This is the second installment in a four-part shopping series, where we’re decoding the style archetypes shaping how we get dressed this spring. Last week, we explored the Opulent Romantic — in all her feminine, feathery glory. This week, the pendulum has swung back hard with our insouciant, nonchalant tomboy girl.
Lover of baggy shorts, shrunken baseball tees and plaid shirts. The insouciant tomboy girl is more Kat Straford than Bianca; more Justin than Hailey; and as excited by a pair of cargo pants + heels as SJP in the early 2000s. Striped tees (American stripes, not breton) sit comfortably with a silk midi skirt that looks like it was fished out of nonna’s attic. Your Pinterest feed is currently a jigsaw of puffy heart charm necklaces and jogging shorts.
You’re a mystery wrapped in a riddle. And extremely hot.
You wear Hermes Eau D’Orange Vert Deodorant but keep a roll-on of Le Labo’s Another 13 in your Rylan 32.1. Between guides to the best wine bars and obscure book stores of Copenhagen, Tokyo and NYC, your IG saved folder is a shrine to Ana Piteira, Sarah Ellen and Paris Wycherly. When in Melbourne, you eat at CIBI and get your coffee from JDV Market; in Sydney, it’s a morning coffee at Adelaide’s Kitchen before a visit to your neartest bathhouse. New season Blanca sends your bank account into a state of fight or flight; you have an alert set up for new drops at Monphell and, while you might occasionally stray, Bassike always keeps you coming back (it’s the fit).
This spring style archetype is the natural result of the post-pandemic focus on comfort and functionality — a counterweight to tradwife and balletcore aesthetics, but still with its own uniquely femme codes: delicate heels and chunky layered jewellery are working over time to bring lightness and play to the grunge of it all.
Below, find four spring dressing scenarios for the chic, nonchalant tomboy — and all our favourite picks from the season.
Saturday sundowners at My Flower Man
The chic, nonchalant tomboy has stumbled upon the perfect saturday evening. After a day spent on aunty duties and drinking her weight in cold brew, she swaps out her thongs for a pair of heels and shuffles down to My Flower Man with mates for a glass of chilled red. The air smells of jasmine, her jeans are soft, and life is good.
BLANCA / Bridie Shirt — $250
PETITE CHOU / Le Charlie Initial Letter Necklace — $99
CAMILLA AND MARC / Winton Check Logo Cap — $80
HENNE / Jacque Short — $189
SHEVOKE / Jen 002 — $180
MONPHELL / “Worlds Greatest Lover” Belt — $450
FAITHFULL / Harlow Oversized Polo — $270
ALIAS MAE / Mila — $229.95
Sense of Self on a Lime bike
A two-hour slot at Sense of Self with a friend is table stakes for a decent Friday afternoon. She’d normally just walk, but her last client call ran long, so she hot foots it via bike instead. A notification that Eterne’s baseball tee is back in stock is enough to tip her phone into low power mode.
MAGGIE MARILYN / Distressed Freddie Jean — $495
BEARE PARK / V-Neck Short Sleeve T-Shirt — $140
MONPHELL / “Berlin” Green Cap — $140
DISSH / Georgina Grey Marle Tank — $59.99
SHEVOKE / Bode — $180
MAGGIE MARILYN / Homebound Shorts — $295
MONPHELL / “Tully” Zip Hoodie — $380
VENROY / Taffeta Short — $150
ADIDAS / Song for the Mute x Women’s Tokyo — $195 (On sale)
Friday night at the Bonobo lobby bar
She’s just checked in for two nights sans kids at the Bonobo and she’s halfway between poolside and a southside. There’s still a touch of cool air about, and her kitten heels click satisfactorily on the tiled floors as the warm rush of holiday energy rushes over her and all memories of the Jetstar flight float off her brain like vapour.
