Animal Print

 

I’m sure I’ve said it on the blog before, but leopard print really can be treated as a neutral. I have a few leopard accessories which mix and match very easily with so many other prints and patterns. The prompt today is Animal Print, so I went with my trusty leopard belt which has certainly had a good work out since I picked it up from Good Sammies at the beginning of the year. It was a bit more expensive then I’d normally like, but when I googled the brand (Peter Lang) I saw that their belts sell for over $150, so I think I did pretty well!

My brown spotty dress is also a new addition, I bought it while on holiday in Queensland. I couldn’t resist popping into a few of my favourite op shops in my old stomping ground. When I wore it for the first time the straps were constantly sliding down my shoulders. Instead of taking them up, I decided to embrace the off-the-shoulder look and added a bit of elastic to the straps instead. I’m always drawn to spots in op shops and this dress was no exception, with a tiny alteration the dress is now perfecto!

Spots and leopard and a few red accessories, such a perfect outfit for wondering around on the weekend (and it was so warm on Saturday I didn’t even need a jacket!)

Dress: Salvos Kawana $3.50

Belt: Good Sammies Balcatta $15

Hat: Op Shop

Boots: Tony Bianco

Sunglasses: Pared Eyeware

Pencil Skirt

I have 14 pencil skirts in my wardrobe and every single one of them is from an op shop, so today’s challenge was always going to be easy peasy. It’s just a matter of which pencil skirt to share? I’ve already posted quite a few on the blog (here, here and here), because they are my go-to for work wear. This is a pretty standard work outfit for me, a stretchy pencil skirt, a cool blouse and some fancy jewellery/shoes to jazz it up a bit. 

  

I'd been searching for a red stretchy pencil skirt for a while in op shops, but could never quite find one that fit. I got desperate in the end and purchased this one which was a size 20, luckily all it needed was an extra seam at the back to take it in about 6 sizes and now it fits really well. These stretchy pencil skirts are sooooo good for the office, they are just so comfy! 

Also we can't ignore my epic cape blouse, it makes me feel like an angel or something, ready to float away. It's basically a plain white shirt with some serious sleeves attached, which take this rather standard outfit from average to exciting. Just what I'm after, I love wearing statement pieces to work!

Skirt: Good Sammies Myaree $5

Top: St Lukes Op shop $6

Shoes: Melissa x Vivienne Westwood, eBay

Necklace: Lovisa

P.S This is my 300^th blog post! That’s roughly 60,000 words about op shopping, personal style and any other random fluff that floats across my mind as I sit typing into the wee hours of the night. HUZZAH! Thanks for reading my lovely friends!

Tartan

If I told you I was wearing tartan, leather and lace to work today you’d probably picture a punk-inspired outfit right? Well I have to say that this prim and proper look is about as close to punk as I ever get. The prompt for today is tartan, which suits me perfectly because this tartan pencil skirt is on high rotation in my wardrobe. 

Tartan, like spots/stripes/leopard, is just one of those prints which seems to mix well with so many others. I have a seemingly endless supply of outfit combos which involve this skirt, which is perfect because it’s slightly too big and hence suuuuuper comfy!

My entire outfit today is op-shopped which is always very exciting. Wearing and shopping second hand has just become second nature to me, so I’m always surprised when I hear a person say they’ve never tried it. All I can really say is DO IT!!! (and then show me what you find!). 

What Tartan outfit did you wear for Restyle day 5?

Skirt: Good Sammies Osborne Park $5

Shoes: Wittner, Salvos O’Connor $15

Belt: St Luke’s op shop $3

Lace shirt: Op shop

Leather top: Thrift store in Amsterdam

Sports Luxe

Sports-what-did-you-just-say? That's basically how I interpreted the style prompt for day 3 of Restyle 2015. I was seriously stumped when I first saw this on the prompt list and had to do some thorough Pinterest research to work out what on earth I was going to wear. I ended up going down a pretty easy route, basically clashing some of my sports gear with some of my fancy going-out clothes and voila! Sports Luxe!

The great thing about this style prompt is you probably have all the items you need in your wardrobe already. Take a closer look at your gym clothes, normally reserved for sweaty work outs, and I bet you'll find a few cool printed t-shirts or comfy trainers that could be incorporated into a Sports Luxe look.

I went with the sparkliest skirt in my wardrobe paired with a basic marle grey t (which I normally wear while sweating my ass off at volleyball training). Throw on some high high heels and glitzy accessories and I think I nailed Sports Luxe (if I do say so myself!).

Skirt: Melville Markets $5

T-shirt: Anglicare Fremantle $8

Bag: Good Sammies Fremantle $1

Earrings: Lovisa

Shoes: J Crew, eBay
Sunglasses: Ray Ban 

Tribal

Oh my gosh it's the first day of Restyle 2015! How exciting!!! The very first prompt is Tribal and I just had to wear my newly op shopped African print skirt. I know I've already shared this skirt on the blog fairly recently, but Tribal was a hard prompt to start with and this was all I had in my wardrobe that worked! Also it's a really cool skirt, so styling it again wasn't particularly an issue. 

African prints are so vibrant and cheerful, it's almost impossible to feel down wearing this skirt, the bright pattern is an instant mood lifter. I dressed it up with a slightly sheer fringed top (from last year's Restyle challenge actually), my go-to black heels and some gold accessories. This was a perfect dinner date outfit because the skirt has an elastic waist, so naturally I pushed it to it's limits and ate pasta and cake until I nearly burst. 

What did you wear for Restyle day 1? Tribal was a tricky prompt so I'm super interested to see what everyone else found! 

Skirt: Good Sammies Subiaco $5

Top: Red Cross Scarborough $6
Bracelets: Op shop

Clutch: Target

Earrings: Collette

Shoes: Gorman

Don't know what the hell Restyle is? Click here to learn more and join in the fun! 

Restyle 2015

It's August which means ONE THING! It's Restyle time!!! I was lucky enough to be one of the official Restyle bloggers for 2014, it was the best challenge ever and such a joy to be part of the Telstra Perth Fashion Festival. (If you are new around the blog, then click here, to learn about the Restyle challenge). 

Restyle is basically an op shopping challenge, encouraging you to wear an thrifted item every day in August. This year Restyle is a little different, for one they only have 21 prompts. This actually makes me a breath a sigh of relief, 31 outfits in 31 day was seriously hard work! I'm not an official blogger this year, but I'm still going to join in the fun. That's the best part of Restyle, everyone can do it!

Here are the style prompts to guide you when putting together your outfits...

How exciting are they?! I'll be sharing my outfits on the blog and also instagram (@inthedressupbox), so make sure you follow along and post your own outfits too! I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

All these pictures are from my Restyle 2014 challenge. The outfits are almost entirely made up of clothes/accessories op shopped from the Australian Red Cross stores!