Covering all bases with Holly Titheridge of Base Colour

Australia might be known for its white sandy beaches mixed with miles of sunburnt country, but its cities are also proving to bring their own elements of charm – and none more so than Melbourne. With small bespoke bars popping up on every corner and an abundance of cafés lining the streets, the city is taking some notes from Europe for the people Down Under. And one person who is perfectly capturing this movement is Base Colour style blogger and influencer Holly Titheridge.

With a feed that could have you forgiven for thinking she was in France [okay, I’ll admit it – I actually DID make this mistake while putting the interview together], Holly has nailed the art of European chic. In fact, it was her French style of dressing and clean minimal aesthetic that saw her capture the eye of the team behind Le Diner en Blanc – a French soiree being held in Melbourne on February 24.

In the lead up to the event, we sat down with Holly to chat everything from typical weeks in her life, to learning skills on the fly, to how to get that effortless French style…

Can you talk me through what a typical week in your life might look like?
To be completely honest, no two weeks are ever the same when you travel a lot for work – so a typical week is very hard to come by! But if I have a few consecutive days at home, you will find me catching up on my emails first thing in the morning, followed by planning out any looks that I might need to shoot later that afternoon, grabbing a quick bite to eat and a coffee for lunch, then travelling into the city with my partner/photographer @shaun.lyle to shoot late in the afternoon. I never know how to switch off, so you will probably then catch me until late in the night sitting up on my laptop working on website articles or getting back to emails that have come through during the day!

Have you learnt all your skills on the fly, or have you done a course at university or TAFE?
A fun fact that you wouldn’t know about me is that I graduated as a Health and PE teacher from University! I was lucky enough that during my course, through a passion for styling and photography, I organically fell into the position I am in today purely through teaching myself skills associated with social media along the way. My partner was an accountant before all of this and, similar to myself, through his love of fashion decided to work beside me to get basecolour.com to where it is today.

We’re in awe of your photography. Can you tell us what camera and lens you use?
Thank you! We have a Canon Mark III camera and use a range of lens – 24mm for travelling and 35mm/50mm/80mm for street style.

How do you you like to edit your pictures?
I always try to ensure that I never over-edit any pictures. I do love a strong contrast in my imagery and don’t add any heavy saturation during editing (very minimal, neutral colours). I also love to add clarity to my imagery.

Do you ever use Lightroom or VSCO presets?
We always edit in Lightroom, but never apply a specific preset to our imagery. As the light and colours of each image are different, we always aim to edit every image to suit the composition of it.

If you use VSCO, which is your favourite filter?
If I have taken a photo on my phone and don’t have the option of editing it on the laptop, I love to use A1-A10 presets as they provide natural enhancing of a picture, without it looking overly edited.

You’ve captured some amazing travel shots. Do you mostly travel for work or pleasure?
I love to create content whilst travelling! Usually we travel for work, but always aim to extend trips to allow ourselves a little bit of R&R time. We are actually in the process of planning out a Europe trip! So excited!

Is it the “dream” it looks to be when you’re travelling for work?
I have to admit that we are extremely lucky to be able to travel as much as we do for our work, but in saying that it isn’t always fun and games. There is a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes – trying to capture the perfect picture under pressure, editing until all hours of the morning to meet a deadline – but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love being able to work alongside my partner everyday and experience the opportunities that we do.

Does travelling to different countries tend to affect your style of dressing?
In a way, yes, purely due to different weather conditions. However, I always aim to keep my minimal, Parisian-inspired style of dressing – think quality basics and neutral tones.

Talking about Parisian dressing, do you have any tips for those wanting to emulate the effortless French style?
Develop your own style of dressing and feel comfortable in it. There is no point trying to dress in a certain way if it makes you feel uncomfortable. Effortless style revolves around quality clothing pieces, neutral tones, and a very Frenchy red lip! Maybe add in some messy styled hair to top off the look.

You’re actually about to head to the famous French soiree – Le Dîner en Blanc – in Melbourne at the end of the month. Can you give us a little sneak peek into what dress style we can expect to see you wearing on the night?
To be honest, I am so last minute that I haven’t even planned out what I will be wearing yet. I can guarantee you though that it will be a very simple silhouette, most likely mid length, and I will be pairing lots of gold jewels with it!

As well as Le Dîner en Blanc, you’ve worked with some pretty impressive global brands. Can you talk me through some of these campaigns?
Shaun and I have been extremely lucky to travel to some amazing locations for work opportunities, including New York and most recently, Dubai. We partnered with Mercedes Benz for Sydney Fashion Week last year, and have had the opportunity to create some seriously cool content featuring an old school convertible for The Outnet on a recent campaign.

What would be your three top tips for nailing the brief when it comes to brand collabs?
Firstly, the most important tip when working with a brand is to ensure that you genuinely love what they are about. This resonates through in your content, and if you’re not all about the brand, your audience will be the first to know. I always ensure that the brand provides a detailed brief and outlines exactly what they are hoping to see from me, whilst still allowing me creative freedom. Lastly, have fun with the brief and create imagery that “is you”! The brand has reached out to because they love your style, so make sure that shows through.

And lastly, where are you hoping to take Base Colour?
We are excited to share a new and improved basecolour.com very soon!! Their will be a lot more emphasis on our website channel, with some new sections added and a lot more inspo. Stay tuned!