HOW I MADE A CHAMBRAY DRESS INTO A COAT (LOOK #1)

Hi everyone,

When it comes to clothes, the one thing that really makes me happy is the knowledge that the items in my wardrobe are worn to their full capacity.  As you know, versatility in clothes combined with an ability to mix and match them, results in a significant increase in the number of outfits in your wardrobe which in turn leads to saving clothet space and money.

Of course, you cannot wear a ball gown to do your grocery shopping and jeans and a tank top will always be what they are no matter how gorgeous the shoes that you wear with them are but certainly, there are some pieces in your wardrobe that would fit multiple purposes or weather seasons: a polo neck under a cami dress to keep that effortless everyday edge in cooler months or if you are facing a day-night scenario, you could wear a jersey tee under a sequin slip dress during the day and easily get rid of it for a night out. 

EVEN SMALL ACCESSORIES LIKE SCARVES, SHAWLS AND TIES WORN 

DIFFERENTLY COULD BE ALL YOU NEED TO NAIL YOUR OUTFIT OF THE DAY

As I mentioned previously, my shopping mantra for clothes is to buy them from the places where I can easily get a refund if I change my mind, so when I bring a new piece of clothing home, I try to figure out how it will fit in with my existing wardrobe and how many potential new outfits I can get out of it.  By following this rule, I have managed to avoid many disappointments and save myself a small fortune on otherwise unreturned and unwanted items.

This method, clearly, is not applicable when I travel, here I have to take a chance and hope for the best.

A case in point is my new chambray button down dress.  If you read my previous post, (A Chambray Dress for Stroll in the Park) I mentioned that I bought it in such haste that I didn’t even have time to think what I was going to wear it with and it took me a couple of months to finally put it on.

Now that I feel comfortable wearing it, I started thinking what else can I do with it.  The answer came sooner than I expected.  I was getting ready to meet our out-of-town friends to take them to one of my most favourite places in Sydney, Parsley Bay, when it occurred to me that the jacket that I was planning to wear over a t-shirt had been borrowed by my daughter and was not in sight.  It was also a possibility that I might never even see it again (if you live with a teenager, you probably know what I am talking about, right?  I was running out of time and started panicking when I my eyes set on the chambray dress, so I just grabbed it and headed for the door hoping that it would work.

 My outfit on that day was white cropped linen pants and a yellow t-shirt and multi-coloured open-toe shoes – very bright and summery.  I was carrying a messenger bag in muted blues and greys but it looked like it needed an injection of bright colours too, so what did I do?  I grabbed my skinny scarf in yellows, pinks and blues and tied it up around the bag.  It looked much better now. 

The day was sunny and quite warm but as the sun began to set, I felt a slight chill in the air and I put on the chambray dress, or shall I call it a coat now? Surprisingly, it seemed to match my outfit quite well.

To make it more cohesive (and to illustrate the point that I was making earlier), I used the same thin scarf but this time rather than wrapping it around my neck as you do with a tie, I just threaded it through the top button hole of the coat.  This unexpected accessory was just what I needed to give my outfit the desired twist.

Do you follow any rules when clothes shopping? Would like to hear your thoughts on the subject

Until then,

.

A CHAMBRAY DRESS FOR A STROLL IN THE PARK

Hello everyone,

Although I bought this chambray dress a couple of months ago on our last day in Lisbon or should I rather say during our last few hours before leaving for the airport to catch a flight to Madeira, today is the first time that I wore it.  

During our years of travelling my husband and I have established a peculiar custom:  we always save one place that we had on our “to do list” till the last day when we are about to leave and we call it “saving the best for last”.  It could be anything:  a visit to Buckingham Palace or a walk through beautifully landscaped garden in Kyoto or discovering the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore and I have to tell you, we never have been disappointed.

In keeping with that tradition, we left a visit to the of Castle of St George till our last day in Lisbon.  We also planned to visit a shop called A Vida Portuguesa, “a boutique that pays homage to the products of traditional Portuguese designers and artisans” that my older daughter had strongly recommended for us to see.  And so we went.

We thoroughly enjoyed the visit to the Castle and thus spent quite a bit of time there, leaving far less time then we had planned for the shop.  As we were briskly walking to our next destination, another shop, called Stradivarius caught my attention.  Usually, I can easily guess what type of clothing and for what age group the shop stocks by just by checking out the shop window and if I see the mannequins dressed in minuscule skirts and midriff tops, I walk away.  This shop was of a similar calibre except for a chambray dress on one of the mannequins that I have wanted to buy for myself for quite some time but couldn’t find one that I really liked.  So, I dragged my poor husband inside the store, grabbed the dress off the rack and rushed to the change room. 

I was such in a great rush that I could barely see myself in the mirror.  It looked ok and my husband was so relieved that I didn’t want to try anything else that he paid the price without even looking.  We left the shop in great haste, luckily A Vida Portuguesa was just around the corner and, as it turned out, the shop was rather small so it did not took us to long to visit.   By that time we were so late that we gave up on the idea of having a nice farewell lunch at one of the myriads of cafes and instead bought two pies and ate them while walking back to the hotel.

When I did try the dress on properly, I quiet liked it.  It is very casual day dress that can be effortlessly worn with shoes, sandals, sneakers or boots, ideal for the days when you don’t feel like making an effort but still want to look nice. 

And today is just one of these days.  After a few intense hours behind our computer screens, my husband suggested we take a break and just go down to a local shop for a cup of strong coffee and a short stroll along the beach afterwards.   It sounded like a good idea and so without too much thought, I just belted my new denim dress over the plain white t-shirt which I was wearing and was ready to go. My new metallic brogues (bought on the same holiday but from Athens) and matching socks completed my very comfortable look.  I grabbed the bag that I was carrying the night before and to my great relief found a pair of aviator shades that I needed for the walk.

What would you grab when you want to take it easy?  What is your take it easy outfit that you would just put on and be off?