1.12.14

Faux Fur Coat C/O Chicwish | Marilyn Monroe Intimates Bodysuit | Trousers from Urban Behaviour | Matiko Pumps C/O Shopbop

The first bit of snow fell on Friday night. Winter is unofficially here and my space heater has stopped working just in time. Not to worry, however, because fur coats aren't just for nights out. Sometimes they're for just sitting around your bedroom glaring at your dead heater, though that isn't nearly as glamourous. 

For this outfit, I've paired a lovely faux fur coat from Chicwish with all black underneath and black suede pumps for an evening out appropriate look.

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27.11.14

Denim Jacket and Hoodie C/O SheInside | Jeans from Urban Behaviour | Boots from Payless

For this outfit, I paired up a denim jacket and hoodie from SheInside with black jeans and a pair of old lace-up boots that I've been hanging onto since I was sixteen. I have a bit of a difficult time letting go of shoes.

I never really thought I'd post a look featuring a hoodie. Then again, stranger things have happened this year.

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An Evening in Autumn

Bodysuit C/O Shopbop | Belt from Sirens | Skirt from Forever 21 | Matiko Pumps C/O Shopbop

When putting together this look, I had those Sex and the City cast photos in mind, where the ladies are wearing simple little black dresses and had decided to put together my interpretation of that sort of look! I paired a sleeveless bodysuit from Shopbop* with a bodycon skirt from Urban Behaviour. On their own, I felt the two pieces looked a bit unfinished so I popped on a skinny belt which I think tied them together a bit more nicely. I opted for a pair of vampy Matiko pumps and forewent any accessories to keep in line with my inspiration for this look. X

*Shopbop is having a promotion for 25% off all Calvin Klein intimate apparel until 13 October! I may finally have to go for one of these lovely bodysuits to add to my collection, love the lacey bits!

See her with the green dress, she talked to me at the bar

Lace Evening Gown C/O SheInside | Vintage Pumps

I've been doing a little series of evening wear looks in the past few months and my latest one is featuring a lovely green lace dress from SheInside. I own very few green pieces of clothing, it's just one of those colours that I don't bother with much, along with yellow, orange, purple, etc. I just don't often come across things in those colours that I really like, but occasionally something will catch my eye, such as this dress!

I had originally planned to style it with my hair down and a nude lip, but felt my hair was looking a bit too cape-like and my face too washed out. I put my hair up and switched out the peachy nude lipstick for red and felt significantly less washed out and drowned by my hair. I thought about putting a fake flower in my hair, but decided against it for the sake of simplicity. And for shoes, I opted for a pair of little vintage heels that belonged to my mum years ago. 

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She don’t make me nervous, she don’t talk too much

  Ray-Ban Wayfarer Sunglasses C/O Shopbop | Splendid Turtleneck Sweater C/O Shopbop | High Waisted Trousers from Urban Behaviour | Steve Madden Pumps

For me, when it comes to personal style, I've always taken inspiration from both women and men. Even when I first began blogging in 2009, I liked to occasionally incorporate pieces that looked inspired by menswear into my outfits. Nowadays, I particularly love 1960s men's fashion, which may, at least partly, have to do with my love of music from that era. For this outfit, I had Bob Dylan's style in the 60s in mind.

Now that it's nearly autumn, I've taken full advantage being able to wear all black without that uneasy feeling that your look might be bordering on looking like you're going through a belated goth phase in the middle of summer. So, without that on my mind, I paired a lovely black turtleneck by Splendid with a pair of black high waist trousers from Urban Behaviour. For accessories, I wore a pair of black Ray-Ban wayfarer sunglasses, classic black pumps, and my beloved Russian Red lipstick.

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You look better now than last time, but you still look better from afar

Thrifted Sweater | Skirt from Forever 21 | Secret Tights | Material Girl Pumps | Watch C/O Daniel Wellington

Autumn is nearly upon us and I, for one, am ready to welcome it with open arms. I have never been a summer girl. I find the sun and hot weather enjoyable for about a week before getting tired of sleeping with my duvet half fallen on the floor and sweating whilst doing the most minuscule of things. I hum and haw about getting a suntan until it's too late in the summer to even bother. And I always seem to begin the summer with plans to do this and that and end it having done about a quarter of the things I had planned to do. That, though, I think mostly boils down to the plans sounding better at the end of May than when faced with the reality of the blistering sun of July.

