What I Wore: A wedding with Yojhi, Yves & Donna

I slopped around the house for most of the day so I wont show you that outfit. It was a Coles Mix Apparel mens tee (pale blue) and washed hot pink Target tracksuit pants.  Very stylish, not, but comfy.

I had a wedding to attend that evening - an investment banker I had met at work, who was marrying a gorgeous (& thin) lady - the two were besotted with each other.

It was at the Australian Museum and knowing Karl, I knew it was going to be totally elegant.

I was right.

I decided however not to go for a strictly elegant look - in my book that would have been a LBD. Too much blending in.
I felt like standing out. So I scanned my closet (shop your closet strikes again) to come up with this ensemble.

The dress

A YSL (or SL) from AW 2010/2011,  purchased from David Jones in the Sydney CBD at 50% off. Still a four figure bomb though.

Looks simple, but there are many seams giving it shape, along the bodice area, the sides and the hem.

Its a thick sateen cotton, in an A line which is shorter at the back hem than the front. Its unlined but the fabric has so much body, you'd never know.

It is sleeveless with a high neck & an open back neckline.

Its a very vivid purple with blue undertones.

I love the way its all finished - no stitch looks out of place. 

The back hem is shorter than the front - a reverse mullet!

The back view - the collar is stitched in the right
places to fall  evenly  to the level of the armpits. 

Slight problem with this dress - I have gained weight & the back hem is seriously too high for my liking. 
The solution: Black tights.
In the past I had worn it with sheer smokey hose, but fat legs from the back need hose. 

Its the 3rd time I have ever worn tights. Strange but true.

So far the dress has been worn 5 times, all weddings.

I tried to find the dress on the runway and could only find a version of it. Or two versions. 
Its the exact colur of exit 26, but the style/fabric is close to exit  35 (minus the feathered tail thingey).

Its the only evening thing I own that isnt black or navy.

The coat

It was cold & I needed both cover & a degree of glamour.

I tried a floor length Carla Zampatti navy wool crepe coat (20 years old) but its lines were too straight & it compromised the A line on the dress.

Then out comes this Yojhi Yamamoto black number, knee length in a flared skirt style. It has raw edges and a military look (without the brass). It fits & flares just like the dress. 

If you're wondering the size "3" isnt "3" as in 2, 4, 6, 8, 10.
Its "3" as in 1, 2, 3.
The "3" represents a Large, give or take. 

Here it is - from the AW 2010/2011 collection, exit 12.

It has no buttons or closures except a wide belt which I dont wear. The pockets are placed on the sides so they are not visible. When the front falls open (but its double breasted so it still stays quite closed), it has a very slimming effect. The exit 12 looks quite boxy compared to the way I wear mine. 

The sleeves are rolled back. 

But look at the way the turn back is stitched back to the sleeve. Love this type of detail on expensive garments.

Yojhi came from New York, specifically Saks, at 30% off & form memory it still only in the semi-low four figures. No way I'd be able to get something like this in Australia as that price. 

I love the swing that the coat has - seriously massive but the fabric is so heavy it falls gracefully & doesnt stick out. 

The coat brooch

The brooch has a glass top with the embedded mother of pearl & glassy inserts. The bottom which has the pin is clear glass. Its a gorgeous piece and its sterling 925. 

I acquired this silver brooch from an ex boyfriend's ex girlfriend. I exited out of the relationship just in the nick of time to save my sanity, but if I had stayed longer, I would have acquired a whole lot more stuff. She was a terrific role model hoarder of beautiful stuff. LOL!

The bag

I may have a gazillion small black evening bags, but I am a kitchen sink girl. So I reached for this Moschino softly coloured Kelly style with a few twists. 

Bought from David Jones about 5 years ago. Not cheap, but was 50% off. 

It has every colour I never wear in clothing - rust, olive and a warm blue. For some reason it works with my dark coloured closet even though its tones are muted & warm. Go figure.

Not only this, but she has red leather piping along her edges. 

The earrings

STYLE TIP: High neckline? Dont wear a necklace & dont wear earrings that dangle alot. 

