KANGAROO JUMPER AND A MINI SKIRT FOR SPRING

Hello dear friends, hope you are all ok.

Each day the weather is getting warmer and nicer and I can feel how my mood is lifting from the slumber of winter which quite obviously reflects in my spring wardrobe.  Last post was all about my new red dress, today I am sharing with you another colourful outfit that I bought for the spring season. this time my choice of colour was orange.  Orange is such an uplifting happy colour and depending on the hue, it suits the majority of skin types.  This antipodean spring is all about a splash of bright happy colour and bold silhouettes and I am loving it.

I can't speak on behalf of everyone, but I've noticed that the older I've become the less I am afraid of wearing bright clothes.  In fact, as we get older and our skin, hair and bodies have gradually lost the natural glow of youth, we need to bring in a new dimension to replace what has gone.  And that is where bright clothes, accessories, shoes and lipsticks come in handy.  For me, that is.  

It's not that I don't like to be dressed in the classic combos such as black and white or all neutrals etc, it's just sometimes my soul asks for extra stimulation and I feed it with bright colours.

This knit Roo jumper in salmon is simply adorable, I love this cute image of a proudly Australian kangaroo, whose iconic bounding stylised silhouette graces the tail of our QANTAS airplanes making them recognisable all around the world.   When I saw the jumper folded on a display table at Marcs store, I knew I had to have it.  

It was quite obvious that it will go with any kind of pants - jeans, slacks, trousers but I wanted something slightly less obvious.  In my mind I picture it paired with a slim fit mini skirt and looked around hoping to find one.  To my delight, next to me was a rack where I spotted a two-tone stripe mini skirt in orange and ivory and immediately took it to the dressing room.

I like its A-line shape, it is not too tight around the hips but still has slim shape and looks great paired with the Roo jumper.

Again, like with the red dress outfit, I was pretty sure that this outfit will look nice worn with sneakers but I wanted to test its versatility and for that reason opted for low heel dress shoes in a blue colour and grabbed a handbag to match.  Both of them are from Salvatore Ferragamo and have been in my wardrobe for years, their quality and classic style have passed the test of time.  You have seen me wearing them together or separately in multiple times.  

Finally, I added one more element to today's outfit - my Hermes scarf.   Its signature orange colour with the specks of blue was a perfect accessory that united all the pieces together into a cohesive outfit of the day.

Would you wear a short skirt?  What do you wear it with?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo

RED TIER TRAPEZE DRESS FOR SPRING

Hello dear readers, how are you all?

Spring is upon us, if you live in the southern hemisphere, that is and now it is the time to add some lighter and brighter items to your wardrobe.  Off with the thick warm fabrics, in with cotton, linen and other light, breathable fabrics that will keep you fresh all day long.

Case in point, my new tier trapeze shape cotton dress from Witchery in red.  There are so many points to like about this dress.  First of all, the colour.  I've been avoiding red colour clothes, especially if  it is in oversaturated hews, I think it looks too harsh against my skin, but this hue is in a darker shade of red and is quite agreeable with my complexion.  There are a lot of offices where I work, and I've noticed that the majority of young women who work there prefer to be dressed in black from head and toe.  And when it come to colours, it is, older women, who carry the flag.  I guess since we don't have the attributes of youth anymore, we compensate it with the addition of bright colours and bold prints.

The other feature of the dress that appeals to me a lot is this slightly exaggerated shoulder line that makes my sloppy shoulders look straight; the trapeze shape gives the dress an easy and relaxed feel and the length is perfect, not too long, and not too short.  The side pockets are a big plus for me as I sometimes don't know what to do with my hands.

I deliberately chose to wear it with high boots rather than sneakers.  They become such a "go to" and widely acceptable and appropriate footwear for all occasions that people stop bothering with wearing anything else.  The boots add the edge and elevate the dress from being too casual.

I wanted to make sure that as much as this dress qualifies as casual, with proper footwear and the right accessories it could be more than a just another day dress.

It was such a pleasure to do the photo shoot outdoors under the warm sun and bright blue skies amongst beautiful blooming azaleas.

Do you wear bright bold colours and what is your favourite.  Please let me know you the comment section below.

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo

Linking up with: Fine Whatever blog, Is This Mutton, Style Splash. Doused in Pink 

PINK TULLE SKIRT

 Hello dear friends,

It has been a while since my last post.  I was caught between having a nasty cold that significantly depleted my energy level which led to a long recovery which in turn affected my creativity skills.  But it's all in the past, hopefully, and I am all ready to have fun with fashion which brings me to today's post.

A few weeks ago my husband and I celebrated out 15th wedding anniversary.  If you are a regular reader of my blog, you might recall me mentioning that every month of the day of our wedding (it was on the 29th of July) my husband buys me, without failing, a small gift to mark the day and then on the actual day, spoils me with something more substantial.  

And you might understand my surprise when upon opening a beautifully wrapped gift, I saw a pink tulle skirt inside.  Slightly puzzled by his choice, I was just about to ask him, when I caught a sparkle in his eyes and a cheeky smile on his face and it dawned on me that it was a joke.  He could be such a tease sometimes. 

Once we both stopped laughing, he went to his office and came back with a proper gift.  It was a stunning looking watch with its face fully covered in sparkling crystals.  Turned out that the traditional 15th anniversary gift is a crystal and the most popular gift for this occasion is a watch. 

