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 BLUE AND WHITE MARBLE-PATTERNED PANTS

It is one of life’s true facts that the weather has an effect on our moods that consequently influences our choice of clothes.  Even if you work in an office with the most rigorous dress code, some small details of your outfit could reveal your mental state of the day.

So it was no surprise that when I woke up last Sunday morning and saw a bright blue sunny sky and felt the warm breeze on my skin (it is winter at its peak in the Southern Hemisphere) that I wanted my mood to match the colour of the clear sky, and hence my true blue outfit.

Dressed in the same blue from head to toe could sometimes be plain boring, but if you think about how many adjectives describe the colour blue: such as royal blue, duck egg blue, baby blue, navy blue, turquoise and even Tiffany blue, you can easily transform your look from boring into a true fashion statement.

They key is to build monochromatic layers of the same hue where each layer represents a different shade, tone or intensity.   In other words, do not distribute the same colour evenly throughout your entire outfit.  I like to use 70:20:10 formula that is quite often used amongst interior stylists, where 70 is your principal colour, 20 – is the contrast colour and 10 - is for the colour pop. 

Jumper:  Cotton On

Jeans:  Mason Scotch (I wore them here)

Shoes:  Glassons

Hand bag:  Coach (I had it here)

Jacket: Country Road

While my main outfit is predominately light neutral blue, a dark royal navy colour scarf is not just an attribute to winter but together with an even a darker hued jacket they add a sharpen contrast to the outfit.  I am a big lover of colour pop, hence my choice of a hand bag and jewelry.  The mannish duck-egg blue shoes add a street edge and an extension of colour palette.

A small injection of whites and neutrals will effortlessly help to anchor a single colour outfit, add an interesting texture and bring another dimension to the final look.

How would you wear one colour? Would love to hear your comments, suggestions or anything else you want to share.