WILLOW Muse | Justine Cullen

WILLOW Muse | Justine Cullen WILLOW Muse | Justine Cullen WILLOW Muse | Justine Cullen

willow muses

@justine_cullen

Award-winning fashion magazine editor, author, content creator, Justine Cullen has spent her life writing for and about women. Well known for her outstanding professional accomplishments, Justine is also an ambassador for Cure Cancer and “a maker of many small people”

@justine_cullen

Award-winning fashion magazine editor, author & content creator

WILLOW

Firstly, we just want to thank you for this opportunity and for welcoming us in your home. We’re huge fans of your work, we adored your book, so we’re feeling very honoured to do this with you.

We are talking to you today ahead of Mother’s Day. You’re a mother of 4 boys, Milo, Iggy, Scout and Odie, so we’d like to start talking about your Motherhood journey. What’s your favourite activity to do with them?

JUSTINE

My favourite thing in the world is to travel as a family. This can be anything from a big overseas trip, which we’ve been lucky enough to do many of together, or little jaunts closer to home. In real life I work a lot and am always running around, rushing everyone here and there, so I pretty much live to plan the perfect trip, and love that feeling of travelling and waking up in the morning knowing we have nothing but adventures and fun ahead.

WILLOW

And what is the most rewarding thing about being their Mum?

JUSTINE

I’ve discovered that I love parenting teenagers much more than little kids - I know some people find it tougher but I must have lucked out because mine are genuinely my favourite company and entertainment. It’s gratifying to get to this point and know that they’ve turned out to be good, interesting, emotionally evolved young men who are excellent conversationalists, genuine forces for change, and that we all like each other (different to loving each other!). I love talking politics with them around the dinner table, much to my husband’s annoyance.

WILLOW

You are gracious enough to welcome us to your home on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. This part of the world is famously beautiful. What is your favourite part about living here, and what would be your kids’ favourite part about the Northern Beaches?

JUSTINE

The natural beauty of the area stills makes my jaw drop all the time. I can be exhausted after a hard day and a long drive home, but as soon as I get to the Bilgola Bends and glimpse that magical inky horizon it all flows away. I also love the general vibe of the place. It’s so relaxed, no one locks their cars or doors, there’s a lot of barefootedness. It’s a nice place to be a kid where you can still have a lot of freedom and get to be a bit wild. I think they appreciate that.

WILLOW

In your book Semi-Gloss, you talk about the fabulous skirt you purchased and wore for your 40th birthday… among many other crazy fashion stories. You clearly love clothes – what’s a wardrobe piece you can’t live without?

JUSTINE

That skirt still fills me with joy, I need an excuse to wear it again. Maybe it should be my birthday skirt every year...

In real life my wardrobe is a lot more practical. I have many, many long black dresses that I can throw on with flats and that work for almost any occasion. And I love an oversized suit.

WILLOW

If you could be the Head of Design at Willow for a day, what would you make?

JUSTINE

Well, the ‘jeans and a nice top’ era is back and after much searching I recently found a pair of jeans I really love but now I’ve realised I’ve been wearing dresses for so long that I have no great tops to wear with them. So I’d create some tops that are more fun than shirts but aren’t cropped or cut out and preferably have a sleeve so I can wear a bra like a grown-up.

WILLOW

We previously mentioned your book, Semi-Gloss. If you were to recommend one novel to a friend, which one would it be?

JUSTINE

I often gift friends the book Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed. It’s a collection of advice columns, which doesn’t sound that interesting but Cheryl’s writing is so powerful that it is. You’ll only lift your head from it to blow your nose from crying so much.

WILLOW

Your opinions are often in high demand. You are a thought leader on beauty, editing, magazines, parenting boys, writing, fashion… we could go on… what subject are you most passionate about?

JUSTINE

I love to give and receive a good recommendation, especially when it comes to travel. Friends will tell you that I’m always volunteering to make them trip itineraries and I have a secret longing to be a fancy family travel concierge.