Hey, I Like Your Style! Inside the wardrobe of Melbourne-based content producer, Elsa Mullins
IMAGE VIA @ETHEREALELSA/INSTAGRAM
WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT
“I don’t feel like I have to rely too heavily on trends or outside influences to create an outfit that resonates with me.”
We know personal style is a journey (I’m looking at you, Tumblr years), so we’ve introduced a new series Hey, I Like Your Style!, diving 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.
This week, we’re delving into the wardrobe of Melbourne creative and Tiny Disco Content Producer, Elsa Mullins. Describing her style as “French-ballerina-cowgirl”, Elsa’s closet is a mix of local designer and secondhand pieces, featuring a generous sprinkling of ruffles, vibrant colour and good-quality denim. Having grown up on the Gold Coast, it was Elsa’s move to Melbourne two years ago that really sparked her journey of style self-discovery.
Who are you and what do you like to wear?
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I’m Elsa Mullins, a 22-year-old content creator from Melbourne and I adore my wardrobe. My style was once described as “French-ballerina-cowgirl”, and I feel like those three words pretty much sum it up. I wear a lot of different outfits, but they almost always feature a great pair of jeans.
What has your style evolution looked like? Do you feel like you’ve gained confidence in the way you dress?
My style has evolved in a very circular way – when I was younger, I was such a girly girl who would never be seen without a princess dress and plastic heels. When I was about 10, I even had a pink velour juicy couture tracksuit that I wore to death! My mum has always op shopped and been amazing at sourcing secondhand pieces, so my style has long been influenced by finding potential in older things.
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When I really started to get interested in fashion and explore my style in my teens, I definitely felt limited by living on the Gold Coast and its beachy, relaxed aesthetic. I’ve always loved dressing up and just never really felt like I could go ‘all out’ back when I lived on the coast.
I knew that moving to Melbourne when I was 20 would change my style, but I totally underestimated how much confidence it would give me to fully explore my style and really form a wardrobe that feels 100 per cent me.
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While I’m definitely still figuring it out, I feel a lot more comfortable in identifying my personal style these days, and I don’t feel like I have to rely too heavily on trends or outside influences to create an outfit that resonates with me.
Personal style is a journey. Have you ever felt like you needed to fit into a particular fashion box?
I think everyone has felt this way at one stage or another. When you’re interested in fashion, there are a lot of outside forces that dictate the current ‘popular’ things, especially trying to navigate the online fashion world where micro trends are rampant and exact specific pieces go viral overnight. I think a lot of pressure comes from having an online platform.
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I find myself wondering if I dressed more trendy or appealed to a broader audience… I would grow a following faster or be more widely accepted (which I’d assume are really common thoughts for a lot of young girls in a similar position).
But then I receive a certain comment or DM saying how my style has influenced someone to try something new or just an appreciation for an outfit I’ve worn… it really highlights how important having personal style is to me. I’ve put a lot of effort in over the years to define my personal style, and having others resonate with that makes me so so happy.
Take us back to those awkward teenage years. Do you have any fashion regrets?
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Oh, of course. I dyed my hair blue at one point, which was absolutely not a vibe with most of my feminine looks. One look from my teen years that I LOVE was my year 12 formal outfit – I wore a blue floral silk suit that was absolutely gorgeous, but I have so many regrets about how I styled it!
At the time it felt like a big risk to be the only girl wearing a suit, so I played it safe and styled it with a super simple white bodysuit and nude heels. If I could go back, I would dress it up way more and just go all out with the styling.
What are the most expensive and least expensive items in your wardrobe?
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The most expensive would probably be my Miu Miu ballet flats, but with the amount I’ve worn them their cost per wear has definitely paid off. [The] least expensive would be a fuchsia puffer jacket I picked up for free at a market in Geelong. We arrived as the market was closing so people were just giving away their things, and it’s ended up actually being a really cool addition to my wardrobe.
What is the most meaningful fashion piece you own?
I have a black pinstripe two-piece suit of my mum’s when she worked in the Australian fashion industry back in the ’90s. A lot of my most treasured pieces were once hers, and I love looking back through her old photo albums and spotting pieces that I now wear to death.
My mum’s love of and attitude towards clothes has definitely helped form my fashion philosophy – investing in good quality pieces and trusting in the circular nature of fashion, knowing that one day it’ll all come back around.
Who or what influences your style?
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I get most of my style influence from social media! I love finding a creator whose style resonates with me, and then delving a little deeper to find their fashion icons and research more about them to gain further inspiration. For example, I love Ruby Redstone’s style and as a fashion historian, I find it fascinating how she curates vintage pieces into a modern, cool-girl wardrobe.
Through Camille Rowe, I discovered Jane Birkin and how to perfect the art of jeans and a T-shirt, and I love Alexa Chung’s iconic mix of preppy and grunge. Devon Lee Carlson has been a HUGE influence on my style since I was a teenager – she’s nailed the ‘rockstar’s girlfriend’ wardrobe that I aspire to have.
What fashion piece are you saving for right now?
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As I tend to shop mostly secondhand or vintage, [so] I rarely have specific items that I find and then save for. I’ve missed out on way too many incredible vintage finds over the years by not purchasing them straight away, so by now if I instantly fall in love with something and my gut tells me I have to have it, I give in.
In saying that, I’ve had my eye on the Gucci x Adidas pink Gazelles for about a year now but can’t seem to find them in my size anywhere! It’s definitely been solidified for me that if I’ve been thinking about (more like obsessing over, tbh) them for this long… I’ll just pull the trigger straight away.
What are the wardrobe items you wear on repeat?
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I don’t really believe in capsule wardrobes so I tend to cycle through my favourite pieces pretty regularly, although I definitely have a few bits that constantly end up in the rotation.
My vintage black cowboy boots for sure, plus a pair of the softest wide-leg denim jeans from a French label called Rohe. I also have an iconic pair of ’70s-style Raie Eyewear sunnies that I wear to death. I think these would have to be the most commented-about item on my socials.
Who are your favourite local designers?
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I may be biased, but my boyfriend runs the most amazing custom jewellery brand called 1234 Jewellery which I’m obsessed with! I’ve always been a big jewellery wearer and getting to curate a custom-made collection of beautiful everyday pieces has been a dream come true. Other than that, I love Apres Studio, Katharina Lou, Bodicia B, Dabek Designs, Limoni the Label, Madre Natura and Raie Eyewear, just to name a few.
For more of Elsa’s outfits, head here.
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