Monday 30 September 2013

In The House

I have been wanting to put some pictures of my new house up on the blog for a while, but it has taken us some time to properly settle in and I didn't want to rush anything. Today is a public holiday in my city (hooray!) and I have spent the day cleaning and doing bits and pieces around the house, so I figured now was a better time then most to show off a little bit of my home.


We were pretty lucky when we moved in with another couple that most of our furniture worked well together. I can get a bit excited with colours and patterns (more more more!), which isn't always great when it comes to decorating. My housemates have a cleaner more simplistic style, which forces me to show some restraint and keeps my over-decorating habit at bay (for the time being!). 

Most of our furniture is either op shopped, collected from the side of the road or gifted from family members. The chest which takes pride of place in our living room was picked up from a construction site by my brother, my boyfriend very cleverly sanded and varnished it and replaced the hinges. It's one of my favourite pieces in the house and so handy for storing extra blankets and pillows (and our vacuum cleaner)!


My white wardrobes are cheapys from Ikea, they have clear windows in the doors which is terrible because you could see all of my clothes jammed in there. This morning I used upholstery pins to attach yellow fabric on the insides of the doors, it took me all of 5 minutes and it looks so much better already. Now I just need to come up with an easy/cheap way to pretty up my plastic tubs and shoe boxes!


Our couch is covered in cushions, I love cushions! I am constantly making them out of tea towels and bits of vintage fabric I find op shopping. I firmly believe you can never have too many pillows, but I don't think it's a sentiment shared by the rest of the house hold because I keep finding cushions stashed behind the couch and in the coffee table chest. 


We have a spectacular view from the top of our house (it's three stories). At the moment our balcony isn't furnished (except for some broken camping chairs), hence no pictures. My boyfriend and I have grand plans that include a BBQ (him) and fairy lights (me), so when it's completed I'll put up some more pictures. But in the mean time I hope you enjoyed this sneak peak into my lovely abode.


Sunday 29 September 2013

Around the World in 15 Outfits: Tip 3

 Gosh the weeks are going by so quickly! I was in Spotlight this morning and they had Christmas stuff every where! It's still September for goodness sake! I can't quite believe that Christmas is just around the corner. I really wish the weather would catch up, I'm sick of rainy days already, bring on the sunshine please!








Today is the 3rd Sunday in my Around the World in 15 Outfits project (which means there is only 12 weekend's until Christmas!), so I bring you tip number 3: Buy Statement Pieces. When I am op shopping in and around my home town, I love coming across good quality basics. A black pencil skirt, a nice cotton dress, a plain blouse. Things that are fairly unremarkable on their own but you can wear in so many different ways when you add another item of clothing or some great accessories. When op shopping overseas, I totally skip over the basic stuff. I treat my international op shopped treasures as my souvenirs, so I need something to be memorable if it is going to take up precious suit case space.




I found this fringed sheep skin vest in a vintage store in San Fransisco. I saw it as soon as I walked in and literally ran across the shop to get to it. It is such a perfect souvenir from SF. I will always remember where I bought this amazing piece of clothing and every time someone compliments me on it (which they often do because it's so freakin amazing) I'll be one of those annoying people who says 'oh thanks, I picked it up in San Fransisco'. As much as a black pencil skirt is more practical and definitely more versatile then a fringed sheep skin vest, only one made it in to my suitcase and practicality didn't come in to the equation.


Everything I'm wearing today is op-shopped, except my shoes which are from Hobbs. My stripey dress is super comfy, I bought it a few months ago (and wore it here), my little silk t-shirt is Reiss (I wish I had ironed it today!). My hat was $18 from Save the Children, a bit pricey for me, but it's such lovely quality and I wear it all the time (and it fits my gigantic man sized head).


Friday 27 September 2013

Purple Haze

There is nothing I love more than a theme! I've never been much of an AFL girl, but I grew up (and now live) in Fremantle so it's hard not to be swept up in the excitement of the Dockers making it to their first grand final. Tomorrow's the big day so I thought I would jump on the band wagon and don my favourite purple and white coat in honor of my local team. 


Yesterday I bought a whole bunch of Fimo, which is coloured clay you can bake in the oven. I got all different colours and am really excited to make some jewellery. Last night I made this fairly amateur anchor brooch to wear with my 'Dockers' coat (as it will now be known). I love wearing brooches! They are such a fun accessory that people seem to forget about. I've got a couple of ideas for Fimo brooches I would like to make over the weekend, but I need more! Never too many brooches!



