Posts Tagged ‘Fashion’

6 Ways to Bring Colour Into Your Outfit When You Don’t Wear Colour

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I try to wear colour everyday. Colour makes me happy and it’s a way for me to share my personality with my style.

But not everyone is like me. Colour may make you run for the hills. Neutrals or black may be your preferred colours to wear.

Neutrals certainly have their place in a wardrobe. But adding colour can elevate an outfit simply with an accessory or block colour shoe.

If you’re one to draw away from colour, maybe this year you could embrace one signature colour to add to your outfits. Red has always been my colour, but when I peruse my wardrobe, I think teal would give the red a run for its money.

I was quite taken by this teal off the shoulder top I bought on the weekend from Rockmans. It was less than half price at $20. I knew I had the shorts, jeans, matching earrings and sandals to give this top maximum wear in my wardrobe. It was going to slide in quite nicely with what I owned. And this is a key rule when shopping as a personal stylist.

wear colour

Top: Rockmans 3/4 Wrap Sleeve Off Shoulder Top $20 (I’m wearing a 14)

For some, the pattern and colour may be too bright, but for me, I love it. I’ve never been one to shy away from a bold print and bright colour.

If you’re hesitant about wearing colour, here are some ways to bring colour into your outfit.

1. Wear a bright tassel earring. If you have dark hair, bright colours are your friend as the dark colours of black and brown and even navy will blend in with your hair.

2. If a tassel earring is too bold, try a block colour stud earring instead. Ruby Olive have some fabulous stud earrings that are affordable.

3. Add a bright belt. My favourite belt colours are red and orange as they play well against a black or navy shift dress for work, or a block colour dress for weekend wear.

4. Buy a bright coloured shoe. I have Holster jelly sandals in teal that I love to wear with my casual outfits. It can give a sudden pop to a simple outfit. If you’re not into wearing bright colours, a bold shoe may be a way to dip your toes into wearing colour.

5. Go for colour in a top. Whether it’s a block colour or bright pattern like my off the shoulder number, embrace colour in a top before you venture into dresses or a coloured bottom. The reason for this is you will most likely already have the bottoms to wear with your chosen coloured piece. Secondly, it won’t overwhelm you being head to toe in colour. Thirdly, it’s a way for you to see how colour works with your decollatage and face tones.

ways to wear colour

6. If you’re saying nup to all of these tips, embrace colour in a tassel keyring and add it to your handbag. Starting small may surprise you and will help you embrace colour more.

Heading into autumn and winter, these months are typically the time to embrace the darker neutrals. But why not try one of my tips and see how it makes you feel?

Do you like to wear colour or are neutrals more your style?

Disclosure: There are affiliate links on this post. Should you choose to purchase an item I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Is it Cheaper to Buy Clothes in America?

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When I visited America 20 years ago, I owned my first pair of Levis and Sketchers. These brands were much cheaper in America than Australia, and some items weren’t even yet available in Australia.

Fast forward to our recent trip in December 2018, and I had many people say to me, wait till you go shopping in the US. It’s so much cheaper.

The thing is, when we have so much choice with online shopping and we can shop within our budget (or I generally wait for a sale), it’s hard to gauge whether it’s best to use spending money for clothes, or use it more for experiences. I also know my style and know where to go to get it.

I had people tell me clothes shopping in London would be fabulous – especially at shops like  H & M, Topshop and Warehouse (when they hadn’t opened in Australia).  I went into these stores disappointed. I bought a few things but nothing that made me go ‘AMAZING’.  And when I converted the currency, I probably could have saved my money and bought better at home.

After this experience, I wasn’t sure whether clothes shopping in America would be cheaper or not. Things can change over 20 years.

I personally didn’t need any clothes. But my husband was in need of new jeans, tees and shoes. We headed to a few stores in Australia (ie Universal Store) to see what the shoe prices were so we could compare when in America. We knew we’d be greeted with Boxing Day sales when we got back from our trip, so we weren’t fussed on buying in America if it wasn’t worth it.

