A STYLISH GRANDMA

Hi,

Hope you all had a fantastic Mother's Day!

Mine was not too bad, my younger vegan daughter cooked me vegan crumpets with raspberry sauce which tasted quite good and my oldest daughter and a new mother herself (my beautiful granddaughter is just one month old) called to wish me "Happy Mothers Day" which brings me to the topic of this post in some way.  You might expect me to write about a special mother-daughter or mother-son relationship but what I would like to tell about is a dress.

Let me explain.  A few weeks ago my husband and I were invited to a birthday party of one of my friends from when I was very involved with the Russian diaspora until 10 years ago when I married a man from South Africa.

It lead to a merger of friends and an expansion of our own circles into one big multicultural mess, I am joking.  Actually, becoming a part of different cultures really helped us to embrace and understand more deeply the other partner's background, life values and the likes.

On the negative side, I don't follow the lives of my counterparts as closely as before, however, whenever a big gathering takes place, we are invited.  Both of us look forward to such occasions - my South African husband is madly in love with Russian food and loves the style in which we Russians celebrate our milestones by inviting as many people as possible, eating as much food and drinking as much vodka as we possibly can and dancing well into the night

and I have a chance to catch up with old friends and learn all the news about their lives and people we have in common.

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A GOOD PAIR OF SHOES, AS WE ALL KNOW TOO WELL, CAN SALVAGE THE MOST SIMPLEST DRESS

"

I haven't been to such a gathering since I became a grandmother a month ago and although I had nothing to do with the actual baby's birth, I knew people would be seeing me through a "grandmother prism", making jokes and calling me "babushka".  Please don't get me wrong, I am totally and utterly excited about having a grand child and am extremely happy for my daughter but when someone calls you "babushka", it evolves certain image of an old lady with grey hair wrapped in a woolen shawl and I refuse to be remotely associated with this image or worse, look like one, right?  And for that reason only I wanted to look my youngest best.  Call me vain and superficial if you please.

And so the search for a perfect dress which would fit the brief had begun.  Ironically, I found it by pure accident.  We were taking an afternoon stroll though a major thoroughfare of one of the Sydney suburbs, just doing window shopping when I, forgive the pun, spotted it in the window of the Witchery store.  At first, it looked a bit short and I didn't even want to go in and try it on but then curiosity took over so I went into the store and asked the shop assistant for my size.

Surprisingly, it was a size smaller then I normally wear but it felt comfortable all over, my husband gave me a nod of approval and proceeded to the counter to pay for it.

It has a youthful look about it, thanks to the small white polka dots, the choker and the flared sleeves which are in fashion right now and I liked that it has key hole at the front and back which adds a little unexpected surprise.

I first thought of wearing nude colour stockings but visually they were making the dress look really short so I changed them for opaque which I think was the sensible thing to do.

And I was going to compromise on shoes and wear something comfortable.  Instead I dug into my closet and brought out my old but oh so faithful Manolo Blahnik shoes which I purchased a long time ago but, as has been proved so many times before, it is worth investing in a good pair of shoes as we all know too well, they can salvage the simplest dress but no matter how grand your frock is, wear it with bad shoes and it will be ruined.

I am wearing a dress from Witchery, shoes - Manolo Blahnik (old), handbag - Chanel (old), earrings - Swarovski

Until then
Anna
xo

Linking up with Elegance and Motherhood, Fashion Should be Fun, A Pocketful of Polka Dots, Nancy Fashion Style, Style Nudge

WHITE JEANS AND A BLUE SILK BLOUSE FOR A BUSINESS LUNCH

Hello my dear readers and fellow bloggers and welcome to my blog.  

If you have been following my blog, you might recall that a few posts back I shared with you my new white denim jeans and promised that I would try to put together a few different looks by wearing them on several occasions to explore their versatility and diversity.  The occasion which I wore them for the first time was to a dinner party (you can read the whole story here).

Today I am wearing them on my way to a business lunch.  You might be wondering why I am wearing jeans to a business lunch but the reason for it is that I work in a creative environment and nobody expects me to show up wearing a so-called "corporate uniform", besides I wore them to a dinner party before and haven't been shot so no harm in wearing them for lunch, I recon.  I may describe this outfit as taking down a notch from the dinner version but still looking pretty smart.

There are a few ways that you can make your denims look smart, it is what you are wearing them with conveys the message.  For this occasion I put on a blue silk blouse that belonged to my late mother-in law but which she never wore.  

