HOW I STYLED MY NEW RL POLO BLACK DOUBLE BREASTED BLAZER PART II

 Hello everyone, hope you are doing well

By following the blogs of my English friends, I learned that the things in Britain are looking good 😄:  the businesses are starting to open up and people can move more freely and do a lot of things they were not able to do for a long, long time.

We Australians, consider ourselves extremely lucky as we practically got rid of locally transmitted Covid-19.  Our borders are still shut to the world😞 and the only people who are allowed to cross them are Australian nationals returning home.  

Do you remember my new RL black double breasted blazer that I recently shared with you here?  As our weather is cooling down, I am relying more and more on its presence in my wardrobe.  I am wearing it with almost everything, thanks to its versatility which brings me to today's outfit.

It is another monochromatic outfit but this time it's in reverse, i.e. black on the top, white on the bottom.  I love wearing white denim pants and judging by the number of outfit images shared on various media platforms, so do many other women, and not just in the warm months but even in winter.

The top is above mentioned RL black double-breasted blazer (new), all other elements of this outfit are old and have been shown before in various posts.

Have a great week ahead

Until then,

Anna

xoxo

This post was featured on Links à la Mode fashion roundup by Independent Fashion Bloggers.

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BLACK LINEN PANTS WITH PEARL BUTTONS

 Hello dear friends, hope you are well.

I had quite a busy week.  My grandson just turned two months and I thought it was high time to introduce him to my extended family.  BC (before COVID) times, they would just roll up at the hospital the next day after his birth bearing gifts, flowers and best wishes and it would be all.  Now, with the restrictions limiting the number of visitors to just two at time and the time that the mother and a new born stay at the hospital is shortened to the necessary minimum, some of them didn't even have a chance to stop by.  Then my daughter didn't want to have anything till his first vaccination, then there was Pesach closely followed by Easter and at long last, the date was set.  

Traditionally, it's the young parents who would host such an occasion with the help of grandparents, of course, however, unluckily for me, my daughter wasn't interested in doing anything at all which I kind of understand, what with looking after two children under school age and all, so I took it upon myself to take charge and have it at my home.  

I prepped, chopped, sliced, marinated and cooked loads of food for twenty people (eighteen of mine +my two in-laws).  My husband took a rain over BBQ while I was playing a role of the hostess with the mostest 😋. 

We both felt totally exhausted by the end of the big day but everyone seemed to be enjoying  themselves judging by the number of phone calls and messages I received from my guests afterwards thanking me for having a good time.  Mission accomplished👍👍👍. 

Although the Australian summer season is officially over,  the days are surprisingly warm and we can still wear our light clothes.  Speaking of light clothes, this summer season the most commonly worn fabric on the fashion scene was linen.  

I have never seen so many women dressed in linen smocks or men wearing linen shirts and shorts since my last trip to Italy.  I wasn't going to jump on this wagon until I saw these black cropped linen pants from Pingpong.  

The problem with having too many black pants is that quite often they look almost identical unless there is some distinctive feature that will tell them apart.  In the case of my new trousers, it was the presence of white pearl decorative buttons that set makes them look different that caught my eye.

This outfit is rather obvious, a never failed old time favourite black and white combo from head to toe.  The blouse is from Reiss that I previously modelled for you here, I like the striking contrast of these two colours:  white blouse against black pants punctuated by the big white pearl buttons all the way dawn to my black&white LV sneakers.  Even my off-white Furla handbag comes with a black trim around it 😀.

Hopefully the weather will hold a little longer so I can give my new purchase a whole run.

Till the next post, dear friends

Anna

xoxo

ADD A COLOUR PUNCH TO A CLASSIC BLACK AND WHITE

Hi everyone,

I love shift dresses and this one is one of my favourites.  It has an easy feel about it, suits almost all body shapes and thanks to its strong monochromatic print does not require much accessorising.  Made out of thick cotton, it is perfect for Sydney's winter.  I usually wear it with thick black leggings under a warm winter coat.

Today the temperature has climbed up a little and I was able to ditch my warm coat in favour of a much lighter version and take a nice stroll through the park with my husband.

This coat is one of my favourites because of its print:  while its colour combo of black and white speaks of timeless elegance, its animal print carries a totally different message, telling the world that the women wearing this coat likes to have some fun with fashion.

Last Saturday while sitting in the hairdresser's chair waiting for the hair colouring to take effect and flipping through a home styling magazine, I came across an image of a beautifully decorated living room with the comment underneath saying:

"

START WITH THE TIMELESS BLACK AND WHITE, THEN ADD PUNCH AND PERSONALITY

"

 and although that comment was referring to a room, I can't see why it could not equally be applied to fashion.

