It was something Garance Dore said today at the launch of her Winter with Westfield installation - more on that to come, I promise, but suffice to say it was fabulous and wonderful and she was fabulous and wonderful and i couldn't wipe the smile from my face all day!! - about the similarities, and the differences, between the Parisian and the Australian girl. They are both fashion forward, sexy and supremely stylish. But Garance Dore said something else - the Australian girl is relaxed. She smiles. Parisian girls can be very "sexy-serious" but the Australian girl is fresh and lovely and bright as a star.
I don't know what's going on - what with that post on Australian style, or the return of Aus harper's bazaar, I guess I must be in a very patriotic mood - but I can't get this Australian girl out of my head. Sure, I'd like to think that I'm the girl, but I think some of my friends represent her very well. Sunkissed and golden with legs for days and a smile for hours. I have a friend who lives near Bronte who is just like that - she has beach in her bones. Even in winter I imagine she has sand in her hair and a bikini under long sleeve shirt.
So maybe I'm not a denim cut offs and thongs kind of girl, but I think there is something quintessentially Australian about my style - that I'll never get rid of no matter how quick I move to London and no matter how many cafe au laits I sip. So maybe I'm not your typical beach babe lounging around in Byron Bay. But my style is relaxed - sometimes too much so, but it cannot be doubted that there is a casual thread throughout everything I wear. I never take anything too seriously, even if I do occasionally get worried about what to wear (hmm, this morning was a case in point of that). I have messy hair and rips in my skirts and loose threads hanging from hems and a big toothy grin on my face as I go about it.
This certainly isn't groundbreaking - but I like it when people recognise something more about Australia and Australian style than what is on the surface. Sure, you could say that Australia is all about bikinis and billabong, but that's only the tip of the ice berg. That NATURALNESS that is so very, very Australian is more than just bronzed limbs and clear skin. It's more, even, than flyaways, chipped nailpolish and scuffed trainers. It's about sand dusted toes, steady gazes, and watermelon juice dripping all over your lap.
the girl from oz
vogue uk august 03
corinne day
gemma ward
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