Joy Hysteric

Joy Hysteric Joy Hysteric Studio - Vol. 1 is a carefully curated studio, showroom and concept space for creators. A space where [Mel's] dreams come to life.. stayed tuned.

Joy Hysteric was established in 2004, founded by creative director and stylist Mel Tan who opened the first Joy Hysteric boutique on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. After 11 years of bricks n mortar retail, Joy Hysteric moved online exclusively mid-2015.
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Joy Hysteric is synonymous in representing Mel's aesthetic and attitude - a juxtaposition of high end vs bad ass femme. The Joy Hyster

ic name being a juxtaposition in itself, inspired by two major emotions that run through Mel's veins when it comes to fashion; Joy and Hysteria.
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2024 welcomes a highly anticipated relaunch of a brand that is 20 years strong.

The art of good hair, surrounded by good art.
01/06/2026

The art of good hair, surrounded by good art.

23/05/2026

CHAPTER 3:

Gold Coast. Byron. Sydney.
The beginning of my third chapter at the time.

In 2018, I created a small collection of coats under a brand called Chapter 3: a project that never really got to see the light of day.

After months spent building it, the very night the website launched, I was betrayed in a way that shattered my sense of self and reality. Everything in my life was intertwined with that relationship — emotionally, creatively, publicly. Codependent, even.

I had poured the last of my savings into that chapter, trying to build a life, a future and a new business alongside someone I loved. When it all fell apart, I couldn’t separate the coats from the memories or the pain.

So I packed it all away.

At the time, I was too embarrassed to explain why I walked away from the life I had just started building in Sydney, left fashion behind, switched industries and built an entirely new career in hospitality.

Funny how the mind works. Sometimes it protects us from certain chapters until we’re finally ready to revisit them.

I almost forgot about it, or tried to at least, until this week. While clearing out my storage unit, I found a box with feathers sticking out of it and it all came flooding back.

Looking at these coats now, I realised I’m tired of abandoning parts of myself every time someone hurts me. Tired of believing I have to leave entire versions of myself behind just to move forward.

These coats are still mine.
So is the vision.
So is the woman who created them.

They’re ostentatiously fabulous.
And for a long time, I stopped feeling allowed to be that too.

But we’re back. Maybe even more fabulous now than before. Me and the coats.

These pieces survived boxed up in storage, pushed to the back of my mind for years.

And now I’m very literally unpacking it all again — the coats, the memories, the grief, the creativity, the love and the magic of that chapter — and finally giving these pieces the limelight they always deserved.

When I say fashion is more than clothing to me, this is what I mean.

The Chapter 3 archive is now online at JOYHYSTERIC.com — a living archive of my life’s work, loves and losses.

Style doesn’t disappear.
It evolves.

PSA: I am clearing out not only my current wardrobe, but my storage unit which holds the Joy Hysteric archives. 100s of ...
20/05/2026

PSA: I am clearing out not only my current wardrobe, but my storage unit which holds the Joy Hysteric archives. 100s of items from my personal collection, along with samples, and brand new (now vintage) stock that I couldn’t previously part with — many with tags still on and in packaging — all up for grabs.

I’ve just uncovered brand new embroidered Cici denim bomber jackets from Ksubi’s collaboration with Christine Centenera circa 2013. Who remembers?! The memories of a time when fashion was not so fast and we literally waitlisted for these cult-like pieces.

Everything is being listed on my Depop so take look. I’ve committed myself to minimum of 5 new listings per day until it’s all gone as they deserve to be worn, not stored! Keeping one of everything for my nieces though 🥲 my archive will live on with them one day.

Shop here: http://depop.com/meljoyhysteric

My favourite animal: me in this bathroom.🪞Always scouting new spaces and documenting the ones worth returning to. Part w...
18/05/2026

My favourite animal: me in this bathroom.🪞

Always scouting new spaces and documenting the ones worth returning to. Part work, part recreation, 100% inspiration. Lost a bit of time, gained a few ideas in this one. A borderline religious experience.

Will travel for places that make me feel something. ✨

16/05/2026

Some might call them occasional pieces. I call them staples.

Plaid, fringing, mesh, leather, fur, sparkles, sequins, tassels, texture, hardware, anything with detail. I like wearing it all together in a distressed, down-dressed but always OTT kind of way. Basics are what I struggle with 🤣

I don’t buy into trends. I collect things I love. Mixing old with new, but to me it’s all timeless.

Channeling a time when social media was just for my outfits. Alleyways, street style, head-to-toe curated looks and big ...
16/05/2026

Channeling a time when social media was just for my outfits. Alleyways, street style, head-to-toe curated looks and big hair. Always big hair. Always about the details.

Back when a great outfit was the only story I told. 20+ years of posting my outfits online, and I think they’re only getting better.🤘🏽

A very vulnerable post. Almost two years apart. Me today vs me in July 2024.After escaping a violent relationship at the...
10/05/2026

A very vulnerable post.
Almost two years apart. Me today vs me in July 2024.

After escaping a violent relationship at the end of 2021, I fell straight into a substance-fuelled one where, over the next 2.5 years, I was encouraged to stay numb instead of facing what was really happening underneath.

Looking back now, I can see depression had taken hold of me. The compounded effects of domestic violence, PTSD, anxiety, and substance abuse to cope had slowly consumed me.

I barely recognise the person in the second photo. But I remember exactly how she felt. Vacant, lost, disconnected, and living in fear.

The image is a screenshot from a video I was filming for a brand. On the surface, I looked functional. I was still working, still creating, still showing up.

What people didn’t see were the weekends spent sleeping in a dark room for up to 18 hours at a time. Barely able to get off the couch, let alone leave the house. Riddled with anxiety and despair.

I have so much compassion for her now.
She was just trying to survive what she hadn’t yet healed.

I didn’t see myself as a victim or a survivor. I thought it was a “me” problem, so I minimised everything I’d been through. Buried it. Kept moving on autopilot. I thought that because I could still function, still socialise, still know how to have a good time, maybe it wasn’t that bad. I didn’t want to “dwell” on it, or make others uncomfortable.

It’s been almost 24 months since that second image was taken.

The first 12 months were about clawing my way back to ground zero by letting go of the habits, coping mechanisms and people that I had held onto for comfort but were actually keeping me unwell. One by one I removed them.

I needed to be free to begin healing myself.

And that’s what I’ve been doing for the past 10–11 months now. Healing myself from the inside out.

I didn’t plan for any of this. I had no idea what healing would look like, or who I’d become through it. But something switched on inside me around the time that second image was taken. It was the end of my rock bottom.

The beginning of getting my light back.
And I did it. Choosing myself saved my life.

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