WEBVTT - Why Personal Style Matters More Than Trends 0:00:10.745 --> 0:00:15.425 You're listening to Amma Mia podcast. Mama Mia acknowledges the 0:00:15.465 --> 0:00:18.545 traditional owners of land and waters that this podcast is 0:00:18.585 --> 0:00:22.865 recorded on. Whoever said orange is a new pink with 0:00:23.025 --> 0:00:24.385 seriously deserved. 0:00:24.105 --> 0:00:28.105 Laurels for spraying croundbreaking. Oh my god, you have to 0:00:28.185 --> 0:00:29.825 do it. You live for fashion. 0:00:31.025 --> 0:00:33.905 Hello, and welcome to Nothing to Wear, the podcast that 0:00:33.985 --> 0:00:37.425 solves fashion problems and levels up your wardrobe. I'm Lee 0:00:37.505 --> 0:00:40.065 Campbell and every week I chat to an expert who 0:00:40.105 --> 0:00:41.985 helps us work out how to get more out of 0:00:41.985 --> 0:00:44.465 the clothes we already owned and tells us exactly what 0:00:44.585 --> 0:00:48.345 is and isn't worth adding to our wardrobes. You've probably 0:00:48.425 --> 0:00:52.025 heard of Megan Hess, and if you haven't, you should. 0:00:52.505 --> 0:00:56.185 Meghan Hess is a world renowned fashion illustrator who's worked 0:00:56.225 --> 0:01:00.105 with top designers and luxury brands across the globe. Her 0:01:00.145 --> 0:01:02.345 big break came in two thousand and six when she 0:01:02.425 --> 0:01:05.505 illustrated the New York Times number one best seller Sex 0:01:05.545 --> 0:01:08.905 and the City. Since then, Meghan has crafted fashion portraits 0:01:08.905 --> 0:01:12.225 for publication like The New York Times, Italian Vogue, and 0:01:12.305 --> 0:01:16.545 Vanity Fair. Her iconic, elegant style has also grace campaigns 0:01:16.545 --> 0:01:20.825 for luxury giants. Like Fendi, Prata, Cartier, and Dior. No 0:01:20.945 --> 0:01:24.905 big deal. Not to mention She's written and illustrated twenty 0:01:24.985 --> 0:01:30.025 two best selling books. Megan's signature style is floaty, elegant, 0:01:30.025 --> 0:01:33.785 and effortlessly chic. I was curious to learn more about 0:01:33.785 --> 0:01:37.065 how she discovered her personal style, how she maintains it 0:01:37.145 --> 0:01:39.985 in a world of ever changing trends, and how she 0:01:40.025 --> 0:01:44.105 weaves it into her incredible body of work. Firstly, Megan, 0:01:44.265 --> 0:01:47.585 welcome to the show. As you know, I requested you specifically, 0:01:47.625 --> 0:01:49.985 and I'm very, very excited. So I want to start 0:01:50.545 --> 0:01:52.225 by what I think will be one of the most 0:01:52.225 --> 0:01:56.985 important questions, describing your style in three words. I feel 0:01:57.025 --> 0:01:58.865 like I could do it for you, but that's not 0:01:58.905 --> 0:02:01.545 what this is about. How do you describe your style 0:02:01.585 --> 0:02:02.265 in three words? 0:02:02.665 --> 0:02:04.585 This is so hard. I think I'm going to narrow 0:02:04.625 --> 0:02:09.425 it down to whimsical, colorful, and fairy tale. 0:02:09.705 --> 0:02:11.985 Oh I love that. I love all of those. I had, 0:02:12.105 --> 0:02:14.465 feminine and sophisticated. I was trying to think of a 0:02:14.505 --> 0:02:16.545 third one flying by the seat of my pants, but 0:02:16.585 --> 0:02:19.105 I absolutely love that. And obviously you're here to talk 0:02:19.145 --> 0:02:22.025 about personal branding and maintaining a signature style, so it 0:02:22.065 --> 0:02:24.985 feels like you know what you look like now. The 0:02:25.105 --> 0:02:27.905 saying rings true for most people. We've got a wardrobe 0:02:27.905 --> 0:02:30.185 full of clothes, but we reach for ten percent of 0:02:30.185 --> 0:02:32.665 that ninety percent of the time. What's in your ten percent? 