Underneath Your Clothes

The warmer weather is here, to my infinite relief and I have been sorting through my clothes from last season. I still really like almost all of them, so one of the challenges I have set myself is to find new ways to wear them. You may remember this top from last summer - I loved the strappy style, but struggled with the fear of scar exposure. I ultimately found a work-around with fashion tape. This season I have found another solution, and one that I feel really happy with.

                                                   Tunic: Nicola Waite
                                                   Camisole:ScanlanTheodore
                                                   Shorts: Country Road
I bought this sheer tunic as a layering piece to wear over shorts. I figured it would minimise skin exposure whilst still giving me the coolness and airflow of exposing my legs. Happily, I discovered that it also works for strappy tops. The high neck and close fit means I can be confident that I am not showing the world my chest, whilst the light style still looks summer-y and cool and feels comfortable to wear.

 Sheer and lacey garments seem to be trending at the moment - I am seeing a lot of sheer skirts with opaque linings that end above the knee, so I am happy to have found another way to make this look work for me.

Have you restyled any of your garments from last season?

Underneath Your Clothes by Shakira

Happy Birthday, Helen

How cool would it be to have a song written for you to celebrate your birthday? I always enjoy the little insight into relationships that songs written for a specific person gives. Yesterday was my 48th birthday and whilst I did not have a song written for me, my lovely boys did work together to make a delicious meal that we all shared. Eating and talking and laughing with my husband, my sons and their beautiful girlfriends is one of my greatest joys.

                                           Tunic:Nicola Waite
                                           Gilet: ScanlanTheodore
                                            Shorts: Country Road
                                            Shoes: Wittner
This was what I wore to dinner with my Uni girlfriends on Friday night. The 70's look is really big in stores at the moment and this gilet is one of many I have seen around.  I really like the way the fastening gives some emphasis at the waist but allows the gilet to open out at the top and bottom, creating an hourglass shape. I think simple, long lines like this are very flattering on a straight figure and I have tried to keep the look as cohesive as possible by wearing a long, sheer tunic underneath.

The advantage of a piece that goes over the top of other clothes is that it skims the body and gives just a hint of shape rather than clinging. It also dresses up more casual clothes: I am wearing shorts under the sheer tunic, which is not something I would not usually choose when going to a nice restaurant. I think this gilet is going to be my go-to piece for smart casual occasions over summer.

Have any of the 70's looks caught your eye recently?

Happy Birthday Helen by Things of Stone and Wood

Day By Day

You may have noticed last week that I now have an Instagram icon on my blog. Last summer, I attempted to define both my warm weather style and the items of clothing that I wore more frequently and felt best in. The single most valuable tool in that quest was the month of daily outfit photos that I took at that time. They allowed me to see at a glance what I was ACTUALLY wearing, what felt good in and which combinations worked for me aesthetically. I decided that I would repeat this for winter and so have started taking daily outfit photos. I am posting them on Instagram in case anyone has an interest in how the individual pieces I show on this blog translate into real life.

                                                          Top:ScanlanTheodore
                                                          Belt:Cue
                                                          Skirt:ScanlanTheodore
At the beginning of winter, I had a shopping list that included some winter tops that I could wear without layers or scarves. I ended up buying three, two of which I have shown you already. This is the last. I especially like it because my husband urged me to buy it when he saw me try it on, and it remains a favourite of his. It is felted wool, so it is warm and has a soft, sculptural appearance. The pleat at the front not only gives me some texture across my chest but also give me a hint of waist definition, which I always enjoy.

I have reached a point now of feeling really happy with my winter wardrobe. I feel confident when I choose my outfit in the morning that I have items that will go together well and that I will feel good wearing. I am so happy to have reached this point and it has been fun for me to take photos every morning and see how everything works together day by day. How are you feeling about your wardrobe as you approach the end of the season? Have you had any unexpected hits of misses?

