A CHAMBRAY DRESS FOR A STROLL IN THE PARK

Hello everyone,

Although I bought this chambray dress a couple of months ago on our last day in Lisbon or should I rather say during our last few hours before leaving for the airport to catch a flight to Madeira, today is the first time that I wore it.  

During our years of travelling my husband and I have established a peculiar custom:  we always save one place that we had on our “to do list” till the last day when we are about to leave and we call it “saving the best for last”.  It could be anything:  a visit to Buckingham Palace or a walk through beautifully landscaped garden in Kyoto or discovering the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore and I have to tell you, we never have been disappointed.

In keeping with that tradition, we left a visit to the of Castle of St George till our last day in Lisbon.  We also planned to visit a shop called A Vida Portuguesa, “a boutique that pays homage to the products of traditional Portuguese designers and artisans” that my older daughter had strongly recommended for us to see.  And so we went.

We thoroughly enjoyed the visit to the Castle and thus spent quite a bit of time there, leaving far less time then we had planned for the shop.  As we were briskly walking to our next destination, another shop, called Stradivarius caught my attention.  Usually, I can easily guess what type of clothing and for what age group the shop stocks by just by checking out the shop window and if I see the mannequins dressed in minuscule skirts and midriff tops, I walk away.  This shop was of a similar calibre except for a chambray dress on one of the mannequins that I have wanted to buy for myself for quite some time but couldn’t find one that I really liked.  So, I dragged my poor husband inside the store, grabbed the dress off the rack and rushed to the change room. 

I was such in a great rush that I could barely see myself in the mirror.  It looked ok and my husband was so relieved that I didn’t want to try anything else that he paid the price without even looking.  We left the shop in great haste, luckily A Vida Portuguesa was just around the corner and, as it turned out, the shop was rather small so it did not took us to long to visit.   By that time we were so late that we gave up on the idea of having a nice farewell lunch at one of the myriads of cafes and instead bought two pies and ate them while walking back to the hotel.

When I did try the dress on properly, I quiet liked it.  It is very casual day dress that can be effortlessly worn with shoes, sandals, sneakers or boots, ideal for the days when you don’t feel like making an effort but still want to look nice. 

And today is just one of these days.  After a few intense hours behind our computer screens, my husband suggested we take a break and just go down to a local shop for a cup of strong coffee and a short stroll along the beach afterwards.   It sounded like a good idea and so without too much thought, I just belted my new denim dress over the plain white t-shirt which I was wearing and was ready to go. My new metallic brogues (bought on the same holiday but from Athens) and matching socks completed my very comfortable look.  I grabbed the bag that I was carrying the night before and to my great relief found a pair of aviator shades that I needed for the walk.

What would you grab when you want to take it easy?  What is your take it easy outfit that you would just put on and be off?

WHAT I WORE TO A GALLERY OPENING

Hi there,

A couple of weeks ago I received an e-mail containing an invitation to view a new collection at the art gallery called .M Contemporary.  I had no idea of how they came in possession of my e-mail address but the invitation sounded rather nice, snippets of the artist’s work looked rather promising and even though we were not hunting for any art at the moment, we thought it would do us no harm to attend.

The work was of a South African artist, Michael Taylor, and my husband who is also from Cape Town was quite interested to see his painting and so we accepted.

I cannot say that I have been to many openings during my life and have never circulated in art circles but somehow I felt that some sort of an unwritten dress code was expected from the attendees. Due to my lack of exposure to this world, I was not quite sure what dress-code is required for such an occasion but I had a hunch that staying away from denim and sneakers would be a good idea.  I also didn’t want to look like I was trying too hard and so I opted for the world best known, all-time favourite, “cannot do wrong” every respectable woman’s staple – a black dress.

Ever since my daughter came from holiday in Europe and showed me some clothes she had bought from the store called Cos, I wanted to have some of it.  A quick visit to their web site revealed that unfortunately they were not shipping to Australia.  Until one day, they just came over to OZ and opened their store first in the Sydney CBD and later on in our local Westfield Shopping Centre.

Their clothes remind me a little bit of a Calvin Klein style:  minimalistic, monochromatic with clean simple lines and understated elegance.  And because of its “simplicity”, almost every piece on the rack is boundlessly versatile and with a little help from certain accessories can be easily transformed from the office attire into a night-out outfit.

My first purchase from them was the above mentioned black tunic dress. It looked quite simple when I picked it up off the rack with very little detailing except for two hidden side pockets and a thin white trim running along the seams but that is what attracted me to it.