0:02:32.905 --> 0:02:34.905 I'm depressed to tell you this because I do have 0:02:34.945 --> 0:02:38.065 so many dresses, and I'm obsessed with dresses. But the 0:02:38.265 --> 0:02:43.625 truth is in between the dress wearing, I do mainly 0:02:43.745 --> 0:02:47.025 wear jeans, trainers and blazers and. 0:02:47.265 --> 0:02:50.345 Actually be depressed. It's good to know. I think in 0:02:50.425 --> 0:02:53.625 that age of social media and reality TV and everyone 0:02:53.625 --> 0:02:55.425 looks glamorous all the time, and I'm sure you look 0:02:55.425 --> 0:02:58.305 glamorous in your jeans and your blazer, but it's nice 0:02:58.305 --> 0:03:00.385 to know that sometimes we're just falling back into those 0:03:00.425 --> 0:03:03.025 casual basics. And you know, dresses for you are such 0:03:03.025 --> 0:03:05.945 a passion that it's a collection and art. But I 0:03:05.945 --> 0:03:07.505 did wonder if you've got around the house in those 0:03:07.545 --> 0:03:08.065 all day long. 0:03:08.585 --> 0:03:10.345 No, And I don't draw or in me either. This 0:03:10.385 --> 0:03:12.425 is why I feel like a bit of a sham 0:03:12.545 --> 0:03:15.905 because I traveling, I love being in a blazer and 0:03:15.985 --> 0:03:19.305 jeans and a really comfy kind of knit and trainers. 0:03:19.345 --> 0:03:22.425 And to be honest, during COVID. I really really discovered 0:03:22.425 --> 0:03:25.105 how much I really do love trainers. Yeah, I have 0:03:25.265 --> 0:03:25.865 leaned into that. 0:03:25.985 --> 0:03:27.785 No, I think there can be different sides for out 0:03:27.785 --> 0:03:30.825 fashion personalities, and you're also publicly known for one. But 0:03:31.305 --> 0:03:33.065 you're not sleeping in those beautiful gowns. 0:03:33.305 --> 0:03:33.985 No. 0:03:33.985 --> 0:03:37.185 Now, you never expected to be a fashion person, but 0:03:37.305 --> 0:03:40.745 you have written twenty two books on fashion? Is that right? 0:03:40.785 --> 0:03:41.465 Twenty two? 0:03:41.705 --> 0:03:42.545 I think? So? 0:03:43.025 --> 0:03:47.265 Yessh, So you became a fashion person. How did that happen? 0:03:47.465 --> 0:03:49.825 It's so funny because I still see myself as a 0:03:49.865 --> 0:03:52.545 fashion observer, and I think that that's where I started, 0:03:52.585 --> 0:03:54.825 and I still feel that way in the sense of 0:03:55.545 --> 0:03:58.345 my love of it has always been capturing it, and 0:03:58.385 --> 0:04:01.265 so that's the real thing with illustrating it, and the 0:04:01.305 --> 0:04:03.545 world of it fascinates me, and the world of it 0:04:03.625 --> 0:04:06.425 has never I've never been stressed by the world of it. 0:04:06.425 --> 0:04:08.145 And I meet people all the time that fashion really 0:04:08.145 --> 0:04:11.305 stresses them out and it doesn't stress me out. Is 0:04:11.345 --> 0:04:14.625 because I technically don't feel like I don't know how 0:04:14.625 --> 0:04:16.305 to describe it, not like I don't feel like a 0:04:16.305 --> 0:04:19.505 fashion person. But my job has never really been to 0:04:19.625 --> 0:04:22.425 be displaying the fashion. It's to capture it and draw 0:04:22.465 --> 0:04:25.825 it and show it in illustrations. So that's what it is. 0:04:25.865 --> 0:04:28.745 And I think I've just always been someone who's loved it. 0:04:28.985 --> 0:04:30.585 And a lot of the books that I work on, 0:04:31.065 --> 0:04:34.105 there's lots of books in fashion, and there's lots of amazing, 0:04:34.265 --> 0:04:38.065 very highbrow books about fashion and different things, and I've 0:04:38.065 --> 0:04:42.105 always tried to create books that anyone can enjoy them. 0:04:42.265 --> 0:04:45.985 If you are a really hardcore fashion lover, or if 0:04:45.985 --> 0:04:49.105 you're an accountant that just kind of wants to know 0:04:49.145 --> 0:04:51.905 more about fashion or enjoy it, it should feel like 0:04:52.025 --> 0:04:55.705 something that you can easily flick through and be inspired 0:04:55.745 --> 0:04:56.745 by and enjoy. 