My skirt is vintage, I picked it up at a flea market in Amsterdam. It was full length, but because the fabric is quite heavy it made me look really boxy, so I altered it in to a mini skirt. My little blue top was taken from my Aunt's wardrobe, it's Lisa Ho (fancy!). I'm also wearing my trusty Asos spikey brogues.



My hair is really dirty today, but I was so lazy this morning that I couldn't be bothered washing it (I'm terrible, I know). I twisted it in to different sections and then pinned it all back into a bun, I think the final look it actually quite good. You've got to love a hairstyle that can make your wash last one extra day!

This last picture is me saying GOOOO DOCKERS!!!



Wednesday 25 September 2013

New Shoes

I'm wearing new shoes today! These were another little birthday present to myself, I bought them online (Asos) and they arrived a few days ago. I'm pretty tall, about 175cm, so when I put on a pair of heels I generally tower above everyone. I can't wear high heels without standing out in a crowd, not that that is a problem, I love standing out, but sometimes a girl just wants to wear nice footwear and go incognito. 


For along time I was a heels or nothing kind of person, meaning I was either wearing 5 inch stilettos or wearing thongs and nothing in between. Since I have started working in an office I have bought a few pairs of ballet flats, but I really struggle to spend money on flat shoes because I find them SO boring. Why would you spend $100 on a pair of black ballet flats when you could spend $100 on a pair of flower print wedge booties? When it comes to shoes, practicality and logic flies out the window.



The good news is that I have recently discovered brogues! Brogues are awesome! They are a flat shoe that looks stylish and are exciting to wear. Perfect for me! This patent leather black and white pair are the 3rd I have bought. I have a patent red pair (seen here, here and here) and a spikey white pair (here and here). They are so versatile, work well in winter, summer and in between and they look so cute! I just ordered a brown leather pair with a stacked heel online (I think I might need to stop now). I wear a lot of monochrome and bright primary colours, so this black and white pair will fit into my closet well. Oh the outfit possibilities!


Today I wore my new brogues with a red shift dress, $2 from the Melville Markets (it was full length, I altered it to a mini), and a hounds tooth print cropped jacket (op shopped a million years ago). I'm also wearing my Felix brooch that Mum slipped into my Christmas stocking last year and my new Prada sunglasses.

It was another extremely windy day in my fair city so please excuse my pony tail flying everywhere in these pictures.

Sunday 22 September 2013

Around the World in 15 Outfits - Tip 2

This is my second Around the World post! I have been trying to think of a handy hint to share with you about op shopping while on holiday, I have a few good ones, but I thought I''d start with the most obvious. Ask the locals! 


When you are travelling overseas you can generally find everything you want on the internet. Need a good restaurant, bar, shopping centre, tour group? Trip Advisor or one of the million other travel websites will be able to tell you where to go. But vintage shopping is a bit harder to find online. Normally the shops are independent or run by charities and volunteers. They usually don't have websites or even good signage, so the only way to find them is to accidental stumble across them while exploring or to ask one of the locals. 



When I was in Paris at the beginning of the year my cousin (who was living there at the time) and I went on an epic vintage shopping adventure in Le Marais. In each shop we went in to we asked the person at the counter where we should go next. This worked perfectly as many of French op shops were tucked away in back alleys and side streets and we would never have found them without recommendations and directions from a Parisian. 



This red and white spotty dress is one I picked up during that vintage shopping trek through Le Marias. I got it at a shop where you paid for everything based on it's weight! When you walk in to the store you get a basket which you fill with vintage treasures (serious treasure!) and then they weigh it at the counter and you pay per 100g! So exciting! 


My shoes are Carin Wester, I made the yellow flower brooch out of femo and the white one is from Berlin. Do you like my new Prada sunglasses? They were a birthday gift to myself! 


P.S I just noticed that this dress is missing a button! I will have to keep an eye out for one similar!


Saturday 21 September 2013

Blue and Red? OK!

Carrying on from my post about the Wednesday blues, this week has been a struggle for me at work. It's a super busy time of year and sometimes I feel like I'm drowning in a never ending assault of emails, phone calls and meetings. Everyone has days and weeks like that, last week was it for me. 



