It’s my favourite time in my blog schedule when I shine a light on my incredible clients by way of my The Proust Questionnaire feature. Today we have fabulous Nicole Vine. Nic works with women to create wardrobes that work while also tolerating my frequent inappropriate text messages about style options that I curate from wildly irrelevant sources to me as a midlife woman such as Coachella.
The Proust Questionnaire by Nicole Vine
What’s your idea of perfect happiness?
Can I say a cup of tea (strong and sweet, just like my man) and a thick piece of white crusty bread, top notch butter and oozy, raspberry jam?
If not, I’d have to say I’m not into happiness as a thing, because it’s such a fleeting state. I prefer to tether myself to joy and the most joy I experience is when one of my children comes for a cuddle and holds on for just a few seconds more than I had expected. Bliss.
What is your greatest extravagance?
My husband might beg to differ but I don’t believe I have an extravagance. That doesn’t mean I don’t like to (and indeed do) spend money on myself, but rather than going full tilt on any particular item or experience, I tend to spend evenly across ALL areas. I’m more of a generalised extremist!
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Amazing and incredible do tend to come up a lot. Urgh! Kill me now. Probs that one too.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Turning my hobby (aka excuse to buy more new clothes I didn’t need and fuel my addiction to shopping) into a sustainable business that for the most part fits in with my family life and contributes to some sense of greater good by supporting women to live with more energy and ease.
What is your most treasured possession and why?
While not in reality a possession as such, but most definitely treasured, this would have to be my late mother-in-law’s engagement ring. I am the custodian of it, as she was and the two Mrs Vines before her were. Worn by each woman over their lifetime, it is a tangible connection to the past and the changing landscape of women’s lives over the decades. And its radiant sparkle never fades.
What is your most marked characteristic?
I am highly attuned to what others are thinking and feeling.
Who is your hero of fiction?
Bridget Jones. She never took herself too seriously, she loved love and she rocked an enormous granny pant.
Who are your heroes in real life?
My Mum and Dad. Born in the industrial town of Dundee, Scotland in the 50s, to working class parents, they emigrated to Australia as 19 year olds without any pre-existing connection to this country. As young parents, they worked tirelessly to create a better life for my brother and me, quietly sacrificing their own needs for ours, and still do to this day. True quiet achievers who showed me what family first means.
What is your motto?
“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire!” St. Catherine of Siena
What is your story?
I’m a personal stylist obsessed with helping women to experience effortless, stylish dressing, allowing them to stand out for all the right reasons.
I fully understand the challenges women face when trying to achieve a wardrobe that actually works and I take the pain and angst out of shopping for clothes and deciding what to wear each day. I transform something that feels fraught and complex for so many of us into a streamlined solution, expertly tailored to each woman I work with.
I’m also a former lawyer in a leading Australian law firm and have an intimate understanding of working women’s style needs. I’m also someone who wholeheartedly loves style and was known to take detours to courtrooms by way of Melbourne’s iconic designer boutiques and quirky hidden laneway gems, on the lookout for something truly special to add to my wardrobe collection.
In 2011 I swapped my law career for personal styling, achieving advanced styling accreditation with an industry leader and I’ve continued to hone my craft over countless styling consultations.
Never one to lay idle, I’ve also completed studies in science and psychology, am a loving wife, an adoring mum of three teenagers and a slave to two hectic cocker spaniels. When I’m not at the shiny end of Chad-vegas, you’ll find me on a remote beach in beautiful Wilson’s Promontory in various puffer-jacket and fleece combinations.
I love shining the spotlight on some of my clients and colleagues. If you’d like to know more about my work, or would like the full 35 questions from the Questionnaire, please shoot me an email or give me a buzz, and I’ll respond in a jiffy.