Holly first met Kirsten in 2018 during a friend's gig at the Brunswick Football Club and was drawn equally to her playful sense of style and easy conversation. Seven years on and Holly remains captivated by the unexpected and intuitive approach that Kirsten has for getting dressed. Working as a costume buyer in film, Kirsten and Holly chat about her relationship with clothes and how her job weaves into it.
Kirsten starts her work day in the production office being briefed by the designer on what is required. The rest of the day is fast paced, and spent on the road driving to different shops in search of what is needed. Kirsten describes it as a pretty fun, sometimes random, chaotic job, and explains that it takes a certain type of person to do it, with things often being required under tight turnarounds.
HB: I have some warm up questions. So there’s three questions, and you’ve heard them all before. The first one is: What is the life span of a white t-shirt?
KO: That’s interesting because the white t-shirt is not something I wear.
HB: Or your equivalent. Something plain and basic. This is hard because you don’t have that.
KO: I had a white t-shirt and then I dyed it because it got stained.
HB: That’s the answer!
KO: Yeah, it’s problematic for me. I don’t really like white with my skin tone, so I don’t gravitate towards it. And I also don’t really wear plain t-shirts. I still like them on other people. They can look really classic and nice. It’s kind of a thing in film, you might be putting a white t-shirt on someone and then you have to get so many variations. I feel costume designers often like soft, drape-y, worn looking fabrics, and theres always this thing about texture, because it can read really well on screen.
HB: Do you have to steam that crease down the sleeve out of it so it looks like it’s been worn?
KO: Yeah you always steam that out at work, there are certain things you get trained to look out for in costume, and that hanger mark is one of them.
HB: That’s such a tiny thing but I notice it in any movie I’m watching. It needs to
look like the garment is owned by the character.
KO: Yeah exactly.
HB: Next question, when does something stop feeling new in your wardrobe?
KO: Oh, interesting. I think it would either be if I got something new and then I wore it kind of religiously for a really short period of time. Maybe then it would feel more like mine, so then it wouldn’t feel as new. But if I didn’t then maybe it would be a value of how ever many wears. Which might be like - I dunno like six wears maybe?
HB: How often are you finding that you wear your things, when you get something new?
KO: I feel like I wear a lot of different stuff. I try to wear a variety from my wardrobe so I’m not neglecting things.
HB: Do you feel emotional about neglecting stuff?
KO: Yeah probably. Sometimes you forget about things depending on where they’re stored and then you might rediscover and be like, “oh yeah, I need to remember to wear that.” And then I might go through a phase of wearing it more than usual.
HB: When I think of your wardrobe it’s really curated. Everything that you own is really particular and it has a ~Kirsten~ twist to it. I think I’d be able to point at something and say whether you would wear it or not. But actually, if it was off your body maybe I wouldn’t be as sure.
KO: Yeah sometimes I even surprise myself. With some things I think, “wait do I like that?” and then try it on and think “oh yeah, I really like it.”
HB: Maybe this is a good example - that white shirt that you have. Because when you showed me I was surprised to see that you owned it?
KO: Yeah maybe, coz it’s a white thing. I think I talked about that with you, It’s just weird how some whites are okay, but others I’m like "oh no way". But I think it’s the slightest bit off white, so it’s not as harsh or something.
HB: It’s quite crispy and the fabrication is really good as well.
KO: I really like stuff that - like that one has all those repeated darts so it synched in. I like that kind of shape on me.
HB: That’s so interesting. I literally wrote down four things to ask you coz I feel like we’ll go in tangents. One of them was aligned with the particular thing that screams ~Kirsten~, but we wouldn’t know it until we see it on you. I’m thinking about that belt that the girls at your old workplace got made for you.
KO: Oh yeah, I had a bit to do with it.
HB: Did you know that you would to get a present?
KO: I knew they would give a going-away present, we had done it for other people in our team and just coz I’d been there ages. So when Lauren asked I was like “here’s what I’d kind of like at the moment.”
HB: – “Here’s my list!” Can you imagine if it was in someone else's hands? If someone else was organising it? They would have got you like, a candle! *laughs*
KO: Yeah exactly! That’s the thing! Even my closest family and stuff, they will not buy me clothes or accessories unless they knew I wanted it. Josh was even saying to me he thinks he could pick something for me and then I’ll pick something out and he’ll be like, “what, you like that?” and I’m like, “yeah I love it!!”
HB: Does he think you’re being sarcastic?
KO: I think he’s just surprised!
HB: How does that go in your mind? Maybe you haven’t thought about the process of choosing a new item, but do you have the idea of the piece you’re looking for first? Or do you see it exist in the world and you’re like, “oh this is what I’ve been missing in my life”
KO: Yeah, it’s probably more that [the latter]. It’s that I see it and then I want it. It’s not like I have any specific needs for more clothes, unless I wore out a pair of jeans for instance and I wanted the same fit or something, then I might look for it. But I mean I have more than enough clothes so I don’t really seek it out. And also from working as a costume buyer where I am constantly at shops and seeing a lot, you end up seeing things and you’re like, “aw that would look so good with this existing thing in my wardrobe”. So then it kind of reignites that creative part of getting dressed. If it easily fits into my wardrobe, I can justify it.
