BRIGHTS AND STRIPES

There is a slight twist to the outfit that I am wearing today: each piece of it was bought without any consideration or thoughts about the other two.  You know, when you are in the store pondering over a piece of clothing thinking about how it will work with other items in your wardrobe and how you can organically incorporate and create a totally new fresh look with it?

Well, it was none of it.  Moreover, only one out of these three items was meant to be for myself, the other two -  just randomly made their way into my wardrobe where I put them together into an outfit.

 

Two years ago when we were on holidays in Sorrento my husband mentioned that while we are in Italy, he would like to buy a pair of linen pants and a shirt.  It is well known fact that Europe is a cradle for linen clothing and nobody does it better then Italians.

One evening, during our evening walk, we came across a shop which speciality was linen clothes for men and women.  As we stepped inside, my eyes went into overdrive from the amazing array of colours and prints.  Each range of clothing was represented in all colours of the rainbow in every possible hue and saturation.  I felt like a child in a candy store.  After what seemed like eternity my husband finally settled on a pair of pants in a taupe colour,  and a grey and blue striped shirt.  As it was towards the end of summer season, the shop offered a deal whereupon you pay for one shirt and get the other one in similar style for half price. 

My husband didn't want another shirt so it was my turn to chose one.  Without thinking too much, I chose one in grey and yellow stripes and we left the store.  When later on I tried the shirt on I wasn't exactly smitten by it.  It was too long and bulky to wear as is, the only way I could wear it would be unbuttoned and thrown  over a top but no matter how many times I was doing a mental inventory of my wardrobe trying to figure out what can I wear it with, my mind drew a blank.  And so for the very long time the shirt remained unworn.

My husband, on another hand, really enjoyed wearing light slightly crinkled pants topped up by the linen shirt, this laid back La Dolce Vita style until one day it was time to refresh them.  Not bothering to read the care instruction, it was in Italian anyway, I just threw them into the washing machine with the rest of the load and started the cycle.  When my husband wanted to wear them afterwards and put them on, I couldn't help but burst out laughing 😊.

The pants had shrunk both in length and width to the point that my poor husband couldn't wear them anymore and wanted to throw them away. 

I was having such a good fun at my poor husband's expense that in the spirit of the moment I decided to try them on myself.  To my unexpected delight, the pants fitted quite well around the waist and the short legs looked quite chic and so by mutual agreement I became their new owner.

The first item I tried to pair with the pants was the linen shirt that I bought in Italy but somehow it didn't work, it needed a piece that would bring it all together.  The solution came in a hand me down from my older daughter sleeveless top, and with its colours of light beige and chartreuse became the missing link I was looking for.

Both my earrings and the ring are from local market and the shoes are old Bruno Magli that I bought in Florence on our honeymoon all the way back in 2007.  Just as in my previous post I shared with you how I treasure classic clothes and excellently made shoes no matter how old they are (you can read it here).

Have you ever ruined your partner's clothes but managed to salvage it for yourself?  Would like to hear your story.

PS This is not my bike, I am just using it as a fun colour prop for my photo shoot 😊.

Until then,

Anna
xoxo

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW

While the weather is Sydney is still very hot for Autumn, we know that the cold days are just around the corner which means that it is time to give your summer wardrobe a review, pack away the clothes that you would like to wear next summer and get rid of the ones that you don't need.  

My review is based on a few rules that I try to abide as reasonably as possible.  Rule number one:  when a new purchase comes into my wardrobe, an old one in the same category should leave, otherwise you end up with an inflated wardrobe with far too many similar looking items.

Rule number two:  if there a piece of clothing in my wardrobe that I haven't worn during the current season, chances are I will be not wearing it when the next season comes around.  In this case, I pack it away and see what happens.  If I haven't thought about it for a while that means that I don't need it and it's time to donate it to charity.

Of course, as with every rule, there are exceptions.  I would never part with my designer shoes nor handbags, for example or the classic timeless pieces that never go out of style.