The earrings worked on a high neckline because the dangly chains were very fine & the bulky glass circles were up high close to the ear.

Ann Demeulemeester, about $300 because one of the glass circles was chipped - you can see it in the photo. Bought at the Frock Exchange in Clovelly. Box & felt included. I adore the packaging. 

Ann D does this circular glass style in many styles of jewellery - necklaces, bracelets, rings & earrings. The metal is always sterling 925 with a deliberate gunmetal distressed look. 

Arm & finger parties

On one hand, stacked bracelets, including a black leather Ginger & Smart, a silver Bottega (my fave) and a bunch 
of silver/black/grey beaded versions (most of which I made). Plus the single purple one to tie into the dress.

On the other arm, I went for a simple Hermes bangle in B&W. When I stacked a whole lot of bracelets on, it didnt look right, so Hermes tends to win out in the end - most times. 

I wore my fave Bottega intercaccio ring but stacked the silver Ann D chain/ball necklace behind it.

On the other arm went the black & silver chunky ring.

The shoes

These were the easiest choice of the whole outfit.

Why?

Since I never wear tights & this is the only black suede pair which can cross over to evening, they were easily the only ones that would work with black tights. 

For the record, I never by suede shoes -  I only have 2 or 3 pairs in a collection which is ten fold. Reason? Its too hard to look after & looks ratty very fast. Leather is much easier to take care of. 

These babies are Donna Karan Collection, bought from Myer a few years ago, at one of the last stage reduction sales. So initially they were 40% off, then another 30% off that, then another 20% off from memory. Which translated to about 66% off an original of $1.2K. Mine. Now. 

The only problem is that heels need re-capping.

The soles and heels are rubber and the wear on them last night made them need hospital. 

Apart from the cap itslef, I normally dont allow the vertical part of the heels to be bruised before taking shoes for repair - but these caught me off guard.

Off to the boot maker, stet. 

How do you get dressed for an occasion?

Sounds like a silly question?

Many years ago, when I had an occasion to attend, I would select an item (whether clothing or shoes or bag or jewellery) & build the outfit around it. 

Now I picture a look I want to achieve (feminine, sexy, glamourous, elegant, avant garde etc) and shop my closet for things that will create that impression.  

I dont know when that change happened. I seriously dont. 

So how do you get dressed for an occasion?

What I Wore: Scarves can hide sloppiness, seriously.

The jacket - the hero piece

Every girl needs a hero piece in her closet.

Something standout which punctuates her outfit. With an exclamation mark. Something striking & powerful.

It can be a top, a bottom, an accessory, a dress. The impact can be shape, texture, colour, print, anything really. 

In my case, it was a jacket which literally turned into a cape.

My Comme des Garcons puffy boil jacket which you have seen previously. I wore it buttoned at the neck (it only has one button), over my shoulders and it looked interesting & powerful (those boils are huge). 

Not classic by any means, just interesting and directional.

It was also alot lighter by virtue of not wearing the sleeves which increases the bandwidth of occasions for which I can wear it. More wearing = Lower cost per wear (CPW) = Better value. 

Short jackets for pears?

If I own 200 jackets (conservative estimate, shoot me now), I'd say that only 3 or 4 are on the short side. The rest sit around the hips or lower. I have always felt that for a PEAR shape, a longer style is more flattering and cerayinly something that ends around the tummy is bad news. For two reasons. First is cuts me in half & secondly the larger bottom half is empahasised.

What makes a bolero jacket different?

When a jacket looks more like a bolero than a traditional jacket - it's super short (ie: sits under the bust at the rib cage) & flares out high. This shape balances out big hips. Seriously, I am not making this up as I go along. Its a good trick for pears to keep in mind. 

Boleros for petite pears?

A bit trickier than if you have height - but dont contrast the top & bottom - keep them the same colour/tone so the eye moves up & down. If you must, contrast the bolero with the top/bottom. 

The top

The outfit however started with a $5 Coles Mix Apparel mens tee in XL. 

