1: have these pants in real life, my non corporate life.
Speaker 1: They're the uniglow pleated white pants. They're the single tuck,
Speaker 1: so you can get single tack ll double tuck. I'll
Speaker 1: show you here. I've got the white. I don't know
Speaker 1: if the white's maybe too white for the office.
Speaker 2: I'm wearing white now.
Speaker 1: Well you are too, you are too. And they come
Speaker 1: in a really good range of colors one, two, three, four,
Speaker 1: seven colors extra extra small to extra extra large. They're
Speaker 1: so comfory. You can wear a belt and sort of
Speaker 1: do a shirt and a blazer. I just wear them
Speaker 1: with a tank and sandals in my everyday life. I
Speaker 1: just think I agree, Uniglo does just fantastic basics that
Speaker 1: you can really just take that item and really dress
Speaker 1: it up or dress it down, make it really demure,
Speaker 1: make it really rat mindful. And they've got that areism fabric,
Speaker 1: which is is just the most.
Speaker 2: It. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I just bought a few little sort of almost shift
Speaker 1: dresses that it's just a high neck and a pocket
Speaker 1: because I just like to run around. I need a
Speaker 1: pocket and I need it the least amount of fabric
Speaker 1: touching me. Yeah, And they're so good in that areas
Speaker 1: and fabric. And I love how Uniclo do the free hemming.
Speaker 1: Not know that. I just bought some weird hemming machine
Speaker 1: off and Instagram aut I haven't tried to use it yet.
Speaker 2: They do, Oh they do install hemming. I don't know
Speaker 2: care it's for anymore, but it's like really easy easy
Speaker 2: yeah and accessible. Okay, sometimes you can pick it up
Speaker 2: on the same day.
Speaker 1: I was going to say, if you're there, and particularly
Speaker 1: if you work near one, if you call for it
Speaker 1: and you can go, okay, well I'll grab those tomorrow
Speaker 1: and then you don't have that pile in your bedroom,
Speaker 1: going gosh, I've got to get those all taken.
Speaker 2: Yeah. The two take to the tailor pile, which is
Speaker 2: building up for me at home.
Speaker 1: Oh, me too, and then I'm like, oh, forget, it's
Speaker 1: too late. V. I love chatting with you. Thank you
Speaker 1: for all your amazing content on Instagram. That was just
Speaker 1: a tiny drop of the amazing advice you give. So
Speaker 1: everyone can find you over there, and I'd love to
Speaker 1: have you back soon.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me. This has been
Speaker 2: a lot of fun. Thank you, Thanks.
Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to Nothing to Wear. Don't forget
Speaker 1: to sign up to our Nothing to Wear newsletter. It's
Speaker 1: free and there's a link in the show notes. This
Speaker 1: episode was produced by Cassie Merritt, with audio production by
Speaker 1: Lou Hill.