1.TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS
Richie listens to her gut for a lot of her purchases. "I wear what speaks to me – I 'feel it in my bones'! No, I’m only kidding. When I shop, I know if it’s working or not. We all experience that thrill when we know something looks right."
2. SPLURGE ON SHOES
"If you’re going to spend on one thing, even when you’re on a budget, I’d say splash out on shoes. They make an outfit. And your feet don’t grow any more, so you can wear a good pair of shoes forever." (Richie’s current favourites are a pair of snakeskin ballet pumps.)
3. BE COLOURFUL
Forget the notion of black as best, says Richie, and mix it up a little. "Don’t be afraid of colour – different prints and different colours."
4 KNOW YOUR NATIONAL ICONS
"Forever New is great and General Pants Co is awesome, because they have Ksubi and Sass & Bide, which are some of my favourites." Richie also became an instant Witchery fan while she was in Australia last month to perform highly lucrative ribbon-cutting duties for Sydney’s Pitt Street MidCity ‘Style Space’ (Midcityshopping.com.au). On our photoshoot, she fell in love with a prototype gold sequinned jacket, which she went on to wear at MidCity’s opening night party – cue that jacket selling out when it hit stores in September.
5. EMBRACE FASHION HISTORY
"I'm a big vintage shopper and I love thrift stores. The beauty of anything vintage is that you’re not going to see lots of other people in the same thing. I like to be different."
6. NEVER FORGET THE FINISHING TOUCHES
"I wear a tonne of accessories. I love scarves. I’ve lost count of how many I have, but you can never have too many – they totally lift an outfit and make it individual."
7. KEEP THINGS SENTIMENTAL
Richie’s all-time favourite vintage find wasn’t something she scouted out herself, but a precious gift from her dad, Lionel.
"He gave me a Cartier Panthere watch when I graduated from high school, when I was 17. I still have it. It’s really special to me."
8. ROCK A GOOD PAIR OF SUNNIES
"The last amazing pair I found were white vintage Chanel. But you have to be quick," she warns, "you have to dive on the treasure before someone else gets there." (Just steer clear of going too celeb and wearing them indoors.)
9. CHANGE UP THE WHOLE PACKAGE
"I’ve always been one for changing my hair colour, because you can – right? When I went from blonde to brunette last November, I packed away my black clothes because they’re too draining on me with dark hair. But when I’m blonde – and lighter is my natural colour – I don’t wear much grey, because it washes me out."
10. BULK-BUY BASICS
"I wear a lot of singlets. I have them in a rainbow of colours. They’re the best because you can throw them on, wear them under something, dress them up with a scarf or jewellery, or dress them down. I like to mix and match."
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