Calexico’s Sweet 16: Nicky’s Guide to Dressing for Spring (and Into Summer)

Most days my alarm goes off at 4:45. By 8am I've done a Lagree class, dropped my eldest at water polo, walked Alfie, had a sauna (my one moment of silence), stood in front of my wardrobe deciding what on earth to wear while a little person is yelling at me and kissed the other two goodbye at kindy and school. Then I go to work. So when I say I need my clothes to make life easier, not harder, I really do mean it.

Let's be honest: I don't have it all together, and neither does anyone else. The perfect work-life balance we mums keep being promised doesn't exist. Most weeks I'm working 60-plus hours, and the rest of the time I'm wrestling three children, Alfie and my beloved husband Jamie, usually in that order. Thank God for my amazing nanny, my family and my friends, or none of it would happen.

Every year October sneaks up on me. One minute it's the middle of winter, the next the jacarandas are out and it's Calexico's birthday again. And every year it gets me in exactly the same way. Sixteen Octobers in, it still hasn't got old. I still wake up feeling grateful that I get to call this my job.

This week Calexico turns sixteen. Sweet sixteen! None of it happened because of me. It happened because of you: the women who walked through our doors in 2010 and kept coming back, who brought their sisters, mums and best friends with them, who sent a message the morning after to say the dress worked. It happened because of a team who show up every day with more heart than I could ever ask for, and a family who have lived every one of these sixteen years with me.

I'd love to tell you that after all this time I've got it worked out. I haven't. I'm still learning something every single day, from our clients, from my team, from the designers we work with and, quite often, from my own mistakes. My passion for this hasn't dropped one bit. If anything it's grown. And my goal hasn't changed since day one. I want Calexico to be the most fun boutique in Australia to hang out in, and I want it to have the sharpest edit of the best designers from around the world. It's about finding the perfect jeans and the perfect white tee, and then, a few metres away, the most beautiful graduation gown a girl could ever hope to find. Somewhere you come for the champagne and the chat as much as the clothes.

Sometimes life can feel a bit heavy at the moment, with what’s going on in the world  and So for our birthday I want Calexico to feel like the opposite: a little treasure trove where you can come in, or jump online, switch off for an hour and enjoy something beautiful. We're throwing a party to prove it (details below, and yes, there's cake).

First, a few rules (I'm 45, I've earned them)

Yes, 45. And the dreaded M word is on its way. I haven't felt a thing yet (wish me luck), but I've noticed I care more than ever about clothes that breathe and feel good against my skin. Here's what sixteen years of dressing women, and myself, has taught me so far. I'm still adding to the list.

Simplify. You don't need more clothes. You need fewer, better ones that all get along.

Find your uniform and stick to it. Once you know the shapes that work for you, wear them on repeat. Nobody is keeping score, and getting dressed at 6am becomes a two-minute job.

Wear the colours you know look good on you. For me that's ivory, olive, chocolate, a little denim blue, plenty of gold and, of course, leopard. If you've spent years being told a colour suits you, believe it.

Don't buy things for the sake of it. If it doesn't work with at least three things you already own, leave it on the rail. I'd honestly rather sell you one piece you love than five you don't. (My accountant may disagree.)

Go natural. Through spring and summer I live in cotton, linen and silk. In a Brisbane summer, natural fabrics aren't a luxury, they're survival.

Shop the spring essentials

The pieces working hardest for me

These are the things I reach for again and again, and I'd buy every one of them again tomorrow.

Denim shorts. The good ones, cut well and a little relaxed. School pick-up, the beach, a Saturday barbecue. Done.

A Nili Lotan cotton shirt. Crisp, slightly oversized and somehow always right. Over swimmers, tucked into shorts, or with the sleeves rolled for a lunch meeting.

Nili Lotan Shon pants and a singlet. My uniform on repeat. The Shon is a soft cotton pant that feels like pyjamas and looks like I've got it all together, which is really the dream, isn't it?

An easy silk dress. The fastest way to look like you made an effort when you absolutely didn't. Flats for the day, a heel for dinner.

A gold leather Gianvito Rossi flat. Comfortable, beautiful and it goes with absolutely everything. I've never once regretted a Gianvito, which is more than I can say for most decisions I've made after 10pm.

A lightweight Avant Toi knit. The styles I design exclusively for Calexico are light enough to throw over your shoulders for a late lunch, and mine has survived a water polo pool deck, a board meeting and a sticky toddler hand, all in the same day.

Linda Farrow sunglasses. My favourite iconic 70s frames, and they cover a multitude of sins after a big night.

The underwear nobody sees but everyone benefits from. The Cosabella we carry is the most comfortable I've ever worn. Trust me, try on a Liciante bra and you'll thank me for it.

Shop my hardest-working pieces

The race against the clock

Right now I'm in that end-of-year sprint where everyone is trying to get everything done before the school holidays start: concerts, parties, end-of-school wrap-ups, races, end-of-year everything. It's why I'm stocking up on good-quality basics now, so that when friends and family drop in unexpectedly over summer (and they always do), I feel put together without trying too hard. A great shirt, the right shorts, an easy silk dress and a gold flat will get you through almost anything, including surprise guests and a fridge full of champagne.

Racing season, without the costume

If you're heading to the races, my only rule is to look like the most elegant version of yourself, not like a fascinator with a person attached. A beautiful midi, a heel worth the effort and one statement piece. Wear it again to a wedding in December and it's paid for itself. That's not shopping, that's investing.

Shop racing season

School holidays: no makeup, no fuss

The school holidays are made for bare faces, salty hair and long lunches that roll into dinner, and I want my clothes to feel exactly the same. Easy, natural fabrics, pieces that go on in ten seconds and look good without a mirror. Because all I want to be concentrating on is spending time with the people I love most and making memories with them.

Come and celebrate: our Sweet 16 Spring Weekend

Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 October, James Street and online

For three days we're turning the boutique into a spring wonderland. The whole store will be light, fresh and full of spring, with the only exception being our Long Road Home corner, because some things deserve to stay exactly as they are.

There'll be champagne and coffee all day (as always), birthday cake (obviously), and surprise gifts popping up all weekend, from Nicky belts and hats to Avant Toi scarves and Cosabella. No catch: just come in, take a load off, try on something gorgeous and let us look after you for a bit. Think of it as our way of saying thank you.

Can't make it in? Shop online over the weekend and you might find a little birthday surprise in your parcel.

Bring a friend, your mum, the kids or even your furry child.

Sixteen years in

When I think back to the day we first opened our doors in October 2010, I can hardly believe it. I feel incredibly grateful, and very lucky, that I get to spend my days dressing women and making people feel special.

So to every client who has ever sat on our couch, every member of our team past and present, our designers, our James Street neighbours, my friends, my family and Jamie: thank you. You built this with me, and I don't take a single day of it for granted.

It's never really been about the clothes. It's about how you feel when you walk out the door, ready for whatever life throws at you. Getting to be a small part of that is the best job in the world.

Come in and see us, try it all on, and tell me what you love. I'll be on the floor all weekend, most likely with a glass of champagne in one hand and a slice of cake in the other. Here's to the next sixteen.

Nicky xx