My First Denim Jacket

Is it weird if I tell you that this is the first denim jacket I’ve ever owned? *Collective Gasp* I think its for the same reason that I don’t have a leather jacket either. I often procrastinate buying basics because they’re usually the pieces that don’t go on sale. When ASOS offered to partner up for a back to uni post, I made sure to add a denim jacket to my cart. If you want to pick a piece that gives you lots of layering options, I would recommend a shrunken cropped jacket like this. It allows you to put on a longer item like my cardigan underneath without swamping your body. For an even more casual loungewear look with this cardigan, have a squiz at this post at the beach.

I have a Pinterest Board dedicated to layering and I’ve concluded that it really is an art form. I can’t wait for the months to continue to get colder so I can pile on the layers but you always need to have that base first layer whether it be a plain tee or in this case a classic black slip. Mine’s actually a detachable one from a sheer dress that I never wear anymore and you can see how essential it is regardless of season in this summer post.

Thank you for supporting Style Smorgasbord collaborations! ASOS is one of those big brands that I never even bothered to think about because they have a reach of a few million whilst I’m just in this tiny corner of the internet. If you haven’t already, make sure you visit Monday’s post for some more campus inspo featuring some other great ASOS buys!

Recreate my Look:

Jacket (c/o) / Similar Cardigan (c/o) / Similar Slip / Shoes 

Four Fall Pastels

As much as I love prints and patterns, I also like how solid colours look together and since March officially kicks off autumn weather, I wanted to show you my four favourite colours to wear transeasonally: blue, camel, grey and white.

Recreate my look:

Hat / Turtleneck / Skirt / Shoes

Red Lip Classic Thing

Style will forever be one of my favourite Swift songs along with the piano rendition of Forever & Always, Never Grow Up and Begin Again. Its lyrically, vocally and musically beautiful and it will never go out of style (pun intended!). I wouldn’t say my style is classic per se because I’m young enough to throw random stuff together and leave the door without much thought but I do like the idea of modern prep which I think is how I would describe my go to style … which brings me to this lightweight trench coat. With the winter solstice behind us, that means we can start looking forward (maybe a little too early but I’m just wishful like that) to longer days and warmer weather very soon! It was 5 degrees this morning when I left for university but much warmer when the sun was beaming so I really shouldn’t complain. I like keeping it all loose like a goose with this coat and then layering my infinity scarf and furry snug for maximum impact. Add some fun printed pants, practical boots, a classic leather band watch, bright lips and you have my personality in an outfit – bubbly, practical and imperfect!

// Trenchcoat (c/o) Trendsgal / Pants Cotton On / Boots Jeffrey Campbell / Infinity Scarf Cotton On Similar / Fur Snood DIY / Watch Vintage Tiffany & Co //

Varsi-Prep

The rest of the garden is brown, wet and sad but then there are these lovely hot pink camellias in the dead of autumn. Always look on the sunnier side kids. Oh, and always wear your clothes back to front because if T-Swizzle is doing it (exhibit a, b, c, etc.), we should all do it too. Pictured here is a very much loved sweatshirt worn back to front, my chiffon collared shirt, the only pair of jeans I really wear, white cons and my good old ray-bans. They call it varsi-prep*. Well at least that’s what I call it! Thank God Its Friday (tomorrow) and have a great weekend!

*As in a cross between varsity and preppy, shoutout to Adela for the inspo x 

Birds of a Feather Mirror Together

I’ve actually been on a three week shooting hiatus so I decided today was the day to get off my behind and and put it in this wild midi number from Lil Muse. I have to admit, I’m not a big animal print person … I think this is the first animal print that has ever made its way into my wardrobe. Animal print frankly scares me but I threw myself in the deep end by trying out a double animal print mirrored midi body con skirt. What a mouthful! All full of words that usually do not exist in my closet vocabulary!

