Welcome to Point Of View 001 by DR DENIM. The point of this editorial is to give space to the thoughts and views of our community. To open up new conversations, invite perspectives and build relationships with friends, old and new.
Our first guest is Madeleine Chard a modern-day creative curator. Mads spends her time sewing together ideas, filtering the meaningful from the daily noise and searching only for things that speak directly to her and her family.
D: Welcome to POV! First question, who are you?
M: Hey! My name is Madeleine, I am 31, a mum to two girls Olive (6) and Dot (2) and I live on Sydney’s northern beaches.
D: What do you do?
M: Besides trying to contain the sheer chaos at home with the kids and pets, I own an organic cotton underwear & maternity label Female Form, plus I work as a creative consultant alongside my lifestyle site The Authentik which is relaunching very soon!
D: Where do you live?
M: In an old mid-century shack surrounded by nature 🍃
D: Do your values inform your relationship to clothing?
M: My values really inform our family’s relationship to clothing. I’m big on sustainability so I wear a lot of second hand. How we all dress is always an opportunity for self-expression. I'm a bargain hunter and I don’t value trends, I believe you should wear what YOU want to wear if it makes YOU feel good. I never dress to please others or because someone said it is “cool” - even if that means I look like an absolute mad woman. I’m all about authenticity and think the way you dress is a reflection of who you are.
D: How do you find your life and values shape your expression through clothing?
M: As a mum, my life is super busy (and messy) and I am a massive homebody so practical, comfy clothing is what I’m all about (I also tend to avoid white lol.) Most weekdays I’ll wear jeans, sneakers and a men's button-up shirt (give or take). A thrown-together aesthetic, some may say the “I just got out of bed” look, which is true in form and function. If I’m going out on the weekend or attending a function etc I tend to dress up more, however, I’m still all for the practicality and comfort.
My life is chaotic and I feel this is reflected in my style. The chaotic, creative and more playful side of my life is reflected through bold colours and patterns in the clothing I wear.
D: What is your denim go-to?
M: Jeans! I wear jeans pretty much every day (even when it’s like 30 degrees lol) I’m not sure when exactly I became a pants person because as a child I refused to wear anything other than dresses (like my 6 year old daughter now) but me in anything other than pants is a very rare occurrence.
D: How important is creativity in your daily routine?
M: VERY important. If I am not being creative in some way, shape or form I become flat and uninspired. As a mum, it is hard to balance work and life but I find when I spend less time on my creative outlets I lose that “spark” so to speak, which is why interiors and my home setting are super important to me - trawling marketplace and driving 2 hours to collect a rug from Woop woop is not an unlikely part of my day (see 'purple rug saga' highlight here). It allows me to be creative, even in a small way. This and pottering around rearranging my entire home goes hand in hand.
I find I always incorporate creativity into the clothes I put on each day. My wardrobe and sense of style is defiantly “creative”, some people would maybe just call it “weird” haha, however I make a conscious effort not care about what other people think and just dress for myself and wear what makes me feel good (sometimes easier said than done).
My work is my key source of creativity, however, before I am able to focus on the task at hand, it’s important I get into the zone, whether that’s immersing myself in a setting that inspires me like an art gallery or thrift store (I may have a slight addiction), mood boarding, listening to music (even if it’s simply blasting my favourite song on the school run haha) and movement.