0:04:57.065 --> 0:04:59.185 So when you say stressed, you mean like intimidated, and 0:04:59.185 --> 0:05:01.545 that the fashion world can be very sort of clicky 0:05:01.625 --> 0:05:04.865 and a bit scary. I sometimes feel intimidated by fashion, 0:05:05.425 --> 0:05:06.865 and so I think a lot of people can relate 0:05:06.905 --> 0:05:08.865 to that. So your newest one is Fashion in Color. 0:05:09.665 --> 0:05:12.825 I thought I've always been really fascinated by color in 0:05:12.905 --> 0:05:17.985 fashion in terms of what colors have become related to fashion. 0:05:18.025 --> 0:05:20.065 So for example, when you see someone in that air 0:05:20.105 --> 0:05:22.945 Man's orange, it evokes all those thoughts that you have 0:05:23.025 --> 0:05:24.705 about that brand, that Tiffany blue. 0:05:24.785 --> 0:05:26.745 I was about to say. As soon as you said, Hermes, 0:05:26.785 --> 0:05:28.265 I was thinking, Tiffany blues necks. 0:05:28.265 --> 0:05:30.545 Women's heart rates go up and we see that color. 0:05:30.665 --> 0:05:33.705 And I'm sure before Tiffany in Coo, if we'd seen 0:05:33.745 --> 0:05:35.665 that color, it's a beautiful color, but it wouldn't have 0:05:35.705 --> 0:05:38.825 had that association of effect on us. Yes, read, there's 0:05:38.825 --> 0:05:43.145 so many moments and Valentino pink with Barbie. There's a 0:05:43.185 --> 0:05:45.305 lot of moments. And I think it's fascinating to me 0:05:45.505 --> 0:05:48.945 how different people, whether they're famous or not, when they 0:05:48.985 --> 0:05:51.065 wear a color, depending on the color and what it is, 0:05:51.105 --> 0:05:53.625 how that color takes on a different life. I always 0:05:53.625 --> 0:05:57.945 compare say, Marilyn Munroe in Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend, 0:05:57.945 --> 0:05:59.025 where she's in that pink. 0:05:59.185 --> 0:06:00.585 Yes, I've got it in my head. 0:06:01.025 --> 0:06:05.305 Yeah that Ironically, Jackie Kennedy, who I also loved, she 0:06:05.545 --> 0:06:09.785 wore a really similar dress. It's pink satin across with 0:06:09.825 --> 0:06:12.465 the gloves, and yet when she wore it, it took 0:06:12.505 --> 0:06:15.545 on a whole different life. Yeah, it's a whole different feeling. 0:06:15.545 --> 0:06:20.585 It's completely elegant and chic and feels very Jackie Kennedy. 0:06:20.625 --> 0:06:22.825 Yet when Marilyn did it, she did it in her way, 0:06:22.865 --> 0:06:26.025 and so interesting when someone wears a color, what that 0:06:26.065 --> 0:06:26.625 color becomes. 0:06:26.665 --> 0:06:28.665 It's true because I was just thinking red, and until 0:06:28.665 --> 0:06:30.825 red really came back the last few seasons, I always 0:06:30.865 --> 0:06:34.225 thought red was sexy and racy, and it definitely is. 0:06:34.265 --> 0:06:36.945 But then there's so much red at the moment, worn 0:06:36.985 --> 0:06:39.785 by different people in different ways that it's really street 0:06:39.785 --> 0:06:43.105 style or athleisure were and I'm like, I've never would 0:06:43.105 --> 0:06:45.465 have thought of red like that, and so it's interesting. Yeah, 0:06:45.505 --> 0:06:47.625 you have an immediate thought, I think, or an image 0:06:47.705 --> 0:06:49.945 or something from history, and then it can be turned 0:06:49.985 --> 0:06:52.545 on its head. Now. I love that you say as 0:06:52.585 --> 0:06:55.705 a fashion illustrator you sort of experience fashion, but that 0:06:56.665 --> 0:06:58.985 you're still very practically in your private life or when 0:06:59.025 --> 0:07:03.265 you're illustrating. So how do you shop for those two personalities? 