Souvenirs

What do you collect as a travel souvenir? My mum collects fridge magnets and I have a friend who buys novelty socks where ever she goes. I used to collect shot glasses (mainly because I thought it was cool) but these days whenever or wherever I'm travelling I collect vintage. 

This vest is a souvenir from my favourite city in the world, San Francisco. My parents lived there just after they were married and my grandparents have a house in Tiburon with views of the whole bay, including both the Golden Gate Bridge and the Oakland Bridge. It is also home to the best vintage shops I have ever come across (I’m sure that plays a big reason as to why it’s always top of my list of cities).

I bought this fringed, furry vest for $5 at a vintage store in Haight Ashbury, the coolest corner of the coolest city in the world. It may be a totally ridiculous, utterly inappropriate piece of clothing to own, but every time I wear it I’m reminded of my various trips to this awesome city, so I’ll never part with it. It’s my little piece of SF in Perth. 

Now excuse me while I go and stare at flights to California on Webjet for a while…

Vest: Vintage

Dress: Op Shop

Boots: Report

Socks: Target

Kaftan Season

Kaftan season is nearly upon us! Do you think that's a thing? I think it definitely should be! Who doesn't want to don a brightly coloured, boldly pattered kaftan and swan around all summer? I know I do!

Unfortunately brightly coloured, boldly pattered kaftans don't really flatter anyone ever, so when I found this amazing 70s beauty in an op shop the other day I knew it was destined for a chop before I could actually wear it out of the house. 

A few minutes at the sewing machine and my maxi is now a mini! So much more wearable! I'm sinching it in at the waist with a belt and wearing boots now, but I can just imagine it in a month or so with towering wedges, a larger hat and even larger sunglasses. 

I still have the left over fabric, which is so fantastic, I'm going to have to make something with it... maybe a turban?

Dress: Op Shop

Belt: Op Shop

Boots: Tony Bianco

Socks: Target

Sunglasses: Ray Ban

Earrings: Lovisa

Travel Buddy

I don't know about you, but I get SO EXCITED about planning my travel wardrobe. I do love a challenge and putting together the perfect capsule collection of clothes to take away on a trip really pushes my buttons. I'm currently in Melbourne for a little work and a little shopping (and A LOT of eating). This is what I wore on the plane over from Perth...

It's only a three hour flight so dressing for comfort wasn't as imperative as it is on a 15 hour haul to the US, but never the less I still wanted to be comfy and stylish while gliding to Victoria. This look ticks all the boxes of my travel outfit checklist. It's stretchy and has a pattern (for when I inevitably spill something on my self), I've got a scarf to use as a blanket/pillow if need be. Socks for warm toes and comfortable shoes, a hands free bag and a hat to hide dirty plane hair (another inevitability!). 

I pretty much only ever wear this dress when I'm travelling. It's so perfect for curling up on a plane/train/car seat and trying to get a comfortable as possible. The longer length is great for warmth on a plane and allows me to be as un-lady-like as I want without fear of flashing people. Plus stripes. Stripes are always a winner! 

So there you have it, another one of my trusty travel outfits, can you spot any similarities to this one? (hint: stripes, scarf, socks, bag.. it's the same formula!). What's your go-to travel outfit? 

Dress: Op Shop

Scarf: Op Shop

Hat: Op Shop

Bag: Op Shop

Jacket: Wittner

Shoes: Report

Socks: Target

TPFF and Flannel

If you have been following me on the blog, facebook or Instagram, or have come within a 10 meter radius of me in the last 3 months you may have heard me rabbiting on about the Telstra Perth Fashion Festival. TPFF was last week and included a huge calendar of events, parties and shows, including the Restyle Runway. This was my first experience with the ‘fashion world’ of Perth, and it was eye-opening to say the least!

I was lucky enough to be given tickets to attend the Flannel show at Fashion Paramount on Thursday night. This was my first time attending a fashion parade so I wasn’t sure what to expect (although was pleasantly surprised with all the free-flowing champagne!). The show it’s self was fantastic, I was seated in the third row so I had a great view of the run way and also the ‘front row’ so I could eye off all the street style of the other attendees. The styling of the Flannel show was gorgeous, big hair, dark lips and lots of loose kaftan-esk 70s style pieces. There was crochet, sequins and fringing thrown in for good measure and lots of luxurious looking silk and cotton fabrics. I just loved the whole bohemian vibe of the collection and will definitely be drawing on it for my own style inspiration over the warmer months.