To perk myself up I snuck out during my lunch break to an op shop close to my work with the hope of finding a little pick me up. This jacket is what I found, $7 later and it was exactly what I needed to get through the rest of the afternoon. It's Simona, which is actually quite an expensive Australian brand according to the internet, but it looks like most of their clothes are geared towards 'ladies of a certain age'. Luckily I can work old lady style with the best of them!



This jacket is exactly the same shape and fit as my beloved denim jacket so I know I'll get a lot of use out of it. I love the huge blue flower pattern. When getting dressed on Friday I thought I'd wear my new jacket, and what better to go with a bright blue top then bright red lip stick and matching shoes of course! 




My printed pants are current season Country Road but I bought them at an Anglicare shop in Queensland for $5, my t-shirt is Portmans and my shoes are Rachel Antonoff. My watch and rings were gifts, I was going to write a little bit about my regular jewellery in this post, but I'll do it another time, it's my boyfriend's birthday today and I've got caramel cheesecake to make!




Wednesday 18 September 2013

Wednesday Blues

Wednesdays are the hardest day for me. That dreaded mid week slump always gets me down and the weekend still looks so far away! When my alarm went off this morning I lay in bed for a good 15 minutes trying to work out what I should wear that would help me tackle the day. This is what I came up with... fur, flowers and leopard print. If you're feeling uninspired then why not throw on everything that makes you happy all at once?


This dress is from a vintage store in Fremantle. I bought it for my little cousin's christening, I think it was about $40. I don't normally shop in vintage stores, they kind of defeat the purpose of second hand shopping for me. I love riffling through a Salvo's store to find some gem that only costs $6. Shopping in actual vintage shop is just like going to a department store, everything is pretty and everything costs a lot.



I know many vintage lovers don't mind dropping $100 on a gorgeous original 1960s dress, but not me. That being said, I do pop my head into vintage shops occasionally and usually walk out with something, because I just can't resist! I've worn this dress many many times so it was definitely worth the price tag (which wasn't even that expensive). The print is so colourful and I love the little frill on the collar. It is the perfect dress to wear on a Wednesday! 


To shield me from the wind (summer hasn't quite made it to Perth yet) I'm wearing my navy blue linen swing coat. I bought this coat for $5 from the Melville Markets and have worn it to death. Navy blue is an awesome alternative to black and it still goes with almost everything. The linen fabric is very light so it's an easy coat to wear in Perth where it never gets that cold. I added the fur collar myself, I found it in an op shop and just attached it with safety pins. The coat looks great without the fur as well. My leopard print flats are from seed and my watch was a gift. 



This outfit has a lot going on, but it is just what I needed today. I love that something so minor like what I'm wearing can have such a huge affect on my mood. Now I'm ready to tackle my day... but maybe I'll grab a coffee first. 



Monday 16 September 2013

Look, I'm Wearing Jeans!

I think the title of this post says it all. Look at me, I'm wearing jeans!! I'm a very committed dress wearer, I love dresses because they are so easy to wear and so easy to look good in. You only have to put on one piece of clothing to look awesome in a dress! I long ago gave up on wearing pants because I was just never comfortable in them and hence never felt I looked very good. But my attitude towards pants has now changed!


I was in the Claremont Vinnies a few weeks ago and was on the hunt for a denim skirt so I was searching through the denim racks fruitlessly for my perfect skirt (which I eventually found, hurrah!) when I came across two pairs of Acne jeans. I recognised the brand immediately and thought they looked about my size so I figured I had to try them on (I'm such a sucker for a recognisable designer label!)



Low and behold these jeans were amazing! They are high waisted and fit me perfectly. I have no idea why I didn't realise until now that I like high waisted pants, I've been in love with high waisted skirts for years! These jeans lift up my bum, define my waist and are just so good (plus high waist = no muffin top!). I'm seriously excited to have finally found a pair that I love to wear.



Long story short, I bought two pairs of Acne jeans for $7 each (the other pair is a darker denim). They are awesome, you can buy them online right now for $300! I'm wearing them with a little knit top I bought at Belmont Anglicare for $6 and my op shopped hat. My shoes are Burberry. I have literally worn this exact outfit out for breakfast for the past 3 Sunday's in a row, it's so comfy and cool! I'm excited to wear more of my little tops with my new jeans!