It was a pale blue and just the right tone for a cool complexion like mine. Not teal, not turquiose, nor Tiffany blue. Just pale blue with cool undertones.

I just couldnt be bothered finding something else.
So it stayed on.

It stayed on, half tucked in. 

TIP: Wearing your tops half tucked in is a way to make them look cooler than if their hem hangs out. 

However half tucking in doesnt work fabulously when you wear a high waited pant - ideally it works best with a mid-low waist pant.  Since the jeans are high rise, I tucked in the one side of the tee into the pocket. Every now & again it would fall out, even though it was very long & wasnt pulling excessively. 

Does anyone else have issues with half tucking in tops popping out?

What works with pale blue?

I have very fair skin & dark hair. Even though the tee is the correct tone (cool), any pastel near my face makes me look like death warmed up as it washes me out. So I need to introduce another bolder colour near my face which will perk me up from death. 

Burgendy of course! Always a go-to pop colour for me.

Not maroon, not rust, not grape, not deep rose, not even oxblood (although close) but burgendy.

Colour consultants will tell you that you should contrast shades of similar intensity - such as cobalt with hot pink rather than cobalt with pale pink. 

Certainly similar intensity makes it easier to contrast, but if your heart wants a pastel, then so be it.
The trick is to wear a greater surface area of the pastel compared to the intense colour - so the intense colour doesnt take over. 

Stand back & look at this as a while.
With similar potions of pale & bright, the bright takes over.

Now stand back & look at this. 
The overall impact is more  harmonious as
the paler colour is given for airplay.

TIP: Never try to mtch colour by memory or monitor. Ever. 
Since colour shades & colours on monitors vary, if you are trying to match (or complement) a colour, take the actual garment with you when shopping. Every colour has a gazillion shades & if you go by memory, you'll never get it right.

The scarf

TIP: The best way to drown a "daggy" piece in mild weather (which a coat is too heavy to wear) is to place a scarf over it. 
No fancy ties - just place it around your neck & off you go.

Ruffling through my collection of burgendy wool scarves (if you knew how many I had, you would schedule me for sure), I found a ribbed rectangle cashmere (no tassels).

SHOP TIP: 
This came from an accessory store called Savior Faire on Military Road. It's a Made in China 100% cashmere which cost me $190 quite a few years ago. The store has everything that ever existed in the 2nd tier world of accessories - hats, jewellery, scarves, bling, accessory storage, the place is a goldmine. By 2nd tier, I dont mean recycled. I mean brands more "affordable" than the uber luxury brands. Speaking of uber luxury brands, this store is like a kid sister to Melbourne's Christine store (although they are not related).

About half of Savoir Faire's stock is Italian & French & the rest from Asia. Once you walk in, you wont leave for at least an hour & that's if you go alone. Go with a girlfriend, & you'll forget to have lunch. Their breadth & depth of stock is amazing. 

I have bought from them here & there. The reason I have pulled away (deliberately) is that their margins are way above other retailers for identical items. But the store is presented to well sometimes you cant help but buy.

They also have that habit of taking all tags off items, so you cant identify brands (making it harder, but not impossible) to look elsewhere. 

Plus a few years ago they rarely did sales. Which doesnt impress me. I am not sure what is happening there now, but if you're in the vicinity, drop in & let us know. 

The necklace

$9 from Diva in gold & deep blue enamel.
Originally $20.
Since gold isnt my best metal, the fact that the plate isnt near my face & the chain is very fine works well. 
I wouldnt have chosen this if it wasnt for its strong blue tones - they work with the pale blue of the tee & the intense burgendy works with the intense blue of the necklace.

The rings

The coil ring is a Diva special for $10
The quartz ring is a Mania Mania which had cost me a bomb (from Zimmerman? I think) because the size of the stone is massive. Hero piece for the fingers.

The jeans

Not Your Daughters denim. You've seen them before.

The shoes

I love these babies.

Bottega Veneta from David Jones in the city. I was watching them for the season & when they went on sale, I  couldnt wait for further reductions - scored them for 30% off. Still insane, but in love insane. 

Notice they are my shoe uniform?

