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)

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Double D: SS x NotebookDaisy

I am so utterly pleased with how this concept turned out! I love collaborating with people who can draw and letter (because my doodles look like dog poo and my hand writing is a nightmare) and today I’m so glad to introduce to you guys the lovely Daisy from NotebookDaisy on Instagram. Go visit her Facebook and Instagram to see more of her beautiful work now! She likes drinking green tea and spending too much money on lippy. So we’re basically the same people but she’s much more better at drawing ha! She has this very cool series on her Instagram called the little alphabet people which I definitely think you should check out and also bug her to keep making more – I think she is only up to Chastised Charlie. 

I don’t like fashion (why you are a fashion blogger?!) but I love styling. I was having a bit of an epiphanic moment a couple of weeks ago when I realised that nup I don’t want to be a brand whore. The reason I write a blog is to be creative and personally I believe creativity flourishes more when you have limitations. For me, this is my smallish closest. I don’t think you need a ton of clothes to be stylish, you just need to know how to be creative and work with what you have and what is a bit terrifying to you. I also encourage outfit repeating, anything you think you look on point in, you wear it ten times and then you wear it again because if it is a good outfit, why not ?

I love this double denim day to night look. I think it would be the perfect quick car switch that you could achieve in less than 5 minutes. The base is the denim shirt and boyfriend jeans and then it is all about the accessories. For a day at uni or running errands I would go with some print mixing – stripes and polka dots are always a win, my white converse and a brightly coloured bag. For night, I would just button up my shirt and tuck it into my jeans. Add a blazer, pussy bow, pumps, statement earrings and clutch and you’re almost ready to go … Finish off with red lippy of course, flip you curls to the side and you’re ready to boogie.

I hope this post gave you some inspiration today and if you have any more styling queries or other day to night looks you would like me to do … I am up for the challenge so hit me with your best shot.

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 

Camo The Colour

Camo The Colour like Cameo The Label … I try not to explain my punniness 99% of the time but sometimes I need to toot my own horn because I’m just so dang funny. I also realise now that camo is more of a colour and less of a pattern but let’s not get all nick picky people.

I think Nauen said last week that you learn a lot at university. I certainly did. Lesson Number One: Don’t wear denim cutoffs. Especially if you have to catch the train and then sit for 4 hours straight. After making that mistake about 3 times, I finally decided it was time to start wearing pants even though that would mean succumbing to that autumn weather that is inevitably looming since it looks like the entire easter long weekend will be raining. 

Nonetheless I’m so ecstatic about the easter long weekend … hello cake on a stick, warmed up hot cross buns, bunny onesies and easter eggs!! More on that next week!

 Pants H&M 50% off in store! // Collared Shirt Similar Here // Brogues Similar Here 

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 

A Little Tulle Late

I have a really strange fascination with tulle and big poofy skirts like this. The strange part of this fascination is that it didn’t start when I was a young un and watching Angelina Ballerina … it started when I was about 14! What I like best about this tulle skirt is that its layered instead of just flouncing out at one length. This means that it is a lot of fun to twirl in to make for some great action shots.

I know I’ve been referring to it as a skirt but I’ll let you in a sneaky secret: the tulle skirt is actually my prom dress from year 10! I’m happy to say its not something i would cringe at all these years later but it makes me sad that I never wear it which is why I popped it on, Christmas day. Then I decided to dress it down with a plaid shirt cinched at the waist, popped at the collar and rolled at the arms so I could give my outfit some silhouette. To finish off the ballet vibes, I went with a big poof on my head and some bow heels that shouldn’t be leaped around in!

FANCY

I’m actually a very lazy person when it comes to dressing. Half of the time I’m in a loose tee and denim cut offs and more recently I’ve also started embracing the normcore that has always been in me by wearing joggers on occasions that don’t involve working up a sweat. The weather has been crazy in Sydney this week – think really hot mornings and spectacular thunderstorms in the afternoon followed by light sun at dusk again.

To combat the heat, my outfit for today is really just a fancied up version of your basic pyjamas. I love this light, chiffon button up because I’ve managed to wear it a million different ways and today I discovered a new way! The sleeves are actually very poofy when buttoned at the wrists but today I buttoned them up and pushed the cuff three quarters of the way down so that the sleeves would flow out in a more boxy manner. Then I’ve actually just got on a pair of monochrome patterned work out shorts and my good old flats as opposed to bedroom slippers because I do have to draw the line somewhere. To carry my stuff, I’ve got a canvas bag because that to me is the lazy bag. Unless, of course you’re carrying groceries in your canvas bags, then you are in fact very hard working and I commend you with many snaps.

If you’re curious, these shots were done at a University campus in front of what my friend and I believe is an anthropology mural with some questionable drawings that we had a good laugh at trying to figure out what exactly they were trying to convey. On an end note, I’d like to say Happy month-versary eve! It has been almost a month since I’ve launched Style Smorgasbord and I just wanted to quickly acknowledge how much your support and love has meant to me! I hope you have enjoyed the few posts that have tricked out of me and I hope to improve my posting schedule over the next month. Until then, have a great weekend – only 19 more sleeps till Christmas which means an ornament DIY coming very soon 🙂

STYLE.

You got that long hair, slicked back, white t-shirt And I got that good girl faith and a tight little skirt And when we go crashing down, we come back every time ‘Cause we never go out of style {1989 Taylor Swift ‘style’}

I think its plenty ironic how I finished my last High School Certificate exam yesterday (which meant that I would never have to wear a school girl skirt again) but then the next day I go for a plaid skirt with a white top? If this outfit has any deeper psychological meaning to it, I really do not care to know.

Instead I would like to think that I am paying homage to Taylor Swift’s 1989, particularly my favourite song ‘Style.’ As a post HSC celebratory gift to myself and an inevitable purchase anyway because she is one of the few artists I still buy physical albums for, I got 1989 yesterday after agonisingly having to wait a few extra days. My favourite songs after Style are: Blank Space, Wildest Dreams and Wonderland. If you are think Taylor is a Slayor, then we are automatically friends and you are obligated to tell my what your favourites are too 🙂

Anyway, the plaid skirt is a nod to the whole No its Becky inside joke that she has with the Tumblr community, the cropped tee is for all the cropped tees she’s been wearing lately and the brogues are for Fearless era Taylor because that will forever be one of my favourites. And to top that all off, the heart sunglasses are inspired by her last era: Red.

Apologies for my rudeness, but HEY, welcome to THE BLOG. My name is Karen and I’m in that blissful, wonderful period where I have just graduated high school and have four beautiful months of mindless wandering and a summer vacation that is really, genuinely going to be longer than 104 days*. I figured that in between my trips to the beach and marathoning situational comedies,  I would do something that’s been on my summer bucket list for a long time: start a blog and have a domain! Thusly, Style Smorgasbord DOT COM was born on the 1st of November 2014. So make yourself an iced tea (or maybe a hot one if you’re in the northern hemisphere) and take a look around. I hope I can bring a little bit of sunshine into your day and if all goes well, some leaves, rain and flowers too?

* If you can get that reference. FOUR FOR YOU.