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Every woman needs a Go to Dress

November 26, 2013 / Style tips / 13 Comments

Recently Vanessa from Style and Shenanigans wrote a post about one of her ‘set play’ outfits and these are specific outfits that have been styled to be worn time and time again. There is no thinking about putting the outfit and accessories together because you’ve worn it before and you know that it looks great.

I have a few set play outfits in my wardrobe and one particular set play outfit is the Go to Dress.

This is my Go to Dress.

My Go to Dress

I bought this dress 6 years ago in New Zealand. I loved the print and at the time of purchase it was a bit more flowy. I love this dress because it’s a breathable jersey material, it hasn’t faded and the belt can be worn on the hips or under the breast to create an empire line. I have worn this dress pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy and post pregnancy. It’s one of those dresses that I always get a compliment on when wearing it out and about.

Every woman needs a Go to Dress. A dress that can be ‘chucked’ on and easily accessorized without too much thinking. I have styled the above dress with two of my Styled by Bec Statement Resin bangles and my new Tan brown clogs from Target (on sale for $25).

Here are some key points to think about when finding your Go to Dress:

1. It needs to be comfortable when worn

2. It shouldn’t require special underwear like a strapless bra or cross over bra (mind dress number 4 in the image below which would require a strapless bra)

3. The pattern of the dress speaks for itself so it requires little accessories

I have found some Go to Dresses that can give you some inspiration if you don’t have a dress like this already in your wardrobe.

1. Yeltuor Sacha Drake Mara Dress $228.95

2. Blue Bungalow Geisha Floral Sundress $59.00

3. ASOS Midi Dress in Vintage Floral $73.94

4. Blue Bungalow Mosaic Border Maxi $65.00

Do you have a Go to Dress in your wardrobe? I’m linking up with Essentially Jess for I Blog on Tuesdays.

Bright Accessories for Summer 2013

November 19, 2013 / Style tips / 9 Comments

I am the accessory Queen. I love a good accessory and I am quite picky. I won’t buy an accessory unless I absolutely love it or I know that I will wear it with something I already own in my wardrobe. I love that accessories can create different looks for the one outfit. If I feel like I need to add something new to my wardrobe and don’t want to spend a fortune, I will buy an accessory.

This post is specifically for bright or mixed coloured accessories for Summer 2013. I love bold and bright accessories and you should definitely incorporate some of these styles to your own accessory collection.

One of the concerns that most women have in relation to wearing accessories is working out what is too much and what can be worn together. My advice is to look in the mirror and experiment what you feel looks good and comfortable. Own your style and be confident. If you want to wear your dangly earrings, a bold necklace and some wrist candy, go for it. But if you feel like a Christmas tree, or it feels too heavy, then don’t because you want to be comfortable and confident. As a loose rule here are some ideas to keep the accessory wearing balance:

bold earrings +bangles/bracelets

stud earrings + bold necklace

scarf + bold bangles/bracelets

Once you get the hang of wearing accessories, you can then layer necklaces of different lengths or layer different style bangles to add interest to your outfit.

Here are some current season pickings for Bright Accessories for Summer 2013. (I had to put in some of my resin bangles because they were only fitting for this blog post 😉

1. Styled by Bec Three Shades of Pink Square Bangle Set $55.00

2. Rhyley Design Brooch $4.50

3. Mimco Rise to Rani Wrist Bracelet $59.95

4. Mimco Petite Spot Stud $59.95

5. Emily Green Tiffany 9 bead necklace $49-$65

Mixing coloured accessories is as simple as finding a necklace with different colours and coordinating an earring or bangle with the colours in the necklace. The colours don’t have to be exactly the same, they can be similar toned because your accessories aren’t usually worn close together.

1. Emily Green FE 9 Bead Necklace $49-$65

2. Witchery Colour Spliced Wood Earring $19.95

3. Witchery Hexagon Cuff $39.95

4. Sussan Multi Stripe Scarf $29.95

5. Sussan Short Shell Necklace $29.95

Do any of these accessories pick your fancy? Where do you usually buy your accessories from?

I’m linking up with Essentially Jess for #IBOT

Keep an open mind

November 12, 2013 / Fashion, Style tips / 23 Comments

I like to keep an open mind when I go shopping and I’m hunting for a specific outfit or accessory. Sometimes the places that I overlook in my mind are the very places that have come up with the goods on what I’ve been looking for.

I have been slowly building my wardrobe up because I am FINALLY back to my pre-baby weight when I had Magdalene, but I have another 10kg to lose to get back to the weight I was before I had Esther.

