Business As Usual

Today I got to suit up for work, which was pretty fun! The style prompt was 'It's All Business' so I decided to create an outfit based on my amazing vintage silk Brooks Brother bow tie, because business people always wear bow ties to the office, right? 

I work in an office and sit at a desk all day, but I don't really get in to the corporate wear that much, probably because my office is at the beach. I do love suits, but only the brightly coloured, shoulder padded, giant golden buttoned kind of suits. I use my work attire as a way to test run different outfits. My co-workers know I have a fairly out-there sense of style, so they are never really surprised when I come prancing in to work wearing a poncho or a crinoline or a leotard.

Today I'm wearing my bow tie with a white shirt I picked up a week ago from Lifeline for $4. After the white shirt challenge at the beginning of August I decided I needed a good white shirt in my wardrobe, this one is great, it's nice and light but still has a sharp colour and the sleeves are long enough for my (extra long) arms.  

My tweed blazer is really the highlight of my outfit (sorry bow tie), it's Ralph Lauren and fits perfectly! I got it at Claremont Vinnies at the beginning of winter for $6. I haven't actually worn it very much, but I do love it. The aqua skirt was just a way to introduce a bit of colour in to the equation, I got it at an op shop a million years ago (read: 5 or 6 years ago). My shoes were from a clothes swap.

So there you have it, my business inspired outfit is 100% second hand! Not bad at all. Tomorrow's theme is metallic and I have no idea what I'm going to wear, why don't I own more shiny things?!

Making a Statement

Today's style prompt was statement. It took me a little while to work out what I wanted to wear, I have some awesome statement pieces collected over the years from op shops so it was hard to narrow it down to one outfit... This is what I eventually came up with.

I've had this print dress for years and I love it! I bought it from the Anglicare op shop in Freo when I was still in high school. I love the Pucci-esk print and the shift style of the dress means it is super easy to wear. 

Just to drill in the 'I'm making a statement' theme of my outfit I threw on my faux fur coat and green boots. I have been looking for the perfect faux fur coat for so long, I've had many different types, colours and patterns over the years, but this is the best one I've found. I got it at the Melville Markets for $15! 

 I'm not sure what statement I'm making with this outfit. I love op shops and I love getting dressed in the morning and I want people to know that, I guess that's my statement for today!

Mid-Week Cocktails Anyone?

So this was a fun test! The Restyle prompt for today is cocktail... an interesting challenge for a Tuesday in the office. I have a couple of great cocktail dresses, all op shopped of course, but I struggled to style them in a way that would be appropriate for swanning around the office all day (sans martini).

This is the cocktail/work appropriate outfit I came up with. This skirt is full circle and crushed silk, it looks like a home made job, but it's made really well with lining and everything. I LOVE the colour of it (I think I've got a slight obsession with pink at the moment). I bought it at an op shop about a year a go and I have got so much wear out of it. 

The skirt is such a bright colour that I thought I better tone it down with a black top. This button up peplum top is pretty great. I bought it at an op shop in Queensland about 5 years ago (before peplums were cool, do I have a good eye or what?! hehe!) and I don't wear it often enough. It's made out of a satin-y material so it looks quite fancy and cocktail appropriate, but the conservative neckline means that I can get away with wearing it to work.

To break up the black I popped on my rhino brooch from Erstwild Designs, they have the cutest animal themed jewellery! My Seed leopard print flats stop everything from being too matchy (or so I hope). I would totally wear this out for cocktails! I might just swap my flats for heels, but other than that it's a perfect outfit to wear from the office to the bar. 

Looking at this pictures, my skirt looks really bright, I think I might have hit the neon mark with this outfit. How exciting! 

Monochrome Madness

The style prompt for today is black and white. I don't really wear black very much, and I definitely never wear all black, but I do happen to have quite a bit of black and white patterned clothes. Today when I woke up I decided I didn't want to do a full monochrome outfit, so I decided to add a splash of pink to my otherwise black and white get up.

I'm wearing a new silk black and white striped shirt from Vinnies in Claremont. It was $5! I really like the faux pockets on the front, it gives the shirt quite a casual feel which is good. Because it is silk, it's very light weight and cool. I think it will be a great top to throw on over my bathers in summer. 

