Blog Makeover

Just a quick post today to mention a few changes you may have noticed around the blog. My lovely friend and talented graphic designer, Elle from Elbo Graphics, did me a massive favour and gave In The Dress Up Box a design overhaul, I’m so happy with it! Change is always good and with Restyle kicking off in less than two weeks I thought it was time for a new look. Elle even designed me some gorgeous business cards, so when I’m wining and dining I can look totally profesh when I whip out my custom ‘In The Dress Up Box’ cards! Now I just need someone to give them to…

This is my regular blogging situation in case you were interested. I wish I had a dedicated space to set up a desk and my laptop, I’d scatter it with random flowers (?!), have a green smoothie and eat macarons so I could take an insta-worthy pic… in reality I usually set up on the dining table surrounded by unopened mail, empty wine glasses and half-drunk cups of tea, not quite as glamorous as I’d like!   

Jumper: Op Shop

Jeans: Cotton On

Beanie: Sportsgirl*

Shoes: Converse

*my house is so freezing at the moment that wearing a beanie inside is totally warranted

Happy Birthday!

In The Dress Up Box is turning one today! Hooray!! This momentous occasion snuck up on my quite suddenly actually, it was just lucky I was scanning through my archives the other day and realised my very first post was published on July 20th 2013. Gosh how quickly a year zips by!

I was SO nervous to start writing this blog, terrified of putting myself out there and opening myself up to criticism and judgement. But I've been so pleasantly surprised to find that I haven't experienced any nastiness since first clicking publish 12 months ago. All I've encountered were nice words, compliments, encouragement and lots of support. The blogging world is full of so many awesome, inspiring, talented, creative people, I'm just so happy to be a part of it and to be putting a little bit of 'me' out there for all to see.

I love writing this little blog and sharing my op shopping adventures, I'm thrilled for the opportunities it has provided so far and am excited for what the next 12 months will hold. To celebrate this exciting day I thought I'd do what I do best... pose in front of my tripod and try to hide my camera remote.

 

Thanks for all those who have been following along from the beginning, and if you didn't manage to tune in to my first post, check it out here, I've come a long way I think! 

Jeans: Dolce & Gabbana, Op Shop

T-Shirt: Op Shop

Belt: Op Shop

Bangles: Op Shop

Shoes: Bally, Op Shop

A Few Restyle Hints

It's two weeks until Restyle officially kicks off (woohoo!) so I thought I’d give you a few style prompt hints to help you on your way... Double Denim is out of my comfort zone, Neutrals is just plain uninspiring and Collar is right up my alley, here’s how I plan to tackle them…

Double Denim

A double denim outfit needs to look effortless, it’s all about easy ‘oh I just threw this on’ glamour. I love the idea of a denim dress with a denim shirt tied around the waist or slung over the shoulders. The most important thing to remember is to incorporate different shades of denim into your outfit unless you are going for the Canadian tuxedo look (no judgement)  

 

Neutrals

Neutral doesn’t have to mean boring! I’ll be channelling Meryl Streep, Katherine Hepburn and Lauren Bacall for this prompt. Lots of layers, slight varying tones of cream, camel and stone and a fabulous hat to top it off.

 

 

Collar

 

  A collar can be worn in a million different ways, but my go-to look is inspired by my ultimate style icon… Cher Horowitz of course! A cute collared shirt layered with a light-weight sweater and a flippy mini skirt? Preppy perfection! 

So those are my hot tips, good luck op shopping, just remember to challenge yourself to try different styles! Restyle is all about fun, so don't forget to do that too!

 P.S none of the images in this post are mine, so please click the on the image if you want to view the originals.

  

Leather Jacket Love Affair

I’ve been longing for a black leather biker jacket for a looooong time but have never been able to bring myself to spend the money on a good one. Nice leather jackets are notoriously difficult to find in op shops (well at least for me!) so I knew if I wanted a good one I’d eventually have to bite the bullet and shell out some decent cash.

Luckily for me the stars aligned and I found this beautiful jacket on super-sale (70% off!) at Witner (yes they sell more than shoes!) AND to top it off I had a gift voucher to use, so I only ended up spending $30 of my own money. I’m so in love with it! This is exactly the type of outfit I always wanted to wear a leather jacket with… floral print, bright colours, conservative style, the addition of my fabulous jacket gives the whole look some ‘I just threw this on’ edge. (I definitely DID NOT just throw this outfit on, it took planning people!)