Of course those 10kg are making it hard to get into some of the items in my wardrobe, hence the shopping to get items that will fit.

Anyway back to keeping an open mind, I have been hunting dresses that are easy to accessorise and will fit in with my busy lifestyle as a mum.

At one of my local shopping centres a pop-up store called Collective Avenue has made it’s residence in an empty shop for a couple of months. Most of the items that are sold at Collective Avenue are hand-made by stay-at-home mums and it is an amazing shop to browse through, although every time I’ve browsed there I have always bought something.

They have a few racks of clothes that I zone into every time I walk into the store. On one such occasion I saw a navy blue chevron print shift dress. I immediately knew it had to be part of my wardrobe so I tried it on and looked at the price tag of $39.95 and thought BARGAIN.

It wasn’t until I walked to the counter to pay for my dress that the lovely owner at the cash register said ‘Oh, aren’t you lucky to be buying yourself a lovely nightie’.

A nightie?

I admitted to her that I didn’t realize it was a nightie and I had every intention of wearing it as a dress.

The owner promptly told me I had been browsing the sleep wear rack and that the dress was supposed to be worn as a nightie but who would know since most sleepwear these days were designed for daywear?

My chevron print dress that is actually a nightie

Here is the dress in question and maybe you can judge for yourself. But my key message when shopping to a budget is to keep an open mind. I love this dress and I guess the bonus is if I no longer want to wear it as a day dress, I can sleep in it as a nightie.

I’m linking up with Essentially Jess for I blog on Tuesdays.

How to wear a patterned tee

November 5, 2013 / Fashion, Style tips / 12 Comments

I loved a patterned tee. Just add a pair of shorts and you’re good to go. The pattern speaks for itself. I have few Witchery patterned tees in my wardrobe and I wear them in summer with shorts or harems and in winter I wear them with jeans and a cardigan.

There are so many prints out this season you’re not limited for choice. Florals, polka dots, stripes, digital and animal prints are just some of the patterns that are on offer.

Patterned Tees

1. Asos Oasis Textured Floral Tee $55.45

2. Freez New Cover Print Top $39.95

3. Charlie Brown Police Shattered Top $199.00

4. Blue Illusion Short Sleeve Trapeze Top $99.95

5. Sussan Print Splice Tee $59.95

6. Witchery Linea Printed Tee $59.95

How to wear a patterned tee

The patterned tee is an easy item to wear and it works especially well in summer when you don’t want to wear accessories or it’s too hot to wear a scarf. The patterned tee is the feature of the outfit. It can be teamed with a block colour short or with denim shorts.

To create a really interesting outfit, mix your patterned tee with a patterned short. The key to mixing your patterns is to have one colour in common. The pattern can also be the common denominator so long as it is similar in shape. In the example below, you could team either of the tees with the Sussan Print Chino shorts because the same colour blue is featured in both items. To balance the outfit, wear a block colour sandal. There is no need to add a necklace because the patterns in the outfit are the show piece of the outfit.

Styling Ideas for Patterned Tees

1. Freez Sass Take Over Tee $49.00

2. Sussan Stamp Print Chino short $59.95

3. Colette Aria Structured Metal Edge Tote $49.95

4. Sussan Print Splice Tee $59.95

5. Country Road White Stretch Short $69.95

6. Style Tread Mollini Wakes White Sandal $129.95

Have you got a patterned tee in your wardrobe? What do you normally wear it with?

Spring Racing Outfits 2013

October 29, 2013 / Style tips / 35 Comments

This time next week is the Melbourne Cup. How fast has this year gone? I love this time of year with the new season offerings of dresses just in time for Spring Racing Season and the Christmas Parties that follow on the next month.

I decided to put together two Spring Racing Outfits. One is floral using a maxi dress and the other is a plain colour dress jazzed up with an accent colour. I love florals and colour in Spring and these trends are perfectly acceptable to be worn at the races. The outfits are budget friendly because as everyone knows, you can’t wear the same outfit every year and when you are buying a dress and the necessary shoes and accessories to match, it can cost a fortune to pull an outfit together.

Because I am a mum and I haven’t been very organized this year, I will be at home watching the race while my girls are asleep – providing I don’t have any plumbing work that crops up – but it’s highly unlikely because most businesses and residents are focused on the Melbourne Cup too.

Anyway, here are my two suggestions for Spring Racing Outfits for 2013. Some of the images are hazy because I am still learning how to format pictures, but you get the gist of what I’m trying to show you.