Bárbara Santiago on high-low dressing, tabis and her mother’s engagement ring
image via @barbarasantiago.r/INSTAGRAM
as told to daisy henry
“I wear whatever makes me feel good that day.”
We know personal style is a journey (I’m looking at you, Tumblr years) and our series Hey, I Like Your Style! dives into the fashion psyche of our favourite creatives. We’re talking the good, the bad and the 2007.
While the internet has made our fashion icons feel closer than ever before, even the most effortless of outfits came from a closet with some (well-dressed) skeletons. Clickable product tags, photo archives and lives chronicled in 30-second clips just don’t tell the full story.
For more fashion news, shoots, articles and features, head to our Fashion section.
There’s a brilliance behind the way we choose to express ourselves, and at FJ, we know every outfit has a story. This week, we’re taking a look inside the wardrobe of Portuguese creative, Bárbara Santiago.
Now based in Sydney, Bárbara’s personal style is rooted in intuition, colour and a love of bold prints (especially stripes). Whether she’s layering stripes with leopard print or styling a knitted bonnet with oversized round sunglasses, her outfits are a testament to her fearless approach to fashion.
“I might not have my whole life figured out but with fashion, I feel like I know exactly what I’m doing,” she says. “It’s the one area where I trust my instincts fully,” she says. Currently on repeat is a mix of high-low pieces, including a classic white T-shirt, her tabis and her mother’s engagement ring.
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Fashion Journal: Hi Bárbara! Tell us about yourself and what you like to wear?
Bárbara: Olá! I’m a Portuguese content creator who moved across the world a year and a half ago — now living in sunny Sydney! I wear whatever makes me feel good that day. My style is a mix of colours and patterns, but something that you’ll always find me wearing is stripes (probably too many).
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What has your style evolution looked like? Do you feel like you’ve gained confidence in the way you dress?
Absolutely. I’ve always loved fashion. It was always my dream to work in the fashion world somehow, so experimenting with different styles and fits came naturally to me. But between the ages of 10 and 16, I felt really self-conscious. I started dressing like everyone else, trying to blend in. It wasn’t until the end of college that something shifted.
I stopped worrying about what people might think and started dressing for me. Even if sometimes I look back at an outfit and cringe, I know that in the moment it made me feel confident, pretty and like myself. I might not have my whole life figured out but with fashion, I feel like I know exactly what I’m doing. It’s the one area where I trust my instincts fully.
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Personal style is definitely a journey. Have you ever felt like you needed to fit into a particular fashion box?
Yes! I remember going to school wearing these orange capri pants (I must’ve been around 10 and someone made fun of me for how they looked on my body. I was a chubby girl with no confidence at all, and from that moment on, I began dressing the way the other girls dressed – playing it safe, just trying to fit in. It took years to unlearn that. But here I am now, dressing the way I love.
Do you have any fashion regrets from those teenage years?
Not really! I think those fashion disasters are part of the journey. I mean, do I laugh at old photos? Absolutely but oh well.
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What are the most expensive and least expensive items in your wardrobe?
The most expensive would be my Prada bag and the least expensive is probbaly one of my basic white T-shirts that I wear to death. High-low forever!
What is the most meaningful fashion piece you own?
My mother’s engagement ring – it’s so, so beautiful. I wear it every day.
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Who or what influences your style?
So many people! I love getting inspired by strangers on the street or characters in movies. But if I had to pick a top three, it would be Leandra Cohen, Alexa Chung, and Blanca Miró. I’d happily swap wardrobes with any of them.
What fashion piece are you saving for right now?
I really want to buy a Mini Tank Louis Cartier watch. It’s such a timeless piece and I love how classic it is. It feels like something I’d wear forever, and maybe even pass down one day.
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What are the wardrobe items you wear on repeat?
My tabis. They are the most comfortable shoes ever.
Who are your favourite local designers?
I’m going to say my favourite local designers from Portugal: Constança Entrudo, Sienna, Gandaia, C.R.T.D and Plus351.
Keep up with Bárbara here.
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