My light denim jacket is usually in very high rotation over winter, but I think this soft leather beauty may be taking the top spot for a while, I seriously want to wear it every day for ever and ever!

Jacket: Zoe Witner

Top: Op Shop

Skirt: Op Shop

Shoes: Kenneth Cole

Earrings: Random shop in Bali

Restyle 2014 and The Australian Red Cross

 For Restyle 2014, each of the bloggers have been partnered with a different charity and I was lucky enough to be paired up with the Australian Red Cross. The Australian  Red Cross stores help to fund humanitarian programs  locally, Australia wide and in the  Asia Pacific region. The organisation relies heavily on volunteers and has in WA 3488 alone, 750 of who work in the fund raising retail sector!

 (the delightful Brenda and Thea from the Freo shop)

The Australian Red Cross celebrate their Centenary this year, and they have SO MUCH to be proud of! You can also join in the festivities by signing up to host your own Big Cake Bake morning tea on August 25th. This is a fun and delicious way to raise funds and awareness for  Australian Red Cross and to celebrate their momentous 100 year anniversary. I’ll be hosting a morning tea at my office and am already planning what yummy baked goodies I’ll be making (did someone say choc caramel cupcakes?!)
 

A big part of my partnership with  Australian  Red Cross Australia is to shop exclusively in their stores for all my Restyle goodies (oh the burden!!), and boy have I been spoilt for choice! I have found so many wonderful things! The Australian Red Cross have 28 op shops in WA, ten of which are in the Perth metro area. I have now been to all of the metro stores and here are my hot tips…

Australian Red Cross Shoalwater  - check it out if you want a serious bargain! The shop is beautifully merchandised by size and colour so it’s super easy to find something that fits and suits you, plus pretty much everything in the store is $10 or less.

Australian Red Cross North Perth – this is the place to go if you want some designer labels, the North Perth store have a huge variety of designer gear and lots of recognisable brand names.

Australian Red Cross Duncraig – this store is vintage heaven! Even if you live in Freo like I do, it’s totally worth the drive to check out their amazing rack of vintage clothing and excellent costumes.

Australian Red Cross  Fremantle – this is a great place to start if you are new to op shopping, the store is more like a boutique with heaps of brand new clothing, pristine vintage, designer labels and lots of shoes and accessories.

  

Happy op shopping!

Jeanius

Jeans are something I have struggled with for a long time. They are SO practical and versatile, but I never feel 100% comfortable in them. Last winter I chanced upon some Acne beauties in an op shop and fell in love with the high waist. This winter I decided it might be good to find some jeans in a darker wash with a similar high waist but also a skinny leg.

Given I don’t wear jeans all the time I was reluctant to spend a lot of money on some, so after fruitlessly searching for the perfect pair in an op shop (finding a perfect pair of Acne denim sadly doesn’t happen very often), I started looking in some chain stores as well.

This pair are from Cotton On and set me back $35. I’m really happy with them and am so glad I didn’t have to spend a fortune, they probably won’t last that long, but seeing as I’ll only wear them a handful of times each winter, I’m not too worried about it.

This is a recent date night outfit, my boyfriend always pays me lots of compliments when I wear jeans so I felt pretty good about myself in this get up, maybe I’ll have to whip these out a little more often!

Jeans: Cotton On

T-Shirt: Op Shop

Jacket: Op Shop*

Belt: Op Shop

Boots: Tony Bianco

*Jacket Number 11

Life Recently

I’ve been doing so much stuff behind the scenes for my blog recently that I’ve forgotten to actually post things! I’ve got some cool things to post next week, so I’ll tide you over with what I’ve been up to lately…

Eating lots of roast vegies and warm winter food

Cooking carrot cake… twice in one week, it’s just so good!

 
Drinking lots of tea

 
Watching the World Cup! With a Dutch boyfriend and a German housemate things are getting a little intense in our house hold at the moment

Shopping at Red Cross stores, I’ve gone to every one in the metro area as part of my Restyle challenge

Buying the perfect black ankle boots, it took me ages to find some in my price range but I finally have and I’m never taking them off!

Wearing layers upon layers! It’s so bloody freezing at the moment, my vast collection of coats is really coming in handy

 
Reading nothing… dam I need to remedy that!
Browsing Claremont Quarter, I’ve got a $200 gift voucher and I want to spend it on something special

Dreaming of a tropical holiday… or a snowy holiday… any holiday would be good!

This weekend I’m wine tasting, beer drinking, ice hockey watching and volleyball playing… it’s going to be fun!! What are you up?