I paired my stripey shirt with my favourite pink skirt (vintage Katies from an op shop I can't remember). I have so much old school Katies stuff, I would never think of shopping in an actual Katies store but I find myself looking out for old Katies labels when ever I'm out op shopping. This skirt is just such an awesome colour, it goes with so much!

My outfit is completed with my op shopped black belt and Yeojin Bae wedges ($10 from RSPCA Palmyra store). Black and white has been one of my favourite style prompts so far. It is such a great base to create an outfit out of whether you are going to work, coffee with friends or a fancy event, just add a splash of colour to make it interesting and you are good to go.

Moving Day

Yesterday I moved house, it was crazy. Moving house is always a nightmare and yesterday was no different. But after 12 hours of trudging up and down four flights of stairs, a couple of tantrums and 3 utes worth of rubbish, we finally got in to our house. Our new place is awesome, so the pain of moving was made considerably easier by our sweet new pad. 

The style prompt for Sunday was under $10. I was so flat out moving stuff that I didn't get a chance to post anything yesterday (sorry!!) but I managed to snap a few pictures of my under $10 moving outfit on my amazing new balcony. 

I'm wearing a $2 t-shirt from the Melville Markets, $4 denim jacket from the Salvos in Alice Springs, my converse and a pair of leggings stolen from mum. I normally don't condone wearing leggings as actual pants, but as I was moving I wanted to be as comfy as possible and these babies were magic. 

So all up my outfit cost $6 (no including my shoes), not bad at all! Now I must get back to my unpacking, my shoes are not going to alphabetise themselves!

Neon Saturday

I am a lover of all things bright, bold and eye catching, funnily enough though, neon has never really come in to my wardrobe. The style prompt today was neon, which I have been worried about. I have been searching in op shops for something suitably neon I could wear today for weeks, but I had no luck. 

So this is my attempt at neon... I know, I know, fuchsia pink doesn't really count, but I'm moving house this weekend so I couldn't pull together anything else.

My dress is vintage Katies from an op shop in Queensland, it cost $4! My white belt is also op shopped, it's been in my wardrobe for years. My shoes are a newish addition, they are Carin Wester which I bought from Urban Outfitters. I love yellow shoes, these are a perfect match to so many of my little summer dresses.

So pink, white and yellow don't really pass as neon colours, but I think this outfit is pretty good. It's so summery, I just wish the weather would catch up already! I'm still going to search for something neon to wear, I refuse to let this challenge beat me!

I Heart Op Shops

It's fairly obvious that I enjoy op shopping, but it's not only the lure of cheap clothes that keeps me going back week after week. I LOVE fashion, I pour over Vogue and InStyle magazines and trawl through fashion blogs for hours on end looking for inspiration and styling ideas. I relax by putting together outfits and trying on different combinations of my ever expanding wardrobe. My number one priority when getting dressed is that I never want to look like anyone else. 

 Shopping second hand gives you the freedom to try different styles/trends/outfit combos that you wouldn't normally spend money on. I feel much more confident customising a $4 dress bought from Vinnies then I would cutting up something I've bought brand new. I also don't feel bad spending $6 on high waisted jeans from the Salvos, because I know that if I can't make the style work for me then I can just donate it back. Buying all of my clothes from op shops gives me the freedom to be totally creative with what I wear and how I put an outfit together.

The theme for today is Op Shop Love. How perfect! I didn't really know what to wear, but finally decided to pull together an outfit based on this delightful pink pleather jacket I bought in Berlin for 3 euros. I was a bit unsure about the boxy fit at first, but I couldn't pass it up in the end... it's pink pleather for goodness sake! I'm so glad I took it home, I always feel very cool when I wear it. 

Underneath my jacket is a pink spotted shift dress. Another sweet op shop find, I got it for $7 from Anglicare in Freo a few weeks ago. My Doc Martens and black tights are pretty tough, but there's nothing like a pink pleather jacket to soften an outfit!

Speaking of colours, aren't these blue walls fantastic? These pictures were taken at my work, and the bright blue exterior walls of my building are my favourite photo back drop at the moment (so sorry I keep repeating it!).