Luke Kirkness: Don't make the same fashion mistakes I did

Don't make the same mistake as me, dress to impress. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Opinion

I am far from an oasis in a fashion desert.

Hawaiian shirts are my go-to and I'm not afraid to wear Ugg boots in public.

Unless you want to look like a larrikin, I'm probably the last person you should listen to for fashion advice but hear me out.

Since lockdown, I have started making more of an effort with my appearance.

The most significant change has been dying my hair. My natural hair colour is dark brown, like milk chocolate.

My brothers both have much fairer coloured hair and I've always been envious.

Here is me, rocking the second version of my dyed mop. Photo / George Novak

So in January, I decided to bite the bullet and head to a saloon to let an expert work some magic.

I thought it'd be a seamless experience and had no idea that bleaching my hair would feel like a fire was raging on my scalp or that it'd take three hours.

After what seemed like endless suffering, my brown hair was transformed into the grey blond colour I wanted.

It was totally worth it and I've completed the process twice since.

I've also given up on constantly shaving, opting to grow a stubble beard and trimming my whiskers at 3mm with clippers twice a week.

My clothing style has remained relatively unchanged. At work, it's Chelsea boots or white sneakers with dark denim jeans or chinos and a T-shirt underneath a collared shirt.

On weekends, it's stubbies, a T-shirt and hoodie during summer while in winter I usually go for tracksuit pants, a T-shirt, hoodie and either a puffer vest or jacket, depending on the weather.

My favourite clothing item, the humble Hawaiian shirt, gets worn at parties usually and, more recently, on 'Funky Friday' at work. I have several.

That's me on the far right. Not sure if I'd take fashion advice from him either. Photo / George Novak

I've also had a few more tattoos done since lockdown. I most recently decided to get barbed wire around my left leg at the bottom of the calf.

If you're thinking that's pretty bogan, that's the desired effect - it coincides perfectly with my haircut preference, the mullet.

I'm growing what I'm calling my third-generation mullet after cutting the first and second when starting new jobs. While the mullet has made a bit of a comeback of sorts in the past few years, I still value making good first impressions — even if those impressions quickly dissipate.

Thinking about it, I guess I never made much of an effort with my appearance because I thought if I couldn't enjoy it myself, why bother?

I couldn't have been further from the truth.

The changes — while not exactly subtle but simple — have resulted in a number of compliments which makes me feel radiant.

So let this serve as a kick up the backside to all you people out there not making an effort. Invest in yourself and you'll reap the rewards.