A week in work outfits with Sophia Athas, the Founder of Sydney creative agency Hatrik House

Men’s suit pants and mini bags.

Working in a creative role, it can be difficult to know how to dress for the day. Instead of having a set uniform of crisp white shirts and tailored black pants (as much as I love both), an ever-changing schedule means every morning requires a set of questions. Am I running around, or just sitting at my desk? Do I need to dress specifically for a project? And most importantly, will I be in the background of someone’s TikTok?

I’m convinced everything Sophia Athas touches turns into liquid, colourful gold. It’s a necessary part of the job for the Founder and Creative Director of Sydney-based creative agency, Hatrik House to keep her finger on the style pulse. Overseeing multiple offices and a team of crafty employees (or “housemates,” as they’re affectionately known), Sophia’s outfits are a balance of function and fashion.

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Here, she takes us through four days of her busy work week. From location scouting to photoshoots, you can count on her to bring along her Jacques Marie Mage glasses and a tiny handbag.

Monday

Monday is our dedicated meeting day in the Paddington office where all the ‘housemates’ gather to catch up ahead of the week. It is a big planning day for us where we map out our priorities for the week and focus on what we have coming up.

My Monday look was a vintage Acne sheer shirt under my blazer which is also from Acne Studios. This will be a running theme; I always find Acne [is] the perfect brand for being polished and professional for work meetings yet [it] also [gives me] enough personality to feel like myself.

I wore this with my Ami pleated cream skirt and Miu Miu leather sandals. When going to and from meetings, I love to take a mini purse that still compliments my outfit, so today I used the Deadly Ponies Mr Cinch Mini. The unmentioned accessory of course is my laptop which comes pretty much everywhere with me!

Tuesday

On Tuesday I had a site recce in the Sydney CBD for an upcoming event we are producing – stay tuned, it is a fun one! Whilst we were in the city we made a stop at Sephora Pitt St to grab my favourite Ayu candle for the office followed by a team lunch with some clients, making Tuesday a busy day out of the office.

When I’m out for meetings and site recces, I make sure I dress comfortably, which for me is a crisp shirt and tailored pant[s]. I paired my Ami suit pants with another Acne Studios number, my favourite rabbit print shirt which has become a staple.

Wednesday

Wednesday I worked from our Manly office, organising pre-production with my team for a shoot we have coming up! It was predominantly online, but it’s nice to mix up the week’s schedule with a different environment. It was a little cooler on Wednesday so I layered my Bassike singlet top [and] Uniqlo cashmere cream cardigan with my vintage Chanel blazer.

You can probably tell I live in my Acne Studios men’s suit pants, so I opted for these and wore my Miu Miu leather sandals. I chose the Mr Bellboy Mini by Deadly Ponies as this fits all my essentials and always gets a lot of compliments!

Thursday

I had a shoot today for one of our beauty clients so the outfit brief was definitely comfortable but professional! Now that it’s coming into warmer weather I love a shorter skirt with a cardigan or blazer as an option on top. I wore another one of my Bassike white tanks. They are the perfect basic and incredibly comfortable.

I wore my favourite Acne Studios tie-up skirt and accessorised with my leather tote bag… also from Acne Studios! As well as my Jacques Marie Mage glasses which you’ll find me wearing most days.

To keep up with Sophia, follow her on Instagram here.