Tower // Creator & Muse

An elegant and calming fixture of The Shelter, the assistant manager Tower, is a talented creative and fashion design graduate in her own right. Owning two businesses, her own label CIUTO and a thriving online vintage shop, normally you’ll find her busily beavering away in her central Auckland studio when she’s not styling in-store! Luckily, she found some time to let us have a glimpse into her own lockdown life with her must-have moments for staying chic and her Shelter wishlist styles!

Staying comfy during lockdown is key, but looking good also makes you feel good too! So these are the styles from The Shelter I've been reaching for time after time...

1. This cosy, oversized sweater from taylor has been my best friend during lockdown. Soft to the touch, the merino feels so nice against my skin. You can wear it easily over a dress or pants, and I often wear it wrapped around my body or neck as a scarf/accessory.

2. Having this little Samuel Mark Clyma Love Child Bag specifically for my phone during lockdown is so handy. It means that it’s in an easy-to-reach place when I’m going on my daily walk, or for scanning QR codes when I go to the supermarket and I can feel assured I’m doing my bit to keep myself & everyone else safe.

3. My beloved Issey Miyake Cropt Direction Pants are always my first choice when I don’t know what to wear. The interesting design and cut always elevate my whole outfit and best of all is how versatile they are - I can change them to a different style by adjusting the belt around the waist. I am still having fun trying to fold my pants down flat like origami, as is the signature of Issey Miyake 132 5. styles. It's best to sit down and be patient, trying over and over – but it's so rewarding when you finally figure it out!

4. I love this colour so much! When I get bored at home I always try to wear some colour to get in a creative mindset, the fresh alpine shade is so refreshing and also matches with the season, fresh spring! It can be worn either way and depending on my mood/outfit, I adjust the drawstring to match. This Oscillating Top from Symetria Part 06 will be available to buy soon, so this is a sneak peek, but a similar taylor version is available now.

5. My favourite dress in my wardrobe is the Grandiflora Dress from Jimmy D. I have figured out it has more than five different ways to wear it! Soft cotton is the best weight to wear in this weather and white is easy to match with any colour. I normally wear it with oversized sweaters or with a sheer silk top over it. This one is from last season's 'Kiss & Make Up' but he’s recutting it for this season and I can’t recommend it enough!

6. Finally, my taylor Attained pants. A wardrobe classic, they feature an elegant cut, high-waist and wide-leg design. This gives a good balance to my body shape and is very handy to wear while working at my studio.

There are so many items from The Shelter that I have my eye on for a dream addition to my wardrobe, but these would have to be my top picks.

1. Alisa Dress - Blue Print. Uma Wang is one of my favourite designers in The Shelter, I am obsessed with the fabric that she designs. This Apple Tree print with its blue-golden colour expresses the most elegant and calm feeling with a mysterious Asian aesthetic to me. It's the piece that you can keep in your wardrobe forever as it's an artwork.

2. U Crop - Sage. Fabric and colour are the most important things to me when I choose clothes. This knitwear from Lela Jacobs is made of possum, silk and merino, it is soft and lightweight but will also keep you cosy. The colour looks like it's from watercolour painting, light and fresh, and an essential item to start spring.

3. Collarless Shirt - Black Cotton/linen - I love all the shirts from Thyen as the patching and stitching details are always amazing and I would love to add this colour to my wardrobe. This shirt can be worn as jacket, layered with a long dress or tunic with wide-leg pants under, or when worn as a shirt, I like to mix the buttons up. By not being done up in order, I find it creates interesting draping on the front and the weight of it gives me an effortless look.

Since Level 4 began, I’ve been doing some sewing in my studio, being creative and sharing ideas with my partner, reading books and learning new things. Lockdown gives us some time to calm down and reflect on ourselves. It's given me more time to work on my online vintage shop, I am a big fan of vintage clothing especially 80's-90's Japanese style. I love to see the details and use them in my own design, it's a good way to refine and keep the traditional aesthetic hand-crafted details. Hopefully, we'll be back in Level 2 again soon and I'll be able to see all the lovely Shelter clients. I'm still available to be reached via info@theshelter.co.nz if you need any styling advice or just want to catch up!

Love Tower xx