On the other hand, I've always loved autumn. Colourful fallen leaves, shorter days, cooler weather, nicer clothes, Hallowe'en and all that it encompasses, upcoming Christmas holidays.

Now, to write a bit about what I had sat down to write about to begin with -- my first proper autumn outfit post of the year. Sometime near the end of spring I bought a huge chunky knit sweater at one of my favourite thrift shops with the cooler months in mind. I'd had it sitting at the back of my closet and thought it would be perfect for the type of outfit I had in mind. I paired it with a skin tight black skirt and black tights to create a nice bit of contrast. For shoes, I opted for a pair of chunky heels I bought last autumn. And since I was going for a little bit of a 1960s vibe with this look, I backcombed my hair a bit more excessively and went with a heavier eye makeup look and lighter lip than I typically do.

And for accessories, I wore the Classic Bristol watch by Daniel Wellington. I absolutely adore the dark brown strap and rose gold face. Such a dream. I was contacted recently by the shop regarding a collaboration and so I also have a discount code to share! The code 'lifeinredlipstick' provides a 15% discount shopwide on www.danielwellington.com and is good through 15 September.

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Pin me up or put me down

Shirt C/O SheInside | Thrifted Shorts | Steve Madden Pumps

I don't have many 'rules' in regards to fashion. The one I do tend to stick to, however, is to dress for the weather. In the summer, that means not wearing overtly summery clothes on cold days (lest I spend the day feeling half-frozen) and trying to take advantage of the rare warm, summery days by wearing summery clothes (or at least things that can't be worn on those cool days).

For this outfit, I paired a black button down shirt from SheInside with a pair of denim shorts that I've had since I was in high school (though I styled them a bit differently back then!). I decided to forgo accessories and opted for simple black pumps to achieve the minimalistic that I was going for.

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Velvet and Tulle

Dress C/O Chicwish | Steve Madden Pumps

Unlike the dress in my last evening wear post, I've not yet had a chance to wear this dress outside of my house. Well, except for the time spent running around out in my garden one evening trying to convince my cat to come in for the night. The things my neighbours have seen and heard. Having lived in the countryside for years, I'm not entirely used to having next door neighbours and have somewhat carelessly continued to behave as though I still haven't. That aside, a girlfriend jokingly asked upon seeing this dress whether it made me feel like a princess. A princess with a massive unexplained bruise on her thigh, maybe.

This is the first in a series of two evening wear posts in collaboration with Chicwish.

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Reading recommendation.

Rearranged one end of my dresser. The glassware, vase, and old perfume bottle are all second hand finds, I looove thrift shops!

Nerdy.

A recent thrift shop find. An old cigarette tin (apparently the kind my late grandfather smoked way back when!).

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Honey, put on that party dress

Dress C/O Chicwish | Belt from Sirens | Coat from Dots | DIY Pumps

I may wear a lot of black, but that shouldn't be taken as a fear of bright colours! I'm just picky about bright colours. Red has been a favourite since I was little. I paired this gorgeous red party dress from Chicwish with a pair of heels that I glittered last December. I wore them for the first time to a political event the week before Christmas last year and a nice older lady complimented me on my 'sparkly Christmas, or Liberal, shoes'. Both, maybe. I debated whether or not to belt this dress for about twenty minutes and ultimately decided that I should. Trying to spend less time obsessing over minuscule things, not having much success yet. And because the nights are still chilly (despite it bloody nearly being summertime!), I opted for a little faux fur leopard print coat that I bought on sale for $5 earlier this year.

This is the first in a series of two evening wear posts in collaboration with Chicwish.

Rainy Day Women

Top from Suzy Shier | Skirt from Forever 21 | Belt from Sirens | Steve Madden Pumps | Bracelet C/O Chicwish 

It's not very often that I get dressed up, but whenever presented with an opportunity to do so I've always found it fun! For this look, I paired a draped blouse with a fitted pencil skirt from Forever 21. My mother picked this blouse up for me at a sale a couple of months ago and I've worn it to death, it's not something I would've picked out for myself but I absolutely love it. Funny how that works sometimes, isn't it? 