As this was my first real runway show I decided to leave my camera at home and just soak up the whole experience. I’m so glad I did, but luckily for me (and you!) there was a myriad of Perth bloggers out and about during TPFF snapping away at all of the shows, so check out Le Fanciulle, Inspiring Wit, Little Miss Mon Bon and Modern Girls In Vintage Pearls to see their runway pics and hear their individual thoughts on some of the shows.

All images in this post are from Alf Sorbello via Perth Now

Life Recently

 Gosh don’t the months slip by quickly? I’m loving the slightly warmer weather and can’t wait for the real heat to kick in, I want to put away my coats and pull out my shorts and floppy hats! I’ve got a couple of fun trips planned between now and Christmas, so I’m going to relish every moment of it.

Recently I've been....

Eating birthday cake! So many birthdays in September and SO much cake

Drinking champagne to celebrate the above birthdays ;)
Cooking grilled cheese, I only just learnt how to use a grill and I can’t believe I survived so long without making this miraculous snack!
Watching the Bachelor (and reading every re-cap on mamma mia)
Buying a macbook pro! Finally upgraded my ancient toshiba for a sexy new mac, I’ve still got no clue how to use it, but boy is she pretty!

Wearing sandals! Loving the warmed weather and bare toes, must invest in a good pedi soon though!
Reading #GIRLBOSS after hearing so much about it I finally got a copy for myself, it’s an interested read but I’m still not sure how I feel about it

Avoiding my bank account (so many birthday presents soooo little coin)
Browsing eBay for blue suede Acne Pistol Boots. They are discontinued everywhere but I’ll find some eventually!

Dreaming of Christmas! Can’t wait for the festive season!

I’m in Melbourne this week, part work, part play, it’s going to be so fun! I’ve only ever been to Melbourne once before and that was almost eight years ago, so if you have any shopping/eating suggestions please let me know. I’ve got three days all to myself at the end of the conference and I cannot wait to be totally self-indulgent!

On A Whim

Just before Telstra Perth Fashion Festival kicked off I was super lucky to be invited to borrow an outfit from On A Whim. I’ve been blogging for over a year now and this kind of thing NEVER HAPPENS to me, so to say I was excited is a definite understatement. I went to visit Erin and Kate at the On A Whim studio in Leederville last week and thoroughly enjoyed my lunch break trying on all of their gorgeous clothes and chatting to the girls.

If you have never heard of On A Whim then do yourself a favour and check out their website, or even better go and visit their lovely space at Studio Bomba in Leederville. The two Perth girls behind the label, Erin and Kate, aim to create gorgeous (but wearable) garments with quality construction and beautiful fabrics. All of their pieces are designed and made in Perth which is pretty unusual and so wonderful. Erin told me that they really like to support local talent and often share ideas/solutions with their friends from other Perth based labels. 

The dress I borrowed was fully lined and 100% cotton (it even had pockets!!) so it was a total dream to wear. It was a little chilly the night I wore this outfit so I needed a jacket and some boots, (although I can definitely imagine this dress in summer with wedges and huge sun hat). I decided to whip out my amazing Capnmueller squid earrings as well, because if you can’t wear giant squids on your ears to a fashion show, when can you? I was thrilled when Zambesi designer Liz Findlay commented on them while I was swigging bubbles in the VIP tent (daaaahhhling)!

Dress: On A Whim

Earrings: Capnmueller

Jacket: Op Shop

Belt: Op Shop

Bag: Op Shop

Boots: Jeffrey Campbell

Black and White and ??

Dressing for work can be tough. A colleague of mine mentioned the other day that she always has trouble putting together interesting yet office-appropriate outfits, so she just wears all black and one other colour, which can be a bit stark. This got me thinking about how I get dressed for work, and when I looked at my office wardrobe I noticed it’s filled with black and white prints.

Mixing and matching monochrome prints is so easy, you can literally wear any combination together and it will look chic and polished. My go-to work look is one or two black and white prints plus a coloured piece. This isn’t that far off from my colleague who only wears black and one colour. But the inclusion of a print (or two) easily takes a look from boring to interesting.

Black and white is a conservative combo so adding another colour into the mix is where you get your statement. This chartreuse jacket was one I picked up for Restyle but never actually wore for any of the prompts. I have worn it to work quite a few times though, the colour is SO bright it works perfectly paired with traditional stripes or spots.

This whole outfit is op-shopped which always feels like a little win in my books!

Dress: Salvos O’Connor

Jacket: Red Cross North Perth

Shoes: Salvos Osborne Park

Belt: Op Shop

Bangles: Op Shop