 

In the evening we went to a quite posh place for dinner and of course, I was wearing one of my new gifts (hint, it was not a tulle skirt😉).

However, I didn't discard it completely but rather accepted a challenge and gave it a go.  I paired it with a simple black sleeveless top, ballet flats and oversized hoop earrings. Not 100% convinced if I like it on me.  What do you think?  Please share your view in the comment section, your opinion means a lot to me.

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo

MINI SKIRT THREE WAYS

 Hello dear friends, how are you all?

The winter weather in Sydney is just awful, it's raining non-stop, there are lots of floods around the city and the wind and a low temperature are making our lives quite miserable to say the least.  And once you are inside, it is almost as cold as outside until you turn on the heater or air-conditioner.  Can hardly wait till the end of it.

Enough of whinging, let's have some fun.  The skirt you see me wearing was purchased on the same day as the outfit I was modelling for you on a previous post (you can re-capture it here) and was purchased almost on a whim as I was not planning to wear such a short skirt any time soon.  Actually, I don't even remember when was the last time I wore a short skirt at all.

Then I saw a post from Mireille of Chez Mireille Travel Mom blog where she was modelling a very similar skirt and looking absolutely gorgeous in it and asked myself: "Why not?"

So here are a few versions of my take on a mini skirt.

First one, which I call an "office outfit", contains of a white button up blouse, a skirt, high flat heel boots worn with thick black tights and a black blazer (seen here).

My second outfit is more street style, I wanted to play with opposites:  short skirt - long coat, however there is no reason that I can't wear it to the office.

And last but definitely not least - I swapped the shirt for a white t-shirt and top it up with my biker style leather jacket from Sandro (worn here) for a street style edgy look.

There are two reasons these images were taken indoors.  Number 1, the weather has been so awful, the rain has not stopped for days and going outside for a photo shoot rendering it impossible.  The other reason is I am still not 100% sure I am ready to show off this skirt in public.

What do you think?  Please leave your comments, I truly appreciate your opinion😍.

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo

ELVIS INSPIRED OUTFIT

Hello dear friends, hope you are well

There are many reasons why we look for new clothes.  Sometimes it is just a necessity to replace an old garment, other times it is for a special occasion such as a wedding, birthday or anniversary dinner and sometimes we do it just for fun .

Case in point, my today's outfit.  I was aimlessly wandering along the aisles of Zara waiting for my Pilates class to commence, when I stumbled upon these pants. Just looking at this fun print made me smile and I simply couldn't resist the urge to buy them.  As I was heading toward the cash register, I made a quick mental check of what could I wear them with and decided that I need something equally outrageous to go match their vibe.   

And just them my eyes caught an oversized blouse in extremely loud orange colour hanging on a nearby rack (it was very difficult to miss such a bright colour, wouldn't you agree?😃)  and I immediately knew that it would have to do.

I hastily paid for my new purchases and rushed to the gym but all I could think of during the class was how this outfit would turn out.

The moment I stepped inside my home, I went to my room to try it on.  I loved both pieces, the blouse looks a bit long but that this is the length de jour at the moment.  Besides, I can always tie it in around the waist if I want to make it look shorter.

When I looked at myself in a mirror, two images sprang to mind:  Elvis Presley (coincidentally, the Elvis movie had just been released throughout Australia, that's probably why I was thinking of him 😃) and a famous poster of John Travolta in the Saturday Night Fever movie.

And it was then that I decided to have some fun.  I grabbed my husband's guitar, donned big brassy rings on all of my fingers and pretended that I am Elvis Presley.

Once I was done with him, I moved on to imitate Travolta's most recognisable stance which, I must say with all honesty, looks likes like an easy thing to do but turned out to be quite tricky, especially when I was trying to stay still while my husband was taking photos.  I was having great fun all through the photo-shoot and that's what fashion is about.

Have a great week.

Until then,

Anna

xoxox

 

WINTER WHITES OR HOW TO LOOK STYLISH IN A PUFFER JACKET

Hello lovelies, how are you?

Our winter has been quite cold from day one, which is quite unusual, especially in the mornings.  The chill factor makes things much worse, sometimes I feel that my face is about to freeze and fall off.  The puffer jackets are flying off the racks like hot cakes and given that most manufactures stick to the colour black, we all now look like universal soldiers 😄.

As you can see from the previous post, I also wear a black thick jacket and it provides me with warmth  and comfort.  However, this winter I wanted to break away from the mainstream colours of winter such as your blacks and browns and explore other options such as shades of pale.  I started looking for a jacket that would not only be warm and cuddly but also helps me to retain a sartorial look.  I found my solution in a Uniqlo store when the jacket in a light tan colour caught my eye.  

It became my starting point and I went from there.  There is some unspoken rule saying that you only wear your whites in warmer months but I wanted override this misconception.  I believe that there is nothing wrong in wearing light colours on a winters day if you follow a few quite simple rules such as:

Avoid being dressed in white colour from head to toe.  If, for example, you choose to wear white denims, make sure that the other elements of your outfit are not.  Choose a soft neutral palette in tan, cream, nude or off white in soft warm fabrics and cosy styles.

Layering your clothes is a good idea for keeping you warm and mixing up different tones and textures.

We tend to wear less accessories during the cold months, so don't hesitate to go bold on sunglasses, handbags, thick scarves in interesting patterns could always add a pop of colour and interest to your sartorial winter look.

Have a great day, dear friends

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo