My dad worked in the menswear, accessories and retail sector all his working life. I don’t know anyone with a poplin shirt, Levi’s 501 or sock collection that could have rivalled his. He loved clothes, doing deals with mates at trade shows and being a bit of a flashy geezer. He also taught me how to use an iron and sew back on a button – all very important skills that I now use as a stylist.

Since his passing, I’ve inherited some of his jeans, which I’ve had tailored to fit me, a whole bunch of his Le Mans 24 Hours tees, his Harley-Davidson moto jacket and his signet ring. These are some of my most prized possessions, some of which I wear daily. I like mixing these foundational pieces with things I’ve thrifted or found on eBay and designer pieces I’ve shopped on MR PORTER.

I really respect Mr Thom Browne for the sheer theatricality of his shows. Every look on his runway is an avant-garde approach to tailoring and pulls apart everything you thought you knew about sartorial fashion and spins it on its’s head. The hyper-real mix of traditional men’s and womenswear silhouettes give his vision such a universal appeal also. I picked out the kilt and cardigan from his collection because it’s honestly quite gender-less. Anyone can wear it, and I loved mixing the prep with Maison Margiela Tabi loafers.

I didn’t really start wearing menswear until I began working at GQ Style in New York years ago. Even then, it was an odd sweater here and there, or a pair of jeans that my husband accidentally put into the dryer. My sister, on the other hand, almost exclusively wears men’s suits when she gets dressed up, so there’s definitely a genetic yen for crossing the sartorial lines.

I absolutely love tailoring, but have always been very intimidated by it – it’s so easy to get wrong. My dream would be to find a fabulous black suit to wear, Le Smoking style, in some incredibly sexy way to a fancy event (see Ms Emily Lucas pull such a look off, below). Maybe this is the year that I make that dream come true. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how easily I was able to make black trousers from The Row work. We had to take the waist in just a bit, but everything else was left un-touched. Working with menswear means that it’s surprisingly easy to nail the oversized look that’s doing the rounds right now.

There are few things I envy more than the selection of jackets that men have available to them. The heft of beautiful wool coat alone is almost like wearing a weighted security blanket around town. Dries Van Noten makes coats so proportionally excellent that they’re incredibly hard to resist, even if the arms are comically long on a woman of my size (I consider myself a fairly tall-ish woman at 5ft 7in).

Worn over perhaps the most elegant dress from The Row and a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes (listen, girls, the hype on these is real – I’ve been a Manolo junkie since my days at Vogue), it adds elegance and gravitas. This is the woman I want to be – even if most days I dress more like a teenage boy.

I’m frequently told that I have two distinct personalities – a super casual and relaxed side for when I’m at work or with close friends, and a glam side for when I’m out on the weekend or on holiday. When I feel like being comfortable, I really lean into menswear pieces (a bit of a commentary on the state of gender performance, don’t you think?). It helps me to feel loose and relaxed and allows me to focus on what I need to get done. Not to say womenswear can’t be comfortable, but I feel like a men’s hoodie is always much cosier than a women’s jumper.

I feel like mixing menswear and womenswear helps to create an element of edginess to an outfit. I love to mix baggier, broader silhouettes with cropped or slim-fit womenswear pieces – an oversized men’s blazer or baggy trouser with a corset creates a nice shape to a look that might otherwise feel a bit flat.

Over the four years that I’ve worked at MR PORTER, I’ve seen the line between menswear and womenswear blur, which is a great thing. Not only can women draw inspiration from menswear, but men can also create their own personal style with womenswear pieces, especially with accessories and jewellery.

I grew up in Japan and therefore am biased towards Japanese brands such as KAPITAL and Sacai. I love the idea of creating a capsule wardrobe that lasts a long time, and this is what I’m consciously trying to move towards. When I’m shopping now, I look for pieces that are timeless and well-crafted, that can last me years and are worth the money I put into them. Forgive me, but I must say that anything made in Japan tends to be well-crafted.