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?

Forever Autumn

Last week, I mentioned that I had been experimenting with transitioning my wardrobe into the cooler months. Today I wanted to show you an experiment that I felt happy with and which had the added bonus of giving a second chance to a top that I haven't worn since my surgery.

T-shirt:Cue

Shorts:Country Road

Booties: Wittner

This is a silk T-shirt that I used to wear with my pencil skirts to de-bombshell them and make them a little less dressy. My husband hates it. He thinks it is both too dark and an unflattering shape The last point we can definitely agree on - fitted on the chest and loose on the waist is not my best look! I like the colours and it is certainly soft and comfortable, but it feels way too boyish and casual now and consequently it has gone unworn.

Jacket:Cue

However, I was pleasantly surprised with the effect I got by layering over a jacket. I think the whole outfit immediately looks dressier, and the shape of the jacket produces a much less boyish silhouette.

Admittedly this is still a fairly casual look, but I don't feel quite so much like a teenage boy who has snuck out the window to play World of Warcraft at his friend's house.

And the back is all kinds of cool. I am looking forward to Autumn and wearing this jacket with some of the loose tops I have already shown you. Sadly, even with the jacket, my husband still hates the T-shirt, but I think it could be a good way to bring a bit of fun and youth to some of my Autumn outfits.
How do you transition your wardrobe between seasons?

Got My Mojo Working

A few months ago I talked about fashion eras in which being flat-chested was advantageous and I was surprised to realise this week that I have not shown you this dress before. I currently have three dresses in my wardrobe and this is the one I have been reaching for most often, just because it feels cool both physically and psychologically!

Dress:Cue

Sandals:Joanne Mercer

I think it has very clear 1960's Mod influences. It is a simple shape, a short style and it actively avoids the appearance of curves! I feel positively Twiggy-esque in this dress and the associations with the music and fun and non-conformity of Mod culture are very appealing to me.

As you can see, the front is cut very straight, avoiding the appearance of empty fabric that haunts me with most of the dresses I try. I have been experimenting with how to transition my wardrobe into Autumn this week, and have found that this dress also looks good with a long-sleeved knit top underneath and the sandals swapped out for boots. But for now, whilst temperatures are still in the 30's I am happy to wear it as is, and grateful for the extra ventilation provided by the cut-out back and the shorter length.

It is now a little over 6 months since my surgery and I was profoundly glad to realise recently that I feel like I have my mojo back. Whilst there will always be ups and downs, most of the time I am able to love my body for it's strength and resilience and functionality and feel confident and attractive in how I dress myself. We all have our scars and imperfections and accepting them may be the first step in getting mojo working and living life with joy.

Cover Me Up

The lovely Angie over at YouLook Fab wrote a post on the trends for Spring 2014 recently, and although we are out of sync with the Northern Hemisphere fashion cycle, I still find it very interesting and exciting as many of them dribble through to our corner of the world. One trend that caught my eye was for cropped tops, particulary as Angie suggested wearing them over longer tops to avoid the bare midriffs that the young folk are rocking.

Crop top:Cue

Top:Cue

Skirt:Cue

Shoes:Joanne Mercer

The top and skirt are items that have been in my wardrobe for a while, but I feel like they have been given a new lease on life by the addition of the crop top.

I have been on the hunt for clothes that will give me back some semblence of an hourglass shape, and the peplum effect created by the tight top and the colour-blocked panels over the loose underlayer is exactly what I was searching for.

The crop is a stretch knit fabric and is quite firm so I think even women with breasts would look a bit flat-chested wearing this. The black panels have been cleverly cut to give the impression of a curve, so I think the overall look works well with no breasts.

The back to the top underneath is also layered so it is mostly covered up, although the underlayer of blue fabric will be exposed when I move around. I have never liked this top that much, but I love it with the upper part covered by the crop. Do you have tops that you only like wearing when partially covered up by a jacket or cardigan?
Cover me up, Jason Isbell