downunder update

So you want to be part of a new fashion trend but you don’t know where to start? You’re looking for a fashion trend, it doesn’t matter which one to you, as long as you’re proactive in the Style Scene?

Then look no further. Go Australian! Here’s your handy guide to dressing like an Australian from top to toe.

Zinc cream

Zinc protects iron and steel building-frameworks from corrosion, which is very important as no one wants to live in a world in which such important icons as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the * Australian Big Things are full of rust.

It also protects delicate bits of your body from the sun when worn on your nose, cheeks and tops of ears. (Millions of Australians have grown up with a permanent zinc stripe on the nose). This is considered very smart and sexy, especially when combined with a terry-toweling pull-on hat.

Blundstone Boots

Besides the style of the wonderfully adaptable Ugg boot (an Australian invention despite foreign claims), the stylish foot is best displayed in Blundstone boots.

The original Blundstones were made specifically for tramping around the goldfields of Ballarat where sharp rocks thrust through the surface and an ordinary shoe lasts all of five minutes. They are solid, elastic-sided boots, unbelievably hard to pull on your foot, but once shod in a Blunnie your feet are safe from any damage up to, and possibly including, a small nuclear explosion.

Bushwalkers and farmers love their Blundstone boots, as do catwalk models and smart city-dwellers in sunglasses who like to imagine they are just at home in the middle of the Outback as they are in a wine bar.

Drizabone

A Drizabone is the traditional oilskin riding coat of the stockman. Once worn by sailors as wet weather gear and adapted to the severe conditions on a cattle drive, the Drizabone is now the ultimate status symbol of the junior clerk and ladies hairdresser. The coat must be worn long enough to stop the rain getting into your boots.

Since 1898 the coat has been part of Australia’s history, and now it’s a way of life, you could even say a state of mind. It’s a coat perfectly designed for horseback riding in all weathers, and for pretending that you have a small farm used for weekend getaways.

Footy Jumper

The sleeveless Australian Rules football jumper is another startling and adaptable fashion item. Worn in all extremes of heat and cold by men who work on their cars on weekends, it’s safer than loose flowing sleeves around pistons and such, and can be easily pulled up to wipe sweat from the brow and grease from the hands.

A smart sleeveless footy jumper also showcases a good pair of beefy arms. Individuality can be expressed by the large choice of football teams in different colours. The footy jumper displayed is from the Richmond team and is absolutely first class in concealing an immense number of grease stains.

The Akubra

For the classic Australian hat, consider the broad brimmed Akubra. There’s something intrinsically manly about an Akubra. It’s a king of a hat, high domed and ruggedly handsome, suited for those hardy men who squint through the rain, hail and blinding sun of the endless gibber plains.

The Akubra is a symbol of the eternal struggle between light and dark, man and beast, raw nature and gentlemen farmers. Prince Harry, who tries very hard to radiate a virile image, chooses to wear an Akubra. That’s a good start, Harry, but someone should have told you about Zinc Cream.

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