Closed, round toe, thick-ish sole, high stacked heel.

& the softest leather in the world.

Summary

1. Use a rectangle scarf to hide a daggy top.
2. One way to make an impression is to wear a hero piece - one item that stands out whether its by shape, texture, colour or print.
3. Mix pastels & brights harmoniously by showing less bright more pastel.

What I Wore: Absolutely no designer items

I wore the outfit in this post two days in a row with a knicker change. 

TMI?

I stayed at the hospital over night to look after dad as part of a trial, so that we could be sure I could tend to all his needs once he comes home.

The sleeping part consisted of a Coles seafoam green mens tee & a Piping Hot tracksuit pant in a hot pink wash look fabric. I wont show you those...hehehe.

I also removed all jewellery on the second day as the mobility part of looking after dad doesnt appreciate my big rings digging into his back for example...

Since I had to get up during the night a few times, I was a bit tired on the second day, so even though I went to Fitted for Work (photos of new stock to be uploaded tomorrow), I slipped into flat loafers for today, said loafers having been worn in & love my feet alot (as much as I love them).

The jacket

An indigo denim from fcuk.
About 4 years old & this is the first time I have worn it. 

I am not really a denim jacket girl - I prefer structured tailoring partly because it is longer (& covers the "pear" bum) and partly because it just looks more streamlined & elegant.

Are you a denim jacket girl?

The denim jacket is a classic item. 
For those that like its styling, I encourage you to buy multiples - dark, light, cropped, hip length, sleeveless, with sleeves - the possiblities are endless. 

Just avoid the acid wash boxy oversize look of the 80s.

The sweater

A navy 100% cotton from Trenery, from last winter for about $90.

It has a rib knit on the front & on the hem (10 cm wide) of the back. The back sits lower than the front, which technically makes it a mullet sweater. Yikes!

the back

To the best of my knowledge, this sweater style arrived on the Aussie high street last winter. Trenery (Country Road's older sister), Witchery & Seed did it. All virtually identical. Seed was the most expensive by about $30. I ended up also buying a Witchery version in black.

Frankly this Trenery piece disappoints me.  Or perhaps I should say, that you get what you pay for. I have worn it about 4 times so far & its pulls like crazy on the ribbed parts (the whole front & a 10 cm hem all around the bottom). I am very careful in the wearing - so I am convinced its just the weave that encourages pulling. The cotton is soft enough, but its thin & well, cheap. 

Not looking forward to seeing whether my black Witchery version does the same thing.....stay tuned for another What I Wore.

The scarf

An 100% cotton grey fleece rectangle with rounded corners from Petit Bateau. I wore it in a single knot so the knot sits low enough that the pendant of the necklace is visible.

Warm. Very warm. Good. 

The Petit Bateau brand

In Australia, Petit Bateau is licensed to Kids Direct Warehouse in Wetherill Park. They have twice yearly warehouse sales in Sydney for both samples & overuns. The prices are very good, usually 50% off. I go straight to the samples, so I get something that often hasnt gone into production. 

Petit Bateau is known for its cottons for babies, kids and ladies wear and in particular its French inspired striped breton tops. But they also do wool, linen and organic fibres.

Kids Direct Warehouse has a Facebook page which notifies of sales, or you can get on the texting mailing list. 

https://www.facebook.com/kidsdirectwarehouse

The necklace

A baroque pearl necklace with a diamante silver plate clasp. 

I think this is my favourite part of the look.

The brand is La Loop - a French brand which is known for necklaces for hanging glasses on, which have something special in the hinges so that the glasses never fall off.

I wear mine sans glasses. 

They are made in all sorts of materials including pearls, elastic, leather, jade, silver, gold and acetate amongst others. 

I have quite a few pairs (in leather & in coloured elastic), all purchased from Belinda in Sydney. When I visited new York, I found alot of the independent optometrists stocked them too. I resisted buying more. Hopefully, I will show you the other styles I have in later posts of What I Wore, although the pearl version is by far my favourite. 

