What to wear where

I love this time to year.  Who doesn't?  Apart from work being chaotic, the weather is warming up, the days are long, there are so many catch ups planned with friends, work functions, client lunches.  And all the best events come to Melbourne.

I eBayed and donated most of my wardrobe in the spring so was excited to update my summer wardrobe which I haven't added anything to in a couple of years.  I've invested in some Bared sandals, Melinda Maria Jewellery and Zulu & Zephyr pieces.  Now hide the credit card and cyber Monday deals from me, please.

For Christmas Day, I can't go past Zimmermann this year with tan sandals and heaps of gold bangles.  The playsuit has pockets, a drawstring and can be worn for many different occasions over summer (and hopefully in Europe next June).

While I certainly won't be wearing a crop top, I know these shorts will be on high rotation this summer.  With bucketloads of fake tan.  

Oversized smock and sunscreen.  That's all! 

You never know what weather you'll get for a day or night at the tennis.  I love a crisp and oversized white shirt which protects from the sun but can also be layered under a knit if the weather is cool.  Flats are a must for covering the show court action, too and a tote bag fits a knit, bottle of water, sunscreen and other essentials.  

Party time

Surely finding a dress to wear to the myriad of events over the festive season is one of the most frustrating things?  Weddings, client lunches and Christmas parties, team celebrations?  Something nice AND occasion appropriate.  Phew.  I've got this little number coming my way to hopefully cover the gaps.  Gold accessories and a bright clutch??  Think my problem maybe solved.

By Johnny Yellow Window Dress

COS hits Melbourne

I wondered into the newly opened COS store on boxing day.  It was tame and everything was 30% off so I walked out with this gorgeous blue (which looks grey in the photo) knit and rose gold necklace.  The top has a full length zip at the back to add some contrast.  It's been on high rotation already.

2014 Christmas Gift Guide

My 2011 and 2013 editions were a hit.  I had lots of comments and tweets from people saying that they would be purchasing some of those items.  So lovely!

This year my focus is on the things my loved ones love, and getting them a luxury version of it.  The best seats I can find for a concert/ballet/opera.  The best chocolate.  The most luxurious candle.  Things along those lines.

Here are some ideas for all genders and ages.

Voted the world's best single malt whiskey.  And it's our very own.  

Marching Powder book.  For the men in your life who aren't huge readers but love a rough and tumble story.  Have heard great reviews from some guys I work with.  

Paul Smith socks.  Superior in style and quality. 

If you really want to be in his good books this year.... Skywatch.  They are giving all the wonderful readers of this blog $100 off any purchase. Use code WOREITWELL at checkout.  Let me know what your favourite is.

Frank Body scrub and balm pack.  THE BEST! 

Samantha Wills Bardot ring - amazing in every colour. 

I really, REALLY want these Frend x sass & bide headphones.  So if someone is looking for a gift to buy me, this is it haha

I am actually saving this for Ariana's birthday, but it looks so fun I couldn't resist when I found it online for 40% off.  Valley Treehouse - one left here.

I've got this little Apples to Pears Farm in a Tin ready to go for our flight.  Such a fun gift for little ones who love to take things in and out of boxes a thousand times.  

Dry body brushing

I have oily, yet at the same time horribly dry skin. It's often a fine line between the two. Neglecting one problem makes the other worse. Kiehl's Creme de Corps is an expensive necessity for the dryness (yes I've tried every alternative and they have all failed) and recently I've become obsessed with dry body brushing. Not only does it remove all the visible (and invisible) dry skin but it allows my moisturiser to absorb deeper and I swear it helps with lumps and bumps. I should have jumped on the bandwagon much sooner. The Mio brush fits perfectly in the hand and when I'm organised enough to have a proper morning shower I notice how much more awake I feel as it tingles and boosts circulation.  Highly recommended in any bathroom.

Hello new bikini!

I am on an absolute shopping ban at the moment.  Cutting back work also means cutting back everything else in life.  It's kind of liberating and freeing.  I got rid of 80% of my wardrobe earlier this year.  I had been doing it wrong in recent years.  I was constantly buying bits and pieces and not really enjoying them.  My favourite things that I was always going back to were now 7-8 years old and they needed to go.  As did the more recently acquired pieces that I didn't love and thus couldn't make work.  It was the classic girls case of opening an overflowing wardrobe and having nothing to wear.  

I guess the ban isn't so much for financial purposes, but rather to evaluate what I need.  What's missing, what needs replacing.  Just making the right choices.  I honestly dream of being that who has a bunch of pieces that make up 20 outfits.  The end.

I am already mentally packing for my trip.  I've got 2.5 weeks annual leave and lots and lots of beach time planned.  And I'm determined to pack the best holiday wardrobe that ever existed.  HA!

I added this gorgeous Etro bikini to the fold for a grand total of $38 thanks to the amazing Net-a-Porter further reductions section.  

And I came across this little surprise that I absolutely love - a very well priced summer beauty essentials box that they're doing.  Fantastic products in travel size.  What more could you want for holidays?  There's cleaner, bath oil and make up essentials, all that I plan to take (except BB cream perhaps)? 

