Back to Basics

The last few outfits I’ve shared on the blog have been fairly similar. Denim, leather and white t-shirts. Those kind of outfits are all well and good, but don’t let me fool you into thinking I’ve turned into one of those capsule wardrobe bloggers with a blog role full of black, white and grey outfits. It feels like forever since I’ve just worn a nice frock, so last Friday that’s exactly what I did.

This outfit is classic Hannah, a vintage floral dress and a brooch. This particular dress is a recent purchase, I bought it for… (wait for it)… $2! Good Sammies in Fremantle is clearing out their summer stock and all of their dresses are marked at $2! It’s madness, I bought two for myself (very restrained if you ask me!) and five for a friend of mine. It was seriously like hitting the op shop jack pot!

It’s been a while since I went back to basics and wore a pretty vintage dress. Writing this blog has encouraged me to try different styles, take outfit inspiration from all over the place and really push the limits of my personal style. But now and then it’s nice to wear something that makes you feel like a million bucks even if it isn’t the most fashion-forward, on-point, insta-worthy outfit in the world.

Dress: Good Sammies Fremantle $2

Belt: Vinnies Claremont $2

Shoes: Salvos Osborne Park $8

Brooch: Op Shop

PS I'm two months into my Buy Nothing New challenge and still haven't cracked!! Have any of you taken the plunge and made the pledge?

Life Recently

Why hello there! It’s the end of March already, cue my usual comment about how fast this month has gone by. March has been a bit hectic, I’ve been struggling through my 9-5 at work, playing volleyball a bit too much and trying to squeeze in photo shoots whenever I have a moment (which is getting increasingly harder as the summer light fades). I’m going to Bali next week and I am SO looking forward to a break. I’ve been trying to squeeze too much in recently and things are starting to reach their tipping point. It will be really nice to just get away for a while and have some rest and relaxation forced on to me.

 

Recently I’ve been…

Eating almond butter, banana and honey on toast. It’s a new favourite and I can’t get enough!

Drinking tea and almond milk (I seem to be on an almond kick at the moment)
Cooking this pistachio and pomegranate cake. IT. IS. AMAZING. Do yourself a favour and make it immediately
Watching Dazed and Confused, I had never seen it until a few weeks ago, now I’ve watched it so many times I could quote every line! Serious style inspo as well
Buying shoes… I went on an eBay shoe binge and now I never need to buy shoes again

Wearing my new Miu Miu sunglasses every day, I’m a bit obsessed
Reading Marie Claire, mum got me a subscription for Christmas but I’ve been so absorbed in reading books that I’ve only just opened them, I’ve got 3 months worth to get through!

Avoiding packing… I think I wrote that last month as well. We move out in 2 weeks so I reeeeeally need to get on it.
Browsing op shops for large clip on earrings that I can use as shoe clips for my, now vast, collection of pointy toed pumps

Dreaming of my trip to Bali next week! Only 9 days to go, I cannot wait!

I’m nervous about how I’m going to go in Bali with my Buy Nothing New pledge. Holiday shopping is my favourite and Seminyak has some awesome shops, it’s going to be very hard to resist. I think I’m going to allow myself one new purchase, but it has to be locally made, I think that’s OK right?

PS what do you think of my #Flatlay attempts? I went to a course a few weeks ago run by the delightful Claire Mueller and Emma Bergmeier-Varian who gave me an excellent lesson in the art of flat laying. Practice makes perfect, so expect to see a few more of them on my insta @inthedressupbox

The Op Shop Ball

On Saturday night I was lucky enough to attend the Anglicare Op Shop Ball at the Crowne. IT WAS AWESOME! I mean, wearing op shopped duds and sipping champagne is basically my nirvana, plus I was accompanied by my excellent boyfriend and some great friends who were all looking particularly amazing in their op shopped outfits. I knew from looking at the photo galleries of past Op Shop balls, that the guests tend to go a bit crazy and head down the ‘ugly op shop’ route. But that wasn’t the vibe I wanted, I have too many gorgeous formal outfits all sourced from op shops to want to waste a rare black tie occasion wearing a dodgy taffeta nightmare.

So I went all out (are you surprised?!) and wore this massive vintage silk ball gown I bought a few years ago. I’ve only worn it one other time and it is so fabulous it deserves more outings. I added a newly op shopped choker and some sparkly shoes to finish off the look. I couldn’t convince him to pose for any blog photos, but Luke looked amazing as well, wearing a red velvet suit jacket which matched my dress perfectly.

It was such a fun night raising awareness for all the excellent work Anglicare does. It was also a brilliant reminder that buying from op shops is not only a super fun and sustainable way to shop, but it’s also contributing to our community. Whether you shop at Anglicare, Salvos, Good Sammies, Vinnies or the Red Cross they all support incredibly worthwhile programs and projects. When I’m trawling through my local op shop more often than not I forget where my money is going and focus purely on whatever bargain I’m scoring. It’s nice to remember that my hard earned cash isn’t going into the pockets of some multinational corporation, but back into my neighbourhood where it is needed most.

