Busted

The first thing I do when I walk into an op shop is make a bee-line for the dresses… well that used to be my first stop but lately I’ve found myself going straight to the men's t-shirts. I love finding funny printed T’s and retro cartoon characters. On my most recent trip to Salvos I found this great Ghost Busters t-shirt. It’s XL, so it’s SUPER comfy, and if I tie it up in a knot at the back then it fit’s just right. 

  

I dressed this t-shirt up with a leather skirt and sky high boots to celebrate one of my good friends birthdays. She organised drinks at a cool bar in the City, and seeing as I very rarely venture into Perth I thought it was a good excuse to wear something a little edgier.

How would you dress up a men's t-shirt? I guess skinny jeans and heels is the obvious choice, but I’m not much of a jeans girl, so my super cool spotty leather skirt made a good substitute. I fell in love with this vintage beauty at first sight (obvs), it was a tiny bit too tight but I bought it anyway. I honestly would have done anything to make this skirt fit, even give up pasta, but luckily once I cut out the polyester lining (and slipped on some Spanx) it fit like a dream, pasta crisis averted!

T-shirt: Salvos Fremantle $4

Skirt: Save the Children Mosman Park $20

Ring: Bindaring Sale $1

Bangle: Opportunity Knocks $4

Boots: Jeffrey Campbell

Clutch: Target

PS Did you know today is Go Orange for PWS Day? If you have never heard of Prader Willi Syndrome (which you probably haven't because it's very rare) then I suggest you check out this link. A good friend of mine has a beautiful little daughter with PWS, so today I'll be wearing some of my favourite orange accessories for her and donating my coffee money here (no one needs a third coffee anyway right?!)

Street Style Steal

Today’s Street Style steal is a combination of two images and ladies I love. Elisa Nalin and Margaret Zhang, both have pretty impeccable street style and neither shy away from bright colours, bold prints and interesting proportions. They are the definition of my style inspiration and I’ll no doubt attempt to recreate more of their street style looks in the future, but for today this is what I’m tackling:

Photo credit 1 & 2 

I adore the idea of a head to toe monochrome outfit, and what better colour then red?! Both ladies look completely effortless yet totally perfect, so I certainly had my work cut out for me with recreating this look. Instead of trying to find the exact same pieces I decided to just pull things I already had in my wardrobe and embody the general style of these outfits (rather than just be a copy cat!). My cupboards seem to be overflowing with patterns so I actually don’t have many block coloured items of clothing, luckily red is my favourite colour so I managed to scrape together this outfit without having to head to the op shop.

I'm going to take this outfit down south with me this weekend, at least I won't get lost amongst the long-weekend crowds when wine tasting! What do you think? Is head to toe colour something you would try?

Skirt: Op Shop $10
Jumper: Good Sammies Freo $7
Boots: Random boutique in Melbourne (I know that's not helpful at all!)
Bag: Amorosa Accessories c/o
Sunglasses: Karen Walker via eBay

Life Recently

Oh my goodness it’s winter next week! How exciting! I always love the change of seasons because it means I get to bring out clothes that I haven’t seen for six months. This weekend some friends and I are going to Margaret River, it’s going to be super chilly down there so I’ve pulled out my faux fur coat, roll neck jumpers and thick woollen hats in anticipation! May is always a fun month with lots to celebrate, including Mother’s Day, mine and Luke’s anniversary and my little brothers birthday (which is today!). I love celebrating special occasions with special people, giving presents and eating cake are some of my favourite activities. 

Recently I’ve been…

Eating crapola, I really need to get back into healthy eating

Drinking red wine and lots of tea
Cooking SOUP!

Watching not much! I’ve been working and blogging and training so much that I’ve fallen well behind with all my regular shows
Reading Paper Towns by John Green, it was great and I can really imagine Cara Delevingne as Margot (she’s been cast as that character for the movie)

Buying these Vivienne Westwood X Melissa cherry heels! I’ve been longing for these shoes for AGES and finally found a pair in my size and price range on eBay, hoorah!

Wearing winter woollies including hats and scarves and gloves. OH MY!
Avoiding buying more shoes… I have enough. Must. Stop. Now. aarrgg
Browsing Etsy, eBay, Pinterest, Gumtree and Instagram for art ideas for my new house. After many years of renting I’m so excited to be able to hang things up on the walls!

Dreaming of the snow! Luke and I have just booked flights to Queenstown for two weeks of skiing and wintry fun in July. I cannot wait.

I hope the last week of Autumn treats you well! (and if you’re in Perth be sure to rug up because it is freezing!)

Photo run down (they are all from my insta @inthedressupbox)

Practicing my  #flatlay skills with my fav new T-shirt

Celebrating 6 years with my bearded babe

All spruced up for the North Cott SLSC awards night

Vintage Celine monk shoes and my new colour-block purse

Found the perfect denim jacket to replace my old one that has literally fallen to pieces

Sussing out new outfit photo locations

Super pumped for the indoor volleyball season (and my cute new training gear)

Tasty treats for a rainy Sunday afternoon

 

Buying Nothing New

I’m officially four months in to my Buy Nothing New challenge, so I thought I’d give you an update on how I’m going. First of all let me say that I’m REALLY enjoying it… but… I slipped up. Just before my trip to Bali I went to Myer to get my brows done (Benefit brow bar is the best!), I had a quick browse in their swim wear section, found a Cozi bikini in my size on the 75% off rack and bought it for $17. I didn’t even try it on, I didn’t even think about the purchase and it wasn’t until I was driving home (with some exceptionally groomed brows) that I realised I had broken my pledge. So I wanted to be honest with you all, technically a bikini isn’t clothing BUT I already have 4 pairs of bathers so I didn’t really need another one, which is exactly what this challenge is meant to be helping me with. Oh well! After that impulse buy I told myself I’d redouble my efforts… and I did! While in Bali I didn’t buy a single thing for myself, I was very impressed.

