Jennie Johnstone, 53 years, Mother of 3, ex-Lawyer, part time sales superstar at CAUGHLEY
Author Rachael Caughley / Category People / Published: Nov-28-2018
Rach: Caughley has been open for 3 years now - when you think of CAUGHLEY what do you think of?
Jen: I think of very easy effortless fashion, I think of fun and I think of cool. Probably cool would be the main word that springs to mind. I also think of service, and our fantastic customers.
R: What does clothing mean for you?
J: I suppose for me - clothing reflects how I feel. It makes me feel good. If I’ve got it right, and it works, and I am comfortable in it, it makes me feel good. I love it.
R: So it gives you confidence, would you say?
J: Yes absolutely. I probably am one of those people that likes to put something on at the start of the day, and actually not look at it again, so I need my outfit to make me feel good but also to last me through the day. For example, if I am going out at night I will generally wear what I had on in the morning. I might change my boots. I might not.
R: Were you born and bred in Wellington?
J: Born in Christchurch, but I’ve lived in Wellington most of my life. Since I was about 7.
R: How old are you?
J: Oh rach, I’m 1964, so what does that make me? 53!! 53!! I am 53.
R: So you’ve lived in Wellington a long time, do you think that Wellington has impacted your style?
J: Totally. When you go to other places you are always very conscious of how Wellingtonians dress I think. I think the Wellington aesthetic is more intellectual. More modern, more edgy - more classic.
R: We like that a lot . That’s really cool. Do you have any style icons?
J: Not really. No I don't. You know that. I don't. I probably should have. But I don’t.
R: What about favourite brands?
J: Awwwww thats a hard one, probably things like... HOPE, I absolutely love HOPE, that we have in store, love WYNN and Georgia Alice.
R: Your favourite brands don't just have to be ones we have at CAUGHLEY by the way.
J: No, but that's just probably what I have brought lately that I have loved. They are probably my 3 faves. And of course my 6 pairs of Citizens of Humanity jeans…I hope my husband doesn’t read this. After those, it's probably staples I guess, things like - jac and jack, and probably in terms of shoes, see by chloe.
R: Well you do have size 35 feet…
J: And I quite like Prada. But ya know, that doesnt happen.
R: I really feel like you have the most amazing amount of energy, and nothing ever seems like a problem for you.
J: RACHAEL. WHAT!
R: Yes! So where do you think you get your energy from and your attitude towards life?
J: I don't know! Where DO I get that from? I guess it's about being positive isn’t it? And I hate that cliche phrase about being grateful, but actually, I do think it is quite important. You can wake up in the morning and your cup can be half empty, or half full can't it? And you know, there are lots of things to be very grateful for. I think we live in an amazing country. I have happy children, who are well, and a fantastic husband. I think we live in such an amazing place don’t we?
R: Yes, but i'm not sure being so lucky happens by accident - you have a lovely husband, and three healthy children who are all doing well. I'm wondering if you create that?! What has enabled you to have those things? Do you think it comes back to the attitude thing? Or hard work? A lot of people don't have happy marriages these days.. OR good relationships with their children..
J: Well it's probably about being realistic isn't it. Having real expectations, and at the end of the day making the best of what you have. Because life throws lots of curve balls at you and the way life plays out isn't always exactly as you would have liked it to. But you just have to make the best of it! You work hard at everything. I think we put a lot of time into our children when they were little, we were quite strict. And I think of things like - I went to University for 5 years, so we taught our children the importance of education, believing in yourself and working hard.
R: And I love how you always tell me that you and your husband are a team.
J: Totally. Team is huge.
R: And it's not always super fun cooking dinner for the 100th time, but its part of being a team.
J: Totally.
R: You did a law degree, what did you learn from that and why don’t you do law anymore? What did that experience teach you?
J: I guess critical thinking and analytical thinking. For me, it suits my personality, that critical thinking. I guess in terms of life... I think education is very important, it doesn’t matter what you do, the importance of education is not to be underestimated. It gives you a lot of choices and a lot of freedom.
J: Why am I not doing law now? That's a long story...
R: You have two daughters, in their early 20s. They are growing up in a world where Instagram is a big thing, and women today are growing up in that world where we are looking at images or perfect lives and bodies. Do you think your girls are better or worse off with things like IG and social media?
J: Really hard question. I think Instagram is powerful, and if used well it is an amazing thing. But it is so powerful that if not used correctly it can be really damaging. I think as society, we need to be very conscious of it. It worries me looking at the young girls (and boys too) because their take on the world is very different to what ours was growing up. There is a lot of pressure on them - to be that perfect person on Instagram living “that” life. Young people are now so conscious of their own "brand", in a way that we never ever were - we didn't have to be. If we said something, or someone took a photo of us, we owned that - it was never able to be used by anyone other than you. Whereas now young people's lives are accessible to anyone. They are growing up in a very public world, and we didn't do that. I think as society and parents, there is an obligation on us to understand the power of social media and how the children are using it. I think our generation need to be aware, and responsible as parents, to be aware of the power that it has and it carries. It is very important. I am so aware about how little most of my friends and I know about the power of social media. I use social media a lot more than some of my friends, but even I don't really understand its power.
R: That touches on a few things that my grandmother said in her interview, who is 83! She thinks that compared to how she was brought up in society, there are no boundaries. And she thinks that's not a good thing. She thinks that boundaries should come from society. She talked about religion, and the disciplines of going to church, and getting up in morning. We don't have that anymore. Where do you think these boundaries should come from? Do you think parents have an obligation to set boundaries for their children?
J: Absolutely. I think it's much easier to be the parent, that is the best friend. It's much easier to say yes, you can have some drinks, your friends can come round, come home whenever you like. It is much easier to be that parent, rather than the parent that puts the boundaries in place, and that has the consequences of actions. But I firmly believe that those consequences of actions are actually really really important. If there are consequences of actions from the day children are little, I think it stands children in much better stead long term. I have always believed that home is a soft place to fall. So it's the place where there should be the consequences of actions. But there should also be, intrinsic family values, and things that you believe in, but I dont think thats an easy thing to do.
R: Yes, I don’t think its easy, especially when the parents are struggling with their own lives, and society themselves.
J: I think it was easier a long time ago. Because it was very clear about what was and wasn't acceptable. Now, there are no boundaries, and in some ways that is a really good thing. As a society, now we are much more open minded, a lot less judgemental and a lot more compassionate - I hope!!
R: What would be your advice to your 20 year old self?
J: Have more fun, and don’t be so concerned about what people think. In our generation we were a lot more concerned about that. I was the eldest child, went to law school, because my great aunt was one of the first ever women lawyers in NZ. I was brought up that there was an expectation. You have so many amazing choices now, I look at all you young people, and I hope that my children will do really different things, and hopefully they will do lots of philanthropic, and service, and give back, it is really really important. I think your generation will do a lot more of that than we ever did. It's a different world right.
R: Favourite things in your house?
J: Champagne glasses, my art, I love all of it in different ways. I love the Jeffrey Harris, and the Fiona Pardington. I love the fact that my husband now likes art, as a result of me forcing him to!!! Books, gorgeous books. My fireplace and the garden.
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