The pearl necklace was necessary for the outfit - to bring a lightness near my face. Otherwise, the navy jacket/sweater are just too dark for my features. Ten years ago it never would have been necessary - I could wear black near my face with no problems. Then everyone started to gently prompt me that I looked better in colours & not black. So I started lightening up near the face. Lightbulb!

TIP: The older you get, the more your colouring softens (read: fades). So you need to lighten the colours worn around your face (& your make up) otherwise the look will be too harsh for your complexion.

The rings

My fave Bottega intercaccio ring & a threesome for which I cant recall where I bought them.

The pants

I have worn this pant style three days in a row, but I have a few of them & I rotate. They are all identical & from Target. Most were bought at $15, on sale. 

The shoes

I wore this Wittner pair on the first day.
Cheap & cheerful, Prada copies.
Beware, flatforms or creepers will still be around for next summer.

The day after I slept at the hospital I wore my trusty Tod's navy patent loafers. 

Unfortunately you can see the fact that they are worn in &, well, well loved.

Confession time: I have about 5 navy Tod's loafers in patent navy and most are unworn. 

Note to self: Pull the other pairs out & rotate, you silly fool. Otherwise you are gong to kill these favourite way too fast. 

So there you have it - no designer items at all, except possibly the Bottega ring & the Tod's. But both their costs per wear (CPW) have whittled so far down, that technically they dont count as designer any more. Yeah, that's a good wat\y to justify it....heheheh.

See you tomorrow all.

  

Lindsay kicks a sartorial goal - right in the middle of the posts.

I had to catch my breath when I saw this latest Lindsay Lohan look.

She has got it right - one of the few times of late.

I thought this was worth talking about on the blog, rather than just posting a photo/quick caption on the Style into Action Facebook page. Its a terrific example to learn from. 

What works here?

Print
The autumn tones of the flowers work for her complexion. The scale of the print is appropriate for a body with her enhanced assets (a small print would have just blended into the background).
Perfection. 

Fit
The fit is terrific - she is an hourglass and this dress is a good fit for big boobs/big hips/small waist. 

In the real world, its hard for a busty girl to get such a good fit in an "off the rack" garment which is all over fitted like this. Alterations would be necessary. That is, you buy the size that fits your largest body part (whether its boobs, or hips) & you alter the rest of the dress to fit the smaller body parts.

Hem
The hem length nods to the current midi trend, but is modest (not the usual tarty look).

Shoes
The shoes would not have been my first choice - but they still work as a pop of difference. 
The reason they works is the chunky shoe look grounds (pun intended) the prissy print on the dress. Ditto the blue colour. As for the suede with  floral summer dress - well, our nanas would be horrified but the contrast works in 2013. 

Modesty
For a girl with "assets" this dress has sufficient coverage so that she can wear the appropriate undergarments to give the dress a good foundation. In particular, the wide shoulder straps allow her to wear a decent bra with wide straps. 


What (almost) doesnt work here?

High neckline
A high neckline on a big bust is dangerous (potentially unflattering) territory. 
She pulls it off. Why? Because the print distracts from the impact which a high neckline creates - ie: he impact of a mono - boob. 

Exposed midriff
An exposed midriff on a large bust is also dangerous territory. Yes, its a huge trend for SS 2013 (southern hemisphere SS 2013/2014), but not for everyone. 

Why? Because you run the risk of having the boobs being exposed at the midriff & gravity is a bummer for little boobs, let alone big ones.

Se pulls it off. Why? The section above the midriff has good coverage of her breast cups & it doesnt look like anything is falling out. But look closely at the standing photo - there is a slight gap between the fabric & the rib cage - only slight, but gaps is how boobs fall out due to gravity. Luckily Lindsay's gap is small & the the distraction of the fussy print saves it. 


Note to file:

The designers of this dress are a duo, Max Osterweis & Erin Beatty (below) - stay tuned, I will tell you more about them shortly. 

Summary

If I could summarise why this look works well for Lindsay it would be 2 words. Fit & print (both colour & scale).

Even though she is just about to back to rehab, she just scored a serious goal.

