Hey, I Like Your Style! Inside Hattie Nixon’s maximalist, pre-loved wardrobe
image via @hattienixon/INSTAGRAM
as told to daisy henry
“A good wardrobe to me is a versatile one.”
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. This week, we’re catching up with Harriet (Hattie) Nixon, a multi-hyphenate creative based in Melbourne.
To say colour plays a large role in Hattie’s wardrobe is an understatement. “I think I own less than five black pieces in my wardrobe,” she says, taking stock. When it comes to colour blocking, pattern-clashing and experimenting, Hattie’s approach is to go bold. Who’s to say statement pieces can’t be worn together?
Though her feed is likely to ignite the envy of anyone with a penchant for a Ganni print or Katharina Lou dress, she’s big on secondhand shopping, citing that 90 per cent of her clothing is pre-loved. “Rather than chasing every new trend, I try to sit on purchases for a while before I bite the bullet,” she adds.
Her tried-and-tested formula for building a versatile wardrobe is to prioritise fun, but also wearability. “Clothes are meant to be worn and reworn, loved and cherished, and to live different lives.”
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Fashion Journal: Hey Hattie! Tell me about yourself and what you like to wear.
Hattie: I’m Hattie (Harriet for long), a content creator, small business owner, crafty gal and creative from Melbourne. My wardrobe is a mix of thrifted pieces I’ve had for years and years, pre-loved clothing from Depop, and slow-fashion finds from small and independent brands that I genuinely believe in and want to support.
Rather than chasing every new trend, I try to sit on purchases for a while before I bite the bullet. I focus on building outfits that I feel good in and showcase my creativity and style. A good wardrobe to me is a versatile one.
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Personal style is a journey. Have you ever felt like you needed to fit into a particular fashion box?
Definitely when I was younger, and my friends and I would scour every shop in Chermside Shopping Centre to find the next ‘it’ top we wanted to wear. But the thing is, I always felt I could never find what I was looking for. There were so many moments in my teenage years when I would wear pieces out that I knew were trendy, but it never felt like me and I got tired of looking like everyone else.
This was around the time I was really starting to figure out what my style meant to me. As I embraced this newfound love for fashion, research and discovery, my fashion and sense of style just became so much more creative and carefree. Now, I don’t feel like I fit into a box. I just wear what I like and even have trouble recreating Pinterest-inspired outfits, because I always just end up making my own outfit recipe myself.
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What role does colour play in how you get dressed?
Colour plays a huge part in how I get dressed every day! I think I own less than five black pieces in my wardrobe. All of my pieces are quite loud, so sometimes I struggle to put an outfit together. I do love print-clashing but I have to admit, it doesn’t always work. I’ve been slowly adding more block pieces into my wardrobe, so it’s easier to match those louder prints.
What’s a fashion rule you follow religiously and one you break constantly?
One fashion rule I will follow for the rest of my days is that there is no such thing as dressing for an occasion or saving pieces for a special day. If you want to wear those feather-trimmed pants, wear them. Want to flaunt your sparkly sequin skirt? Do it. I never want to look back at pieces that I never got around to wearing because they were ‘too loud’ or ‘too much’. Clothes are meant to be worn and reworn, and loved and cherished, and to live different lives. Wear that special piece, diva, and wear it proudly.
One fashion rule I break constantly is wearing colours and prints that are ‘seasonal’. I have a lot of pieces that are bright and colourful that should only be worn in spring and summer, but I don’t follow that. I wear all of my colour pieces year-round.
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What are some of the ‘investment pieces’ in your wardrobe, or items that have stood the test of time?
In 2021, I bought this gorgeous Comme des Garçons pink, white, and red gingham skirt, which has this really fun asymmetrical silhouette that adds a fun point of interest, as well as the label’s signature deconstructed look. It took me a while to lay-by this (is lay-by a thing anymore?) from Camargue in Brisbane.
What’s your favourite secondhand find?
There are too many to choose from. I can confidently say around 90 per cent of my wardrobe is pre-loved. When thinking about my favourite find, I was also trying to think of the piece that I still get excited to wear, so it would have to be my Ganni green plaid dress.
I was determined to find this dress in 2019 but never lucked out. I was working in a luxury consignment store at the time and someone emailed us some pieces they wanted to list. Lo and behold, they wanted to sell this dress, and it was in my size! And they wanted to come in that day! Once the pricing was approved, I bought it without even putting it on the floor (which was frowned upon at this job) because it had to be mine. It’s one of my favourite pieces to wear, and I get so many compliments on it.
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Is there something in your wardrobe you don’t wear but can’t let go of – or a piece that holds a lot of sentimental value?
Oh, so many! I have a gorgeous vintage skirt with zebras and all sorts of flowers and things all over it that doesn’t zip up all the way, and when I do wear it, I have to fold most of it over to make it work, yet I can’t part with it. Or there’s my Lirika Matoshi strawberry dress. I wore it to my 21st birthday party and, honestly, if I ever have an event that calls for it, I’d absolutely wear it again.
Who or what influences your style today?
I’ve been chronically online for too many years, so I’ve always been inspired by what others are wearing on Instagram and Pinterest, but I’m also inspired by people I come across in my day-to-day life. I always try to write down or make a mental note of someone’s outfit recipe so I can try it myself at home.
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What fashion piece are you keeping in your closet despite it being ‘out of trend’?
I bought a pair of Ganni red ballerina shoes in June 2023 before they really blew up and were heavily duped online, and I will never, ever get rid of them. They go with everything, and I wear them all year round, even though they’re a little heavy.
Before my last semester of uni was to begin, I was travelling around Europe to celebrate and actually tried them on in every store I found across that month because I couldn’t justify the cost. I didn’t buy them until the very last day of my holiday because I knew they were so fabulous and I would wear them constantly (I was right), and it was actually one of my first ‘big girl’ purchases (they cost me a pricy penny), and I have worn them to death since.
What pieces do you currently have on repeat?
Currently, I’m living in my new Katharina Lou skirt, my Eeyo Jelly top, my second-hand Sandro button-up top from Swop, my Merry People Billie Clogs, and a pair of red gingham capris I bought for $20 at the thrift store.
Who are your favourite local designers?
Variety Hour, Ruby, Eeyo, Apres Studio, Kowtow, Katharina Lou, First Colours and Suku, to name a few.
Keep up with Hattie here.
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