Case in point, this black cropped blazer.  It has been in my wardrobe for years, I bought it in Zara when we were holidaying in Paris.  I liked it then and I still do, except that the buttons that looked a bit cheap so I replaced them with the ones made out of mother of pearl which gave this blazer immediate lift.   Over the years I have tried to find a replacement but mostly the blazers that I tried on were rather long coming down to my hips and I never looked good in any of them.  So until I find the one that I will be 100% happy about, this one stays.

That said, I've notices that lately my taste in skirts has changed dramatically.  I used to love to wear pencil skirts and still have quite a few hanging in my closet but recently I've noticed that despite my vigorous fitness regime and healthy eating habits, my body has become the subject of inevitable changes that mostly affected my hips and although I still wear the same clothes size as ten years ago, some styles, like pencil skirts for example, are not for me anymore.  

The current size fits too tightly but when I try one size up, I look like I am dressed in a potato sack.  So it was time to try something different and after a few unsuccessful experiments, I think I have found my new style in skirts  - bias-cut with fluid-falling hem skirt.  

This bright sunny yellow silk skirt from Australian fashion brand Bec and Bridge is my first attempt to ease into new territory and I must say I am loving it.   I feel so much comfortable now, the fitting feels right but not tight and I don't need to worry whether I will be able to wear it right after a big meal.

Besides, I love its warm rich marigold colour a lot,  it's has this happy and uplifting vibe and matches well with many others.

At first, I tried this outfit with black court shoes but they looked heavy with the skirt so I swapped them for white coloured open-toe ones from Celine that together with a Georgio Armani handbag I bought on my first trip to Italy on our honeymoon in 2017!!!  Going back to what I said at the beginning of this post:

"I would never part with my designer shoes nor handbags"

The other reason I chose these shoes was that they kind of match the pearl buttons on the blazer and the top which I wore under it.

It was quite a windy day and I was struggling to find a quite spot, hence few different backgrounds.

Have you ever come across similar problem and how do you tackle it?  Please share your experience in the comment section below.

Today I am wearing:

Blazer:  Zara (old)

Skirt:  Bec and Bridge 

Shoes:  Celine (old)

Handbag: Georgio Armani (old)

Love to you all,

Anna

SHOP MY LOOK:

MY LITTLE WOODS T DRESS

Hi everyone, hope you are well.

I had a few quite busy days looking after my cute granddaughter while her other grand parents went away and it exhausted me to much that when her parents finally took her home, I felt that I needed a holiday. I don't know how do they do it day in and day out, it is very hard work as.  I strongly believe that Mother Nature had her reasons when she designed our bodies and made sure that the women of a "certain age" should not have kids.

That said, it didn't stop me, a woman of the mentioned age, from trying on and then paying for this little black Woods T dress from Victoria and Woods clothing label.  I went to the shopping mall without any intention of looking for anything in particular, just let my mind wonder over the racks hoping that something would get my attention.  And this dress did.  It's simple T silhouette with a branded stand up collar caught my vision first and when I tried it on, turned out it has the perfect length, just to show enough skin above the knees.  Its a sport luxe look really appealed to me.

The salesgirl suggested that it will look great with sport shoes which are so on trend this season but I knew that she was referring to a much younger crowd and that it would not suit me.  As my younger daughter put it, I would be trying too hard.

So instead of going down this road, I've decided to give this dress a totally new look and feel and for that reason I kicked off the sneakers and put on low heel shoes, previously seen here

To elevate this look even further and keeping up with black and white colour scheme, I chose a vintage black envelope shaped bag with wide white trim and a black and white jacquard strap which replaced the boring original one.  Besides, it was rather short for me too.

We are in the midst of finalising our annual holidays and I will definitely pack this dress with me.  It is made of very soft organic cotton jersey which requires minimum effort to look after and is crease free.   I will not wear it with sneakers as it will be too predictable, however I am sure it will look great paired with ballet flats.  We will see.

IF YOU WANT TO SHOP MY LOOK, HERE ARE SOME IDEAS THAT YOU MIGHT LIKE