0:07:03.265 --> 0:07:04.985 I mean, look at all those dresses behind you. Do 0:07:04.985 --> 0:07:08.865 you know how many dresses you've got? By the way, 0:07:09.665 --> 0:07:11.905 it's a collection. I'm sure that one day, if you 0:07:11.905 --> 0:07:13.225 had to sell it, someone would take it off your 0:07:13.225 --> 0:07:15.865 hands for millions of dollars. But which you goes to 0:07:15.905 --> 0:07:18.345 the shops or which you goes online? Is it the 0:07:18.385 --> 0:07:21.345 beautiful elegant dresses? Is it the jeans and how do 0:07:21.385 --> 0:07:23.465 you decide who you're taking a shopping out of your 0:07:23.585 --> 0:07:25.225 different aspects of your life. 0:07:25.305 --> 0:07:26.825 Yeah, this is the thing that I actually find the 0:07:26.865 --> 0:07:29.945 most fun for me personally about fashion, that I feel 0:07:29.945 --> 0:07:34.265 like I have different fashion lives depending on what I'm doing. 0:07:34.345 --> 0:07:35.825 And I think this is the thing that I enjoy 0:07:35.985 --> 0:07:39.225 the most about fashion is dressing for where I am 0:07:39.305 --> 0:07:42.785 and what I'm doing. And so even when I travel, 0:07:43.025 --> 0:07:45.385 if I'm going to say Paris for work, I really 0:07:45.425 --> 0:07:48.025 want to be in things that make me feel really 0:07:48.065 --> 0:07:50.665 happy in Paris. And I don't mean it so much 0:07:50.705 --> 0:07:52.385 in a costumey style way. 0:07:52.545 --> 0:07:54.745 Do I fee Brenton shirt and you've got your bad hat. 0:07:55.505 --> 0:07:57.225 I don't need to be a full Emily in Paris 0:07:57.305 --> 0:08:00.185 or anything like that. I was just in Paris recently 0:08:00.225 --> 0:08:03.385 and it was quite cool weather and fashion Week was 0:08:03.425 --> 0:08:04.945 just about to start, and I was like, we're there 0:08:05.025 --> 0:08:10.025 same time, Yeah, so picture that weather. It was really 0:08:10.105 --> 0:08:13.625 crisp and coming into fashion week, and I passed a 0:08:13.745 --> 0:08:17.945 lady in our full tropical dress and it almost stressed me. 0:08:19.265 --> 0:08:21.425 I just didn't want it to be wearing that apparently, 0:08:21.905 --> 0:08:24.785 and if she was happy then that I heard it 0:08:24.825 --> 0:08:28.985 be in but for me, it's that really enjoying where 0:08:28.985 --> 0:08:31.065 i am and what I'm wearing. So if I'm traveling, 0:08:31.145 --> 0:08:32.945 I love being in and outfit that feels really good. 0:08:32.985 --> 0:08:35.425 To travel in the studio, I like being in something 0:08:36.145 --> 0:08:39.465 really comfy to draw in. When I'm in different locations, 0:08:39.505 --> 0:08:42.265 I love being in those colors. And the opposite of 0:08:42.305 --> 0:08:44.465 that is so true. If I'm somewhere and it feels 0:08:44.505 --> 0:08:48.345 like this is not the right fun feel for this moment, 0:08:48.425 --> 0:08:50.585 it ruins everything. Like we flew as a family to 0:08:50.665 --> 0:08:54.785 Hawaii and in the dead of Melbourne winter, yes perfectly 0:08:54.825 --> 0:08:56.585 so to be lovely and warm and Hawaii because it 0:08:56.585 --> 0:08:58.625 was really cold and Melbourne. We were all myself, my 0:08:58.705 --> 0:09:01.145 husband and my kids were all in like black tracksuits. 0:09:01.825 --> 0:09:04.065 Luggage went missing, all of it. Oh no, And so 0:09:04.145 --> 0:09:08.025 we landed. It's like hot and everyone's happy and in life, 0:09:08.145 --> 0:09:10.825 you know, we're all stressed out in these black tracksuits. 0:09:10.865 --> 0:09:13.425 And I remember saying to my daughter, it's fine, Like 0:09:13.545 --> 0:09:15.585 I don't want to just buy something to get through 0:09:15.625 --> 0:09:17.825 the next twelve hours. Obviously, we can just hang out 0:09:17.825 --> 0:09:20.385 today in Hawaii in our black tracksuits and we'll be fine. 0:09:20.425 --> 0:09:24.105 And it was so like miserable and everyone's passing a 0:09:24.185 --> 0:09:24.865 slide that's wrong. 0:09:25.945 --> 0:09:38.945 Maybe they have to packed for the wrong location. When 0:09:38.945 --> 0:09:42.745 I see your name, I think beautiful floral dresses, lace high, 0:09:42.785 --> 0:09:46.225 next sleep. So you have nailed personal branding. You know 0:09:46.345 --> 0:09:49.585 your personal style at least that public persona. Did that 0:09:49.625 --> 0:09:52.145 happen naturally? Is that what you're just drawn to? Was 0:09:52.185 --> 0:09:52.865 it a decision? 