MY CAPSULE WARDROBE

Hi everyone,

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you would recall my telling you that my husband and I are great aficionados of classical music and quite often spend our Saturday evenings at the Sydney Opera House attending a concert, an opera or the ballet.   We always looking forward to these evenings when you can leave the real world behind and just relax and enjoy the music and let it work its magic.

We have tremendous respect for art and in a tribute art and the people who make it possible for us to enjoy, we always make an effort to dress for the occasion to the point that, if during our travels, we plan to attend a concert, we pack appropriate attire just for that.  Call me a snob but I cringe when I see people wearing shorts and sandals inside the opera house or a concert hall.

You would not believe me but I spend far less time choosing what I will wear to the Opera than to the gym, I am kidding, of course.  On a serious note, I know exactly what I am going to wear on the night.  The secret to this phenomenon is the presence of what I call "A capsule wardrobe" consisting of pieces of clothing that are not subject to a current trend or fab and don't belong to any particular style or era but to quote Susie Faux who first coined this phrase: "A collection of a few essential items of clothing that don't go out of fashion, such as skirts, trousers, and coats, which can then be augmented with seasonal pieces".

Think about a classic black tuxedo jacket, a white silk blouse or a simple but oh so chic LBD or simple black cashmere sweater.  As for accessories, a string of white natural or faux pearls is all you need.

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A CAPSULE WARDROBE IS A COLLECTION OF A FEW ESSENTIAL ITEMS OF CLOTHING THAT DON'T GO OUT OF FASHION

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It is worth investing in a pair of good quality black pants, preferably with a straight or slightly slim leg shape that you can wear time and time again without ever looking out of style.

Add to the list, a classical jacket or blazer in black or navy.  Quite a while ago I bought myself a navy jacket with silk lapels from Zara which I have worn numerous times to all sorts of events and it always looks good.

If you click on this link, you will see me wearing it to the Opera House few months ago paired with  a lace black top and the pair of black pants which I mentioned earlier.

A black slim cut or pencil skirt is another great staple to have in your wardrobe.  Not only does it look very elegant but it can be worn with almost any kind of a shirt, blouse or cami, a pencil skirt tends to make us look a few inches slimmer and a few inches taller, more so when worn with heels, which is great, right?

And that brings me to the last but definitely not least item on my list, shoes.  In fact, I should have made them item number one.  As I always say, never underestimate the power of shoes, they will either make your outfit or break it.

If you only want to spend money on one good pair of shoes, I suggest a pair of black elegant shoes which will let you get away with almost anything you wear.   Sometimes, if I feel like wearing black from head to toe is too much I would wear shoes in some other colour.

You don't have to have all of the above, invest in pieces that you would enjoy wearing time and time again and in which you look your best and feel comfortable.  It is so much easier to come up with a good outfit when you already have the key elements in your wardrobe.  Certainly, you don't have to have them all, choose the pieces that you suit you best and that you would feel comfortable wearing time and time again.

I am wearing:  skirt - Alexander Wang, sweater - Cos, shoes - Bali, coat - Beck&Bridge, jewellery - Georg Jensen

Do you own a capsule wardrobe and if yes, what it is consist of?

Anna
XO

Linking up with Posh Classy Mom, Fashion Should be Fun, Nancy's Fashion Style, Tina Spink Friday, Not Dead Yet Style

WHO SAYS RED AND GREEN SHOULD NOT BE SEEN?

What I love about fashion blogging is the sharing of ideas, styles, fashion news and inspirations with other fashionable women that enriches and inspires me in so many ways, gives me confidence and brings a sense of feeling great about myself which brings me to the topic of today's blog.

There was not one but two bloggers that inspired me to share this outfit with you.

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WHO SAYS RED AND GREEN SHOULD NOT BE SEEN?

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Let me tell you about inspiration number one. A while ago Jacqui from Mummabstylish  shared with us a post where she was wearing cargo pants that she paired with red shoes.  I left a comment saying that I love that look and that since I also have a pair of similar pants and a pair of red shoes and a matching handbag, I might copy her look and she gave me her blessing.

There is a scientific explanation why we love this colour combination so much, just think Christmas decorations for example.

If you look at the colour wheel which is a visual representation of colours according to their chromatic relations, you will see that the red and green are sitting right opposite each other and therefore called complimentary colours.

Since red and green are both strong colours, I didn't want to add any more colours to my outfit and thus chose the colour of my top from the same family of green just with a slightly different shade.  Keeping my accessories simple (except the handbag), I selected a pendant in buffalo horn from Hermes, suspended on an adjustable leather cord.

This pendant is very special to me, it was given to me by my older daughter on my 45th birthday.  She was a student back then, so I can imagine how difficult it must have been for her to afford such a beautiful gift.

The second contributor that inspired me to wear this outfit was a comment made by Sheela from Sheela Writes about a floral long shirt dress from Marks & Spencer (you can read a full story about this collaboration here).  She wrote (no pun intended) that she would wear this dress as a light coat over skinny jeans and a simple top.

