One Two Chi Chi Chi

If you are looking for a deliciously fluffy, full skirted dress, stop by Chi Chi London for the prettiest, flounciest ones. It’s a pastel and floral frock shock but regardless of your day to day style, tell me you don’t want to have a good twirl and bounce in something so fun. I paired my lovely mint dress with some strappy heels but if you were going to a themed fifties party or garden day, some little sneakers would be just brill too!

If you’re interested in this dress, its made of a lovely thick material but something that you will definitely need to have steamed so it floats nicely. I would also recommend looking in the petite section if you were after a dress that isn’t so long. Available on their own site with free worldwide delivery and also Asos!

Dress (c/o Chi Chi London) / Heels 

Make a Bodycon Workplace Appropriate

I remember buying this dress for my first job interview and thinking that it was unlikely I would ever wear it again. Oh, how wrong I was! I’ve worn this countlessly – as a dress, a skirt, dressed up, down and as a top as featured in today’s post. See how I also styled this dress for a rainy day here. This piece is short and has quite a low back which would be a bit too much skin in an office environment so layering an a-line skirt and topping it off with an autumnal blanket scarf helps overcome the issue.

I also recently got a new pair of frames from Oscar Wylee. I was a bit unsure on the shape but seeing as I don’t need them all the time, I decided to go for something different! Even after wearing them for around 2 months, I was never really convinced until these photographs. They’re really great at staying on my nose bridge and I definitely recommend!

recreate my look:

bodycon / skirt / booties / scarf / glasses / bag

“when autumn comes, it doesn’t ask, it just walks in, where it left you last, and you never know, when it starts until there’s fog inside the glass around your summer heart.”

something’s missing / john mayer

Mint Condition

Hello hello! 3 weeks without posting :0 This is the longest absence I have had in a year and I’ve missed the excitement of scheduling a post to go live. I could tell you work got in the way or mid-semester exams took over or Sydney was having terrible weather but in actuality, I was not feeling the buzz to shoot. Then, during the ANZAC long weekend, the clouds parted, the stars aligned, I was finally digging my Insta feed and my creativity fuel was back!

Kicking things off, we have this autumn-appropriate outfit, shot in the cute little streets of Surry Hills. The hero piece is a great thick and structured double-breased blazer perfect for work and dressed down with boyfriend jeans for the weekends. So here’s to a better month ahead filled with blog posts!

Recreate my look:

Blazer / Tee / Jeans / Shoes / Sunnies 

Marble Timepieces and Double Pinstripes

In the last one to two years, there has been a sudden influx of watch companies popping up over the internet. Over the weekend, I read this article in the Herald about how ironically timed these start ups were – coming in at around the same period as the launch of the Apple Watch. Apparently, the market isn’t as saturated as I originally thought because watch brands that haven’t even hit the one year mark are managing to make turnovers of almost a million.

Today I’d like to introduce to you a new player – Valor Watches, founded by T. Bermejo and launched only a handful of days ago. To give you some context around the title of the post, the Cross of Valour is awarded “only for acts of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme peril”. When I look at this watch, it reminds me of one of my personal mantras – I am made of courage, compassion and commitment. When jewellery can transcend its original purpose to become something invaluable for the wearer, you know its a special piece.

The marble face paired with the classic black leather band perfectly embodies what I like to refer to as ‘modern prep’. Carrying the theme into the rest of my outfit, I went with the ultimate preppy pattern after feeling incredibly inspired by the Australian Olympic team’s uniform unveil by Sportscraft earlier this week. To give it that modern twist, I layered two pinstripe pieces but kept the base crisp with white jeans. Front ties have been popular of late and knotting a complementary second piece will give you a similar silhouette.

The white denim, flowers and linen must make you think that I live in the northern hemisphere! Nope! Sydney has just brought a lot of warm weather this month but I’m hoping that the end of daylight saving will bring some colder weather along with it.