Having such a simple silhouette as a blank canvas presents a lot of options on how this dress can be worn, depending on the occasion, the time of the day and the style of my look.  And once that is established, all it takes is to choose the right shoes, handbag and accessories.

ACCESSORIES HAVE THE POWER TO TRANSFORM YOUR LOOK DRASTICALLY WITH MINIMAL EFFORT

Going back to my story, I was after the style that could be described as subdued bohemian chic that I thought would quite suit the occasion and for that reason I chose a monochromatic black and white palette.   Using a scarf with huge black and white dots all over it as a necklace, I wrapped it around my neck so it looked like a collar and to match it, I put on an oversized cuff bracelet in white with a random black ink dots pattern (seen here).

Short blocked heel boots (seen here) added some edgy feel to my look and a long black coat completed the look but when I checked myself in the mirror, I felt that my outfit looked rather sombre for the occasion, so I decided to add an element of fun to it by mixing up different patterns and swapped the black coat for a knee high one in animal black and white print. 

Dress:  Cos

Boots:  Bianca Buccheri

Coat:  Jane Lamerton

Scarf:  High Tea with Mrs Woo

Cuff:  Dinosaur Designs

And so we went.  As quite often happens in life, when you don’t know what to expect, you end up having a great time.  We thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition, the hostess was most gracious, we met a bunch of interesting people and we felt like we belonged.   We also like a couple of artworks by the other artists on display and I have a feeling that my husband is planning to get one for our upcoming wedding anniversary.  Time will tell.  It is in July so I will keep you informed.

Have you experienced a similar situation when you were invited to an affair out of your usual environment?  And how did you handle it?

Until then.

WHAT I WORE FOR SUNDAY LUNCH

Hi everyone,

One of my most favourite Sunday lunch spots is Kingsleys Steak and Crab House in Sydney’s iconic Woolloomooloo’s Finger Wharf.  It has played an integral role in our rich history and just recently celebrated its 100^th birthday.  A wool and cargo dock in the past, it was left unused and forgotten for decades until the late 1990’s when it received a huge refurbish and overhaul and has emerged as one of Sydney’s most exclusive eating, drinking and marina addresses.  Fronted by a contemporary hotel, the Wharf is also a residential address for a range of exclusive apartments where Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman were among its owners.

Its ideal location offers a picture-perfect view over the water and the city beyond.

It is absolutely magic to be here at night, looking at the bright blazing signs of the CBD with the skyscrapers acting as a back drop, listening to the water lapping at your feet, hearing the peels of laughter coming from the moored boats along the marina and the sounds of music from the apartments above while sampling good food and drinking good wine.

The Wharf boasts a number of world class restaurants, each of them showcasing delicious food and excellent wine lists and over time we have dined at almost all of them, yet somehow we always come back to Kingsleys.  Well, there is a very simple reason for it – we absolute love the house specialty – Salt and Pepper Mud Crab.

Our attraction to it extends to a point that whenever we have visitors from overseas, we make sure that we dine with them at Kingsleys.  This applies to our local friends too, especially to those who have never have eaten there before.  Case in point, our recent lunch with good friends Monica and Sam.

Although the restaurant serves high quality food and the service is impeccable, the atmosphere here is quite relaxed and while no particular dress code is required, people tend to dress casually yet with a sense of style and class.

My choice for this occasion was a pair of bootleg cropped pants in black and white stripes that I bought on my recent vacation in Lisbon’s airport, while waiting to change planes, together with a white V-neck loose fit blouse.  I wasn’t sure what kind of shoes to wear with these pants because I have quite slim ankles and sometimes feel conscious of not showing them too much.  While I appreciate their shape when I am wearing high heel shoes or slim-fit ankle-short pants, I am well aware that they might look a bit too skinny stuck underneath wide bottom pants.  I found the solution by putting on a pair of short blocked heel boots that covered my ankles and also gave an edgy feel to my outfit.  And to be on the fun side, I wore my silver metallic socks. 

Pants:  Pepe Jeans

Shirt:  Zara

Boots: Bianca Buccheri

Bag:  Louis Vuitton

The weather was perfect, the food that we washed down with a bottle of chilled white wine was scrumptious, the company - most enjoyable, a fabulous way to spend your Sunday and get recharged for the week ahead.

Do you have a favourite spot to eat that you come back to time and time again?