GROWN-UP SYDNEY STYLE

Now that I’ve started keeping my eyes peeled for stylish Sydney women, I am seriously seeing them everywhere.

All the women I talk to are so confident in their style choices: they know the look they want and they feel great about how they put it together. They’re not afraid to mix up labels or fashion both high and low, and, best of all, nobody’s shying away from accenting their classic choices with a little youthful pizzazz.

There’s one woman I approached whom I decided not to feature here because she was visiting from Britain, but she’s worth mentioning because she paid Australian fashion – and Australian women – a massive compliment. Jane, 66, comes to Sydney a couple of times a year to visit her grandchildren and when she’s here she can’t wait to hit the shops because she feels there’s a dearth of decent fashion choices for women her age back in England. Who knew?

“I love going to David Jones and shopping all the labels there – Witchery, Sportscraft, Saba, Country Road,” she told me. “I think the style here is just fabulous.”

Vessa, 56

The first thing I noticed about Vessa was her glossy chestnut hair and her lovely smile. And, of course, her striking Gerry Webber scarf, which she bought at a horse-riding event in Tamworth.

Vessa describes her style aesthetic as “very informal but elegant. I don’t really buy brands, I buy the look.” She’s wearing a simple Sportscraft jacket, a stripey H&M top handed down from her mother-in-law, Mela Purdie leggings, black suede Italian boots by Stuart Weitzman, Miu Miu sunglasses and a slouchy black leather Entrà bag.

Perfectly illustrating Vessa’s fashion philosophy are her eye-catching ivory-and-silver necklace from Signature of Double Bay and an Israeli-silver-and opal ring she bought in Bellingen. “It’s about the simplicity of what one wears underneath and then one or two beautiful accessories,” she says.

“I learnt that from my mother, who’s in her 80s, and my mother-in-law, who’s in her 70s – both of whom are absolutely the most elegant women. They’re my fashion role models.”

Elizabeth, 45

I spotted Elizabeth from my kitchen window and ran downstairs to grab her photo. From her Chanel Rouge Noir lipstick and classic Ray-Bans to her chunky Commes des Garçon lace-up shoes, I just liked the cut of her jib.

I also wanted to know where she got her super-chic wool jacket with the black ribbon tie, which, it turns out, is by New Zealand designer Marilyn Sainty and was purchased about 10 years ago in Melbourne. “It doesn’t matter how old a piece is if you buy from the right places,” she says, and she’s totally right.

Elizabeth’s jumper is from Scanlan & Theodore, the jeans are Zara, her bag is Louis Vuitton and her earrings are by Tiffany.

“I don’t follow trends so much,” she says, “but I do look at fashion blogs like thefashiospot.com to follow what those girls are wearing that will last a long time.”

She describes her look as “sort of classic with an edge. I shop mostly at places like Assin, Zambesi and Scanlan & Theodore in Paddington. I know the look I like, and I stick with that.”