My Style, My Story
BACK TO SCHOOL

I’m not going to lie, my work/life balance has been a little off kilter and the last couple of weeks have seen me spend more time knee-deep in popcorn, scrubbing lolly-binge vomit off sushi trains, and rediscovering the joys of Chatswood Chase than it has seen me frolicking in the fanciful world of fashion. While style may have taken a firm backseat during the school holidays, I did manage to keep some of the proverbial fashion balls in the air and tossing these around, here’s what got me excited about getting back to school:

I’m Seeing:

The Play on Preppy. I’ve always had an eye for clothes that could perform fair game in the schoolyard as well as hold rule in the headmistresses office. And while I enjoy fashion too much to conform to a uniform, pleated skirts, button-up shirts and collegiate blazers have always ranked high on my reading list. When it comes to playing with preppy pieces, I’m not the only one who got the school memo. Miu Miu, JWAnderson and Thom Browne have built their brand DNA’s around subverting the performance of preppy styles and simultaneously challenging ideas of class and social status. With all the current fashion chat around “quiet luxury” and “stealth wealth”, their sentiment has only gotten louder. Sure, some of those micro minis might read as a little clueless and suited to a more junior grade but there's something about the mix of schoolyard mischief and buttoned-up authority that makes bending the rules so compelling. And while we all may not have the pedigreed, country club roots some of these looks imply, whose to say everyone can’t have the privilege to play? E-bay puts preppy on equal playing field and between Miu Miu pleated skirts, Tommy Hilfiger Polos and vintage collegiate blazers, you’ll find pieces as accessible as they are elite.

I’m hearing:

The Classics. Staged in my cameo role as Uber mum during the school holidays, I had a chance to overhear the current lingo circling through the tween set. So as to remain the cool mum I am not, I had to physically bight my tongue as I took in terms like "so preppy" and "so aesthetic" used in absolutely the wrong context. I did however borrow from youth and embraced referencing myself in third person as “classic Madeleine”, a term reserved for moments of predictable stupidity. It’s liberating, try it. Not one just to take, I also used the holidays to give back and school my kids in the classics. More Uncle Buck, the Goonies and 1989 Batman than Shakespeare or Keats, I gave the kids a gift of time travel and returned to those films that informed my formative years. And as I attended Gary Janetti’s show at the Enmore Theatre this week, his comedic recital of his own preppy-clad youth where he resembled an extra from a John Hughes movie, reminded me that Hughes’ high school classics like The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Pretty in Pink are to be included in my children’s ongoing education.

I’m Feeling:

A Positive Attendance Record. The daunting feeling of returning to school has not been reserved for the kids, as the swot that I am has put my hand up to participate in a lot of extra-curricular activities within the school community this semester. But I’m A-grade at staying in my lane and understanding I am more useful to the Art & Drama department than I am to the Sports faculty. Accordingly, I will be applying my best hot-gluing and bedazzling talents to the end of year concert costumes in the oncoming weeks as well as raising momentum for the second hand clothing sale at the local school fair. And in the ongoing effort to get creative and kind when repurposing our wardrobes, Yana Malyutina, owner of What We Wore consignment boutique, and I collected donations for Dress for Success at our latest event, The Party before the Party. We were thrilled to have such a positive attendance of wonderful women all ready to gain advice on how to achieve show-stopping looks with pre-loved pieces. Fast learners, they quickly cottoned on to the concept that a distinction in style is less about trends and more about fashion that fits and feels fantastic. A-plus all round.

See more of me at Pocket Studio, hear more from me at Style Stories, get more of my feels @madeleinepark.co.