KEY POINTS:
Glenda Irwin has an interesting CV: oil painting restorer, prop buyer for U2 videos, art director on Smashing Pumpkins videos, Death Star decorator...
She left Auckland for London in 1984 and got into styling through her restoration work, before she started styling fashion in the Sunday Times Style magazine. Before long, she was working on sets for films.
She was the person responsible for installing Flymo lawnmower casings in the control room of the Star Wars Death Star and decorating Anakin Skywalker's pod in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.
She's been back home for seven years now, creating ribbon flowers - "an alternative to real flowers" - at weddings, for her business Boutique Blooms.
When she came to design a "barefoot on the beach" wedding, she thought the bride couldn't "walk down the beach in such a lovely dress without something on her feet", so modified some elastic to make the feet less bare. Some months later she realised she'd inadvertently come up with a new form of lingerie. Irwin calls it the toe-G. She's done versions to wear with swimwear, in the bedroom, for the bride and for children's dress-ups.
Toe-G's cost around $20 a pair and can be ordered on www.toe-g.com or ph 0800 776 693.
Who are your favourite designers?
Scanlan & Theodore. I'd have everything in one spree if I could afford their shop.
What's the one thing everyone should have in their wardrobe?
A gorgeous raincoat. It rains in Auckland far too much to brave the elements. What's more, with the right coat you can drop the kids at school in your PJs if necessary.
Who or what inspires you?
Colour, detail and integrity. That goes for life as much as fashion.
Who does the best shoes?
Minx, our own special brand of Kiwi creativity. I love bows and things. Why not on your feet as in your hair?
Your favourite accessory?
My enormous gold filigree ring. I bought it in Amsterdam when my son and I were on a trip visiting friends. I almost killed both of us stopping dead in the bicycle lane in order to buy it. Couldn't be without it now.
Your fashion obsession?
Pretty details. Anything that makes an item of clothing look more individual than the last one I bought. Fashion is the common language of art, it's so unique to each and every person.
How do you define the word fashionable?
Fashionable is being interested and immersed in the language of the streets. To be fashionable is to be somewhat obsessed with that language. To be a stylist is to take that language and make it fit your shape, regardless of what shape you've been given.
Are you a hat woman, bag woman or shoe woman?
I love shoes. It's essential to have the right footwear. All the style in the world can be undone by wearing the wrong shoes.
Whose wardrobe would you like to raid?
My sister Judith Pearce's. She's a dresser in Sydney. Her talent means she can make the largest woman look svelte and the thinnest woman look curvy. I am her shape and I covet everything she has.
What do you wear to work?
I dress for comfort. When I was in film I wore Indian pants and tunics for years. They were so practical. I could climb all over set and still look good. Trouble was I got marriage proposals from every Indian guy I encountered. It had to stop.
Any style icons?
Coco Chanel. She said, "there are no ugly women, just lazy ones." I'm told she got a roasting for saying so - but that is so true. Some days are just lazy days, but the evening can turn all of that around with the right amount of time to prepare. Oh, and Frida Kahlo. Those eyebrows and head-dresses - what an inspiration.
Favourite fashion-y movie?
Casino. Wow, that was fashion huh!
Most stylish city?
Paris - no doubt. But I love the way the Romans wear their Gucci to put the milk bottles out! Romans crack me up.
Favourite T-shirt slogan?
"My other body is a temple", and the wearer was no size 16!
Best trend for this season?
Toe-G. As a Mum I know time for myself is precious. My little product is about detail and femininity - whether lying on the beach or alone on the sofa reading Vogue - time to be still but pretty too.
Best music for getting dressed by?
Manic Monday by the Bangles, written by that style maverick, Prince. It's a girls' song about the modern woman; getting ready for work or play it's a reminder that good times lie ahead.
Best way to recycle your old clothes?
Give them away. Giving would solve most of the problems of this world. If people could get back to thinking generously it would create a revolution.
When I was at high school I wore?
Hand-knitted 1940s cardigans that my mother made from original patterns. They hugged the waist and were just so beautiful. Of course, you needed a mother as special as mine was to knit them - but wow, I always felt just that little bit more glamorous.
