This week, two deserving women won Whānau Ora awards. Today, one of them wins the Best Fit award.

Tasteful, sophisticated and straight up slay. These are all light words to describe the indescribable outfit that Kim Wi wore to receive her well-deserved Whānau Ora award, alongside her colleague Ngaire Harris. They both served stunning looks on the morning of the annual Te Whānau o Waipareira breakfast where their awards surprised them – but something about Wi’s ensemble had me floored.

I don’t know if it’s the double glasses, the moon boot or the fingerless gloves (to showcase the fingers flooded with jewels) that sell it to me – maybe it’s the stunning combination of everything that makes this look so flawless. Let’s unpack, from top to bottom.

The hair

Platinum blonde, doing Miley Cyrus proud!

The glasses (1)

Practical and easy to find on top of the head. These must be reading glasses but here they create a beautiful layer to Wi’s headwear accessories. The glasses say: I work, just not right now.

The glasses (2)

Double glasses? Perfect for any occasion. A question that may never be answered is: what does the switch look like. When the sunnies go up and the readers come down, how does it happen? We just know it’s a polished move by now.

Wi pulls off the double-glasses look especially well, and choosing to have the sunglasses option on in the photo is such a statement when inside. Real ones know this! 

The headband

The vibe of vibes – I can feel a headband girl summer approaching.

The sideways mask

The sideways mask seems like the ultimate statement of this fit. Almost a metaphor of what the award was being received for – standing up against all the trials the pandemic sent their way, and being so selfless to put their own needs second while they served their community. All these pandemic-y things pushed to the side, the morning of the breakfast was a time for them to rest and take in all of their flowers for the hard mahi they have been doing tirelessly for the last few years.

The scarf

Cold? I hardly know her.

The korowai

Obviously stunning. No notes. Enough said.

The gloves

The fingerless gloves with rings and bracelets decking out her hands is the epitome of practical and cute. This is something I will for sure be taking on board this winter (I won’t pull them off like Wi, but we can only try). The orange fluffy cuffs of her coat are also so well matched and pair perfectly with the gloves in what I can only assume was a calculated decision.

The rings

Anyone who can pull off multiple chunky rings on one hand deserves all the awards.

The award

Supposedly the awards were a surprise for the two women but Wi must surely have known ahead of time because that’s a perfect colour match.

The moon boot

Her choice of footwear is just outstanding, in my opinion. Of course, the moon boot is not optional, but it looks so good, especially when paired with the sock and sandal combo on her left foot. Not many people can pull off a moon boot in a formal setting. But Wi’s fit transcends dress codes. It just works.

Being commended with the distinguished Whānau Ora award isn’t a light feat for anyone, but these two have proven more than worthy after showing such diligence in their Covid response, working selflessly to serve others at a time their community needed it most. The award was presented to them by CEO John Tamihere, who stated: “I want to acknowledge the generations of whānau around them for the sacrifices they made to allow Ngaire and Kim to give all the time they have to our whānau and our communities. I want to acknowledge both of you outstanding wāhine.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. There is no way we would’ve gotten through Covid without kindhearted, hardworking nurses like Wi and Harris who put their lives on pause to help others – so for that we owe them a huge thank you and applause.

She won a Whānau Ora award this year, but Kim Wi also wins the award for best dressed of 2023. Simply an overachiever, and an idol to many in countless ways. Congratulations to Kim Wi and Ngaire Harris.