Credit: Stylist
Fashion
Do we dress like our decor? 9 women reflect on the similarities between their homes and wardrobes
By Megan Murray
2 years ago
13 min read
Nine creatives discuss the overlaps between their fashion sense and interiors style – and which one came first.
For those who feel inspired to express themselves using the creative tools around them, choosing an outfit in the morning is more than getting dressed for work, and picking out a wall colour is more than a fresh lick of paint. Aesthetic decisions can be a reflection of who we are: the designers we admire, the time periods we’re interested in, the hobbies we have, or even the emotions we want to feel.
But how far do these spheres overlap – do we actually dress like our decor? We put this question to a selection of women with an innate, unique sense of personal style, to investigate how reflective their wardrobes are of their homes, and vice versa.
From Sara Brown (who uses her handbags as home accessories, placed on a shelf or mantlepiece) to Hannah Weiland (who is inspired by her latest vintage furniture finds when designing fashion collections), designers, writers and tastemakers reveal how their style is reflected in these different but closely linked worlds.
Hannah Weiland: “I often look to the interiors world, particularly that of the past, for ideas”
Hannah Weiland is the founder and creative director of fashion brand Shrimps, and lives in a three-storey Victorian house in north London.
There can be no mistaking Hannah Weiland’s unique sense of style. Her whimsical fashion brand, Shrimps, is much loved for its irreverent womenswear designs coloured in chocolate-box hues and layered with vintage-inspired patterns. But while her ready-to-wear collections are ever-evolving, which elements of her design personality come through, and stay consistent, at home?
“People often note that you can see Shrimps in my interiors,” Weiland says. “There are crossovers with the use of colours, how prints are put together and my love of vintage furniture and art, but I have a few ‘rules’ when curating my space. I keep walls and larger pieces of furniture light with pastel shades, and then bring in bolder colours and prints with upholstery, soft furnishings and art, to create an environment that feels calm, but eclectic and cosy, too.”
They say life imitates art, and the place that Weiland relaxes and spends time with family often bleeds into her creative process, with ideas from her interiors research popping up in her design concepts. “Fashion has always been my biggest interest but in recent years, interior design has become as important to me,” she says.
“Not only do I enjoy browsing online for vintage pieces – if I’m feeling stressed, searching for something beautiful on Vinterior is particularly soothing – these finds often inspire my work. Antique folk art, vintage rugs and wallpaper patterns have all served as references through my creative expression, both in fashion and interiors.”
Sara Brown: “Our home stays true to my colourful, maximalist personal style”
Sara Brown is the founder of Dolly Rocket, a size-inclusive brand consultant and contributor for Who What Wear. She lives in a rented period home in Kent.
Looking for the poster girl for a close relationship between interior design and fashion? Cue designer and content creator Sara Brown. “I almost see them as the same thing – a beautiful bag is a great object to decorate a room,” she laughs.
Brown’s home embodies her maximalist style, and as a consultant who’s helped numerous high street retailers extend their clothing size offering and the founder of a homeware brand, she’s passionate about both worlds. “Decor is very personal: I often create and design bespoke things for my home, just as I make my own clothing,” she says. “In terms of inspiration, my sources range from pre-loved furniture from the Arts and Crafts movement [and the] Victorian or midcentury [periods].” She also looks to “Italian palazzos and English country homes like Charleston House, or even sumptuous Californian interiors from the 70s”.
As much as her home is a riot of colour and contrasts, so are Brown’s outfit posts: a typical look might feature a burnt orange and olive fringed mini dress, paired with gold cowboy boots and beaded jewellery. “They are both how I present myself to the world and in particular, I’m always drawn to the stories behind vintage pieces,” she says. “For interiors and fashion inspiration I love watching Mad Men and Little Women and imagining what it would be like to live as that character.”
Nnenna Echem: “Home is a place that I want to feel peace and inspiration”
Writer and content creator Nnenna Echem lives in a typically Scandinavian apartment in Oslo, Norway.
As an Elle Norway contributor, Oslo resident and regular at Copenhagen Fashion Week, Nnenna Echem’s Instagram is full of satisfyingly Scandinavian style notes – from her minimalist apartment to her effortlessly chic fits.
“I fell in love with fashion first, but when I started living on my own, I realised that interior design was another way I could express myself and a safe space for me to experiment creatively,” she tells Stylist. The result is a mix of “clean lights and bright colours”, with a 70s-style sofa, white walls and a minimalist dining space brought to life in an array of saturated pastel hues. Accent pieces and accessorises are considered carefully so as not to create clutter, allowing Echem’s collection of luxurious coffee table books and cute candle holders to make their mark in the space.