Day By Day from Godspell

Ne Me Quitte Pas

A few weekends ago, we attended the Brisbane French Festival. I particularly wanted to go because, along with the great food stalls and the wonderful atmosphere that comes from having all the people around you conversing in French, the Festival had invited  Parisian designers Jerome L'Huillier and Mette Pedersen to create a fashion show and answer questions. The fashion was lovely - lots of bright prints, which my husband loved!- but the most interesting part for me was the Q&A afterwards.

A young designer in the audience asked Jerome for tips about building a successful business and competing with big fashion houses with their enormous marketing budgets. His reply contained two ideas that I found interesting: firstly he believed that whilst, when he started out, talent and hard work was enough to ensure success, he no longer thought that was sufficient. Secondly, unless the public are prepared to support local designers and pay a fair price for their work, the market will contract and the only two options will be either fast, cheap fashion like H&M or the very expensive, high-end design houses like Dior.

                                                       Dress:Alpha60
                                                       T-shirt: Sportscraft
                                                       Shoes: Wittner
The talk really made me think about the value I place on my clothes and the necessity of being willing to support things that are important to me. And I do believe that fashion is important. Over the last few weeks, I have been exploring Australian designers and last week I bought this dress from the new-to-me Melbourne designer Alpha60.

I think this may be the perfect dress for a flat chest. It has an overlay that covers the chest and long pieces that can be either tied to emphasise the waistline or allowed to fall free and create flattering vertical lines. It is a wool blend and so will give me some much needed warmth - even though I live in a warm part of the world, I feel the cold and I anticipate this will be worn until the beginning of Summer. I am quite thrilled to have found another possibility for my clothing choices and I hope that Australian designers continue to receive support in their quest to provide us with interesting and unique fashion options.
Do you have any local designers that you especially enjoy and like to support?

Ne Me Quitte Pas by Nina Simone

Winter Winds

An unexpected (although in retrospect, logical and predictable) consequence of scheduling in social time with my friends has been that I now go out in the evening during the winter months more frequently than I have before. Usually, I spend my winter evenings ensconced on the lounge in my pyjamas, but a night out with the girls calls for more glamorous attire. I find that creating outfits with some glamour in winter is much more difficult that in summer. In warm weather I can wear bright colours and light fabrics that create a fun and carefree feel, but in winter the heavy fabrics and dark colours feel more serious and sombre.

                                                                     Knit: Veronika Maine
I bought this knit to give me a dressy option to wear in the evenings. The lacy look is delicate and pretty and allows me to show a little skin, whilst the long sleeves are surprisingly warm. It is slightly loose fitting, and whilst it does not give me any volume over my chest, I think the textural effect of the top and it's combination with a statement style of bottom, ensures that the focus of the outfit is elsewhere.

                                                           T-shirt:Sportscraft
                                                           Jeans: Country Road
                                                           Boots: Wittner
                                                           Coat: Veronika Maine
I have worn my new knit twice this week. The first time was to meet some friends for a casual dinner after work and I wore a plain T-shirt underneath, both for warmth and to showcase the lace pattern of the top. I paired it with my silver jeans to add a touch of shine and provide a dressy edge to the practicality of flat boots and a simple silhouette.

Skirt:Veronika Maine

Belt:Cue 

Shoes:Wittner

The second outfit was for a long overdue catch-up at a more formal location. This time I wore a simple camisole under the top so as to expose a hint of skin and paired it with the full skirt I wore to my niece's wedding last year. The skirt is definitely a statement piece and I like the idea of wearing a top with a fairly straight shape when it is paired with this much volume on the bottom. And of course, a pair of killer heels always helps when you are heading out for a night on the town with the girls. I took these photos before the sun went down, so I had not done my hair or make-up and I swapped out the tights for sheer pantyhose before I left, but you get the general idea!

How do you dress up in winter?

Winter Winds by Mumford and Sons

Everybody

Years ago, when we were watching our young children play, another parent commented that my youngest son was very "in his body". At the time, I thought it was quite an odd comment. I couldn't really see what other option he had, but I think I now understand what she was talking about. She was referring to the joy he experienced in movement and his ownership of his physicality.

