What Kristina wore

Kristina wear a Witchery mohair jumper $199, Lovisa earrings $15.99 and her own hat and...
Kristina wear a Witchery mohair jumper $199, Lovisa earrings $15.99 and her own hat and sunglasses from the Sunglass Hut.
Kristina wears Mi Piaci Brooke heels $260 and Witchery Patrice back-pack $149.90
Kristina wears Mi Piaci Brooke heels $260 and Witchery Patrice back-pack $149.90
Kristina wear a Witchery mohair jumper $199, Lovisa earrings $15.99 and her own sunglasses from...
Kristina wear a Witchery mohair jumper $199, Lovisa earrings $15.99 and her own sunglasses from Sunglass Hut
Kristina wear a Witchery mohair jumper $199, Lovisa earrings $15.99, Lovisa rings from $10.99 ...
Kristina wear a Witchery mohair jumper $199, Lovisa earrings $15.99, Lovisa rings from $10.99 Witchery Patrice backpack $149.90 her own hat and sunglasses.
Kristina wear a Witchery mohair jumper $199, Lovisa earrings $15.99, Lovisa rings from $10.99,...
Kristina wear a Witchery mohair jumper $199, Lovisa earrings $15.99, Lovisa rings from $10.99, Witchery Patrice backpack $149.90, Mi Piaci Brooke heels $260 and her own hat and sunglasses
Kristina wear a Witchery mohair jumper $199, Lovisa earrings $15.99, Lovisa rings from $10.99 and...
Kristina wear a Witchery mohair jumper $199, Lovisa earrings $15.99, Lovisa rings from $10.99 and her own hat and sunglasses.
Kristina in the shadows
Kristina in the shadows
Kristina wear a Witchery mohair jumper $199, Lovisa earrings $15.99, Lovisa rings from $10.99 ...
Kristina wear a Witchery mohair jumper $199, Lovisa earrings $15.99, Lovisa rings from $10.99 Witchery Patrice backpack $149.90 and her own hat and sunglasses.

I caught up with the absolutely delightful Kristina-manager of the Sunglass Hut in Meridian Mall to discover her coveted items for the season and gain an insight into her personal style.

How would you describe your personal style?
My personal style is very temperamental. I don't tend to follow trends per say but more my own vibe and moods. Some days I feel like being really elegant- tailored pussy-bow blouses with minis, then some days I feel like wearing men's jumpers with knee high socks. There's other days I'm sure my partner wishes he could burn my leopard print fluffy dressing gown and have me go back to being the elegant kitty-cat instead.

How has your sense of style evolved over the years?
When I was a kid, my Mum would let me play in all of her clothes and make up. I remember living in Auckland and wearing a pair of her high heels into town one day and thinking I was amazing because of the noises they made, even though they were 10 times too big for me. My fascination for feeling fashion started very early.
Then in my teens as per immaturity, the coolest thing to do was to wear labels that represented the type of crew you would hang out with; ADIDAS, NIKE, the surf labels, parents 70s clothes for the trippers. Back then I was really insecure, I thought I had to look super model thin to be attractive, or like I had to wear what my friends deemed cool in case I was shunned with juvenile taunts from my girl mates. In turn I spent a lot of time looking for the approval of my peers, so I'd wear what was cool to other people, even though I was bursting to do my own thing. I was one of those idiots borrowing my mates white pants from time to time but feeling like absolute crap.
When my best friend's mum started sewing us our own stuff, we could add our own flare, which was very 90s Clueless/Spice girl/Aaliyah and she'd make it fit really well, with a point of difference to what other girls wore.Then I started just doing my own thing-skate boarding tom boy one day, dresses the next, and didn't care about the "OMG what are you wearing? you look like a guy!" type of opinion, because I found it boring and narrow.
I developed a passion for op shopping and ended up running a local Boutique. So to me it doesn't matter if an item is 7 bucks or 700, if it made me feel good, I wanted it on my team. And that worked well as I moved from the lane of constant comparison to an ever evolving love of playing dress ups. I never lost touch with the little girl in the high heels.

Where do you seek inspiration for what to wear?
Fashion is my number one hobby. I choose to work in retail because I'm passionate about it and I want to make people feel happy through doing something I enjoy. That makes my life easy and a happy one in return, being constantly surrounded by beautiful people cut from the same cloth. I'm inspired daily from the budding school girl fashionista shopping with her grandma, right through to the pretty boys wearing MAC. I spend my days off work shopping around, adding to and making up new outfits from my collection. I'm also a Tumblr and Instagram lover, so if I see something I like, I usually nab and add my own flare. I think that the Dunedin weather has helped in that department, as I've learned to never choose a complete outfit the night before in case, you know.... it snows in December.

Who's your style icon?
Tupac and a bunch of OG rappers-too many to name, Gwen Stefani is a big one. There's heaps I can't really think of right now but over all Princess Diana. Not because I'm the type who is into the puffy sleeves, or the short brushed back hair-do, but because I'm inspired by how she was always true to herself in developing a unique style as a part of her identity. Imagine being amongst the Royal Family back in those days, all the rules and regulations of the superior etiquette, it'd take a lot of courage to bypass the thoughts of the Queen herself.No wonder she was one of the first ladies ever to be constantly under the eye of the media.
Kudos Lady D. What a woman!

What's an item you're eyeing up for next season?
I'm after a two piece tartan ensemble, cropped jacket and pants to match. I plan to wear it with an over-sized tee, underneath of a high neck mesh number.Also a gorgeous over-sized Kiara bag from Witchery. It's a good size to fit my whole life into A beautiful black and white kimono sleeved Floral top from Witchery and a pair of Prada Sunglasses from my work.

What's your fave fashion season and why?
Autumn. The time of year where one day you're still rocking shorts from the left over sunshine of summer and the next it's all about getting out the layers. Accessories, hats, scarves, gloves, boots, bags more options from every season to play with.

What's your biggest fashion faux pas?
I'm sure I mentioned the white pants stage earlier........ but the thing is I actually bought a "grown up" pair last week lol.
I could mention the fake tan phase, the eyebrows plucked to oblivion chapter or the year of the "venga boy hair piece".
As thankful as I am that those moves are all safely left in the past, fashion has its place for cycles and you never know, I might just pluck my eyebrows into a tiny straight line again some day. No regrets.

Why did you pick the outfit you choose?
I wanted a warm "pretty for work" type of look without being limited. Sometimes it's a shame to cover up an outfit because of our weather, or to freeze for the sake of fashion, but the entire look is something that can cross the Dunedin four seasons in one day theme.

Kristina's clothing is available at these stores in Meridian Mall:

Shoes @ Mi Piaci

Jewellery @ Lovisa

Sunglasses @ Sunglass Hut

Jumper and back-pack @ Witchery

 

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