Cupboard love: Turet Knuefermann

By FIONA HAWTIN

Two weeks ago Turet Knuefermann's entire wardrobe was in rubbish bags. The IPG designer packed up her apartment and workroom and moved the lot to her boyfriend's villa, so the wardrobe is a makeshift affair in the basement of the house.

In six months, she hopes to have a walk-in wardrobe under way. For now, the core pieces are carefully hung on a rack underneath some shelves in her workroom.

"I don't have any outrageous pieces. I dress for comfort. It's comfort with a sexy twist. It has to be really wearable and versatile," she says.

Comfort to Knuefermann is a pair of 8cm heels. She'd be caught in nothing less, although she does have a pair of trainers in one of those bags she hasn't unpacked. She's worn heels every day since she was 16. "I like the line it gives. It makes you feel a bit taller, more elegant and sexier. I totally don't get sore feet even if I'm running around. My body has adjusted now."

A typical look is a halter, jeans and heels winter or summer. "I like the shoulders showing - and back. I think it's really sexy as opposed to plunging cleavage."

One of her beloved halters, a pink lurex number from Cocorico in Parnell, includes a plunging neckline as well. The IPG label is big on halters and they make frequent appearances in her wardrobe in all the colours of the rainbow. The particular style she is so fond of sits wide over where the armhole would be. "It covers up all the fatty bits under the arm."

There are also her winter woollies - a brown knit halter with matching scarf from Cocorico. She'll wear it with her beloved Diesel jeans she has to wash overnight because she's wearing them most days. In cold weather, there is a top underneath the halter or a jacket over the top. The distressed leather jacket with coyote trim is a favourite. "It's really naughty because I love animals."

She picked it up from hip Australian boutique Cyberia. It's also her most expensive piece at $3500. It's a few years old now but nowhere near as aged as the La Perla bra she's wearing. At 16 years old, the bra is one of her favourites.

"It was Christmas in Munich. I bought it when I was 14. It was $300 and it was wow, such a lot of money for me then, but it's just incredible. The quality is amazing. I've washed it heaps and it just doesn't change. It had a pair of knickers to go with them but I couldn't afford them."

Most of what she buys is a valuable team player, except for the occasional piece like the Gucci belt bag she raced off to buy having seen someone with one at the Girls' Day Out last year.

It's been her best investment.

Sunglasses are her obsession. She has about 15 pairs, mostly Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, and is planning on getting a few more for summer. She is particularly keen on finding a wide, square-shaped pair.

It's not all about labels, though. She has bulk-bought 20 Glassons singlets, at about $14 apiece, in different colours.

"I am a bit of a hoarder. When I was moving I realised how much stuff I had. It's partly a library to refer back to, and some things have sentimental value. I hold on to things because they remind me of good times."