Echem’s street style shots have done the rounds on social media, and she’s known for outfits boasting sleek shapes in on-trend hues. But while both her fashion and interiors feel very of-the-moment, she looks to bygone eras – specifically the 90s – for inspiration. “There are many things that inspire me: my mother, fashion week, my friends,” she says. “But I also feel very inspired by the time I grew up in… I love movies like Clueless and Coyote Ugly, and I was always inspired by Fran Drescher in The Nanny. The styles she wore made me fall in love with fashion and I still re-watch it now for ideas.”
India Cardona: “I’m endlessly inspired seeing how people style their homes and outfits”
India Cardona is a content creator whose flat sits on the upper floor of a classic terraced house in west London.
More than 80,000 followers are collectively enthralled by India Cardona’s aesthetically pleasing take on life, her home and her wardrobe, shared across two Instagram accounts (The India Edit and The Interiors Edit). Earlier in her social media journey, Cardona also shared daily outfits via The Mirror Edit, an endless source of inspiration for those who favour natural tones and materials, curated in a sophisticated but wearable way.
All of this illustrates Cardona’s ability to lend her considered eye to every design-led part of her life, offering ideas on homeware, fashion and beauty with her personal stamp. “I would describe my style as chic, elevated and wearable, and while fashion is important to me, I prefer the permanence, but also the emotion associated with interiors,” she explains. Photos of Cardona’s home reveal textured, putty-toned walls, raw wood furniture and woven rugs underfoot in the living spaces. A playful twist appears in more intimate rooms, such as a wavy bedside lamp and matching headboard.
“Both my home and my personal style feel calming and elevated, with subtle contrasts of feminine and masculine, with an element of fun mixed in, too,” Cardona continues. Her biggest source of inspiration gives an insight into the enduring nature of her tastes: she eschews trends for the everlasting appeal of film photography, finding new ideas in its dusky tones. “It captures everything so differently and I love the feeling of nostalgia that it creates.”
Alice Gras: “Our apartment is an opportunity to give free rein to fantasy”
Creative director Alice Gras shares her light-filled Parisian apartment with her partner, Anaïs.
Alice Gras and her partner Anaïs have what can only be described as the perfect Parisian apartment. The pair started their careers in graphic design and film, but after finding each other in the early days of blogging, put their creative powers together to launch their own creative direction consultancy. The magic of their partnership is clear from their gorgeous home, which Gras describes as a “vector of optimism”. And it would be hard not to feel uplifted in this space, where pastel colours meet happy florals and playful shapes.
“Our apartment is a cocoon, punctuated by a joyful, chromatic palette and furniture that we have designed, DIY projects and constantly changing floral compositions,” says Gras. “It’s like a universe of our own.” This strong sense of identity and a hunger for handmade or unique pieces is mirrored in Gras’s wardrobe, which she says will soon include her own designs, courtesy of a gifted sewing machine. “I consider fashion as decoration, just like interiors. It is an infinite creative source, only the medium is different. I love finding treasures from small designers.”
In terms of inspiration, Gras and Anaïs look to designers such as Sabine Marcelis, who favours pastel colours, translucent materials and rounded shapes – aspects present in the couple’s designs, too. With hand-painted wall murals of wiggly lines and fun chequerboard patterns, paired with shape-led rugs in a rainbow of colours, Gras’s love of pushing creative boundaries in all areas of her life is wonderfully apparent.
Sophia Cook: “Every room in our home is painted a different colour and I often dress to match”
Sophia Cook formerly worked in theatre costume design and is now a full-time content creator. She lives with her family in an Edwardian house in south London.
From energetic dancing sessions in her yellow and green kitchen to playful ‘Sunday Best’ shoots with her partner Cookie (which act as an enviable guide to complementary couples dressing), Sophia Cook’s Instagram feed is bursting with colour, personality and joy. So it’s no surprise that descriptions of her style, both sartorial and interiors-wise, feature themes of authenticity.
“This era of my life is called ‘freedom’ and my style reflects that, meaning I wear whatever I want,” she says. “For me, that’s lots of colour, which you see across my home, too – a place I want to feel unapologetically joyful.” With young children and a dog to think about, ‘authentic’ to Cook also means practical and reflective of real life. “Comfort is important in both interior design and fashion. As a mum of two, my body has changed, and so has my home, to accommodate this part of my life.”