For accessories, I opted for a pretty little bracelet from Chicwish, skinny black belt, and red nails and lips (Butter London's Come To Bed Red and Rimmel's Kiss of Life, respectively.). As for shoes, I wore my trusted Madden pumps, which are sadly but unsurprisingly beginning to show how much they've been worn. Would it be strange to admit that I'm considering buying a new pair on eBay for when these ones are beyond hope? Because I'm thinking of doing just that. 

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Strike another match, go start anew

It's been nearly a month now since moving house and I've not had much to say. On the internet, that is. In everyday life, on the other hand... I've had plenty to say, think about, and do. And let's just say that I've never related more to the lyric 'she's got dirty dishes on the brain' from Oasis's song Some Might Say.

The first night seemed especially strange. The thought that I couldn't ever go back swirled in my mind late that night as I shuffled boxes in my new bedroom.

I loved it there. I grew up there. It was home. The sometimes eccentric neighbours, smoky autumn weekends, and often intensely warm summers were all part and parcel. All part of what made it home. Leaving was difficult.

I suppose that's life. You can't always control circumstances, but you can choose the way in which you react to them. I really do believe that.

With that said, somewhere amidst the disarray that is moving house, a number of things became clearer to me. I now sometimes wonder how some of these things only ever crossed my mind in fleeting ways previously, and how I had missed some of them so completely.

One of the things I'm most curious about is how I'll look back at this point in my life. But for now, I'll be getting my life back together and sussing out my future plans near the ocean and ten minutes to the closest town.

While down at the beach recently, in search of an earring I had lost earlier in the day, an older fellow who was going for an afternoon stroll said hello. 'It's a gorgeous spot, isn't it?', he remarked. I agreed.

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Lady in Red

Dress C/O TBDress | Belt from Sirens | Steve Madden Pumps

I've realised that this blog, of late, has become very outfit-post-centric. This is mostly due to the fact that I've been getting ready to move house and have, to say the least, other things on my mind. But I'm hoping to get in a little more variety once I've moved and settled in. Until then, I have at least two more outfit posts upcoming, this being one of them!

I wrote a little while ago about how I was going to make a point to wear more skirts and dresses in 2014 -- I'm wearing a navy and white dotted mini skirt for the first time in ages as I write this! Most of my spring and summer dresses are several years old -- I've tended to gravitate towards autumn/winter styles more so and not shop much in the spring and summer. So, I've been keeping an eye out for a couple of new ones that look more like something someone my age would wear and less like something I would've worn at fifteen -- although there is a place for a few of those old ones, as well. When I came across this pretty little red dress, it somehow reminded me a bit of Kate Middleton (whose style I've admired for years!). I had originally planned to pair it with a vintage red belt and red pumps but ultimately felt it was too much red -- life isn't a Liberal Party convention. Instead, I opted for my black belt and pumps that have been seen here probably dozens of times at this point.

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Burgundy & Cream

Top from Sirens | Skirt C/O TBDress | Belt from Sirens | Steve Madden Pumps

I've been meaning to do something about the lack of variety in my posts lately, particularly the outfit posts, and figured it was about bloody time I did something about it! Always posting photos taken in front of my bedroom door was feeling a bit stale, so I decided try something a little different this time. 

As for this outfit, I paired an old cream coloured sweater with a lovely fitted burgundy skirt from TBDress and classic pumps! The top is actually the same one as in these outfit photos, except I wore it backwards here. I actually do this quite often, I just carefully remove the tag I don't think it looks half bad, from the front or back view. I'm not the only one who does this, right?

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The city's hard, the city's fair

 Vintage Beret | Dress C/O JollyChic | Belt from Sirens | Vintage Bag | Fishnets | Steve Madden Heels

Little black dresses are, in my opinion, one of fashion's best staples. At first, I'd paired mine with a pair of black tights but opted to change them out for fishnets at the last minute. I understand how much so many people dislike them, but truth be told, they're one of my guilty fashion pleasures! On a whim, I brought them out and layered them over sheer tights for extra warmth -- it is still January, after all. Otherwise, I opted for simple accessories in the form of a vintage beret and bag and my favourite pumps.

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