0:09:53.305 --> 0:09:57.505 I think at some point I figured out what I feel. Really. 0:09:57.585 --> 0:10:00.425 When I say comfortable, I don't necessarily. 0:09:59.905 --> 0:10:02.745 Mean physically comfortable, not as comfortable. 0:10:02.425 --> 0:10:04.785 In this dress as I would be in a tracksuit. Yes, 0:10:04.945 --> 0:10:07.705 I think I just figured out what clothes make me 0:10:07.745 --> 0:10:10.665 feel my best self. And it's a combin nation of 0:10:11.105 --> 0:10:12.905 when I'm in something that I feel my best self, 0:10:12.985 --> 0:10:15.025 I don't think about what I'm wearing, and I'm the 0:10:15.025 --> 0:10:17.345 opposite if I'm in something that I feel like either 0:10:17.385 --> 0:10:20.745 looks maybe too tight on me, or I'm in really 0:10:20.745 --> 0:10:24.785 constrictive underwear, or I'm in something that I think I 0:10:24.865 --> 0:10:27.705 may not look good in or whatever it is, and 0:10:27.745 --> 0:10:30.585 that can really affect how I am with other people 0:10:30.745 --> 0:10:32.705 or be then really awkward, or I might be shy 0:10:32.825 --> 0:10:35.345 or I'm so when I'm wearing something and I figured 0:10:35.345 --> 0:10:38.425 out early on that this type of outfit, for example, 0:10:38.785 --> 0:10:40.545 I don't even think about it. I put it on. 0:10:40.705 --> 0:10:43.665 I feel like myself, and so I'm really enjoying talking 0:10:43.665 --> 0:10:46.225 to you. If for some reason, let's say stylists had 0:10:46.225 --> 0:10:49.945 come and put me in a really tight, short red dress, 0:10:50.425 --> 0:10:53.145 I would be so awkward speaking to you right now, 0:10:53.185 --> 0:10:54.785 even if everyone told me I looked cool. 0:10:54.865 --> 0:10:55.105 Yeah. 0:10:55.585 --> 0:10:58.305 This is the other thing, because I've worked in fashion 0:10:58.305 --> 0:11:00.225 in a sense, I have always known that you never 0:11:00.265 --> 0:11:01.265 have to do all the trends. 0:11:01.385 --> 0:11:03.705 Yes, and that was going to be about stressed out. 0:11:03.785 --> 0:11:06.025 They get stress. Oh my god, Tartan's coming. I don't 0:11:06.025 --> 0:11:08.505 look good, And I was thinking just let Tartan fly 0:11:08.665 --> 0:11:11.425 bys or if you loved tart and really lean in 0:11:11.465 --> 0:11:12.185 and go crazy. 0:11:12.225 --> 0:11:14.865 Yeah, and when it's out again, you don't have to 0:11:15.145 --> 0:11:17.145 put it away, you don't keep wearing it. I love 0:11:17.225 --> 0:11:19.385 that about you. I think that you're so steadfast in 0:11:19.505 --> 0:11:22.585 knowing what works for you when it comes to trends. 0:11:22.625 --> 0:11:25.665 Do you still dabble? Do you still like looking at them? 0:11:25.705 --> 0:11:27.905 Do you like wearing them? Or are you pretty set 0:11:28.105 --> 0:11:30.785 in your work look? And then I guess your home 0:11:30.785 --> 0:11:33.345 look and travel look. But do you dabble in the trends. 0:11:33.665 --> 0:11:36.945 If it's something that genuinely sparks joy when I see it, 0:11:36.985 --> 0:11:39.705 then I will absolutely I feel no pressure to ever 0:11:39.785 --> 0:11:42.785 do it. And again because I feel like I'm more 0:11:42.945 --> 0:11:46.505 observing and capturing. I've never felt like anyone expects me 0:11:46.745 --> 0:11:50.025 next week. I'm mainly in my studio, like no one cares. Yeah, 0:11:50.985 --> 0:11:52.825 So I don't feel any pressure to wear it if 0:11:52.865 --> 0:11:55.865 I was someone that was that lots of people saw 0:11:55.945 --> 0:11:56.265 all the. 0:11:56.185 --> 0:11:59.345 Time, more in the public eye, like weekly or Yeah. 0:11:59.505 --> 0:12:02.305 But when things do come along that, I think, oh, 