What I Wore: Clumpy jacket meets clumpy shoes

The jacket

A Comme des Garcons from AW 2010/2011 from Saks Fifth Avenue in New York.

By a Japanese designer, Rei Kawakubo, who owns the company with her husband Adrian Joffe. They show in Paris. 

If there is anything weird about my closet (apart from the bold costume jewellery), its my love of the quirky shapes of the Japanese designers. Case in point. 

Comme Des Garcons written in Japanese translates to French for "Like Boys".

Saw it & fell in love.

100% black wool, fully lined.

Love the puffy cotton bits - great for pears like me.

& it was < $1K, at 30% off.

Look! It even has under arm air conditioning! Too weird. Too much love.

Too sweet.

The tee is a Coles Mix Apparel tee for $9.

The pants are from Target for $15. 

The scarf

A Sonia Rykiel 100% wool from Christine in Melbourne.
If you're down there, pop into that accessory heaven of a place. Its divine with all the best brands in the world, like Lanvin, Etro, YSL, the list goes on. 

This scarf alternates black & charcoal stripes, the ends are beautifully finished & it has a wool rosette on it - which is really what sold it to me. 

However the rosette is right at the middle of the scarf, so when I hang it on my neck, I need to position it so its sitting above a boob. But when i do that the scarf is very unevern & looks like it needs adjusting. I plan to unstitch it & restitch it further long, but its on a very long to-do list.

The bling

A jacket like this needs chunky jewellery, if any.
These two rings did the job well, mimicking the padding on the jacket.

The shoes

$40 from Wittner (see previous What I Wore for details)

With the pant hems rolled up, this creeper looks perfect with the jacket (which is also clumpy).

http://www.styleintoaction.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/shoes-get-ready-for-creepers-and.html

What I Wore: Mixing a Chanel & a Coles print

The jacket

A Chanel...sigh

Purchased from the Sydney boutique, an Act 1 piece from a few years ago. You'd think I'd remember the exact vintage, but its late....looking at the photo with the label, it looks like AW 2007/08. 

Paid a serious bomb, but they let me drop 50% up front & the rest over 3 months, even though they didnt do lay-bys, because, wait for it, "we know you". I love that place.

I have had it taken out a full size since I bought it - Chanel is wonderful in that way - their seam allowances are massive. The work was done by Vlada in park St, Sydney - I wouldnt trust anyone else.

Love the chain stitched on the hem, on the inside - they make it sit/hang better on the body. Also love the self pattern on the lining - its camelias. 

Love the always functional buttonholes.

Love all the holes & rips in the outer fabric.
But the thing that makes this a perfect buy for my closet is the colours - they are all Valerie colours - black, navy, white, burgendy, each in many shades. Plus the texture. 

The top

A Coles Mix Apparel tee for $9.
I have many of this one - identical & with colour & collar variations. 

TIP: When you're on a good (fashion) thing, flock it to death.

What I didnt realise til after I wore this was that I unwittingly mixed prints - checked tweed with stripes. Totally not intentional, but I think it worked.

The necklace

A silver pendant with a sun on a red background which is just the right shade of burgendy red for me. About 10 years old. 

From Chantal B in Paddington. Chantal is a French lady who brings in very interesting jewellery & accessories. 
Worth visiting when you are in the area. 

This wasnt a cheap piece, but I love it. The cord is a rubber with a square shape which is made up of smaller pieces which fit into each other. From Chantal as well. Love also.

The pants

From Target - & I have a few of these - identical & in different colours. $15 I think.

The shoes

A Prada copy by Wittner.

I have previously written about creepers/flatforms.....http://www.styleintoaction.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/shoes-get-ready-for-creepers-and.html

I dont normally succumb to copies, but these called out. $40 from the Wittner warehouse store in the city (under the HSBC building near Town Hall).

Of all the high street shoe stores in Australia, I think Wittner is the best by far at reflecting the runway trends. I'd rate Nine West next in that regard & the rest dont count IMO.

These are all leather except the rubber sole.

Mind you I did have to clear nail polish down some of the jute on the sole, but once again, you get what you pay for. 

I really like them & they are comfy.