Recreate my look:

Shirt / Blazer / Jeans / Watch (c/o)

City Backstreet

How brilliant is the colour of my Longchamp? At first I was worried such a vivid colour would not be practical for everyday use but in retrospect this Tiffany box blue pops brightly among a sea of the classic navy ones. I’ve been using it for more than a semester now and its been such a little trooper. Big, durable, fits my mac and camera and so incredibly light. It only has one pocket which I keep my phone and keys in but for everything else I have individual bags so I’m not rooting around aimlessly.

// Longchamp / Boots / Similar Sweater / Similar Parka //

Outfit Photography: Adela+ Styliminal

Tassel Me Softly (+ Giveaway)

I’m really digging this plaid on plaid ensemble. I think I was a little inspired by Cher having rewatched Clueless for the upteempth time but instead of going matchy matchy I decided to mix it up with two kinds of plaid for that modern prep look that I am constantly gravitating towards. I was surprised at how seamlessly the two wool pieces pulled together and I believe it must have been the navy checks and purse that gave this outfit its lifeline.

Recently, I have developed a deep desire to tassel everything. Lamps. Cushions. Skirts. If its not moving I want to add that little bit of za za zing to it! This little navy bag from JollyChic is my first tassel item but it definitely won’t be my last. I’ve been seeing these little summer dresses with open backs and a row of tassels and a little bit of me dies because its not anywhere close to floaty clothing climate. In the mean time, I guess these tassel adorned knits and accessories will hold me over. If you would like to hop on this bandwagon, sign up with JollyChic and comment down below using the same email address and I’ll pick someone to win a $20 gift voucher!

Long sleeved knit / Short sleeved knit / Skirt

Crossbody (c/o) JollyChic / Scarf / Flats

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 //

Oversized

I have a couple of coats on rotation this winter and one of them is this duffel coat from my Auntie (Hi Auntie Stephanie!). Its very oversized on me but by tucking in the sleeves for a 3/4 length style, it looks like its meant to be boxy. I have become more resistant to the cool weather this year so now I can get away with wearing my summer tops under big coats and with double the amount of options, its a whole new ball game with my wardrobe. Exciting times people! Speaking of … exams are over soon, two down, two more to go. Come the following Friday, its a month long winter break whee hee and I’m committed to spending as much time as possible outdoors creating great content and filling my calendar with a plethora of activities to make the most of my staycation. Whilst it would be nice to jet off for some northern hemisphere sun, there’s actually so much of my own backyard that I haven’t seen so I plan to see more of my own city in July.

// Coat: similar here / Blouse: Forever 21 / Jeans: Miss Shop / Flats (c/o) Sammydress / Bag: Bardot //

Blaze of Glory

I am really uncool. Like watch The Big Bang Theory on Friday nights (GUYS SHAMY!), crack dad jokes and prone to flushing from any kind of alcohol consumption kind of uncool. But these shades make me feel hella cool and when I leave my house I imagine I’m off to my warehouse converted to office sharespace where I lounge around in curvy chairs and think of fresh ideas to make the world more yeezus. In reality, I’m just off for the daily commute where I spend 40 minutes reading about influential people in The Collective and Times but let me do me, kay?

The outfit unpicked:

Plaid on plaid, yes on yes. Miss Shop Coat (similar) and Old Button Down (similar)

Shadiest Shades from Ray-Ban

The best tee ever which I have worn here and here from Lil Muse Clothing (c/o)

Leggings for speed walking across campus from Dotti get them in store for 60% off

Fresh new Converse for ruining from Urban Outfitters 

DIY Lipstick Clutch

I came across this clutch a couple of weeks ago and for a cool 450, you can make it your cutest night out bag. But today, I have a cheap as chips and easy as pie DIY that cost me less than 10 bucks and 10 minutes of my Friday night in. You’ll need a plain box style clutch (mine was $5 from Colette!), a used lipstick and a red rubber. Make sure you visit my blog again next week to see how I styled it for a night out!

Start by scooping out all your old lipstick and filling it with some glue instead. Cut off a chunk of your rubber to create the bullet. I was lucky enough to have a red rubber at my disposal but I think red polymer clay or bluetack stained red could possibly work as well. To ‘shape’ your bullet, rub it against a flat surface so the hard edges disappear. Then push your bullet in the hole and glue the entire lipstick to your clutch! Make sure you glue it on the back side so you can still open your purse.