ABC

Well, that took longer than I thought! Uni has commenced again for me and between study and Easter and family, I fear I have neglected you. First things first. As promised, a picture of my beautiful sister and sister-in-law with me before we headed out to the Brisbane Comedy Festival:

 A good time was had by all!

Today, I thought I would talk about silhouette, and how considering it can make it easier to choose clothes you feel good in. The blog Into Mind has a really good explanation of this concept. I like variety in my wardrobe but I still find I gravitate to a few basic combinations. One of my favourites this year has been: 

                                       Flared or wide leg cropped pants +boxy short top +heels  

So here it is, translated into outfits for both casual and work. This is what I am wearing today for a lazy day at home avoiding study and procrasti-baking.

Top:Veronika Maine

Jeans: ManningCartell

Sandals:JoanneMercer

Necklace:FrankIdeas

And here is the work version of the formula.

Top: ManningCartell

Culottes:Uniqlo

Shoes:Wittner

Now, you can probably see that these are almost identical outfits. The shapes are the same. The colours are the same. The difference lies solely in the individual elements. I could wear the first top with the second pants and have a perfectly respectable outfit for work (in fact, I'm pretty sure I have worn that exact combination). Likewise, wearing the lace top with jeans would dress them up enough for me to feel comfortable going out at night with the girls.

Having that formula in my head has been extremely helpful when choosing individual pieces that will work with my wardrobe. It also makes getting dressed in the morning easy: if I want to wear wide pants, then I choose a top from the options that fit into the "short and boxy" category.  I have a few other silhouettes that I wear frequently, so over the next few weeks I will show you the casual and work-appropriate variations of those. What are your favourite combinations for outfits?

Oh, and yes! New hair! My hairdresser asked "Do you trust me?" I think my faith has been rewarded!

ABC by The Jackson 5

Starman

The final new-to-me brand that I tried during the sales was a Brisbane designer, Dogstar. I must admit that I had seen their clothes a few years before my mastectomy and admired the edgy, Japanese aesthetic, but they had never made it into my wardrobe. It never felt authentic or flattering on my former body and I had relegated the brand to "looks great, but not on me" status. I am now rethinking that opinion!

Tunic:Dogstar

Obi belt:Etsy (Lorella Creations)

Tank top:Uniqlo

Culottes:Uniqlo

I found this beautiful silk tunic and immediately thought that it could be a very useful item. It reads as a dress but is light and translucent, providing volume and movement without being heavy or hot.

It allows me to dress up simple tops and pants and provides an extra layer of camouflage over my chest when wearing close-fitting tops.

The front is cut slightly lower than I wanted, but I have found that I can wear this back-to-front, which gives me a high, boat neck look that works well if I want to wear a camisole with thin straps as an under layer. 

I wore this to my son's 21st birthday dinner last night, underneath the gilet I showed you a few months ago, and loved the petticoat effect of the tunic peeking out from the opening. I have also worn this over jeans and a T and like the way it dresses up a casual outfit. I have never been very confident with layering clothes, but I think a light, neutral piece like this is a good introduction to layering 101 for me and a great introduction to Dogstar as a brand.

Have you had any brands which you initially dismissed subsequently turn out to really blow your mind?

Starman by the late, very great David Bowie

Biding My Time

This is the second experimental sale purchase I wanted to show you. I bought a winter dress by this brand, Alpha60, last year and loved it. This dress was in their summer collection  and caught my eye when I saw it on their website during the sales. Alpha60 don't have a store in my city so I couldn't try it on before buying it, something I always prefer to do. I was a bit concerned that the neckline might be too low or gape-y but I decided that I could always wear a T-shirt underneath and went ahead and ordered it.

                                                             Dress: Alpha60
                                                             Culottes: Uniqlo
                                                             Necklace: Frank Ideas                         
I have to tell you that it is one of the most comfortable and versatile dresses in my closet. On very hot days I wear it on it's own, and the top is just fitted enough not to cause a problem with gaping or chest exposure. I also wear it with a shirt underneath when I want more coverage, and today I have worn it over a pair of culottes to give more volume and length at the bottom of the dress. The asymmetry and drape make it visually interesting and the sides can be buttoned together at the back to create a sleeker look. I am now putting "strappy sun dress" on the list of things that can work for me.

One important point: I do think that fit is important with this style. I suspect that if the top of the dress hadn't fitted quite so perfectly I may have felt much more anxious about wearing it with nothing underneath.

Happily, the Alpha60 size guide appears to be quite accurate. I have had pretty good experiences with ordering the right size online and I think it may be partly because I take chest, waist and hip measurements periodically and use those when deciding what size to order, rather than the number on the tag. The only problem I have had so far with biding my time and stalking pieces online has been that sometimes my size sells out. But as someone over at YouLookFab sagely remarked, "It is not necessary to own every pretty thing in the world"

Do you buy clothes online? Have you been happy with the results so far?
Biding My Time by Busby Marou