Rain, rain

Image via Country Road

It has been raining non stop for the past 3 days.  That constant drizzle.  Rain drops on the roof and trickle down the gutters.  The front garden is littered with brown leaves from the Magnolia tree.  The days are getting shorter and nights are getting colder. Summer is over.  When a season ends I always look ahead and wonder just WHAT it is that I wore last winter.  How did I survive the endless bone breaking chill?  

I have the foundations for my winter wardrobe.  I have flat knee high boots which only get better with age.  I have leather leggings and my DL1961 jeans fit perfectly for now.  Now I want a thousand knits and a thousand scarves and a thousand Bassike long sleeve tees to layer under said knits.  And everything else I want to throw in the bin.  That's fair, right?

Maxi dreams

Is there a style or an item of clothing you've always wanted to wear but could never pull of? Or could never actually find in a store or on a website?

For me, it's the maxi dress.

I've always envisaged it flowing and being easy to throw on, yet everything I came across was too short, too clingy and unflattering. Or I looked like a beast in it. Maybe I need to be tiny and petit like Nicole Ritchie? Pangs of envy at those who can pull it off.

Having long given up on the idea of ever finding anything that would suit me, I came across this Something About Eve dress. On the sale rack for $10. It's long and it looks kind of ok. We maybe in the midst of winter right now, but that just gives me more time to figure it out...

Shopping out of season

Something I do best!

I seem to be in a perpetual mode of throwing out and selling items in my wardrobe. No matter what I buy, the old stuff is always a favourite. I'm not sure if it's my style that's changing, or the current fashions that I'm not enjoying.  The newly acquired items end up on eBay much faster than the old.  Which means I'm always wearing the same stuff.

Considering the fact that I am about to wave goodbye to my corporate day job for a while (scary story for another day) and be entirely without much disposable income as I give my brain and body a much needed rest after an intense 6 years in the home of repairing the damage, I should probably not be worrying about my wardrobe all that much, but I couldn't help myself with these newbies from Witchery.  Such cute and cosy buys for my upcoming jeans days.

I can't believe how fast summer is passing by.  January, my favourite month, is long gone.  My baby brother is 21.  Traffic is at a standstill again.  February is as busy as ever with social events and I'm desperate for a few more sunny days to spend at the beach. A linger Indian summer is requested... Why is summer always faster than winter...

Linen stripe tee - Witchery

Silk Underlay Knit - Witchery

Gorgeous baby

This pretty girl has been hanging around my desk waiting for me to make a decision. Guilty feeling. Suede (not the most practical).

Bullet has been bitten.

Hello gorgeous girl.

Mid life (fashion) crisis

Witchery Lace Peplum top

I don't know if it's the fact that I'm itching so dangerously close to turning 30 but I'm finding clothes and shopping to be a complete drag.  Everything that's being thrown at me has no appeal or is horrendously overpriced that all I can do is shake my head.  I overanalyse absolutely every purchase, even mulling over a $19 singlet from Sportsgirl that I know is NEEDED to layer to make an outfit work.  I spent two hours yesterday wandering around the mall yesterday only to walk out empty handed, when I knew I desperately needed things to wear over summer.  The Net-a-Porter free shipping code also rendered my cart empty.

Is anyone else feeling the same, or have you had a similar experience?

Of course all is not lost.  I am squirreling away some money and focusing on Christmas presents for loved ones.  It's not all doom and gloom.

Boot scootin'

What better way to procrastinate getting out of bed to go to the gym than trying to decide which new boots to buy for next winter. Right as summer is about to start.  Typical me.

As I'll be taking most of next year off, the pony hair boots couldn't be justified.  I couldn't blame my clients for needing them.

Instead I hit the practical route and got these.  They will probably serve me better and wiser next year and could well come to France with me, depending on when I go.  It's all about the inner dialogue justifying it to the wallet.

The real issue at hand however is what on earth I'm going to wear this summer, if summer ever decides to arrive (last night I had the heating on).  Most of my wardrobe was sold or thrown out this year and I hate all the fluro tank tops they're trying to make me wear.  May just live in a sarong.

Denim Dilemma

The last pair of jeans that I bought were my beloved J Brand ink blue skinny denims in March 2009 in New York!  The only pair of jeans I have.  My jeans have to have at least a 32"+ inseam, which eliminates most pairs and I'm also in between sizes making it very difficult.

ShopBop currently has a tempting 20% off discount code (INTHEFAMILY20) so I'm on the verge of adding a new pair, but help me decide on a pair, please!  And you're not allowed to say all three..

DL1961 Kate Slim Straight Leg Jeans

J Brand Waxed Jeans

Current/Elliott Black Skinny Jeans

Reasons to Wolford

If I was Oprah and I had the opportunity to share my favourite things, it would be easy for me to choose.  Everyone would get the exquisite Gordon Ramsay for Royal Doulton Platinum dinner set that I am completely obsessed with right now.  The J Brand 901 waxed jeans.  And some Wolford tights.

It took me forever to take the Wolford plunge, but little did I know that they are indestructible, I would have taken the plunge a lot sooner.  Where most tights tear within a couple of wears, Wolfords stand the test of time.  Third winter for my first pair.  Not bad.

