Questioning Fashion

We catch up with the delightfully named Gwen Venn of Save the Children to talk about the Love Rack, a super fun and clever initiative that allows the op shop to sell clothes in need of repair to those happy to take them on. As advocates of "better done than perfect" and "lazy sewing" if it means you get more out of your wardrobe and dump less on op shops, Ali and Jo are BIG FAN...

Jo and Ali talk about what comes over them while shopping away from home, and why we buy things that might be a bit out of character for us usually. We hear from a few listeners about the strange things they've bought on holidays - tell us yours! Email us: questioningfashionpodcast@slogue.com.au Our Instagram accounts: instagram.com/questioningfashionpodcast instagram.com/jogambale instagram....

Welcome to Season 2!!!! Ali and Jo start off with a BANG, interviewing the awesome Veronica Milsom of Triple J and ABC fame, a year after the release of her ABC podcast Threads. In the lead-up to a very cool online event where Ali and Jo get to help Veronica with her wardrobe woes Live for the Garage Sale Trail Tutorials, they chat with Veronica  about her experience researching, writing and recor...

We love Clueless! And we think you do too, which is why we chose to devote our Season 1 finale (!) to the incredible costuming on this iconic movie. We'd LOVE to hear all of your thoughts! Find us at instagram.com/questioningfashionpodcast Contact Jo: jogambale@gmail.com instagram.com/jogambale tiktok.com/@slogue_joannegambale Contact Ali: ali@bell-street.com instagram.com/bellstreet tiktok.c...

We speak to Ali's friend Simon about his project to wear a different band t-shirt every day until he runs out of t-shirts. We discuss the "rules" around wearing band t-shirts, how we can use clothing to preserve memories and why Simon doesn't own any Hanson t-shirts. Simon's daily t-shirt videos can be found on his instagram story highlights - instagram.com/vaughantobewild...

After telling everyone at Footprints Ecofestival to channel their inner child when shopping their own wardrobe, Ali and Jo discuss what that actually means, recalling their own childhood dressing, their children's self-styling and why we lose the capacity to just "play" with our looks, without fear of judgement. For photos of some of the childhood outfits mentioned, and a snap of th...

Jo and Ali attempt to figure out why people get so fixated on planning the perfect, non-cookie-cutter-wedding, but mostly just end up talking about their own weddings. Maybe that in itself answers the question? Something about humans being innately self-centred and weddings being the ultimate 'look at me' event? We'd love your thoughts. Find us on instagram at @questioningfashionpod...

We discuss everything from Boomer feminism to lazy sewing and repair hacks from the 'Jamie Oliver of Sewing'. Guests include  regular listener Laurel and an accidental appearance by Ali's mum Robyn. Both help us to unpick the problem that arises from so few being able to mend or adjust their clothes. The book Ali recommends is called Sew it Yourself by Daisy Braid The YouTube channe...

We all have favourite pieces that we've worn over and over. We also all have pieces we love that we don't wear as much as we'd like to. This episode is all about different ways we can elevate our less worn pieces to the status of new favourites - we also happen to be currently obsessed with the Matildas, and try to turn the whole thing into a sports analogy. Enjoy! Contact Ali: ali@...

After Jo's first foray into red carpet styling, for actress Kate Box at Australia's biggest TV Awards (AKA the Logies), Ali and Jo delve into the most famous Red Carpet event of all; the Oscars. From Grace Kelly in blue silk-satin to Billy Porter in a tux-gown, they pick 11 looks that tell the story of the Oscars fashion evolution, peppered with fun facts and personal faves. Follow @ques...

Ali has been seeing videos all over Tiktok dedicated to the never-ending quest of discovering and labelling one's personal style - whether it's through choosing a Gen Z-approved "aesthetic", finding the "three words" that define your style or locking down a specific colour palette. Is this at all useful or necessary, and why do we feel the need for a cohesive look? Fi...

In the first of our new sub-podcast Fictional Fashion, which unravels the looks of our favourite fashion moments on screen, we delve into the polarising style of Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City.   Jo, an avid fan, passionately defends all the 'worst dressed' looks dreamt up by SJP and Patricia Field as "self aware", "tongue in cheek" and groundbreaking, while Ali...

This week Ali and Jo question whether marketing, merchandising and sales tactics used by big retailers are sneaky or just good business. Ali decided on a whim to ask her tiktok following for input and accidentally went viral - thanks for all the comments! Find us on instagram: instagram.com/questioningfashionpodcast Contact Ali: ali@bell-street.com instagram.com/bellstreet tiktok.com/@bellstreet C...

