DOTS, DOTS AND MORE DOTS

Hello everyone, hope all is well with you.

It's still quite cold in Sydney and I am not in the mood for outdoor photos shoots, however last week the weather played nicely and blessed us with a couple of warm days.  Not wanting to miss such an opportunity, I put this outfit on and asked my husband to go to Bondi Beach to take some photos.

I spotted (no pun intended) this skirt during the end of financial year sale (in Australia it ends on the 30th of June) but they didn't have my size so I tried to order it on-line.  I generally avoid buying clothes and shoes via the internet.  I've tried a few times but every time I liked the item and paid for it, for various reasons I was disappointed when it arrived so I had to return it and pay for the postage.

At least, at Zara (their online store) the postage didn't cost me anything and I really liked the skirt so I took a gamble and ordered it.  To my great surprise and delight, it fitted perfectly and looked exactly how I imagined it would.

Although it is made of quite light fabric that is more suitable for warmer months , I am planning to wear it all year around, like on the day like today for example, paired with a jumper and ankle boots.

Although a black colour jumper seems like the most obvious choice, I decided to wear this particular jumper because its print resonates with the pattern of the skirt but on a different size scale thus creating a visual story with a sense of fun.

I wanted to keep the black &white colour scheme for the entire outfit including accessories and for this reason selected this black bag in a classic square shape with an elegant slim white strip along the edges.

I must mention the story behind the handbag I am carrying.  It belonged to my late mother-in-law who was an avid collector of handbags and gorgeous scarfs (that's why I am quite often seen wearing them).  After her passing, my father-in-law wanted to share them among the family members. It was his way of honouring the memory of his beloved wife.

The only thing that I was not mad about is the strap - it was too short and not very attractive.  So I decided to improvise.  I had a black and white woven belt hanging around so I thought to re-purpose it into a strap.  Using the existing fittings, I just replaced the old strap with my newly created one and voila, a totally new bag.

As I mentioned earlier, we took these images at Bondi Beach which, apart from being one of the most famous beaches in the world, has an amazing Graffiti Wall along the promenade.

The images keep changing quite often and even for us who live near by and take a walk along it quite frequently, it is hard to keep up.  The graffiti behind me is one of the recent additions and for a total dots effect I couldn't help but to pose in front of it.  It is created by the a contemporary Indigenous artist, Zachary Bennet-Brook, the owner of Saltwater Dreamtime, "who has a love for for the ocean and creating artoworks which represent his culture and passions."

Till the next post
Love
Anna
xoxo

MY WINTER BASICS

Hello dear friends, hope you are all well

Just wanted to share with you a couple of staples that I bought for myself for our Australian winter.  People often tease me about how cold the winters were back in Russia when I complain that I feel the  cold.  True, it was freezing cold, as it is in the most of Europe and the US in winter but we were wearing weather appropriate clothes and the houses were properly heated and insulated while here, the Australians are in total denial, they strongly believe in perpetual summer and that's why you can see people wearing shorts, t-shirts and thongs (flip-flops) all year round.   

It is also true that on the coldest day in most of the country the temperature is always on the plus side and it never snows, but the weather still bites and you need a decent coat, a woollen jumper and a pair of boots to survive it. I love feeling warm and comfortable and always prefer to be dressed according to the season.

It is all about layering as quite often a cold morning turns into a nice warm day and if I want to shed a layer or two so it is important to get the basics right starting with a skirt.  I bought this maxi skirt at the same shop at which I bought my black slip-on dress (worn here), Natalie Alamein.  As I mentioned previously, the bulk of her clientele are the millenials, however I managed to score quite a few pieces from her store that I feel quite comfortable wearing.

I am all for colours and fun prints but when it comes to basics, my choice always falls on black and neutrals as they act as a blank canvas that allows you to express your taste in accessories, shoes and other embellishments of your choice.  

"WINTER CLOTHES IS ALL ABOUT LAYERING 

SO IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE THE BASICS RIGHT"

This maxi pencil skirt with a side split is another gem that I found on the rack marked "Sale".  It is made out of very soft and warm woven fabric and hugs my contours rather nicely and I am sure I will be wearing it a lot, to and after work.

My other purchase was a neutral colour v-neck jumper. The main feature that attracted my attention was its long oval shaped back with a split detail that adds a contemporary twist and a sense of fun.  Although it looks thin, almost transparent and feels very light, its made of pure wool and is very  warm.  I bought it during the Christmas sale from Sass and Bide.

My first look is how I dressed for a day in the office.  I was about to wrap a thick woollen scarf around my neck but changed my mind and instead settled for a lighter one in silk that I don't have to take off once inside, with black and orange print that added a colour punch to my neutrals and some urban panache to my look.

A pair of tall black boots and a black handbag completed the look.

Later that day I was about to meet a few friends for midweek drinks at one of our local wine bars.  I normally stay away from drinking during the week but our weekend already looked quite busy and we have not seen these people for a while and didn't want to postpone our get-together much further.

Besides, my teenage daughter was giving me hard time and I welcomed any excuse to get out of the house.

Not wanting to look like I just stepped out of the office, I swapped the boots for a pair of shoes in bright red (previously seen here) and fishnet stockings (I just love the fishnets and wear them as often as possible).

I left the scarf behind and instead put on a pair of long shiny earrings from Swarowski and a matching cocktail ring (no pun intended).

A red patent bag from Louis Vuitton (seen previously here and here) and a swipe of bright lipstick and off I went for a much needed drink.

I look  much happier afterwards.

Both pieces work very well together, don't you think?

Your comments are greatly appreicated

Anna
xoxo