I’ve still been buying things from op shops and a few bits and pieces on eBay, so I am getting my retail fix but I don’t miss shopping in Kmart, Target, Myer or Sportsgirl at all. Even though I’ve always been an avid op shopper I’m still pretty impressed that I’m managing to find almost everything I want without succumbing to Asos or Urban Outfitters. In the past few weeks I’ve set out to find a trench coat, a wrap dress, a denim pencil skirt and a flannel shirt, and I found them all with ease. The only thing I’m desperately searching for are some flared high waist jeans but I’m confident I’ll come across the perfect pair soon.

I have pretty poor will power when it comes to most fun things (eating, shopping, drinking) so I must say I’m impressed with myself that I’ve stuck to this challenge for so long. I’m still planning to do it for a full year and you should join me too, I don’t mind if you jump on my band wagon!

Jeans: Save the Children Subiaco $6
Top: Marimekko, Vinnies Claremont $7
Shoes: Save the Children Subiaco $8
Bag: Good Sammies Freo $2
Bracelet: Save the Children Subiaco $1
Hat: Op Shop
Glasses: Pared Eyeware

PS This whole outfit (minus the hat and sunnies) has been purchased since starting the Buy Nothing New challenge! 

Six Years

Last week my number one person and I had our six year anniversary. It baffles me to think we’ve been together for so long, I can vividly remember the first time we met… want to hear the story? (if not then just scroll to the end for my outfit credits, it’s OK I’ll understand..)

A girlfriend and I went on a grand tour of Asia when we graduated from Uni, shopping our way through Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand. I was nursing a broken heart and was ready to down as many cocktails as possible to forget about my uni boyfriend. Luke and a few mates were on a boys trip to Thailand and we met in the Bangkok airport, both on our way to Phuket. A brief holiday romance ensued (much to the horror of my travel buddy who wasn’t so keen on Luke’s scruffy appearance). Luke’s a Queenslander so at the end of the trip he went back east and I went west. We vaguely kept in touch via Myspace (as you did in 2007) and about 18 months after our first meeting we both found ourselves living in Alice Springs of all places and promptly fell in love. That was six years ago and we’ve been together ever since, traipsing from the Alice to Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast and finally back to Perth.

To celebrate another year together we went out for dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant in Fremantle. I dressed up… because why not huh? I was excited to give my leopard print coat its first outing. I had been searching for a leopard coat in op shops for years with no success. I’m very picky with my leopard print, it has to be the perfect combination of brown and black and the spots need to be irregular but with the right shape… so it was near impossible to find one I liked. I finally gave up my op shop quest and purchased this vintage beauty on eBay and I’m SO happy with it. Hooray for a new coat I definitely didn’t need and hooray for six years with my lovely Luke!

Dress: Melville Markets $5

Coat: Vintage, via eBay

Shoes: Chloe, via eBay

Brooches: Op Shop
Bracelet: Save the Children Subiaco $1

Bindaring Red Cross Sale - Outfit 3

This is the last of my outfits styled from the Bindaring Red Cross Sale, which is exciting because it means THE SALE IS TOMORROW! Ohhhh yeh! First lets dissect this look then I’ll give you all the details you need to attack the sale with relish…

This is one of about 7 leather skirts I found in the Op Shop section of the sale, which means it’s less than $10… how amazing is that? I love the caramel colour of it and the cool asymmetrical hem line, unfortunately it’s a size too small (it’s not zipped up properly at the back) which means it will be in the sale waiting for a new home. Same goes for these super cool platform Converse, they are brand new with not a spot on them, I WISH they were my size but alas they are a pinch too small. The sparkly J Crew t-shirt on the other hand is perfection, the delicate sequin stripes turn a rather ordinary marle grey t into something very special. You could easily pair this top with some skinny jeans and heels for a glam-casual (that’s a thing) date night outfit.

Now on to the Sale details. It’s on tomorrow, Saturday the 16^th of May. The doors open at 9am but people tend to queue up pretty early so they can be the first in. It’s in the Robinson Pavillion at Claremont Showgrounds, which is absolutely massive and currently filled to the brim with amazing new and pre-loved goodies. All of the money raised from the sale is going to the Australian Red Cross, last year they made $130,000 in a single day! This year the wonderful volunteers are hoping to crack $150,000… so you should definitely pop down and help them achieve that goal. It’s basically like donating to charity, except you’ll come home with a bag of awesome clothes too!

 

See you tomorrow bright and early!

T-shirt, jacket, skirt, shoes and bangles are all from the Bindaring Red Cross Sale and will be available to purchase tomorrow!

Hat and Sunglasses are my own

Bindaring Red Cross Sale - Outfit 2

Another outfit from the treasure trove that is the Bindaring Red Cross Sale! This one is something I'd wear to work in a heart beat. I LOVE the colours in this striped men's shirt (always look in the men's section!) and was stroked to find these brand new maroon suede brogues. 

Menswear can be a tricky trend to master, especially if you are a curvy girl like me. I think the trick is to still emphasise your shape with a nipped in waist or a fitted pants or blouse. I added this great patent belt and a sparkly necklace to help keep my menswear inspired outfit from looking like I was actually wearing my little brothers clothes. 

Just like my last outfit, this one will be available to purchase at the Bindaring Red Cross Sale this Saturday! Each item will be in the Op Shop section where everything is $10 or less. If you're interested... these amazing shoes are a size 40, my pants are a size 14 and the shirt is a men's small. 

My shirt, pants, belt, necklace and brogues are all from the Bindaring Red Cross Sale

My sunglasses are Karen Walker via eBay