Twelve months ago I had a fashion epiphany. Running late for Leona Edmiston’s Australian Fashion Week show on a Saturday night, I pulled on a pair of black opaques, platforms and a Jayson Brunsdon LBD to subconsciously create an outfit that changed the way I dress.

It was a combo I’d never worn or even contemplated. But strangely enough it worked. Later that night I joked to a friend, if she’d told me I’d be wearing something that looked like it could have come from the costume department of a Robert Palmer video, I would have fallen about laughing.

In other words, I couldn’t have put it together if I’d tried. Since then, variations on that particular theme have defined what I wear night and day. It’s not the only time I’ve had random dress success doing the fashionista’s equivalent of getting ready in the dark.

Recently I reached for a salmon coloured silk dress that had languished in my wardrobe for 18 months, threw it on with a cardigan, tights and boots, and dashed out the door, satisfied.

What is it about dressing in a rush that pushes us to go boldly where we’ve never gone before? Adrenalin? Or knowing it has to work because there’s no time to change into something else?

Perhaps it’s simply a case of not trying too hard and therefore gravitating towards pieces that make you feel as good as they look. That’s not the only lesson to be learned from what you throw together when time is truly precious.

One of the smartest wardrobe tips I’ve heard is to keep a pen and notebook in your closet because it’s during those frantic moments that you realise what’s missing… the racerback tank/ruched pencil skirt/pea coat that’s standing in the way of you stepping out in a perfect outfit everyday. And besides, it’s a great excuse to go shopping when you have the time.