HB: You’re also quite adventurous in the way that you do pair your things together. So it’s more likely to work with your wardrobe because you have a creative mind for that to happen.
KO: Yeah and I get excited about outfits. It’s almost like sometimes you can make other things in your wardrobe more exciting by the way that you pair them.
HB: I’ve been finding that recently. Since I made these jeans, I am rediscovering all my jumpers -
KO: Yeah I loved the red one with that -
HB: The cardigan! Did I wear that when I saw you?
KO: I think you sent me a photo.
HB: Yeah so that Kowtow cardigan I got that in 2018 I think.
KO: Yeah, I remember you buying it.
HB: Because I wore it so much in lockdown, and my body has changed – also it was so bright and a lot of my pants were black and I was finding it really hard to wear. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to tie it up that doesn’t bring it in at the waist too much. That isn’t the part that I like being ‘fitted’ in my clothing. So since I made these jeans I thought, “oh maybe I’ll keep it”. Obviously I like it coz I’ve had it in my wardrobe for so long, but I’m trying to think of ways –
KO: – It looks more relaxed with the jeans.
HB: – Yeah, ways I can try and tie it so it’s baggier. I follow a lot of Korean and Japanese style instagram web stores and I felt like I wanted to wear cream sneakers the other day. I haven’t worn them in so long. It would look really good, these jeans with a singlet. I feel like I’ve been dressing like a greaser!
*Both laugh*
HB: But I always have a thing where I feel guilty about the amount of garments that I own. Do you? Or do you not feel that coz you wear all of them?
KO: I don’t feel guilty about it no, as long as I’m wearing them or I really value them and I want to hold onto them. Coz there are things in my wardrobe that I don’t wear often but I really like the garment so much that I want to keep it. I have this shirt of my grandma’s – it’s got this hand painted design on the back, and maybe on the pocket. It’s a silk shirt but it’s almost too special that I get stressed when wearing it.
HB: Wow.
KO: But it’s so cool even just having it as something to look at every now and then.
HB: I find that so interesting for you, because you are the girl that wears Saks Potts to The Tote! *Laughs*
KO: Oh yeah! It’s probably because it’s a cream shirt.
HB: And it’s silk. And it’s something that you really cannot replace.
KO: Yeah and it was my grandmas so it’s got more sentimental value. I haven’t worn that Saks Potts coat at all this winter yet, I don’t think I’ve worn it once.
HB: You’ve been riding your bike though.
KO: Well that’s the other thing. Because I ride more, practicality has become more of an importance when I’m getting dressed and also when I’m working I’m speeding around so I never would wear impractical shoes.
HB: In your wardrobe do you have rules for ... you wear mainly natural fibres don’t you?
KO: Yeah.
HB: Do you have personal rules around the fabrication and washing and stuff?
KO: Definitely. I only really wash my clothes in cold water.
HB: I thought you were gonna say you don’t really wash your clothes and I was like, “neither!”.
KO: I actually do try to not to wash too much. You just wear them more, I never understood how people wear something once and put it in the wash. At least smell it first to see if you can wear it again!
HB: Do you spray the underarms of your garments?
KO: I have. Sometimes with eucalyptus or lavender spray. I definitely try to avoid synthetic fibres, the only time I’ll deal with it is if it’s a vintage item and I really like the shape or something. It would more be in a shirt or a blouse if it was vintage. It might be polyester or something.
HB: Another question! How do you organise your wardrobe? I think we’ve spoken about this.
KO: Yeah we have. We talked about when I moved into that house, coz I used to have a built-in wardrobe at home and now I don’t have any built-in storage. It’s pretty tricky to fit everything to be honest. There’s no wardrobe in our room. We’ve got a set of drawers with a mirror but that’s Josh’s. So he fits basically all of his clothes in that, and he has some excess hanging pieces like jackets on an exposed rack. I’ve got a wardrobe that I bought when I moved in there. You know that funny cream coloured one.
HB: With the fun door handles?
KO: *Nods* I remember when I went to pick it up – it was so stressful getting it out coz it was so tight – but the girl was like, “enjoy the wardrobe, it has a charm". With every owner they said it brought a charm to their life.
HB: Does it bring a charm to your life?
KO: I don’t know, I just always think of the wardrobe now, like if I moved into a house with built in wardrobes I’d be stressed to get rid of it coz it took me so long to find one that I liked. And this one was really particular.
HB: You would have to find another owner and you’d tell them about the charm!
KO: Yeah!
*Conversation veers off to talk about Ikea and buying second hand furniture.*
Recorded during a lunch break of chai lattes and soup in Holly's studio. 19th of July, 2024.