This is an experience that has come fairly late in life to me. About 6 months before my diagnosis I had begun a program with Precision Nutrition and had changed my diet, lost weight and was exercising daily. I loved the way I felt with those positive changes and have continued to use the tools I learned in the program, but I must confess to never really understanding the exhortation to "find an exercise that you enjoy". I saw exercise as a means to an end and whilst I greatly enjoyed the wellbeing and sense of achievement that it brought, I never thought of it as fun.

 Well, that has changed recently, after I enrolled in a course at Vulcana Women's Circus. I have completed a Circus Essentials course and am now doing an Aerials course and although the lessons involve working quite hard, I enjoy every minute of it and look forward to the class all week.  So I guess the message is that if you haven't found an exercise you love-KEEP LOOKING!! The two things that have given me the greatest sense of ownership and pride in my body since my surgery have been exercise and fashion. They are the things that allow me to be "in my body", to inhabit my physicality and feel good about the way I appear in the world. What are yours?

                                                       Top:Trenery
                                                       Cardigan:Trenery
                                                       Jeans: Jag
                                                       Boots:Wittner
This is what I am wearing today for a quiet day at home. I really like shawl and draped collars on jackets, as they give nice volume over my chest, but this one does remind me a bit of my dressing gown, which is a similar colour! It's one of those pieces that I appreciate for it's practicality and comfort, but feel a little ambivalent about.

I have noticed that my style has evolved quite a bit as I adjust to what works with my body now, and I am finding myself drawn to straighter, simpler silhouettes. I suspect that drapey pieces may look better on curvier figures, but in the middle of a Brisbane winter I am quite grateful for the cosy, dressing-gown-like qualities of this cardigan and will continue to wear it for the remainder of the season.
Do you have clothes that you wear because they are too easy and practical to let go of?


Everybody by Backstreet Boys

Sign Your Name

Well, I need to start with an apology for my long absence. I struggle with winter. A lot. The cold weather and grey skies seem to sap all my enthusiasm and creativity and I spend my time dreaming of summer and wishing I could hibernate. I will attempt to fight the urge to spend the next two months wrapped in a blanket in front of the TV, because I actually feel really excited and happy about my winter clothes this year.

Do you have a colour that you wear as part of most of your outfits? Along with the idea of uniforms, I have also been fascinated by the concept of a "signature colour". Angie at YouLookFab often mentions her love of bright, sour colours. Deborah at Stylish Murmurs corners the market in black and Janice at The Vivienne Files uses the idea of a signature colour in many of her capsules. My own approach has always been a bit haphazard, but planning and building a winter wardrobe has allowed me to step back a bit and realise that I love to incorporate a bit of tan into my outfits. I like the muted richness that the shade brings to the mostly neutral outfits that I wear. I love the way it plays with navy, my new favourite dark neutral base. And I enjoy the way it allows me to repeat my hair colour in my outfit.

                                                        Knit:Uniqlo
                                                        Top:ScanlonTheodore
                                                        Pants:Country Road (with Uniqlo leggings underneath!)
                                                        Boots:Wittner
                                                        Bag:Oroton
I bought this top at the beginning of winter, and have only just managed to get a picture. It is definitely a straight style, which I have mostly avoided in other tops as they feel too masculine. Surprisingly, I have found that I really enjoy the slightly boyish look this top imparts when I wear it with bottoms that have more volume. Paired with slouchy pants or an A-line skirt, the straightness of the top is offset by the curviness at the bottom, so it still feels playful and feminine. Isn't it interesting how often things come back to proportions, and how we feel in our clothes?

                                         
The bag was a birthday gift from my husband about 5 years ago, and I still love it and carry it every day. It is the perfect shade of tan. I also have a belt and a scarf in the same shade. I'm not sure if I can commit to one colour as my signature, but if I decide that I will, I think tan will be it!

 Do you have a signature colour? How did you arrive at it?

Sign Your Name by Terence Trent D'Arby