0:12:02.345 --> 0:12:06.465 I love even like denim jumpsuits, actually really do love them. 0:12:06.505 --> 0:12:08.985 For example, even tho there's a lot of bathroom issues, 0:12:09.065 --> 0:12:12.865 I still think a really great baggy almost boiler suit 0:12:12.945 --> 0:12:15.345 denim jumpsuit, I think it's really fun. So when things 0:12:15.345 --> 0:12:17.545 like that come in, I will actually get really excited 0:12:17.665 --> 0:12:19.905 that's a trend that's happening, And I'll think to myself, 0:12:20.025 --> 0:12:22.865 it will be really fun to search from high end 0:12:22.905 --> 0:12:25.385 to low end to what would be a great shape, 0:12:25.425 --> 0:12:27.225 and I will get one and I'll have so much 0:12:27.225 --> 0:12:29.265 fun wearing it, and I'll be really excited that that's 0:12:29.345 --> 0:12:33.745 come in. Whereas the trends not for you God, suddenly 0:12:33.825 --> 0:12:36.985 mid drifts are in whatever. It's just I'm actually justs 0:12:36.985 --> 0:12:39.985 fascinated by it, and I love watching other people wear 0:12:40.025 --> 0:12:40.545 it and do it. 0:12:40.625 --> 0:12:41.385 Yeah, it's fun. 0:12:41.705 --> 0:12:42.705 It doesn't mean I will. 0:12:43.065 --> 0:12:45.305 I'm not particularly in the public eye except for on 0:12:45.345 --> 0:12:47.345 social media. But I just really admire the fact that 0:12:47.425 --> 0:12:50.585 you really do know your personal style and can admire 0:12:51.185 --> 0:12:54.825 but not get distracted because I am still abou abert. 0:12:55.185 --> 0:12:58.785 I'm still learning the difference between admiring and wanting and 0:12:58.825 --> 0:13:01.305 then buying and regretting. And so you talk about the 0:13:01.305 --> 0:13:03.985 boiler suit, for example, and you talk about searching high 0:13:04.025 --> 0:13:06.465 and low. How do you shop? Are you an online shopper? 0:13:06.505 --> 0:13:08.305 Are you a researcher? Are you impulsive? 0:13:08.905 --> 0:13:12.265 If it's something that I really really love, I usually 0:13:12.345 --> 0:13:16.265 know immediately, and even if there's nothing that I really 0:13:16.305 --> 0:13:18.225 need that thing for, I will buy that. 0:13:18.465 --> 0:13:18.705 Yeah. 0:13:18.705 --> 0:13:18.865 Thing. 0:13:18.985 --> 0:13:21.105 It's emotional sometimes, isn't it. You fall in love? 0:13:21.985 --> 0:13:24.265 Yeah, and it's like I can't live without that. You 0:13:24.545 --> 0:13:27.425 just see something. I think it's just a great shape, 0:13:27.465 --> 0:13:29.505 it's the right color. I don't know where I'll wear that. 0:13:29.585 --> 0:13:32.865 I often do bank up pink things for my children's 0:13:32.865 --> 0:13:36.345 book series because I discovered well, I've just found that 0:13:36.345 --> 0:13:39.305 that was another incident where I had ended her. It 0:13:39.345 --> 0:13:41.065 was a writer's festival and I had to do a 0:13:41.105 --> 0:13:43.705 school visit and I packed a really fun pink dress 0:13:43.745 --> 0:13:46.105 to go to the school to meet all the preps 0:13:46.145 --> 0:13:49.345 to do a Clariss reading, and forgot to pack the 0:13:49.425 --> 0:13:52.465 pink dress and it was just a one overnight. I 0:13:52.665 --> 0:13:54.825 just had what I was wearing that day, and I 0:13:54.865 --> 0:13:58.505 had it. It was a gray jacket with these gray pants, 0:13:58.505 --> 0:14:01.985 like almost I got horrible accidentally. Corporate Yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah, 0:14:02.105 --> 0:14:03.905 it was fun with kids, and I always find that 0:14:03.945 --> 0:14:05.985 they're always like that's the lady in the book. 0:14:06.145 --> 0:14:08.745 Yes, and it's always a character, particularly when it comes 0:14:08.745 --> 0:14:09.265 to children. 