In this episode we join the age-old but apparently new debate that questions the ethics of resellers and 'thrift-flippers'. We discuss the specific issues many have with resellers: that they are robbing op shops of potential profits/at the same time as forcing charity shops to put up their prices. [confused face] .... hmmmmm .... If you have anything to add after listening to this, pleas...

Ali and Jo head to the Carla Zampatti exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum and Jo gets in trouble straight away. Apart from that, we mostly just have a series of fashion-y conversations sparked by what we saw in the exhibit. Find us on instagram: instagram.com/questioningfashionpodcast Contact Ali: ali@bell-street.com instagram.com/bellstreet tiktok.com/@bellstreet Contact Jo: jogambale@gmail.com i...

In the wake of both Australian Fashion Week and the 10-year anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy, we ask whether we're doing enough and discuss Jo's new one-woman campaign and shopping ban, which she's titled: 'My S**t, My Problem'. The seven-month shopping ban has since turned into one whole year, in the hope the severity of it might gain some publicity and bring more li...

Ali goes to Afterpay Australian Fashion Week and talks to as many people as she can find - we talk about how we choose outfits for fashion week, what are the biggest issues in the fashion industry and what can we do about them. Featuring: Sarah Jane Adams, Amy Morgan, Tess Nguyen, Phoebe Blogg, Nadine Muyambo, Jason Ma, Megan Jarrott, Elise Faust, Emily Kate Symes, Margaret O'Hara, Emma Bond,...

This week we answer a listener question about where we sit on the scale of minimalist capsule wardrobes vs keeping a vast personal archive, and talk about how we manage our own wardrobes. We'd love you to send in your questions via any of the contact methods below, or come along to our workshop with Inner West Council: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/revolutionise-your-wardrobe-cull-tickets-6...

This week, Ali digs up an old research paper from uni about "The Swinging Sixties" and tries to pass it off as a topical episode. We talk about Mary Quant, Chelsea, Carnaby Street, Mods, Biba, and who we'd try to meet if we went time travelling. The books Ali mentions are "Quant on Quant" by Mary Quant and "In My Own Fashion" by Oleg Cassini. Our Instagram accoun...

We have our first guest on the show! Mia from Ruby Raisin joins us to talk about all things small business and whether there is merit to the idea of just staying small. Our Instagram accounts: www.instagram.com/questioningfashionpodcast www.instagram.com/joannegambale www.instagram.com/bellstreet www.instagram.com/ruby_raisin_ Our TikTok accounts: www.tiktok.com/@bellstreet www.tiktok.com/@slogue_...

This is our ode to the blog/books/movie doco phenomenon that is Advanced Style.  We discuss the 10-year-old movement that celebrates stylish women over 60.  We talk about great personal style as a long-term evolution, made possible by life experience, wise and creative fashion consumption, and perfecting the art of not giving a sh!^ .  Get ready to be inspired! Our Instagram accounts: instagram.co...

Today we're talking sustainable basics - where do we get the little bits and pieces that we don't tend to buy second hand? Undies, socks, activewear, swimwear, sneakers - we go through some sustainable brands we've found and talk about whether there are any other options too. Links: We owe all of our research to https://goodonyou.eco Undies: https://www.pitttrading.com.au (lingerie...

Just weeks after Harry Styles' Love On Tour turned Sydney into a giant dress-up party, we ask what has inspired such a sartorial response from fans. We discuss his gender fluid outfits, his in-demand stylist Harry Lambert, forgotten feminist fashion renegade Elizabeth Hawes and those Glam Rock and New Romantic stars that came before Harry (Elton! Prince! Bowie!)... ... aaaaaand we take a wild...

In our 6th episode of Questioning Fashion, we ask how much truth there is to the idea that people were smaller in "the old days" and if not, why are vintage clothes so tiny? W discuss a lot of tricky body-related topics in this one so feel free to skip this one if that's not for you, or use the time stamps below to pick and choose which bits you'd like to listen to: 00:55 Our o...

In our fifth episode of Questioning Fashion we look at how to make "good" purchases that we don't regret. We do a show and tell session with some of our favourite things we've ever bought, and talk about how to buy less and buy better. Warning - the audio on this episode isn't the best, we were recording in a different room than usual and also made a lot of random noises s...