Personal style is something we all develop throughout our lives. A mixed of personality quirks, current trends and splashes of our past.
For Louisa Rogers, vintage connoisseur, fashion designer and founder of Trendlistr, her parents, especially her mum has always been a source of inspiration. Growing up in a family house surrounded by vintage treasures and bizarre artefacts, she learnt from a very young age the art of scouting and dealership, recognising the gems from the worthless items from a mile away.
She has that character and poise of someone who was born in the wrong era, a personality that she shows off through her amazing outfit combinations. She is serious about her mix and matching of prints and colours, and her style du jour can range from a nonchalant look of high waisted flared jeans and a printed blouse to an extraordinary prairie floral maxi dress the next day.
Click here to see her video where or read on to find out more about her fashion uniform, something she wished she’d know when she was younger and the one trend she will never wear.
1. What’s your fashion uniform?
“High waisted trousers, not normally velvet (she was wearing that at that moment), I will probably wear denim, jeans something like that. And a printed 1970’s top, I love this one because it has this tropical bird print all over it, it’s missing one of the buttons but I don’t really mind. I’d normally wear it all the way done up, but I couldn’t find a nice brooch to kind of fastening it today.”
2. How would you describe your style?
“I think I would describe my style as being everchanging, hopefully never boring, that’s only what I aim for anyway. I think what’s nice about having so many vintage stuff is that you can basically choose a decade every day and just go from there. I don’t like to stick to the same colours all the time, I like to mix things up, I like to wear new prints, new shapes, so even I have my go-tos and my favourites like buttoned-down shirts and flares, I try and keep things relatively diverse, I think that’s the fun of fashion, playing dress-up! I wouldn’t be doing this job and being in this industry if I didn’t want to experiment and have a bit of fun with it.”
3. What is one thing you wish you knew about fashion when you were younger?
“I think I would tell myself that fashion is not superficial, I think I always grew up thinking it was a very guilty pleasure to indulge in, and actually as I have learnt more and more about it and kind of expanded my knowledge it made me realise that fashion actually plays a huge role in society and I think it gets looked down upon a lot because it seeing as very frivolous and girly and I just don’t think that’s the reputation that deserves and I think people are starting to understand the importance of that now but I think certainly growing up being a fashion designer, working in fashion was seeing as was frivolous and something that didn’t have any academic merit and obviously now I know that’s not the case, and that is more a kind of social prejudice against the creative industry in general but also particularly against fashion, so I will tell myself that it’s ok to want to be a fashion designer when you grow up, there is nothing wrong with that!”
4. What’s the one trend you will never wear?
“I think the one trend I will never wear is cycling shorts, there is no way on the planet that I think I could style that to pull it off in any way, shape or form. It’s just not something that is going to suit me. I think there’s lots of sort of streetwear stuff that is not going to work for me, and it doesn’t mean I don’t like it and I don’t appreciate it, some people are great in it, but it just doesn’t feel like me when I wear it. So I am going to be sticking to my 70s style dagger collars and my prairie dresses and my silk scarves I think!”
Louisa's Styling Tips
→ Vintage jewellery is an affordable way to start building a collection
The pieces tend not to tarnish and were made for continued wear, but you don't have to feel worried about wearing them out and about! You can always upgrade to a modern real gold or silver version after, but this is a good way to test out the styles you like.
→ Don't be afraid to mix prints
Choose complementary colour schemes so the look doesn't seem too chaotic and stick to a balance of large and smaller-scale prints (ie. ditzy micro florals with strong geometrics) to achieve outfit harmony!
→ Some styles are universally flattering
A dress with a square neckline with slightly puffed sleeves and tiered hem with add shape to the most athletic figure, and accentuate curves for those who have them.
→ Consider swapping your jeans from a "skinny" style to a straight leg
They feel more contemporary and are more flattering and grown-up. Workwise, it's hard to go wrong with a pair of these, belted, and a button-up shirt. You can inject some fun into it with a pair of statement earrings or a colourful headband.