Making a statement can be terrifying. Committing to pink hair, a sleeve tattoo or a house made of glass would be impractical for most of us. For those brave souls who have that level of commitment, I applaud you. That doesn’t mean the rest of us can shy away from standing out every once in a while and I honestly can’t think of a better non-permanent form of expression than the way you dress. So go on, try that tucked away piece in your wardrobe and let that feeling of liberation wash over you.

Initially, when I started SS I was determined not to put outfit details at the bottom. I wanted SS to be simply a source of inspiration not an add to cart type of a site. More recently, I have been receiving messages and emails asking me where certain details are from so from this day forth, I will try my best to put details at the bottom. Keeping in mind, I’m just a broke student so sometimes my stuff is from two seasons ago and will not be available anymore. Today’s outfit however is still available online so I definitely recommend you check out the top and shoes since they are heavily discounted!

Top: Cotton On KN Alanis Cut Away Crop Skirt: (c/o) Lil Muse Snake of Paradise Skirt Shoes: Betts Slave Heel in Stone

A Gal at Bal

According to the Urban Dictionary, definition number seven, chinos are: A type of trouser made from chino cloth. Although they are very comfortable and soft, they come in the most grotesque colours possible which really makes them stand out. The fact that they are sold in excess in stores such as Abercrombie and Jack Wills doesn’t help their reputation much either. Chinos, the everyday hipster’s choice of trouser wear. So what then are chino shorts? To me they are the conservative short, which means they are the perfect piece to go with the bustier – a garment Victorian women wore to get their va va voom on. Since I have no desire to show off too much skin, I decided to pop on this light see through chiffon shirt and one button it up all easy breezy.

There you have it, all ready to set sail! Or at least walk along the boardwalk. How lovely does Balmoral look on this cloudy Saturday? I think the cool tones are the perfect complement to my sailing appropriate look and I love how bright the pictures turned out. Sometimes, a picture sans blue sky is really okay after all! And where do sailors brunch? The Balmoral Boathouse of course! Get the quinoa bircher it could seriously feed three!

Today was actually meant to be a DIY post and the last post in my New Year series but Optus decided to cut my internet for two days because the roof of a tower fell off or something so I have been in agony for the past 60 hours. It got to the point where I turned up two hours early to a party so I could use the host’s internet (thank you beb) and stood in front of the Apple store for an hour to leech off their fast wifi. Sue me, I’m so twenty first century.

The footless seagul { :(((( } and food shot by me, outfit shot by Adela 

SCULPTURESQUE.

You look so beautiful in this light/ Your silhouette over me / The way it brings out the blue in your eyes / Is the Tenerife sea {Ed Sheeran X ‘tenerife sea’}

Sculpture by the Sea is an annual collection of art, people and culture backdropped against nature’s best element (in my bias opinion): the beach. I’ve managed to miss this not-to-be-missed iconic event year after year because of school but I finally got to see the beauty that it is with my own two eyeballs and camera lens this year! I got a decent amount of beautiful shots but I’ve narrowed it down to a few of my favourites including Overconsumption by Kerrie Argent which was this big glop of a thing that looked like a colourful rainbow from afar but was actually made up of bottle lids. I trust that you are smart enough to decipher what the artist is trying to say from the title. The collection of sculptures spans from Tamarama beach to the famous Bondi and we started our journey at about 5 and finished at half 7. The walk itself really wasn’t that long but trying to navigate the people and the sights slows you down in a great way. So if you live in Sydney or can get down here by the 9th, I would totally recommend you do the walk and if you can’t, hopefully my pictures can give you some indication of the spectacular nature of the exhibit.

It was crazy windy that day so I decided to go with a 3 shades of gray kinda thing staring with some metallic gunmetal leggings, a plain tee and a floppy felt hat; baggy cardigan to ease the chilliness, good old Converse and a sunflower backpack to carry my big old camera. I am definitely new to creating visual blog content but the struggle of good pictures vs a cute bag is real. On the hunt for a biggish bowler now.