Dress: Anglicare Fremantle $40

Shoes: Opportunity Knocks $6

Choker: Anglicare Morley $6

Street Style Steal

Happy Friday! Here’s another Street Style Steal for you! One thing I have definitely noticed while trawling through Pinterest looking for images to recreate is that the really ‘cool’ girls are all playing with proportions and layering up. My tried and true look always involves a defined waist. Whether it’s a dress, skirt, pants or shorts I almost always have my waist cinched in and if I don’t I’m more than likely wandering around with my hands on my hips trying to create that hourglass shape. I guess being a tall girl with big legs and hips and boobs I’ve always felt that wearing anything too baggy will just leave me looking pregnant or like a potato sack. But stealing these Street Style looks is all about pushing myself a little and trying out the ‘crazy’ looks of Fashion Week attendees. So today I’m recreating this image;

Skinny jeans and an over sized denim shirt. It’s a lot of look but this girl has very sensibly paired it with basic accessories and natural hair/make up which is exactly what I did too. Just like my previous Street Style Steal, this outfit is SUPER comfy, my shirt is a mens XXXL and could almost be worn as a dress and these jeans are from last winter and feel like leggings. Style wise it's pretty out there for me, but I think it works. This isn’t the kind of outfit I’m going to wear out with my boyfriend, but for weekend drinks with some similarly stylish ladies it’ll do just fine.

So what do you think? Is this a look you are going to be trying? I have to admit, while it’s definitely a stretch I do rather like it, I feel like the cool girl in the original picture, so let’s chalk this one up to a win.

Shirt: Vinnies O’Connor $5

Jeans: Cotton On

Shoes: Tory Burch

Clutch: Op Shop
Purse: Oroton

P.S Ignore my awful roots, I'm getting my hair re-blonded on Saturday I promise!

Date Night Dressing

You often hear that women dress for women not men, and I have to say it’s definitely true in my life. I dress for myself, but I know that other women are the ones who will appreciate my outfit, whereas guys often think I look a bit insane, or like a granny, my boyfriend included (he often says I dress like I’m going to church). So when dressing for a date night with my lovely Luke I generally steer clear of my crazy vintage pieces and try to put together outfits that aren’t so ‘out there’. I find it hilarious that Luke hardly bats an eyelid when I don a fancy cocktail dress and spend ages doing my hair and makeup. Put me in jeans, a t-shirt and not a scrap of make up and he’s rushing to compliment me. Maybe he’s trying to tell me something haha.

On Saturday night we went to one of our favourite bars and played Connect Four (while drinking wine, because we’re adults). Seeing as the weather was a bit crap and I knew I’d be stuffing my face with yummy bar snacks I went for a casual comfy outfit made up of a few classics. Throw on some cute shoes and easy accessories, this outfit took me about 24 seconds to whip together.

Next time I’m lamenting that I have nothing to wear I must remember that the leather skirt/t-shirt combo is preeeeetty fail safe.

What’s your go-to date night look?

Skirt: Thrift store in Paris

T-shirt: Opportunity Knocks $4

Necklace: Good Sammies Myaree $2

Bag: Good Sammies Balcatta $2

Hat: Op Shop

Shoes: Seed

Boyfriend Jeans

I was going to make this outfit one of my Street Style Steals, but it actually isn’t based off any particular picture (although it’s very similar!). It’s funny how since starting this particular feature I’ve found I’m taking inspiration more and more from street style images. My style ebbs and flows naturally and changes fairly regularly (just like everyone). Last summer all I wore was full circle skirts and little sleeveless tops tied at the waist, a very vintage 50s vibe. This summer just past I’ve hardly worn that kind of outfit, leaning towards a more modern look with lots of pattern mixing and denim. I’ve been moving away from that perfectly styled vintage look (which I could never quite perfect anyway) and am mixing my vintage, thrifted and modern clothes in a bit more of a unique way, well I’m trying to any way!

A few weeks ago I decided I wanted a pair of boyfriend jeans to add to my autumn wardrobe, so I went out looking for the perfect pair to DIY. It didn’t take long, op shops are full of jeans in all shapes, sizes and styles. Boyfriend jeans have never been my usual style, but after seeing so many pictures plastered over Pinterest I really wanted to try them, and I so glad I did! 

This look is made up of basic pieces pretty much everyone has in their wardrobes, a white t-shirt, comfy jeans and some black heels. When putting together outfits I normally to steer away from anything too plain and basic, I always want my outfit to be super bright or patterned or sparkly or ‘out there’ in some way. But really, classics are classics for a reason, you can mix and match them in a zillion different ways and they always look stylish. I guess I need to remember that it’s ok not to be wearing the loudest outfit in the room all the time!

Jeans: Save the Children Myaree $4

T-Shirt: Salvos O'Connor $3

Shoes: Guess

Hat: Glebe Markets

Sunglasses: Miu Miu (via eBay)

Brooch: Op Shop

I Can't Be Bothered

I seem to be going through an ‘I can’t be bothered’ phase when it comes to dressing for work. Maybe it’s the change of season, I’m sick of all my summer clothes and it’s not quite cool enough to bring out the winter gear just yet. It’s not that I don’t want to look nice for work, it’s just that I can’t be bothered wearing anything that is even vaguely restricting or uncomfortable in any way. 

So I’ve been falling back on some classics, like the basic black dress I wore a few weeks ago, and also this wrap dress. It’s stretchy, it’s patterned and it’s only one piece of clothing, so I can literally throw it on and walk out the door. Hello work-wear heaven! 

Dress: Save the Children South Fremantle $6

Shoes: Asos

Earrings: Gift

Sunglasses: Pared Eyeware