0:14:09.385 --> 0:14:12.225 Yeah, they were really down and they were not excited 0:14:12.265 --> 0:14:14.025 to see me, and they were not they were almost 0:14:14.065 --> 0:14:17.105 scared of me. So it looks like a corporate like. 0:14:17.385 --> 0:14:19.105 It looked like a joop of the real author. 0:14:20.705 --> 0:14:23.665 Yeah, it just wasn't fun. So to answer your question, though, 0:14:23.705 --> 0:14:28.385 I do bank up things for Clarius, things often really fun, 0:14:28.465 --> 0:14:31.145 crazy colorful pink things or things to go with books 0:14:31.145 --> 0:14:33.105 that I know that are coming in that color, or 0:14:33.185 --> 0:14:34.705 just things that I fall in love with. And then 0:14:34.705 --> 0:14:36.865 if I don't see anything. I can go for ages 0:14:36.905 --> 0:14:39.465 without buying single thing and I'm happy. 0:14:39.585 --> 0:14:41.505 Yeah, fine, good on you. God, I need to find 0:14:41.545 --> 0:14:43.705 that balance. I think it's interesting though, and we hear 0:14:43.745 --> 0:14:45.745 time and time again on the podcast that people are 0:14:45.825 --> 0:14:48.945 missing the staple basics like the T shirt or maybe 0:14:48.945 --> 0:14:51.425 the jeans. And that's because I can appreciate a good 0:14:51.425 --> 0:14:53.065 T shirt, but it's not so often that I have 0:14:53.145 --> 0:14:55.625 an emotional reaction to a T shirt. But you walk 0:14:55.625 --> 0:14:57.905 into a store and there's a beautiful, flowy MAXI dress, 0:14:58.385 --> 0:14:59.945 you fall in love in a different way than you 0:14:59.945 --> 0:15:01.705 fall in love with a T shirt. Hence why a 0:15:01.745 --> 0:15:03.785 lot of people are like, oh yeah, basics missing from 0:15:03.865 --> 0:15:08.185 my wardrobe. So now talking again about fast moving trends 0:15:08.225 --> 0:15:10.745 and just trends over the decades you draw them. So 0:15:10.785 --> 0:15:13.545 what have you observed, Like, how has it been observing 0:15:13.545 --> 0:15:16.945 fashion through the illustrating lens and the rise of social 0:15:16.945 --> 0:15:20.065 media and the trends moving faster than ever through drawing? 0:15:20.265 --> 0:15:21.985 Well, this is really funny. Someone asked me the other 0:15:22.025 --> 0:15:24.025 day about that scene in Devil Wears Prada, you know 0:15:24.025 --> 0:15:26.065 where they talk about that blue But you don't know 0:15:26.225 --> 0:15:30.065 is that that sweater is not just blue. It's not turquois, 0:15:30.145 --> 0:15:33.865 it's not lapis, it's actually ceruleum. If I'm illustrating things 0:15:34.025 --> 0:15:38.865 for really in advance, I will often be really surprised 0:15:38.945 --> 0:15:41.185 by what the color is, what is going to be, 0:15:41.345 --> 0:15:43.465 and that wedge boots are back, and. 0:15:43.385 --> 0:15:45.145 Things like that, really are they? 0:15:46.785 --> 0:15:50.785 They weren't one. It's not that I've been told, but 0:15:50.865 --> 0:15:52.545 just things that I think. It's almost like the more 0:15:52.585 --> 0:15:54.985 I think, I just don't know that lilac is going 0:15:55.025 --> 0:15:57.065 to be the color for everyone, or that wedge boots 0:15:57.105 --> 0:16:01.065 are coming. It's usually about two years before and then 0:16:01.065 --> 0:16:03.145 within about that twelve months then you do see in 0:16:03.145 --> 0:16:07.225 designer collections that lilac color and wedge boots, and then 0:16:07.265 --> 0:16:08.625 about a year after that, then. 0:16:08.545 --> 0:16:11.785 It's in years an e h and M. That always 0:16:11.785 --> 0:16:14.105 blows my mind. I'm like, somewhere in a room, I know, 0:16:14.265 --> 0:16:16.785 and you know you can buy access to these summits 0:16:16.785 --> 0:16:19.465 and stuff, but someone setting all the trends and how 0:16:19.465 --> 0:16:21.145 did they know? And I remember when I traveled to 0:16:21.185 --> 0:16:24.105 London in June and the ice blue was everywhere because 0:16:24.105 --> 0:16:26.145 it was their high summer, and I was like, oh no, 0:16:26.305 --> 0:16:28.305 that looks very cheap and I'm not going to be 0:16:28.385 --> 0:16:29.985 that color. And what have I bought for the last 0:16:30.065 --> 0:16:32.225 few weeks. Not that I've bought a lot, but everything 0:16:32.265 --> 0:16:34.825 I'm looking at is ice blue, and I'm like, oh, well, yep, 0:16:34.985 --> 0:16:37.545 I'm a sheep. But it's fascinating, isn't it. 0:16:37.545 --> 0:16:39.105 It is because I think the other thing too, is 0:16:39.105 --> 0:16:41.185 that they become our options. 