For someone like me, who wears variations on a daily basis (opaque tights, black tights with a seam at the back, which are impossibly sexy, as well as my new obsession-polka dot tights) what is there not to love?  They cover skin imperfections, tuck bits in, hold warmth and best of all, make shoes comfortable by absorbing the friction between the skin and shoe.

Climbing...

As I had promised myself, 2012 is all about righting the wrongs and looking after myself better. Whereas my usual trips (I don't use the term holiday as holidays mean doing nothing but when I travel I have to see every little corner) are all about visiting the hot spots and planning every last second.

I booked a trip this week that requires hiking boots (gulp), ear muffs and a back pack. With not a shop in sight. I'm carefully working on the itinerary but trying to be flexible. There are too many glaciers to climb. Hoping the fresh air will do me a world of good. Any tips for a first timer welcome...

"I generally avoid temptation, unless I can't resist it" - Mae West

I've never been much of a bag girl.  I own 2 proper bags, a couple of little fun (and cheap) ones and 3 clutch bags.  I find it extremely difficult to find a bag I love.  Think roomy, buttery soft leather, no external pockets or zips or dangling bits.  Yet a price that somebody who doesn't love bags is prepared to pay.  Impossible?

Last year I spent big on a J Dauphin bag and the zip broke after 3 days. Then I found something that ticked all the boxes, only to be running for the train a week later, getting the door closed on me with the bag outside and me inside (when the door closed shut the handle broke and all of my belongings were splattered on the platform at peak hour and the train had to make an emergency stop)... anyway.

So no bag, for ages.

I had steered clear of Scanlan & Theodore all year.  Huge weakness of mine since my early 20's and here I am wanting to kick some major goals in 2011 (like Paris).  Didn't mix well.  The only way was to staaaaay awaaaaay.  Except that one time... when I walked in and fell in love with one of their house label bags.  A bag that would have equaled about 6 months worth of my I'mOnATightBudgetPendingTripToParis play money.  No bag.

6 months later, I'm back from Paris, still without a bag and I get an SMS.  VIP sale starting TOMORROW.  I'm standing out the front waiting for the doors to open (I know, I know) and I spy THE BAG!  With a blue tag on it.  70% off?  You betcha.

We've been happy for a week now.  She's buttery soft, fits my whole life in it.  Has no unnecessary bits hanging on the outside.  It's true love.

3 pairs of shoes in a week? I need an intervention!

2010 was proudly the year that I did not purchase a single pair of shoes. The 6 inch "Kardashian Kraze" was not to my liking at all so I stuck to what I had.  As I teenager my mum did not let me wear heels. So of course I locked away pocket money and went with my best friend when we were both nearing our 18th birthday to purchase the highest pair of heels I could find and afford (I think they were about $60 from Williams).  My friends parents were a little more understanding than mine so my shoes stayed hidden at her houses and I totted around in them every time I stayed over.

My mum had never worn heels so thought it was the right choice for me as well.  I had all the freedom in the world - to go where I want and wear what I want.  But no high heels.

You see my mum was one of those chic European women who had an enviable capsule wardrobe. Her winter coat cost 5 months of her (very high at the time) salary.  I remember when she went to Italy to buy it.  But she wore it for 10 years. I remember her amazing leather sandals and belts and jewellery and stunning silk blouses.  I remember every piece and I swear had any of it survived our rushed move to Australia I would be wearing all of it now.

In the wide open spaces of Australia we drive everywhere.  I know people in their 30's who have never stepped foot onto a train.  Paris, being a relately small city area wise with such a huge population had no traffic.  Why?  Because everyone used the metro.  Walking everywhere and up and down the stairs of the metro meant that flats was the foot wear of choice.  And everyone looked chic all the same.

This has inspired me to rethink my shoedrobe.  Most of my shoes are torture devices.  They're fine when I try them on, they're fine for the first hour or so, but after that I'm in agony. Maybe my mum was onto something.

Since returning home from my trip I have acquire 3 new pairs of shoes... Including these wonderful brighton Zara sandals.

Wang crush

Despite my Accu Weather app telling me that Melbourne is currently 7C but feels like -1C, I am completely loving this Alexander Wang dress.  The colour, the drape, the everything.

It's been a long time since I've really fallen in love with an item of clothing.  And it feels good to be back.

Breakfast at Grace

Last week I had the immense pleasure of perusing pretty things over breakfast and coffee with some of Melbourne's wonderful style bloggers at Grace boutique in Toorak.  Such a wonderful space filled with clothes, accessories and knick knacks that would make the perfect gift for just about anyone in your life.

Georgia and Ilana opened Grace in 2007 after reconnecting in New York (lucky ducks) and have since filled Grace with a niche blend of gorgeous, complimentary items from some of the most distinctive international brands around the world (think Carven & Anna Sui) and of course their own house label, Grace.

A real, wonderful shopping experience in a world increasingly reliant on a quick fix online shopping binge.  I think there's still something wonderful about receive personal attentive service in a pretty store and skipping away with a new treasure wrapped in tissue paper.

Grace
595 Malvern Road
Toorak
(03) 9827 2133