Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves

Well, last week I promised some photos of my sister Amelia and I as we enjoyed her traditional birthday present - a weekend with her big sister in Brisbane. My lovely sister-in-law back in Sydney very kindly looked after Amelia's three daughters, leaving us free to eat, shop and enjoy the Brisbane Comedy Festival.

Here we are ready to head out to see Stephen K Amos on Friday night. There is definitely a family resemblence, don't you think?

Yes, Amelia is much younger than me, in case you were wondering! 15 years younger, in fact. I suddenly have enormous sympathy for women with adolescent daughters who feel like they are living with younger, more gorgeous versions of themselves!

Dress:Veronika Maine

Shoes: Nova

On Saturday we went to lunch at Gerard's Bistro in James Street. The food was great and we had a lovely time. Unfortunately, I started coming down with a cold that afternoon, and did not feel well enough to go out that evening. My husband escorted Amelia to see Wil Anderson at the Comedy Festival and they both said it was good fun. I was sad to have missed him, as his is the act we usually attend together, but it was great to see my baby sister again. Do you have any family birthday traditions?

 

Girls On Film

The Brisbane Comedy Festival is on currently, so on the weekend I went to see Hannah Gadsby perform. I usually see her shows, as she provides interesting, thought-provoking and funny perspectives on life, often with a bit of history and art mixed in. Her current show is about "selfies" and explores ideas about presenting a public persona, controlling your image and leaving a legacy. I found her ideas very reassuring, as one of the reasons I started this blog was to leave some happy and healthy images of myself for my family in case things went badly. It seems we all want some control over how others perceive us!

Top:Veronika Maine

Jeans: Country Road

Shoes: Wittner

This bustier is new and I love it. It looks great layered over shirts, giving a menswear/waistcoat vibe and providing me with some waist definition. I have added the ribbon myself to help it stay up as although I love the look, it really was designed to be supported with a little more volume in the chest!
Although I would happily wear this outfit as is when going out at night, it is a little too bare for my taste in the daytime, so when I wore it today I put my jacket on over the top.

My little sister is visiting me this weekend, celebrating her 31st birthday. We plan to take in some more of the Comedy Festival, so next week I hope to post some pictures of the two of us ready to hit the town. That will certainly be an event worth remembering! Do you have a photo of yourself that you love and would like people to remember you by?

China Girl

I have arrived home from a wonderful, interesting holiday, and am enjoying the warmth of a balmy Brisbane Autumn. After a week of cool and rainy weather as Hong Kong emerged from winter, I must confess to being glad to see the sun! One of the aspects of the trip I enjoyed most was to see the street fashion. Our guide informed us that Hong Kong has 50 million visitors a year, and the streets were full of people from all over Asia. However, there was a definite uniform and most people sported some variation of it, namely leggings, a short skirt or shorts, a top and then a short, puffer-style jacket and scarf over the top. Footwear was mostly flat, chunky-soled boots or Converse. It is both warm and practical for sight-seeing and commuting, and everyone had little variations that made the look their own. I fell in love with the style and decided to try to duplicate it when I got home.

Shirt:Veronika Maine

Shorts:Country Road

Jacket:Cue

Boots:Wittner

I'm not sure what the hand signals mean, but it seem to be the thing all the tourists did when having photos taken!

 

These are all items of clothing I already have in my closet, and whilst the jacket makes the look a little dressier than the outfits I saw on the street, and my boots are far less cool that the popular footwear, overall I was pretty happy with how it turned out.
The scarf overwhelms me a bit in these photos, and I would not wear it here without an overcoat when braving the elements, but I have left it on to provide a bit more outfit authenticity.

I love the practical, tom-boy feel of this style of dressing, and plan to incoporate it into my winter wardrobe more frequently. Isn't it amazing how seeing things in a different context can give a whole new perspective to the familiar? Have you ever had a wardrobe epiphany after being exposed to a new style?

Holiday

Well, by the time this post is published I will be on holidays! I had booked a trip to Hong Kong for September last year and postponed it after my diagnosis, due to the uncertainty about how I would be feeling and what treatment I would require. I was quite disappointed, but now my friend and I plan to make up for lost time!

Top:Cue

Pants:Just Jeans

Sandals:Joanne Mercer

This knit top was one I bought with an eye towards layering it under tops and dresses for winter. I have worn it under the black Mod dress I showed you a few weeks ago and liked the effect, and I can also see it working under the white crop top I showed you last year. I am also planning to wear it under the plum jacket you saw last week.

Wide, high contrast strips are not the most flattering choice for someone with broad shoulders and no breasts but I actually felt good wearing this and will probably wear it again with jeans and boots over winter.  I would never have felt comfortable wearing a top this close-fitting a few months ago, so I feel proud of myself that I have reached a new level of self-acceptance. Hopefully, that will prove to be a permanent move, and not just a holiday! What is your dream holiday destination?