Bags of colour
Kiwis are more than partial to wearing a lot of black, but a bright bag can jazz up an otherwise forgettable outfit. Effort level: minimal, says Josie Steenhart.
While actress Lucy Hale’s actual outfit here is largely unmemorable (though it looks damn comfy), what caught my eye is the combo of allblack ensemble given a hit of excitement and edge with the simple addition of a bright bag. As we all know, we Kiwis are more than slightly partial to wearing quite a lot of black, and I’m as fond of it as the next New Zealander, but let’s face it, sometimes it’s nice to jazz things up a notch and ensure we stand out from the pack a little – and the easy addition of a pop of colour, without going overboard with an entire item of clothing, is just the ticket.
I’ve had my eye on luxe local label Yu Mei’s lime number for a while for exactly this kind of purpose, and fashion-favourite Saben’s sizzling new scarlet colourway is also on my radar, but really I’m equally enchanted by pretty much the whole rainbow of options I’ve pulled here, in playful and moodenhancing shades from lipstick and mint to raspberry and cornflower.
In a cute side story straight outta Hollywood, Hale’s small, fluffy companion in this pic is her rescue dog Elvis, but she also recently adopted a second even smaller and fluffier rescue pup named Ethel, who had previously been fostered by fellow star and animal-lover
Kristen Bell.