0:16:41.425 --> 0:16:42.345 Yes, that's true. 0:16:42.585 --> 0:16:45.705 Most people are not buying the original ice blue thing 0:16:45.705 --> 0:16:49.585 from Schanella duor for example, we're buying from Zara or 0:16:49.625 --> 0:16:52.505 places that it cens up. They're doing that great new 0:16:52.705 --> 0:16:55.505 shape jacket in either ice blue, beij black or cream. 0:16:55.905 --> 0:16:58.225 So that's why we do end up with that specific guys. 0:16:58.185 --> 0:17:00.265 It's so true. And it's like you know, you buy 0:17:00.265 --> 0:17:01.905 a red car and then you see that model all 0:17:01.985 --> 0:17:04.385 over the street. It was probably there, it's just once 0:17:04.425 --> 0:17:07.905 it's on your radar, then you de see it everywhere. Now, 0:17:07.945 --> 0:17:11.825 before we get into busion budget, one last question. Do 0:17:11.865 --> 0:17:15.065 you have any strategies or creative rituals to keep your 0:17:15.105 --> 0:17:19.625 stylef fresh for yourself and for your work? Because you've 0:17:19.705 --> 0:17:22.425 nailed who you are what you do, but then you 0:17:22.465 --> 0:17:24.345 don't seem bored of who you are or what you do. 0:17:24.425 --> 0:17:25.825 How do you keep it exciting. 0:17:26.465 --> 0:17:28.385 Oh wow, that's a nice thing to. 0:17:28.265 --> 0:17:30.785 Say, because I've been in the industry twenty years and 0:17:30.825 --> 0:17:33.025 I'm sometimes like I'm a bit bored of I love 0:17:33.105 --> 0:17:35.305 what I do, but you know, decades. 0:17:34.985 --> 0:17:38.985 Do you get bored? I get bored of me too, totally, 0:17:39.225 --> 0:17:42.545 I think, because for me there's a sense of once 0:17:42.585 --> 0:17:45.585 I made that decision to always feel comfortable even now, 0:17:45.625 --> 0:17:48.865 I don't wear all my meggat really high heels because 0:17:48.905 --> 0:17:52.145 I know that I will be miserable within half an 0:17:52.185 --> 0:17:54.625 hour at whatever it is. So I've just cut things 0:17:54.705 --> 0:17:56.465 down to things at heights. I know I can be 0:17:56.545 --> 0:17:58.985 in all night and be happy. I think once I've 0:17:59.025 --> 0:18:04.625 given myself the parameters of joy around fashion fancying, yes, yeah, 0:18:04.745 --> 0:18:06.705 then within that I can actually have a lot of 0:18:06.745 --> 0:18:09.065 fun with it because I love suiting as well. So 0:18:09.145 --> 0:18:11.905 even just with in suiting, knowing that, okay, I've got 0:18:11.905 --> 0:18:14.865 an exact link on my leg that I can either 0:18:14.985 --> 0:18:16.465 still do it with a heel or I can do 0:18:16.505 --> 0:18:19.705 it with a trainer. Yes, because before that, I had 0:18:19.745 --> 0:18:21.905 all these great suits for different reasons, and I never 0:18:21.945 --> 0:18:24.225 wore any of them because they involved wearing a really 0:18:24.305 --> 0:18:28.105 high boot. So that pant didn't dry well. Yes, and 0:18:28.105 --> 0:18:30.305 then I suddenly realized, no, there's an actual link where 0:18:30.345 --> 0:18:32.105 I can do both. And as soon as I got 0:18:32.145 --> 0:18:35.465 all my good suit trousers tailored to that length, I 0:18:35.545 --> 0:18:37.505 wear them all the time now. So now I've added 0:18:37.545 --> 0:18:39.785 sort of suits and shirts and things to a lot 0:18:39.785 --> 0:18:41.505 of it as well, and again it's comfort so I 0:18:41.505 --> 0:18:42.145