Once I've read what I wrote, I  realised that this post is rather short but hey, sometimes a picture worth a thousand words, right?

I am wearing a dress from Zara, coat from Joan Lambert, boots by Robert Clergerie, handbag by Coach.

Until then

Anna

xo

Linking up with Shelbee on the Edge, Fine Whatever blog

HOW I STYLED WHITE DENIMS FOR A DINNER PARTY

Hello my dear readers and fellow bloggers, hope you are all well.

My life has been rather hectic lately, what with the arrival of my first granddaughter and my younger daughter being on school holidays, I sometimes didn’t know what to do first.

One thing I know for sure is that after seeing so many pictures of my fellow bloggers wearing white jeans, I wanted to have a pair of my own.  I didn’t want to buy them in summer as it was too hot to wear them anyway but now that summer is over and the days are cooler, it is a perfect time to don a pair of whites.

When I finally made it to the shops, I had spent a fair amount of time choosing a pair of white jeans that was right for me.  This time I stayed away from anything that was distressed, torn or frayed.  I wanted something less trendy and more classic, something that could last me for a couple of seasons and could be easily dressed up and down depending on the occasion. I will be experimenting with the looks as the time goes by so expect to see more about them.

I settled on a pair of white denims from J Brand, without any bells and whistles, not too skinny or cropped, in other words exactly what I was looking for.

A few days later I had an opportunity to put them to the test.  We were invited to dinner at a restaurant that could be described as fine dining without the highly starched table cloth – an ideal place to wear designer jeans providing that your accessories are top notch.

I figured that the best way to go would be to revert to the classic combo, black and white.  Traditionally, you will wear black on the bottom with white on top but tonight I decided to wear them in reverse.

I contemplated wearing my pearls but thought that they would be more suite for a “going to the Opera" look and chose a black and white scarf instead.

It belonged to my late mother-in-law and I felt very privileged when my father-in-law, who lives in Cape Town, asked my husband on his last visit if I would like to inherit her collection.  When my husband returned home and unpacked his bag to show me the collection, I lost my speech.  I knew that she loved scarfs but I couldn’t imagine the extent of the collection.

I have started fashioning them on the blog lately (here, here and here) but it would take me many posts to share all them with you.

I loved this scarf the minute I took it out of the suitcase.  It brought back the nice memories of seeing these graceful animals in their natural habitat in the game parks of South Africa that we visited during our annual visits to Cape Town to see my husband’s parents when my mother in-law was still alive.

When I looked at it, I thought it was just a simple zebra print but on the closer inspection I could see an animal’s head with its big brown eyes looking directly at me.

Sadly, when I tried to tie around my neck the bandana in a way to show off the zebra’s head, it looked like I was wearing a bib, so I had to turn it around.

I deliberately kept the black and white monochrome throughout my entire outfit, the only colour pop that I indulged were the red soles of my Christian Louboutin shoes and a red gloss on my lips.

Don’t you think that this scarf is adorable?  Do you like wearing scarf or prefer to leave them out of your outfit?  Would like to hear your take on it.

Until then.

Anna

xo 

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy, Seeking Sunshine, Living on Cloud Nine, High Latitude Style, Not Dead Yet Style

WIDE LEG WHITE PANTS TWO WAYS

Hi everyone,

Last week a work friend of mine and I went to attend the “2016 Designers Fair’ not far away from my home.  I like this type of events for a number of reasons.  First and foremost, it is a great opportunity to meet and learn from cutting edge designers, media gurus and the like, to hear them talking about upcoming trends in design and interior styling whether it is about colours, shapes or new materials.  It is also a great creative hub where you can find interesting ideas for your own home.  

There were plenty of stalls dedicated to fashion and all sorts of accessories so normally it is a full on affair and a place to see and be seen.  We all too familiar with the saying “Do not judge a book by its cover” and yet first impressions count as people, more often then not, perceive you by the way you are dressed way before they can form an opinion about what kind of person you are.

Knowing this only too well, I decided to put some thought into my outfit.  For quite some time I was on the hunt for a pair of white pants for the upcoming spring and summer but couldn’t find anything that I liked.   All I saw where two extremes:  skinny jeans or wide-legged pants and at the moment I am not crazy about both.  I already have the former, as for the latter, every pair I’ve tried; the legs were so exaggeratedly wide and totally unpractical to wear.   I am guessing that this trend will not be around for long and I wanted something more classic.