True to form, Cook’s biggest sources of inspiration were also known for their confidence: her late mother and Grace Kelly. “I want my space to exude a carefree, effortlessly stylish sexiness, just like these women. I interpret that as expressing myself with confidence. And as a rule of thumb I wear at least two colours of the rainbow every day, partly inspired by the way every room in our home is a different hue.”
Astrid Wilson: “I don’t like to see an obvious red thread through my home or outfits”
Astrid Wilson is an illustrator and print designer who lives and works in Stockholm.
As a designer most known for her flower market-inspired art prints and textile wall hangings, using interior design as a form of expression is second nature to Astrid Wilson. But while her well-documented art has a cult following, images of her personal style, both in fashion and at home, are still a little bit of a mystery.
“Maybe it sounds silly, but it makes me happy to be surrounded by beautiful things. The essence of my style is collecting unique, vintage pieces – both clothes and furniture – and creating a style and space that feels very personal,” Wilson says. Which makes sense, when you consider that her own walls are covered with homemade wall art, combined with stumbled-upon pre-loved pieces: “Right now, my interiors feature a mix of cosy, English country style and classically Danish forms and colours. My signature vibe is mixing textiles and patterns, but I’m also really into chrome, sculptures and light wood.”
Most days, you’ll find the artist donning wide-leg jeans and a knitted top, à la the Swedish style icons of the 1970s. “I don’t like an obvious red thread,” Wilson explains. “Both at home and in what I wear, I contrast old and new, embrace comfort as well as style, and always go back to vintage sensibilities, with layers of patterns and colours.”
Oezlem Oezsoy: “I focus on warm, earthy tones and design styles from the 60s”
Fashion photographer and picture editor Oezlem Oezsoy lives in an Art Nouveau apartment in Hamburg.
A quick glance at Hamburg-based photographer Oezlem Oezsoy’s shots of her light-filled apartment is so calming, it feels like a mini spa break for your eyes. Characterised by its high ceilings trimmed by ornate bronze-toned stucco, lime-washed walls and immaculately chosen furnishings, Oezsoy’s home serves as the ultimate ‘aesthetic’ interiors inspiration for over 80,000 followers.
“I focus on warm, earthy tones that radiate cosiness, often using mid-century and design classics from the 60s and 70s,” she explains. “At that time, they created a minimalism [that] radiated depth and warmth through wooden pieces of furniture and beautiful lamps – that’s what inspires me most.” And once you see Oezsoy in her space, the picture becomes complete. “I mix different styles, but everything should look harmonious,” she says of her personal style, which often heroes relaxed silhouettes, natural materials and a clean colour palette of off-white, beige and black.
In terms of designers that inspire her, Oezsoy leans towards Celine, Jil Sander and Issey Miyake. “For me, a combination of timeless clothes that I’ve had in my wardrobe for years, added to with new pieces creates a final, individual look,” she says. “While I’m not pattern-led, I appreciate designers who create simple but impactful minimalist cuts.” This sensibility defines Oezsoy’s style, which adds subtle texture and fine details to a classically minimalist look.
Tess Newall, “In by-gone eras the fashions and interiors of the time would reflect each other, and I try to do that, too”
Tess Newall is a decorative artist whose Sussex home is full of homemade furniture and Arts and Crafts nods.
“Some people might call my style cottagecore,” starts Tess Newall, a decorative artist known for her delicate hand-painted murals which adorn walls, furniture and her own collection of children’s chairs. “It features florals and patterns, but is particularly influenced by historical interiors and dress. In the Jacobean era, beds were canopied or ‘dressed’ in ornate embroideries, and the taste for embellishment was reflected in the fashions of the time, too. I love how interiors and fashion were reflected in each other, and I definitely do the same now,” she explains. Newall’s personal style typically gravitates towards flowing prairie dresses, decorated with feminine prints and lacy detailing, certainly nodding to the cottagecore trend which shows no signs of slowing down. But, as mentioned, both the antique style of her home and interest in period dressing are based on more than a Pinterest aesthetic. “I’m inspired by so many design movements throughout history and look to the Arts and Crafts period for ideas, especially at home. My husband Alfred has made most of the furniture in the house, and it is full of my wallpapers and murals, so the space feels really personal.” Newall says she also looks to Swedish country houses which often use folk-style floral motifs on the walls with gingham fabric upholstery. “An example of where this has directly affected my work is my Secret Garden wallpaper, originally created for my daughter’s bedroom. Both my home and my style are ever-evolving, layered with pattern and colour, nodding to the eras I find the most inspiring.”
Images: courtesy of creators featured
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