On our trip, we headed to the Orange County Factory Outlets for half a day visit and found the men’s shoes and clothing were way cheaper than what we could buy in Australia. Jacob faired the best out of our shopping expedition. It was definitely worth waiting to buy up for him.

Adidas sneakers which retail for $150 in Australia, were $40US if we bought a full price pair of shoes. Even the full priced shoes were cheaper than what could be bought in Australia.

Men’s jeans were buy 2 pairs for $27.99 US at Ralph Lauren. Levi’s were $49.99 US each or buy two pairs and pay $39.99 US each.

Tommy Hilfiger t-shirts were $19 US each. Jacob got a few of these. We also got clothes for the kids. Prices started from $9.99 US for a tee from Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger.

What I bought in America

Even though I didn’t need any new clothes, I’m still a shopper at heart. I couldn’t walk out empty handed. 🙂

I had been wanting a pair of black sneakers to swap with my white Frankie 4 Nats. I got a pair for $60 US from Sketchers. I wasn’t fussed on the brand, but buying these allowed the girls to get their Sketchers half price. Esther got the newly released light up shoes that can be charged with a USB.

sketchers cheaper in the US

sketchers

Black Sketchers with Rose Gold Details

I also bought a pair of distressed and ripped Levi’s for $39.99 US, much to my dad’s delight. Jacob found a pair of black jeans and our purchases made both pairs of jeans cheaper.

distressed and ripped levis

Other clothes I bought were within Disneyland itself. It was pricey purchasing clothes in the park. I don’t want to do the conversion of how much we spent. So instead, we bought what we saw and loved.  I bought headbands for all the girls (they range from $27.99 US each) one t-shirt for $29.99 US and a scarf for $23.99 US. I didn’t think the tee and scarf were too bad for buying within the park itself. Plus they’re memories from our trip.

Minnie Mouse Tee

One of the crowd at Disneyland

I also had to get a tourist ‘I LOVE LA’ tee. I found this in a cheap A Mart store for $4.99 US.

I Love LA Tee

Overall, some things especially the sports and lifestyle brands were much cheaper to buy in America, especially at the outlets.

We went to the outlets with an idea of what we needed. I think that is what made the outlets experience worth it for us.

If you head to America, do make a visit to the outlets. For us, it was definitely worth the wait. To bring back all the clothes, shoes and toys we bought in America, we placed one small suitcase into the other. For our family of five we traveled with 2 suitcases and came back home with 3.

Have you found clothes to be cheaper in America than Australia? What destination has been the best shopping experience for you?

 

Changing a Block Colour Dress With Shoes and Accessories

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Autumnal tones of mustard, rust, terracotta, maroon and all shades of brown have been quite popular this summer. The classic block colour dress has been popular in these colours this season.

A block colour dress is an easy piece to change the look of with accessories and shoes. I seem to see them everywhere I go at the moment.

Before adding a popular trend to my wardrobe, I always consider what I own already and what accessories can be used to create multiple outfits.

In some parts of Australia, a scarf is not going to be suitable until at least April. But Neon Cherry have released some gorgeous neck tie scarves which are versatile and won’t billow and layer around the neck like a normal sized scarf causing you to sweat unnecessarily.

I’ve taken this gorgeous Linen Dress from Freez to create three different outfits.

block colour dress freez

I’ve gone matchy matchy with the accessories and shoes in these outfits. I’ve simply picked a colour in the accessory and matched a shoe to correlate.

block colour dress

  1. Freez Sunny Girl Brown Linen Dress $59
  2. Neon Cherry Animal Print Square Scarf $24.95
  3. Jo Mercer Bowie Mid Heel Sandal $159.95

block colour dress

  1. Freez Sunny Girl Brown Linen Dress $59
  2. Ruby Olive Wonderland Hibiscus Necklace $45
  3. Gorman Colour Pop Sneaker $169

block colour dress

  1. Freez Sunny Girl Brown Linen Dress $59
  2.  Neon Cherry Retro Pony Prancer Scarf $17.95
  3.  Jo Mercer Dallas Mid Heel $99.95

This dress from Freez would make a versatile piece in anyone’s wardrobe. It’s a dress that can be worn to work, and dressed down for the weekend with sneakers.

