STYLE NOTES ON: HELENA CANADAS

decoding tomboy chic and the art of playful, relaxed minimalism

I’ve recently joked in my Substack notes that my new summer style mantra is “minimalist city mermaid"“. I borrowed the term ‘mermaid’ from Courtney Grow when she said that her Reformation collection was inspired by the idea of Jacob Elordi and a mermaid having a baby. Now, I’m way more minimalist than that so throwing in ‘minimalist’ and ‘city’ makes sense.

I’ve been craving easier looks for summer, with just that tiny twist of playfulness - while still heavily depending on a minimalist backdrop as the rest of the outfit. My Instagram algorithm led me towards Helena Canadas, and I’m not mad about it. As a forty-three-old Mom of three living in Lisbon, she provides me with great minimalist summer looks that never seem overdone: Every day looks with that feeling of ‘I just threw this on this morning’. Her personal style is capturing everything I want to feel this summer: Simplicity, aesthetic optimism and a little excitement.

all pictures taken from Helena’s Instagram account

HELENA’S PERSONAL STYLE

Helena herself describes her personal style as ‘minimal, relaxed, and effortless’ - and I second that. However, we’re unpacking layers here on Style Notes, so let’s see if we can dive deeper.

If I had to describe Helena’s style ‘triangle’, I’d say ‘easy, tomboy, playful’, and to circle back to the mermaid image: ‘simple, tomboy, mermaid’!

• Easy: Oversized silhouettes, simple pieces, undone hair, flip flops and breezy dresses! Minimal, effortless, and relaxed indeed!

• Tomboy: Baseball hats, bomber jackets, men’s shirts, again: oversized silhouettes!

• Playful: Lace, embroidery, textured bags, sequin midi skirts!
  

THE ART OF DRESSING LIKE A CHIC TOMBOY

I think we can primarily blame Jacob Elordi, Harry Styles and the cast of Off Campus for our tomboy / mens’ wear obsession at the moment but it’s an art to do tomboy chic right. It’s not coming as a surprise that Helena, in fact, is doing everything right. Let’s start with tomboy pieces: What are they and how can they be found?

Tomboy pieces are, in no particular order:

• oversized button-down shirts / t-shirts (stripes are an option)

• some kind of ‘athleisure-coded’ pieces, like a baseball hat or baseball shirt

• boy scout bermuda shorts

• oversized print sweat shirts or t-shirts (preferably vintage)

Let’s have a look at Helena’s recipes to style them so you don’t end up looking like you’re going to join some four-year-olds playing soccer:

Left: The tomboy shirt pairs well with nineties sunglasses (girly-cool), a pair of pants (simple), flip flops (easy) and a straw bag (contrast: feminine) / Right: The oversized striped t-shirt finds contrast in a girly fringe skirt.

Helena knows those pieces require balance and here is what she uses to achieve a look that picks up feminine energy as well:

• She keeps the rest of the outfit simple: A simple black pair of denim, muted colors, not too many accessories. There’s not too much going on around the pieces - just tiny details that add contrast to the look.

• The details she chooses are crucial - and either girly or girly-cool, though: Feminine straw bags, feminine fringe skirts, jewelry and statement sunglasses.

• She is showing skin to let her tomboy pieces breathe. This gives a lightness to the look and also the kind of more female vibes these looks need.

Left: A sporty dress and baseball hat are better with flip flops (easy) and a simple black tote bag. Right: A vintage tomboy oversized sweater with a lot of details: Silver rings and earrings (girly-cool), statement sunglasses (girly-cool), straw bag (feminine), and flip flops (showing skin).

THE ART OF PLAYFUL MINIMALISM

Playful minimalism gets easier to style for summer: lace pants and dresses, beaded necklaces, textured bags, statement jewelry, fringes. We’re not reinventing the wheel here but Helena does know how to find the sweet spot of a look that marries two style flavors here.

There’s a lot of ways to neutralize these more whimsical pieces with minimalist elements: an oversized white button-down, racerback tops, simple cuts and muted colors. We’re making one exception for the red flip flops, though!

COLORED STRIPES AS A REPEATING ELEMENT

As I’m strictly avoiding color in my wardrobe, I hate to admit that it does add interest without any effort. As I scrolled through Helena’s feed, colored stripes seemed like a repeating pattern. They make sense for her: Easy, tomboy, playful!

BEING INTERESTED = BETTER PERSONAL STYLE

Ever came across one of these Pinterest quotes that say you have to be interested to be interesting? Regardless the tacky connotation of this, it remains true - also in the context of personal style: Most people with great style have hobbies, and interests, and … well, a life they can dress for. Helena recently pinned an introduction post that I stumbled across and found it pretty fitting that she loves music and books, for instance.

That’s all for now on Helena’s minimal, relaxed personal style - I’ll be taking notes in the hope she will continue posting more of her looks. She’s just getting started as a content creator and I can’t wait to see more of her fall wardrobe this year. For summer, I’m taking inspiration from her on my journey to become a minimalist city mermaid!