Micky in the Van’s Style Alumnae

Who knows how this happened, but I was recently chosen to be part of a group of stylish ladies in a photo shoot for another stylish lady, namely Estelle Michaelides, designer of Micky in the Van. Not content to be a mere fashion designer, Estelle also runs a beautifully curated boutique in Ivanhoe called The Estelle Store (which just happens to sell my Wilderness Bazaar earrings*, but I digress!). This busy lady somehow also managed to find the time to dream up – and actually organise! – a photo shoot of Melbourne bloggers and image makers wearing her label. We all gathered at the studio of the multi-talented Meagan Harding one morning and in between feasting on strawberries, cheese and Cecylia‘s homemade carrot cake, we got our photos taken. Now that’s my kind of morning!

Meagan has met all of us many times over the years at various fashion functions so knew how to bring out each of our personalities in the portrait shots. I was kind of amused that she got a few of the other ladies to jump or create dynamic poses, but when she got to me she just asked me to be quiet and reflective as she knew that I’m not exactly bubbly and effusive. I have to admit I sometimes envy people who can be physically expressive but the whole shoot was about showing our true selves, so it wouldn’t have made sense for me to be prancing around trying to be something I’m not.

Being somewhat shy, I often use fashion as a way to try to be more outgoing – case in point this colourful pair of dresses (the long sleeveless Corinne dress over the mini-length Tanya Take Two dress with blousy sleeves) by Micky in the Van, which I’ve styled with my own scarves and jewellery. Not exactly the garb of a shrinking violet, but ironically, the kind of outfit that a lot of my more extroverted friends say they are not brave enough to wear. Maybe what we wear helps balance out our personalities? I think that’s what I’m attempting a lot of the time, anyway. You could say I aspire to be something of an exotic nomad and I kind of achieve it through my outfits, even though in real life I’m working in Melbourne and often living a fairly routine existence.

Hmm, not quite sure how I got so philosophical in this post! But it is interesting to hear why people dress the way they do, don’t you think? (If you want more insights into personal style, you can read little interviews with myself and all the other Micky in the Van style alumnae and see the finished results of the photo shoot here.)

My favourite shot of the day was when we all got to do a group picture in the style of the big fashion mags (you know, like when they gather all the supermodels together for an anniversary cover or something like that).

Left to right, starting at the back, these are the ladies: Marianne (in black top and green skirt); Dasha Gold (in beige); Iolanthe (in houndstooth check and a turban); Kyra (in black zigzaggy blouse); Cecylia (in white); Estelle herself (in massive earrings!) and then in the front row, yours truly; Cheryl and Sophie. Quite a diverse bunch in terms of what we wear and how we wear it, don’t you think? I especially like how this shot illustrates the versatility of some of Estelle’s designs – Iolanthe and Sophie chose the same shirt dress, but look how differently it can be worn! Same goes for Dasha and Cheryl – same jumpsuit but in different colours and worn with such personal style.

If you like what you see here, click through to these ladies’ sites to see more of their inspiring style and words of wisdom on all things fashion.  And keep your eye on the Micky in the Van page – there are rumours of another shoot like this one to come, with a brand new star-studded cast!

 

*I’m now offering international shipping for the Wilderness Bazaar range, so please spread the word to any friends overseas who might like to order some fair trade accessory goodness!