G'day my dear readers, hope you are all well.
I am slowly working my way back to blog regularly. I have been out of it for almost a year, for no reason whatsoever, just wasn't feeling like it.
The reason I return to blogging was our recent trip to London followed by a tour of Scandinavia. I just felt that I wanted to share this beautiful part of the world with those who haven't seen it. The other reason being that my memory is not that sharp anymore and I wanted to document this trip for posterity. I have to admit that it was the first time in my life that I used Google Lens as I couldn't recall the names and places we've been and seen. I find this tool very helpful and 99% accurate. It took me quite some time from start to finish but I was really enjoying the process, it brought back lovely memories and experiences and made me happy. Hope that by following my story about our Scandinavian adventure, would inspire you to do the same.
Now it is time to talk about clothes. About 2 years ago I lost a job for which I worked for ten years. I only worked for two days in an accounting department, spending the other 3 helping my daughter with her two kids and going to the gym. It was a perfect life/work balance. It was a construction company situated in the industrial area where nobody cares about fashion. I drove there and back, saw nobody and no one saw me. That suited me fine and I hardly bought anything new while working there, which saved me a lot of money😊.
But then the boss retired and sold the business to a younger guy who within a year ran it down to the ground and we all, including him, lost our jobs. I was over sixty then which means that I became virtually unemployable unless I agreed to stock the shelves in the supermarket.
It was challenging and stressful as I expected and I was just about to give up, when out of the blue came a phone call from my employment agent who apparently found me a job. Two days a week in an accounts department in a hair and beauty retail/wholesale shop - everything I was looking for but then came the icing on the cake, the shop was within 400 meters of where I live and I walk past it almost every day on my way to the gym.
As I mentioned earlier, in my previous job nobody gave two straws to care about who wore what and frankly, I saved quite a bit of money on not buying new clothes. However, this new job got me thinking. Let me explain.
My husband and I live in a lovely part in Sydney that is geographically known as Sydney's Eastern Suburbs that as the name suggests, consists of up to 40 suburbs. It is a home to many mansiond with manicured lawns, olympic size pools and stunning views over the Harbour Bridge and iconic beaches. The suburb where we live is one of the few major commercial and transport hubs in the Eastern Suburbs called Bondi Junction which blends high-density urban living and premier retail shopping mainly congregated in 2 Westfield buildings sitting across the road from each other and which we can see from our apartment.
The Eastern Suburbs are demographically diverse and although over 50% of the population are born in Australia, there is a big diaspora of the jews from Hungary that settled here after they escaped the Nazis and the horrors of WWII and later were joined by Jews from the former USSR and other countries from the Eastern Block running from pogroms and antisemitism. There is also a significant presence of South Africans jews who where looking for a safe place to live.
As it happens everywhere in the world, each ethnic group are very close withing their own communities, they had known each other way before they came to live in Australia, they share the same traditions, food, culture and through marriages and other relations.
As it happens, the majority of Russian jews, present company included, came from the city of Odessa, a beautiful town on Black Sea. So if you are going shopping in Westfield Bondi Junction or seeing your dentist or going to the gym, chances are you bump into someone you know. And since I re-married a South African jew, my chances of bumping into someone I know have doubled up.
The reason I am telling you all this is that although Australians tend to dress very casually and love to wear shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops all year around, the Europeans and South Africans approached their outfits with great care and style and I do the same. You would never see me wearing leisurewear on the streets no matter how comfortable it might feel.
After I accepted my new job, it dawned on me that since I will be walking to and from my new office passing smartly dressed men and women on the way to their jobs, I probably should update my wardrobe. I wasn't going to buy business suits or high heel pumps, just a few key pieces that I could mix and match with my existing outfits that make me look smart with ease.
The key item #1 on my list was to buy a smart blazer. I didn't want it to be conservative and forego the classic black colour for light grey double-breasted wool blazer that I found at Reiss, one of my favorite brands. It was sold as a part of the suit but could also be purchased as a single item which I preferred.
Despite its classic cut, it looks great with jeans or in this case with my dark grey patterned flared pants from Zara just for fun. In warmer months I would wear a nice white t-shirt underneath but in a cooler month it's a white crisp shirt that I pair it with.
This white oversized shirt from Cos is my key piece #2. You must have at least one dress shirt in pure white colour in your wardrobe. there is something magical about this colour that would update and refresh your outfit in a flash. It could be fitted or loose, tucked away or worn over the pants, of soft or stiff fabric - the choice is totally yours. It also depends whether shirt in question is for casual or dress up wear.
I already have a white linen shirt in my wardrobe that goes well with causal slacks or jeans but since I wanted a shirt suit for the office, I chose a crisp white fabric.
And the last but not least the key piece #3 is a pair of good shoes. I stopped wearing heals a long time ago and was on a hunt for a pair of comfortable yet a statement pair of shoes and settled for black loafers. This shoe style has been on my fashion radar for years thanks to a pair of iconic casual loafers from Tod's. These days every fashion house has its own modern representation.
While the suede loafers are a perfect accessory for casual attire, a black shiny leather shoes with the solid leather sole gives your outfit a polish look. I chose mine from Maje and have become my "go to" shoes for many occasions.
I love wearing a scarf with my outfits. One - they add a touch of sophistication and a point of interest, two - they cover wrinkles on my neck 😊. The other accessory that I added to my otherwise monochromatic outfit is a brooch from the label called Parisian Cool that I discovered on the net.
I like to wear multiple rings on one hand but never more then three. The ones I am wearing now have been bought over the years from Tiffany &Co by my husband (his favourite gift shop)😃 to signify various occasions (my birthday, our wedding anniversary etc). The band and the Bone Ring are by Elsa Peretti for Tiffany as are my oversized High Tide earrings. The Loving Heart ring in the middle finger was designed by Paloma Picasso for Tiffany.
The black Armani bag was purchased in Venice on our honeymoon back in 2007 but it still looks great, a testimony to a true craftsmanship.
And that is all for now.
Until then,
Anna
xoxoxo
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