I'M NOT BUYING BORING. AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU.

Why we chose Never Fully Dressed, why personal style has no expiry date, and why I refuse to fill Love Spell with clothes that make me feel absolutely nothing.

I've always had a bit of a problem with boring. Boring clothes, boring interiors, boring conversations, boring people who think having an opinion is somehow a personality defect. Life is short, and frankly, I've got better things to do than spend it looking beige.

Which probably explains quite a lot about Love Spell.

When I'm buying for the stores, I'm not sitting there thinking about what every woman should be wearing this season, or trying to predict which microtrend TikTok will have killed off by next Tuesday. I'm looking for things that make me stop scrolling, make me want to touch the fabric, make me imagine an outfit before I've even finished looking at the collection. Something with a bit of nerve. A bit of personality. Something that makes me think, fuck yes, that's going in the store.

I want clothes that have a pulse. Clothes that make you feel something. Because if I'm going to spend my money buying stock, pay to get it here, find somewhere to hang it and then try to convince you to fall in love with it, it had better be bloody good.

And that's exactly why I chose Never Fully Dressed.

A little bit of fashion, a little bit of attitude, and absolutely no interest in blending in.

There is something about Never Fully Dressed that feels so right for Love Spell. It has that wonderful combination of colour, print, femininity and confidence without taking itself too seriously. It's not trying to be the quietest person in the room, and neither are we.

I love clothes that have a little bit of theatre about them. Not necessarily something you need a red carpet or a celebrity stylist to wear, just something that gives an ordinary Tuesday a bit more life. A dress that makes you feel fantastic when you walk into a room. A print that catches your eye. A piece that works with your favourite boots, an old leather jacket or the denim you've been wearing since approximately 1998.

Because that's what I want from fashion. I want to play with it. I want to mix things up, wear something unexpected and occasionally look in the mirror and think, well, she's made an effort. Even if the rest of my day involves school drop-offs, invoices and wondering why the washing machine is making that noise again.

And can we please stop deciding what women should wear after 40?

I grew up in the era of Madonna, Kate Moss, Winona Ryder, Courtney Love and girls who wore slip dresses with chunky boots and probably hadn't given a single thought to whether the outfit was age appropriate. We had ripped denim, band tees, leather jackets, questionable fringe decisions and enough hairspray to destroy the ozone layer. We got dressed, went out and got on with it.

Somewhere along the way, fashion decided women needed a set of rules. Apparently, once you reach a certain age, you should start dressing more quietly, cover your arms, avoid certain prints and generally make yourself less noticeable. Sorry, what?

I'm Gen X. I've survived acid wash, the Spice Girls platform shoe era and the emotional damage of trying to get a perm in the 80s. I'm not about to let an arbitrary number dictate whether I can wear a fabulous dress.

I don't buy for an age group. I buy for women.

Women who are 25, 35, 45, 55, 65 and beyond. Women who have jobs, children, businesses, mortgages, ex-husbands, good friends, bad knees, excellent taste and absolutely no intention of disappearing into the background. Women who want to look fabulous because it makes them feel fabulous. That's the only demographic I'm particularly interested in.

And I love seeing a woman try something on that she initially thought might be too much, only to discover that it is, in fact, exactly enough.

What actually makes it into Love Spell?

I get asked about the labels we stock, and the honest answer is that I'm quite particular. I don't want Love Spell to look like every other boutique, and I don't want to buy the same things everyone else is buying just because they're easy sellers on a spreadsheet.

Of course, the clothes need to be wearable. They need to be beautifully made, worth the money and something you'll actually want to put on. I'm not interested in buying something purely because it photographs well and then watching it hang in a wardrobe for three years. But I also don't want to fill the store with safe little pieces that nobody remembers.

I want a mix. Something a little unexpected alongside your favourite denim. A statement dress that you can wear with trainers during the day and a ridiculous pair of heels at night. A print that makes you smile. Pieces that can be worn together, pulled apart, dressed up, dressed down and made entirely your own.

I want women to come into Love Spell and find something they weren't necessarily looking for. That's half the fun, isn't it? You go in for a pair of jeans and suddenly you're trying on a dress, buying earrings and mentally rearranging your entire social calendar because you've found an outfit that deserves an outing.

And that's not an accident. It's how I buy.

You don't have to save the good clothes for a special occasion.

This is another thing I feel quite strongly about. Why are we all keeping the good stuff for some imaginary future event? The dinner, the holiday, the wedding, the birthday, the day when we've lost a few kilos or finally feel like we've got our shit together.

Darling, that day may never come. And even if it does, there will probably be another load of washing waiting for you.

Wear the dress. Put on the earrings. Take the fabulous outfit to lunch on a Wednesday. Wear the statement piece with your old jeans. You don't need an invitation to enjoy getting dressed, and you certainly don't need anyone's permission.

I think we've forgotten how much fun fashion can be when we're not constantly trying to get it right. Not every outfit needs to be a carefully constructed aesthetic. Sometimes you just put something on because you love it. Sometimes it works brilliantly. Sometimes you look like you got dressed in the dark after a particularly enthusiastic evening. That's fashion, baby. We've all been there.

So, why Never Fully Dressed?

Because it feels like us.

It has personality, colour, confidence and that little bit of mischief I want Love Spell to have. It's feminine without being precious, statement-making without being ridiculous and, most importantly, it makes getting dressed feel exciting.

I'm not interested in telling women how to dress. God knows there are enough people doing that already. I want to give women beautiful things to choose from, encourage them to experiment, and remind them that personal style is something you get to decide for yourself.

If you love colour, wear colour. If you love print, wear print. If you're happiest in denim and a vintage band tee, then wear the bloody band tee. And if you happen to be 60 and want to walk into a room looking like the most fabulous woman in it, I would very much like to be your accomplice.

That's what I want Love Spell to be: a place for women who are interested in fashion, but not interested in following every bloody rule. A place with personality, a little irreverence and clothes that make you feel like yourself, only perhaps with a better outfit.

So no, I'm not buying boring. I've never been particularly good at it.

And neither, I suspect, are you.

Never Fully Dressed. Now at Love Spell.

Love Spell xo