A week in work outfits with Melbourne-based tattoo artist, Siqboi

“If I had to pick a uniform, it’s this – an oversized tee and mini skirt combo.”

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?

This week, tattoo artist and co-owner of Heartstrings Studio, Faith (aka Siqboi) runs us through what a typical week looks like for her. With her signature fine-line style, Faith is known for her delicate tattoos of bows, barbed-wire hearts and tiny animals. Her small studio, located in Fitzroy North, is a safe space that welcomes all bodies.

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From running errands and back-to-back tattoo sessions to shooting content and doing admin for the studio, Faith’s schedule means her wardrobe requires her to be ready for anything. Her staples include tennis-style skorts, band tees and platform Dr Martens. Scroll on to see what she wore across the week.

Monday

My Mondays are always a classic self-employed mix of errands, work admin and personal appointments. For me, Melbourne’s shift into autumn means long coats and short skirts. So this was my ’fit to go get Botox, then to work in a cafe for the afternoon.

Mondays always used to be a ‘work from the couch in pyjamas’ day (which I still do a lot of), but I’m so much more productive when I get dressed up and work somewhere else. This Uniqlo coat is my fave for Melbourne’s autumn and spring. The top and skirt are both thrifted. The shoes are by Jonak (a hot-hot shoe brand from Paris).

Tuesday

Tuesday is always my first day of the week at Heartstrings Studio. I had three tattoo appointments and all were ‘pick on the day’, where the client chooses from my flash book when they arrive. These are always my favourite types of appointments because we get to play around with lots of options!

There’s lots of moving, bending and weird positions during tattoo work. I wear a lot of athletic/tennis skirts because they already have built-in mini shorts underneath! This one is thrifted from the swimwear section at Savers. The Pamela Anderson top I’m wearing is Althea Vintage. These boots are by Nasty Gal and are so comfy.

Wednesday

My partner and I always have Wednesday as our one day off together. The last few months have been so busy for us. They usually end up with him helping me run around for the studio or brands/events I’ve been working with lately, and then him leaving for band meetings or rehearsals in the evening.

He was helping me shoot content, but the weather turned rainy and cold so we decided to ditch it all and just go to the pub instead, then home for pasta and wine. The white lace skirt is thrifted. It had a layer of white lining underneath but I took it out to make it see-through and now usually wear black bike shorts underneath.

The T-shirt is from Etsy and features one of my favourite K-pop bands. The shoes are my number one pair of Dr Martens, and I’m so happy to announce that they’re finally broken in.

Thursday

This was a full day of tattooing and studio admin for Heartstrings, so this was my ‘serious business’ outfit for the week. I also had a quick catch-up with a rep from the team at Fellr who supplied drinks at our most recent studio event. They do the best seltzers for real.

I’m wearing another athletic skirt with built-in shorts – this one is from Cotton On Body. The shirt is Brixton. I picked up this vest at a vintage store in Paris last year and it’s probably been one of my favourite thrift finds to date.

Friday

This is a classic casual Friday from me. I went to the gym and sauna in the morning, did a few tattoos in the afternoon and then had knock-off drinks at the pub with some of our co-working tattoo artists. If I had to pick a uniform, it’s this – an oversized tee and mini skirt combo. The T-shirt is band merch from Bakers Eddy. The skirt was thrifted at a market inside The Retreat, Brunswick. These shoes are from the new Creepers range by Dr Martens.

You can follow Faith on Instagram here.