The anti 'classic' wardrobe - the new LBD

This year, on New Years Eve

I think I must have read 2,548,321 articles in fashion magazines telling me I have to have a LBD or little black dress to make my life complete. I love dresses. They are a wardrobe staple for me. Not one of the dresses in my current wardrobe edit is black. Or a classic 'LDB' shape. Its not me. It doesn't suit my age, my style, my occupation (I have a uniform so work clothes are of no use to me currently) and so I don't own any. If you have 1 or 20 and they work for you, I applaud you. Maybe one day I will want one. In the meantime, I will continue to twist the 'classics' to suit me. I completely believe in having basic building blocks in your wardrobe, they are just not going to be the same for everyone.

What I wore - The trans-seasonal skirt

Its 6am as I'm writing this and it's way too warm for this time of day. This last week I have had to ditch my winter dressing gown for my light cotton short-sleeved one. Its only half-way through spring and already we are getting 30'c days. But the weather can still be unpredictable. That's why trans-seasonal dressing is so important at the moment, and so difficult! That's why I love this outfit. The skirt is long enough to offer a little coverage but is made of a very light fabric so still keeps you cool on warmer days. The jacket has moved out of winter and into spring by teaming it which this outfit rather then the jeans and boots I teamed it with all winter.  Soon I will  be ditching the jacket, switching the 3/4 sleeved top to a singlet and trading the ballet flats for strapy sandals or wedges. Just like last year. I love an item that can so easily take you through different seasons and different occasions.

White 3/4-sleeved top, skinny blue-suede belt, beaded necklaces, orange pleated skirt, pink-suede ballet-flats

Add a tan-suede biker style jacket for extra warmth and a bit of edginess

Trans-seasonal Dressing - One Dress, Two Ways

I love summer dresses. Just simple, casual sun dresses with a fitted tank on top and a cute flippy skirt on the bottom. They are my go-to pieces as they work just as well around the house on a lazy afternoon as they do at a summer BBQ or casual dinner when dressed up with jewelled flats and great accessories.

What's even better about these dresses is the fact that if they are in neutral tones and a simple shape, they can easily be rugged up for the cooler months.

This dress was $19 from Girl Express at Kmart last September. You don't get much better than that. I have got a lot of wear out of it, in all situations and weather.
Below is my fashion equation for using one dress in two different seasons.

Spring/Summer

Dress + Long Floaty Vest + Beaded flats

=

A cute breezy summer outfit, just add colored jewelry for a pop of colour

(BTW, that adorable creature in my arms in my new nephew, how cute is he!)

Autumn/Winter

Dress + Leggings

+ Boots + Long-sleeved Tee + Coloured Belt

=

A cute and comfy, casual winter outfit. Add a blazer or coat for extra warmth.

Trans-seasonal dressing - boots with bare legs

Sunday was one of the first times this year that I was going out early in the morning when the air was fresh and cool. We went to check out an organic market in the city to get some fresh fruit and vegies. The problem with dressing on these kind of days is that it is quite cool in the shade but warm in the sun and bound to get hotter as the day goes on. The perfect opportunity for a trans-seasonal outfit. If only it was that easy.

I started with a new black and white Brenton stripped t-shirt dress. But what to wear on my legs and feet? It was too cool for bare legs and sandals or ballet flats (and Im currently on the lookout for a new pair so that wasnt an option anyway) and I knew I would overheat later in the day with leggings and boots.

Enter my new fave idea for 'in-between' dressing; boots with bare legs. I wore my new flat, over the knee riding boots and finished it off with a three-quater sleeved pale grey long-line blazer. Comfy, practical and (hopefully!) stylish. Mission complete.

The magic dress' first adventure

Here are some pics of me at my sister-in-laws wedding wearing my new convertible wrap dress.

Statement ring

I love this ring I found on my holiday. Its a great statement piece to dress up any outfit.

Bye bye black, hello colour!

The unthinkable has happened. I think I must have amnesia. Or a new personality. Gone is my urge to try on and buy everything black, white, grey and denim. Instead, I now walk past anything that isn't a solid jewel tone. Hooray! Colour has arrived! The fashion world has finally decided to let us be bright and colourful and fun! In the past I really wanted to buy something that wasn't BLACK but I honestly couldn't find any colour in stores that wasn't red or aubergine. Yuck, they don't count as brights, just are just different versions of neural in my opinion (probably because I'm not very fond of either colour).

But with colour blocking on trend this season, I have managed to buy lots of gorgeous brightly coloured pieces of clothing and shoes (oh the shoes!). I will post my various coloured outfits bit by bit or you may all have colour overload and go have an fit from all the flashing colours!

I have had a lot of fun mixing, matching and clashing my outfits and I think I've had pretty good results (most of the time). And as I have so many neutrals in my wardrobe already, I have lots of basics to pair my new flashes of colour with!

This outfit is one of my favorites. Especially the shoes (shooooeessss!!). I have also paired this skirt and shoe combo with a royal blue top and it looked great.

So keep an eye out of my colourful posts (you won't be able to miss them if you try!)

And, welcome to summer :)

Op shop find of the month!

I have officially found the op shop buy of the month, maybe the year!
It is a great 1950's style wide-set halter top which zips up the back and is nice and long with just the right amount of stretch to keep those love handles in check. It's in the cutest print - white with black polka dots. Love. And only cost $5.50! It's times like these I love op shopping

Beware though, op shopping can have hidden dangers. On the same shopping trip that I found my great top, I also came away with a tacky, synthetic Cotton On skirt. Not so good. Cotton On is often hit and miss even when purchased brand new in the right season let alone a few years old out of somebody else's wardrobe. But such are the perils of op shopping. As Maggie Alderson (the authority in fashion writing in my opinion) once wrote, there is such a thing as shopping relativity. Namely, the desirability of objects is relative to the other objects around them.

Which means that when you go to a yucky secondhand store filled with junk and 80's frilled nightmares, an 100% synthetic fluro yellow jumpsuit can suddenly seem quite attractive. It can be an easy trap to fall into. Once back home next to clothes from the real world, you realise that your amazing op shop find (I can't believe it hadn't been snapped up yet?!, what a bargain!) is actually so hideous and unwearable it would make Elle Macpherson look ugly. The best tip when op shopping is to look for quality labels. The upside is, a fashion mistake in an op shop will probably only set you back $7 rather than the $70 they would charge in a 'real' store.

Happy op shopping!