It all happened a while ago and I  haven't had a chance to replicate Jacqui's look or implement Sheela's idea until last week I was asked if I can re-style one of the outfits of my recent collaboration between Marks & Spencer and Shopping Links and all of a sudden the light went on in my head and all the pieces suddenly came together and an outfit was born.

Linking up with Style Splash, Lady in Violet, Doused in Pink, My New Happy

RED, WHITE AND BLUE|WHAT I WORE FOR A LUNCH WITH THE LADIES

I was recently invited to attend a Women in Business lunch organised and hosted by a networking group.  I am generally cautious when it comes to accepting invitations as you might end up being so inundated by the number of invites to join different network groups or to attend yet another business lunch or dinner that you would have very little time left to attend to your own personal and business needs.

This time it was different because I met some of the women in the group previously and we hit it off so when I found the invitation in my Inbox, I was delighted.

The lunch venue was at a posh restaurant, popular among business people who like to see and be seen, so an elegant outfit was in order.

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I HUMOROUSLY CALL THIS OUTFIT A LA LADY DIANA LOOK
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Since it was lunch, I didn't want to wear anything in dark colours, so I opted for a blue and white colour scheme but with a modest injection of red for a bit of deliciousness.

All the individual pieces of my outfit you have seen before:  I wore the wide leg white pants here and here, the blue silk blouse and shoes here .  I even modelled the socks which I brought on my recent trip to Tokyo, here.

The only new addition to my wardrobe is this gorgeous blue jacket peppered with bright red stars all over that I saw hanging on the rack at the Sandro concession store at David Jones department store and couldn't leave without it.

For me nothing speaks of elegance more than a string of pearls and a silk blouse.  I was tossing with the idea of carrying a red handbag to match the red stars of the jacket but discarded it as it was too predictable and instead opted for a one in more neutral colour.

When I checked myself in the mirror, I humorously described my outfit as a la Lady Diana's look as she so often was seen wearing a silk blouse and a string of pearls.

That's probably why I decided to wear Ray-Ban Aviator glasses rather then something a bit more stylish.

To my utter delight, I received a great number of compliments about my outfit from my companions with my new jacket topping all the charts, so I will treat it as a good investment.

What was your latest indulgence?

OUTFIT DETAILS AND LINKS

Jacket - Sandro

Shoes - Salvatore Ferragamo

Pants - Scotch & Soda

Handbag - Bulgari (Old)

Sunglasses - Ray Ban (Old)

Linking up with High Latitude Style, Curly Crafty Mom, A Labour of Love, Fashion Should be Fun, Visible Monday

HOW I STYLED A CRUSHED VELVET CAMI

Hello friends,

If you are like me, a fan of Seinfeld, you will recall an episode where George Costanza shared with us his one particular sartorial preference:  "I would drape myself in velvet if it were socially acceptable".

Well, luckily for George the time has finally come.  In 2017 draping oneself in this smooth "velvety" fabric, pun intended, is not only socially acceptable but it's practically mandatory.

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THIS GORGEOUS RICH FABRIC WORKS EXTREMELY WELL 

WITH DIFFERENT FABRICS

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And it is not restricted to evening gowns and smoking jackets.  It is everywhere and is being used for tops, boots, overcoats and even jumpsuits. For fashion lovers like myself who lives in the Southern Hemisphere, we couldn't wait until winter arrived at our doors (June - August) so we too could see through the "velvet fog".

Velvet is very versatile and whether you are after a glam look or hippie chic, there is something for everyone.  If you are not too sure whether this is your game, pick up something small similar to the cami I am wearing and if it feels right, go from there, however as a rule of thumb, stick to one velvet item an outfit.

There is no need to hunt for a garment made out of velvet, any shop from high end to street style is stocking them in abundance.  Gone are the days when velvet garments were the attributes of the rich and were the colours of jewels, i.e. predominantly black, dark green or burgundy.  These days the colours are light and bright which combined with velvet's adaptability makes it possible for everyone to have fun with it.

This gorgeous rich fabric works extremely well with different textures, depending on what look you are after:  leather, silk or rough denim are just a few choices that will work well together.

Dressing up for a casual Sunday lunch with friends, followed by a nice walk along Bondi Beach promenade, I chose to wear my velvet top with white denim jeans (seen here and here) from JBrand  that I rolled up just above my ankles, a black denim jacket from Topshop and a pair of white Converse sneakers for a relaxed sporty look.  I thought that by wearing a vintage silk scarf would offset rather nicely the casualness of the outfit.

Quite often, when I am wearing denim, I like the juxtaposition of rough and smooth (similar combo worn here) rich fabrics so I added a vintage silk scarf to enhance the luxe feel of my velvet top and to offset the casualness of the outfit.  It would also give me some warmth once we were near the ocean

OUTFIT DETAILS:

Top - Sportsgirl

Jacket - Topshop

Jeans - JBrand

Sneakers - Converse

Glasses - Kenzo

Messenger Bag- Furla

Scarf - vintage Christian Dior

Linking up with Shelbee on the Edge, Fine.Whatever blog, A Pocketful of Polka Dots, High Latitude Style, Living in Colour, Style Nudge