Hey, I Like Your Style! Inside the wardrobe of Triple J presenter and producer Dee Salmin

“I decided to only buy secondhand/vintage clothes as my little bit of activism against the fast fashion industry”

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.

These are the stories behind the wardrobes, exploring how we develop our own personal style. There’s a brilliance behind the way we choose to express ourselves and at FJ, we know every outfit has a story.

For this instalment of Hey, I Like Your Style!, we enter the wardrobe of Dee Salmin, Triple J presenter and host of The Hook Up. A self-proclaimed ‘competitive op shopper’, Dee’s wardrobe is comprised of the gems she finds while sifting through the racks at secondhand and vintage stores. What she wears depends on the mood, and she describes her style as “a confused combo of beach, slutty grandma, ’70s hippy, BCF and eshay”. Below, she speaks on her style influences and wardrobe staples.

Who are you, and what do you like to wear?

I’m Dee Salmin, presenter/producer at Triple J and host of The Hook Up. What I wear completely depends on my mood, but it will definitely be colour-coordinated/matching (I hate clashing patterns with my life). I’m also having a huge denim/glitter obsession, and love my pink Crocs heels (my fave Christmas present ever!)

What has your style evolution looked like? Do you feel like you’ve gained confidence in the way you dress?

About 15 years ago, I decided to only buy secondhand/vintage clothes as my little bit of activism against the fast fashion industry. This completely shaped my style and started a competitive obsession with op shopping, always trying to find the best pieces and prove you can look fucking good buying secondhand.

My style evolution went from dressing like a grandma – wearing clip-on earrings, fur hats and knitted cardigans – to a colourful hippy wearing tie-dye and beads and crochet. Then I thought I was a ’70s ‘band-aid’ after watching Almost Famous and only wore Penny Lane jackets. I started wearing vintage silk nighties where I could #freethenip, [then] to BCF wearing Akubras and shorts… [then I moved] to Melbourne and [was] having a personality/style crisis.

Before I moved I was in the southwest of Western Australia and made my whole personality about the beach… then when I moved, I went straight into lockdown so had no idea what my style was anymore because I just wore a Taylor Swift Oodie every day. Fast forward to now, I’d say I’m a confused combo of beach, slutty grandma, ’70s hippy, BCF and eshay.

When it comes to confidence, I was a lot more confident when I was a teenager compared to now. I loved wearing stuff that made people stare (huge attention seeker), but now I’ve chilled out and get my attention-seeking fix through my job.

Personal style is a journey. Have you ever felt like you needed to fit into a particular fashion box?

Photography by Liana Hardy

When I first moved to Melbourne (re above mental lockdown breakdown), I felt a bit of pressure to wear black/city vibes. My summery/beach style felt really misplaced in Brunswick amongst all the street art and vapes, so I wore a lot of things I’d never wear in Western Australia.

I’ve tried to stay true to my style but Melbourne has definitely influenced me, and I’d say it’s for the better! I’m buying better quality pieces from vintage/secondhand stores around Melbourne such as Swop, Goodbyes [and] Lost and Found and markets like Rose St and Camberwell.

Take us back to those awkward teenage years. Do you have any fashion regrets?

100 per cent of those Jay Jays ‘pump up the jam’ oversized tees! Also, I went through a phase of dying my eyebrows blue and only wearing tie dye (literally only – even my undies, socks and bras).

What are the most expensive and least expensive items in your wardrobe?

The most expensive item of clothing I have is a beautiful top I bought in Darwin that cost $350 by First Nations artist Elizabeth Gandabuma (it wasn’t secondhand, but I make exceptions for Indigenous/local artists/designers).

I wore it to the NGV Gala with a vintage wedding dress from the 1920s. The least expensive item I have is a whole bunch of vintage clothing I got for free from the ABC costume department, including my favourite pair of pants – ’70s high-waisted flares.

What is the most meaningful fashion piece you own?

When I was 18, I had a really serious car accident and couldn’t walk for about a year, so I made hundreds of dream catchers to pass the time during recovery.

When I created and launched the online shop, I went and bought this really beautiful vintage dress – yellow sheer puffy sleeves, bells on the waist and a really bright pink pattern skirt that reminded me of my Russian heritage. It cost $90 and at the time it was the most I’d ever spent on an item of clothing.

I wore it for a photo shoot for the website, and it made me feel like a princess fairy queen, which I hadn’t felt in a very long time. It’s honestly that special to me. I haven’t worn it since, and it just hangs up on my wall like a piece of art.

Who or what influences your style?

Like I said before, my mood definitely influences my style. Some days I’ll wake up and feel like Rihanna and be all ‘IDGAF’ and wear something super slutty but some days, I’ll feel like a sporty spice and wear TNs and my Kappa matching tracksuit. And then I’ll wake up, channel Taylor Swift Folklore, and wear a knitted cardigan and a long skirt.

What fashion piece are you saving for right now?

Not saving for anything, but might start looking for a good puffer jacket/warm coat for winter because knowing Melbourne, winter will start in a few weeks.

What are the wardrobe items you wear on repeat?

I’m actually really lazy and only try to look nice 10 per cent of the time, so most days, I just wear my boyfriend’s hoodies (it’s cringe and I hate it, but I can’t stop). But I have weird obsessions with bags, and they have become my emotional support bag for years.

I had this kitten bag that I got from an op shop in the kid’s section and refused to go anywhere without it; I probably slept with it (it was so special it even fit a whole goon bag in it), but then one day a smoothie exploded in it and it couldn’t be saved.

I did a whole funeral/Facebook post for it. Now I have this denim bag that looks like an old pair of jeans with gems all over it (op shop find), and you’ll legit have to bury me with it when I die.

Who are your favourite local designers?

I love Millie Savage. I wore Mille to the Brownlow, the Arias and the NGV Gala, and I’ll never stop wearing her pieces; I’m obsessed. I love Reigner suits, Paul McCann, Clothing The Gaps and Clawdi.

You can follow Dee for more here.