Daily Outfit, 26th December 2006.

I was on my way to deliver a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses. There has been a severe temperature drop in Melbourne — this month we had the hottest December day on record in 53 years & also the coldest Christmas day EVER — which is why I’m wearing wool. I also threw a black scarf around my neck before leaving the apartment.

Pink & gold striped headscarf. I received this in a goodie bag at New Zealand Fashion Week 2005 & it is one of my favourite scarves. It looks great with a neutral-coloured outfit because it adds a little bit of colour without being overwhelming.

White t-shirt with “Death of the Bunny Girl” written on it, featuring a skull with rabbit ears. I bought this from Top Shop in November this year & have worn it to death. It’s such a good length, it comes down past my hips which makes me look much lankier than those shirts that stop at your bellybutton.

Grey woollen jersey from Ricochet with slightly puffed shoulders & diamante button detail.

Short, starry fingerless gloves made for me by my friend Ana Steele (of Pattison Steele in Auckland, New Zealand).

Bright green plastic ring I bought at a vintage store in San Francisco.

WWII Belgian leather satchel. I bought it from an army surplus store. Great patina & it looks fantastic, but is deceptively small. It will bulge upon holding wallet, cellphone, keys, sunglasses, pen & index cards — & unfortunately for the satchel (& my spine), I like to tote a lot of stuff with me.

Long black half-pleated wrap skirt from H&M. I bought this skirt when I was 15 & in Germany for the first time. I loved it so much, in fact, that when I set the H&M bag (containing my wallet) down on the street, & then forgot it — meaning, of course, that my wallet & skirt were stolen — I borrowed another $50 off a classmate & bought another one. I’m glad I did. It gets a lot of wear every winter.

Knee-high flat lace-up black boots from Ashley Ardrey. My mother bought these boots approximately 10 years ago & recently gave them to me. I was with her when she first purchased them & have been in lust ever since, so it made me a very happy girl.

I first started posting daily outfit photos in October 2005 (seems like a very, very long time ago) after seeing other people’s efforts online. Initially I took & posted the photographs for the hell of it, but then I realised there was actual value in recording what I was wearing on a regular basis. I am one of those people who likes to have their outfit for the next day planned out before they go to bed, but sometimes that just doesn’t happen. You stay up late doing something, then pass out, & when your alarm goes off in the morning you panic because you don’t know what to wear & you have approximately 5 minutes in which to make the decision. I also often have a huge feeling of dread when I look in my wardrobe, & I just cannot dress myself. This happens to coincide with the limited-time conundrum on an unsettlingly regular basis. Thankfully, this is where the daily outfit collection steps in. A quick browse through my snapshots & I remember that the seemingly-unwearable (but very cute) dress goes VERY well with those trousers… & so on.

On the other hand, it’s nice (& sometimes cringe-worthy) to see what I was wearing this time last year. My love affair with daily outfit photos comes & goes — the desire to document myself diminishes immeasurably when I am tired, cold, or generally cranky — but I plan on feeling good enough about myself in 2007 that there will be at least 3 photos a week.

P.S. I wrote a part two to this article which is worth reading!