Then one day I stepped inside “Maison Scotch” store and the first item I saw was a pair of white wide -leg pants with thin black and a little bit wider, light blue stripes.  I loved them immediately.  Not believing it was my lucky day, I took a pair into a dressing room but even before I checked myself in the mirror, I knew that they were made for me.

The weather that day the fair was held was coolish and sunny, perfect for my new purchase.  I didn’t want to look like I was trying too hard to make an impression and since it was a day-time affair, nor did I want to look too serious but yet stylish.  So as a top, I chose a plain black button down shirt.  We all know that it is almost impossible to go wrong with black and white combo.  For fun, I chose a long string of faux pearls that went around my neck a la Chanel style. 

When deciding what to put on my feet, I had to compromise style for comfort, hence my flat sandals.

We had a great time, but true to my word (read here), I was very good and stayed away from the temptation just enjoying the creative atmosphere around us.  My friend, on the other hand, indulged herself to the fullest.

I couldn't resist the temptation to take this photo next to this cute red Vespa

Next day for a casual lunch and a stroll around the park, I wore the same pants paired with a white loose-fit top and white Converse shoes.  Very casual, very relaxed, that is a Sunday for me.

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy, Beauty 101 by Lisa, Fashionista Momma, My New Happy, The Blended Blog, Posh Classy Mom, Fine Whatever, Style Nudge

WHITE LACE BLOUSE WITH BLACK & WHITE FLOWER PRINT PENCIL SKIRT

Hi everyone,

Traditionally, the term eclectic style is applied to the world of design and its philosophy is as simple as this: “To combine elements or particular styles from different time periods and different origins in a harmonious fashion”.

I think I could, to some extent, say the same about my personal style.  If you have been following my blog, you will notice how many different looks I came up with during my two years of blogging.   There is, however, a common thread that can be easily spotted and that is, as much as I like a casual and relaxed style of clothing such as jeans, jogger pants, t-shirts and sneakers for day-to-day general activities, I equally like to dress up for an occasion and that includes high heel shoes, nice hand bags, elegant blouses, pencil skirts and pretty dresses. 

And the occasion for this post was an outing to the Sydney Opera House to hear Lang Lang playing the piano.  My choice for the night was a delicate white lace top, a pencil skirt with a flower pattern and a pair of black high heeled classic pumps.

Looking at my two previous posts (ripped raw hem jeans and Military jacket) and comparing them with the one you are reading now, proves that what I said earlier about my eclectic taste, which in turn, defines my unique personal style. It also shows the impact of how different styles of clothes can change the way we in which we perceive other people and how through clothes, you can express yourself and your unique style and personality.

When it comes to define my personal style, I would say “My style is what makes me look good and feel confident".

And in order to be able to say and feel this way, you should have a good knowledge of your body shape, skin complexion, hair colour and other physical attributes that will help you to determine what works best for you and forge your own unique style. 

It does not happened over night but it is rather an on-going process of trial and error and you should not be put out by the challenges that might come along.

Blouse:  Asilio

Skirt:  Zara

Shoes:  Christian Dior

Surely, as life goes on and our body changes as the years go by, our style of clothing changes with it, but whatever defines your ”personal style”, your unique sense of fashion will remain unchanged.

Please remember that nobody’s perfect and I would not waste a minute of my life trying to be otherwise, however a healthy diet, the right amount of exercise and general well-being are key factors in feeling well and looking fabulous.

Until then,

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK

I have always loved the colour orange.  It makes me feel happy, reminds me of the sunny days of summer and most importantly, it flatters my skin tone, as it does for other types, bringing a natural glow and radiance to the skin. 

I am often asked how to find what a particular colour matches with.  My advice is to look at the colour wheel.   As a rule, the colour in question is best to be paired with the colours that sit on the right and left of the colour in question.  These are called harmonious colours.  If you are after a strong contrast of colours and wish to create a dramatic statement, go for the colours that sit exactly on the opposite side on the colour wheel.  These are called complimentary colours.

Top: Simona

Skirt:  Zara (I wore it here)

Shoes:  Louis Vuitton (I wore it here)

Another way to enhance the beauty of this strong hue is to wear it together with similarly strong pattern such as with animal prints or with with a black and white motif and keep the accessories to a minimum.

And despite the fact that it was trendy a few years ago, I still love to wear my orange shirt or skirt and put on my shockingly bright orange Dolce & Gabanna sling backs.

Skirt:  Karen Millen
Top:  D&G
Shoes:  Dolce & Gabbana