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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Ribs & Bumps

I always find myself attracted to navy and maroon as a pairing. Throw in a small stripe of grey in the form of a Cluse watch and you have the perfect football jersey in my opinion 😉 Those collegiate colours have me waxing poetic about the American collage football games I will never attend. The idea of home made posters, marching bands and shoulder pads excited me to the point where I am shaking my pom poms like a peppy cheerleader.

I didn’t think I would be breaking out this dress for another few months at least but its been strangely cold this year. Hardly beach weather that’s for sure! I have another month until I start having proper commitments so let’s hope we can squeeze in a few trips beforehand especially on Australia day. A few days of cool temperatures doesn’t bother me though because this ribbed maroon beauty is very flattering. The side cut outs give the illusion of a smaller waist much like how black panelling is usually used in body con dresses.

Dress (c/o) / Watch (c/o) / Purse (c/o) / Shoes 

Conservative Trending

Top / Jeans / Belt / Bandana / Watch (c/o) / Flats / Bag / Nails

I’ll always go to the clearance section of any store before I even glance at the new arrivals. Further 50 percent off emails and banners make my hands sweat with excitement. Pricing an online store from lowest to highest gives my great satisfaction. Lets face it, I’m not the biggest fan of spending money on trends. Its easy to see what’s going to go out of style and what to invest in. I like the whole 70s thing that every chainstore is shoving down our throats but not enough to commit to a pair of flared jeans for more than a month. Instead, I add a red bandana and brown cross body both stolen from my mum’s wardrobe and I don’t have to spend a dime.

That’s not to say I don’t like to splurge on the finer things. Timepieces are something I thoroughly enjoy and this year I have managed to acquire quite a few unintentionally. One of which includes this Rumba Time piece. The beautifully cut edges reflect light and create the prettiest rainbow effect on your walls. Unfortunately Rumba Time’s website only ships to certain places. However, you can buy this exact style on ShopBop which I recommend because the shipping is crazy fast even if you live in Australia.

So save those dollars and invest in lasting pieces that your children can steal from you down the road. Or put it towards that holiday you’ve been meaning to take yourself on. Experiences are always greater than material things. Period.

Edit: I have decided to update my sign off with a more personalised touch. Writing Christmas cards and gift tags helped me come up with a new way of spelling out ‘much love karen’. Let me know what you think of it and thank you so much for reading.

November 2015

November was an exam month so not much happened before the nineteenth. Highlight of the month was definitely the 1989 concert!!! I’ve been waiting for this day since I was 12 and first heard Love Story on the radio in the supermarket carpark. I guess you could call that love at first note. What an event! With a 76 000 strong crowd (the biggest crowd she’ll play to this whole tour!!!), there was really something magical about being in a confined space with so many people who all know the lyrics to your favourite songs. Visually, How You Get The Girl was my favourite with the floating street lamps and light up dress but I think I danced the hardest to Out Of The Woods and I Knew You Were Trouble. The flashing wristbands were such a neat idea because they pulsed to the music (see above) and I’m glad they still work after the concert because it makes for a nice memento. I’m so glad this was the concert that was filmed for the DVD because I’ll have to get it just to relive the night :’)

Bite Beauty in Glace / Top Shop Beauty in Perplex / Rumba Time in Madison (c/o)  or via Shopbop/ Seed Marble Phone Case 

I have been looking for an affordable marble phone case for over a year and I finally found this one from Seed when they were doing 20% off storewide at VOSN for under $10. I was looking to find a Kylie Jenner-esque colour lip pencil and this one sadly misses the spot but is still quite pretty as you can see me wearing in ‘Paint Me Like … By Your French Door.’ Finally, I have a new time piece from Rumba Time in my life that is less glitzy than my MK one because there aren’t any crystals but its still very shiny because of they way the edges are cut. 

Topshop opened their second store in Sydney (took their time am I right?) and its kitted out with a Doughnut Time. On the opening day they gave away 500 doughnuts and I scored two – ‘The Cereal Killer’ and ‘Oreo’. These artisan doughnuts are hand dipped and so scrumptious.

There are only a few weeks until Christmas and then its the new year and 2016 will be upon us :0 I’ve put up the trees in my house including this new baby tree from Bed Bath n Table. Its a bit underdressed right now but I’m hoping to add a few homemade ornaments when I get back from my holiday.