You can use the same styling techniques with a block coloured dress in your wardrobe.

Have you noticed autumnal colours have been popular this summer? Do you own a block colour dress?

Disclosure: There are affiliate links on this post. Should you choose to purchase an item, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. 

How to Shop Like a Personal Stylist – The All Occasion Dress

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Dresses are a favourite staple in my wardrobe. In summer, they make dressing for the day easy. You slip that dress on, add shoes and accessories and you’re ready to go. The all occasion dress is my go to dress to wear throughout the week.

The next post in my shop like a personal stylist series is sharing dresses for all occasions: Dresses that can be worn to work, a catch-up with friends, to church, a conference or worn just because. They could even be dressed up to go to a special occasion like a wedding or cocktail event.

all occasion dress

Most of my wardrobe is made up of dresses for all occasions.

If I have to go into work, I will opt to wear one of my all occasion dresses.

I used to segregate my clothes for different occasions, but now I try to wear as much as I own in my wardrobe to enjoy the clothes I have.

How many times have you kept a new dress for a special occasion and only worn it once? For a formal or cocktail dress, this is different. But for a newly bought all occasion dress… it should be worn more than once. Wearing a dress to different occasions is a way to get more cost per wear.

Having dresses that work for all occasions will look a bit different for everyone. I’ve compiled some dresses below and you will notice most have sleeves and the hem will finish just above or below the knee. I’ve chosen this style as this will suit most workplaces. (Of course, a sleeveless dress can be worn with a blazer if needed – like the Gorman Geo Print Dress.)

Here are some All Occasion Dresses I’ve found online

I’ve taken one dress from this collection to show you how it can be worn differently to three different occasions.

One All Occasion Dress Worn Three Ways

Do you own an all occasion dress? Or do you prefer to segregate your dresses for different events?

Disclosure: There are affiliate links on this post. Should you choose to purchase an item, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

How to Wear a Kimono Three Ways

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Owning a piece of clothing that can be worn multiple times to create different outfits is something I consider a good purchase. This forms part of how to shop like a personal stylist. Today I wanted to show you how to wear a Kimono three ways. You would have seen me feature this kimono back on this post about casual outfits.

Wearing a kimono three ways

When I look for pieces to add to my wardrobe, it has to be something that is missing or something I want more of to give me choice. My wardrobe is well curated. My stance has changed over the years to buy less, and wear more of what I own.

But there are times where I will find a piece that I love. And I really loved the look of this Spell Designs Kimono when I first saw it. For this particular piece, I left it for 48 hours to think about whether I needed it or not.

The want gave way though and I added it to cart after time away from the computer.

I could imagine myself wearing this kimono open as a layer over a tee and jeans or tee and jean shorts. I could also wear it as a dress. However, experience has taught me cross over belted dresses often have me constantly doing this (see pic below). So it definitely needs a slip worn underneath.

tying kimono

I still love it and I’m very grateful I was able to purchase it as it is no longer available online.

Check out other kimonos available at Spell if you would like to add this type of item to your wardrobe.

How to Wear a Kimono Three Ways

As a Kimono Dress

wearing a kimono three ways

Layered over shorts

wearing kimono over shorts

Layered over jeans

wearing kimono over jeans

There are slits under the arms to give the kimono a slight billowy feel. Without a cami or tee underneath, I’d feel exposed.

Despite this, I still love it and can’t wait to wear it once the weather drops below 30 degrees.

I might even slip it over my swimmers when I head to the beach. Now, I’ve found 4 ways to wear this piece. 😉

Do you own a kimono? Have you ever bought anything from Spell Designs?

Disclosure: There are affiliate links on this post. Should you choose to purchase an item, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. 

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