Menagerie of Monochrome

I’ve been struggling more than I anticipated to dress myself for my new job. Having to wear a jacket with everything really ruins my outfit options! So in an effort to get myself dressed and out the door on time each morning I re -organised my wardrobes over the weekend. I put all of my ‘work appropriate’ clothing in one wardrobe and everything else in another wardrobe (and assorted tubs, drawers, boxes, old suitcases, the space behind the couch etc). The idea is that I should be able to open my ‘work wardrobe’, throw together an outfit and waltz out the door looking suitably put together for the office. 

It hasn’t quite worked out like that, with a lot of my ‘work appropriate’ clothing being a bit random and in need of some basic staples to hold it all together (a black pencil skirt would probably be a good start). That being said it has made one thing abundantly clear… I own a lot of black and white patterned stuff. Like A LOT. I’ve got black and white stripes, spots, checks and hounds tooth coming out of my ears! And here I was thinking I was all about colour, clearly somewhere along the way I unconsciously started collecting a menagerie of monochrome.

Luckily patterns in the same colour story are easy to mix and match, so I’ve found myself head to toe in black and white almost every day this week. And as cliche as it sounds, 'pops of colour' can be a great idea when wearing a predominantly monochrome outfit. My red poodle brooch and ballet flats are the perfect way to make this work outfit a little more 'me'

Top: Op Shop

Skirt: Op Shop

Jacket: Op Shop*

Shoes: Target

Brooch: Erst Wild designs

*Jacket number 7

All Pink All the Time

When asked for my favourite colour I find I can never really decide. At any given time my favourite colour will be daffodil yellow, hunter green, Tiffany blue, but when looking at my wardrobe you’d be hard pressed to say I like anything other than pink or red. My wardrobe is full of the stuff. I guess pink and red are both such lovely bright colours, they always jump out at me when I’m shopping. Just like a stripe or spot, I gravitate towards fuchsia or scarlet over any other hue. 

This pink pleather jacket came home with me from a hole in the wall vintage store in Berlin. It was love at first sight (obviously) when I saw it sitting on the clearance racks, and I always get comments when I wear it. Look at my face in these pictures! I can’t help but give attitude when I throw it on.

I recently invested in some red lipstick from Mac and boy is it awesome, red lipstick goes with everything, but I think it looks especially great with a head to toe pink ensemble!

Jacket: Vintage shop in Berlin*

Dress: Op Shop

Shoes: Seed

*Jacket number 6

Sucked in by Zara

I know I preach about avoiding fast fashion a fair bit, but I was in Bali a few weeks ago and could not help getting swept up in the excitement of their huge Zara store. Their visual merchandising is so beautiful and the floor lay out was so inviting, I spent a good few hours trawling through the massive shop and picking out some items to take home. We don’t have Zara in Perth yet, so even though I know they mass produce their stock in the hundreds of thousands, it still felt like I was shopping for something unique.

I ended up buying two dresses (both $59 each). The zip on one of the dresses broke the first time I put it on, even though I was able to return it to the store and get a replacement, the whole experience was a little shattered for me. I knew when I was buying the two dresses that they weren’t as great quality as some of the stuff I buy for $5 at Salvos, but I was caught up in the experience and just wanted to buy something. This is the dress that didn’t break. I love the digital print and the cut is very flattering and comfortable, but after wearing it for a day at work I realised the fabric does not breath AT ALL (note to self: don’t forget deodorant!).

My jacket on the other hand is vintage and it’s fabulous! I love the white piping and it matches my Zara dress so perfectly. I’m looking forward to wearing it with something red and white, to really bring home the nautical feel of it. So all in all, I’m more excited about my vintage jacket then I am about my two brand new dresses. I must remember that next time I’m sucked in to a chain store by their clever styling!

Dress: Zara

Jacket: Op Shop*

Shoes: Kenneth Cole

*Jacket number 5

True Colours

So I started a new job recently and my whole outfit game has been thrown off by my new environment. For the first few days in my new office I was wearing the most bland boring clothes I had in order to not look like a crazy person (my natural state). You see, my new work place is very serious and very smart. I need to look professional all the time and that’s much harder than I anticipated!

So far I haven’t bought any new clothes specifically for my new job, I’ve just been working with what I already have lurking in my wardrobe. Pencil skirts and blouses seem to be the way to go, but that doesn’t mean I have to be totally boring. After three days of greys and blacks I knew I had to break out my true colours.

This has to be one of my favourite colour combinations of late. Red, maroon and mustard… who knew it would look so good?! This blouse is a relatively new addition (from the $2 rack at Vinnies!!) and I have worn it three times already. It turns out that maroon goes with lots of things and the neck line is just so elegant, I love it!

Even though the colours in this outfit are fairly out there, the style of each piece is conservative enough to allow me to wear it to work and not get too many side-eyes. In the coming weeks I think I’ll do a little op-shopping and look specifically for business style separates in bold colours or prints, which will hopefully let me retain a little bit of my personal style in my new office.

Top: Op Shop

Skirt: Op Shop (I have the matching suit jacket with gigantic shoulder pads, it’s amazing but I’m not sure how to style it just yet)

Jacket: Op Shop*

Shoes: Seed

Sunglasses: Pared Eyewear

*Jacket number 4 

Travel Formula

Like every twenty-something Aussie with a relatively disposable income, I love to travel. I just got back from five glorious days in Bali and am flying off to Brisbane tonight for an extended weekend to celebrate one of my best friends birthdays.

One of the things I get excited about in the lead up to a trip is planning my plane outfit. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I just love the challenge of putting together a stylish, practical and most of all, comfortable outfit to wear whilst airport hopping. Over the years I have definitely caught flights in leggings, uggs and a ratty jumper, but most of the time I follow this tried and tested formula...

Prints: This is my number one requirement when dressing for a flight. I'm a total grot and can absolutely guarantee I'll spill plane food on myself at some stage, so wearing a busy print is essential to disguise the Pringle crumbs anything else that I unknowingly drop.

Stretchy fabric: I never wear anything too constricting or fitted, especially around my stomach and legs. Stretchy fabric or an elastic waist band is the way to go to ensure I can get as comfortable as possible in my seat.

Comfy shoes: I almost always wear either ballet flats when flying as they are comfortable to traipse around airports in and are easy to slip off when going through security (plus they look good!).

Shoulder bag: This is a no-brainer really, an over the shoulder bag that leaves my hands free and is big enough to store my iPad and other travel essentials but not so huge that it can't fit under my seat.

Big scarf: Regardless of where I am flying I always take a big soft scarf on the plane with me. It doubles up as a blanket or a pillow if need be and can be used as a sarong if I'm flying somewhere tropical. 

Make-up Free: I try to always travel with a clean face lathered in moisturiser and paw-paw ointment so my skin doesn't dry out too much. This can sometimes be a little painful to do but it's totally worth it to be able to get off a plane with a fresh face and no panda eyes. 

 I'll be wearing this outfit when I board the red-eye tonight and will hopefully land in Brisbane looking effortlessly stylish (and without too many plane food stains!)

Top: Op Shop

Jacket: Op Shop*

Scarf: Op Shop

Bag: Op Shop

Skirt: Mister Zimi 

Shoes: Kenneth Cole

*Jacket number 3