It came to me the same way as her extensive collection of beautiful scarves that I told you about previously and I am not the kind of gal who will pass on a pure silk blouse.  

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YOU CAN MAKE YOUR DENIMS LOOK SMART, IT IS WHAT YOU ARE WEARING THEN  WITH CONVEYS THE MESSAGE

"

After spending $10 on an alteration, I am now in possession of lovely blouse that I am sure I will wear a lot.

Given that it was a lunch, I refrained from wearing high heeled shoes and instead selected a pair of smart looking block heels shoes by Salvatore Ferragamo worn previously here.

As for accessories, there were a few choices to consider.  First - the handbag.  I didn't want to carry anything that remotely matched the colours of my outfit, on the other hand it is should be of a colour that would harmoniously relate it to the outfit.  Since my shirt has an open neck, I also pondered over few options as to what to wear with it.  

Option one - a neck scarf, option two - a string of pearls or a smart necklace, however I was looking for something that would mirror my creativity so I discarded the former and instead took a skinny scarf that had pink and blue colours in its print and tied it up around my wrist.

After that, choosing a pink coloured handbag was a no-brainer.

I am wearing: white jeans - J Brand; shoes - Salvatore Ferragamo, handbag - Vivienne Westwood, blouse - Jobis, skinny scarf - Hermes.

Linking up with Shellbee on the Edge, Fine Whatever Blog, Beauty by Miss L, Fashion Should be Fun, High Altitude Style

NAVY IS THE NEW BLACK OR WHAT I WORE TO THE OPERA

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.

I had to do a double take when I came to the office this morning and saw that it was the 1st of May on my calendar.  Unbelievable, how fast time flies.

My husband and I are big lovers of classical operas and ballet and are quite regular patrons of the Sydney Opera House.  We went there last Saturdays to listen to Elgar's cello concerto performed by the extremely talented lady named Harriet Krijgh. When I read in the program that she was playing the instrument which was made in 17th century and when her bow touched the strings, the hair on my neck stood up in admiration because that cello sounded heavenly.  I am sure it could also be attributed to the skills of a performer, no doubt.

We are so lucky in respect that both of us love classical music and are able to enjoy it together.  During our travels to Europe, we always try to book tickets for a classical performance at a local opera house.   

"I LOVE THE WAY HOW EUROPEANS GED DRESSED FOR THE OPERA"

I love the way how Europeans get dressed for the theatre, no jeans and sneakers, it is all about old school - silk dresses and pearls on women and tuxedos for men and that is another reason why I was looking forward to experiencing again the magic of the theatre with great anticipation.

When I was a little girl growing up in Ukraine, there was not much to watch on TV except educational or art shows and it was then that my passion for ballet was fostered.  My parents were extremely supportive and made sure that I wouldn't miss a premiere of a new ballet at our Opera and Ballet Theatre.  I had an auntie who lived in Moscow and every time I visited her, she would manage to score me a ticket to the Bolshoi.  

I still feel nostalgic remembering the grandeur of the building's architecture, the red carpet covering the marble staircases, the deep plush chairs upholstered in the deep red velvet, the gilded woodwork running along the balustrades and colonnades and the burgundy colour and gilded tassels of the stage curtain.  

I love our Sydney Opera House, it is one of the most iconic buildings in the world but I find it slightly too modern for me and although most people make an effort and dress nicely, the others simply don't care.  As for my husband and myself, we belong to the former and dress smartly for the occasion, which brings me to today's outfit which I wore to the cello concert I mentioned earlier.  

 

Although it looks like a suit, both pants and the jacket are separates with a common thread that ties them together.  If you look closer, you might see a satin stripe running over the side seam of the trousers (previously worn here).  The same satin fabric is used for a pleated belt simulating the classic cummerbund of a tuxedo.   

I wanted to step away from the traditional black and wore a dark navy jacket instead for a colour injection into the black monotone and making the whole outfit not look overly formal (you might remember seeing me wearing it previously here) but The other reason I chose it was that the lapels are covered in the same black satin as the stripes of the pants thus making them look like an easy version of a tux suit.

The top I wore is from Zara, just a simple sleeveless lace top that I tucked in to show off the belt.

My shoes are classic black patent LV pumps worn previously here.

And I couldn't help but add the red lipstick for a colour-pop.

Have a great week

Until then

Anna

xo

Linking up with A Pocketful of Polka Dots, Style Splash, The Pleated Poppy, Nancy Fashion Style