What I Wore: SIA wears a boyfriend jacket from ebay

The jacket

Say hello to my one & only boyfriend jacket.

Actually, I did have quite a few in the 80s which came with grid iron shoulder pads, but ATM, only this one.

Its an Ann Demeulemester from ebay. I paid $70 plus shipping. Its a long line wool/viscose mix with a low single front button and a straight-ish cut. I think its from the early 90s. 

It was in fantastic condition except it had an abrasion to the fabric at the front near the pocket which made it look shiny.

I really liked it and the only way I was happy to save it was to sew something over it. 

Say hello to an Ann Demeulemeester bugle bead pocket overlay.

She is made from crochet cotton threads. I had bought her from Belinda (actually I had bought two of them) and they came with tiny safety pins to attach them to the garment. 

Since I knew I would never take it off this jacket due to that shiny bit, I stitched it on and skipped the safety pin.

STYLE TIP: Try to avoid metal on clothing as much as possible. Its rusts over time, even in a well ventilated closet and will damage the fibres.

Some people have commented that its funny I have only placed this on one side, but I love asymmetry - its so much more interesting when the eye moves than static symmetry. 

I also want to show you the cuffs on this jacket.

The are widely spaced (typical of late 80s/early 90s styles).

STYLE TIP: They have faux button holes which are a sign of an expensive garment. If you see faux button holes on a high street garment, it was made with a nod to better quality than one without. 

But the button closest to the cuff is very close to the cuff in proportion to the others - something about the spacing looks off. If I had to guess, I'd say the original bottom button was removed & the cuff was taken up. However I cant for the life of me find any evidence of unstitching etc to support this. 

The top

A Coles Mix black scoop neck tee for $6.
I bought 4 of them last week with a grocery haul consisting of a chocolate bar. 
It is cotton with a touch of lycra, has cap sleeves & I love it alot. 

The pants

The grey cotton Target pants came out of the wash for this day. Approx $11, I bought a number of colours. 

The necklace

A sterling ball pendant which opens up for photos.
Its Najo & it wasnt cheap but its a keeper.
The chain was my own.

I am not a sentimental type, so maybe I should put photos of bags & shoes in there?

The bracelets

A bunch of black & silver & white from my collection. 

The rings

Both are old friends - the Bottega intercaccio & the $10 sterling Witchery ring.

The shoes

OK, so these are new. I bought them a few weeks ago from the Luisa Sale at the Hilton in Sydney. They were $160 and a black patent loafer is always what i need so I dont over wear all my navy patent loafers. 

Interestingly I didnt hold out for Tod's this time - I'd say the limited budget made me buy a non name Italian brand, but I am comfortable the quality is comparable to Tod's in most respects. 

Now to do the next What I Wore (for yesterday's outfit) as I am hopelessly behind - the next one involves a serious hero jacket...stay tuned. 

See you tomorrow.

What I Wore: Nothing like a jacket to amp up your look

In the last few days we have had alot of talk on the Style into Action page about tracksuits - specifically when the wear them (if at all) & when not to wear them. 

So I decided to have a tracksuit free day.

The jeans

Not Your Daughter's Jeans in a washed denim

The tee

A white Nathan Smith tee with strings.
I have worn this a few days in a row - rest assured I have duplicates.

The jacket

The photos do no justice to this Giorgio Armani beauty.
In real life it has power. 

With a grandpa collar, she has a rounded shoulder (no seams) which fits like it was made to measure. She has a high armhole & is snug through the rib cage & flares out over the hips.

Normally when I take WIW photos, I squish in the waist area, so the clothes look like they have a waist. In this case, there was no squishing - the jacket has its own gorgeous lines.

She is fully lined & the print is spectacular. It is a bit more purple in real life than the blue in the photo, but it has cool undertones so it works.

She was actually one size too big & they didnt have my size 
in the Sydney (or Melbourne) stores - so they arranged the alterations gratia to scale her down. The alterations were done by my fave place, Vlada in the Sydney CBD. In fact it was the same Armani store which had introduced me to Vlada about 20 years ago. With this kind of alterations service provided free, you can only imagine what I paid for this girl. 

I used to wear this in my corporate life when I needed that extra bit of flare - typically when doing presentations. 

STYLE TIP: There is nothing like a jacket to amp up your look. It doesnt even have to be corporate & stuffy. Even a denim jacket will work to smarten up a casual look. A jacket has far more presence than a cardi. Use it to your advantage. 

Label slut, who me?

Too often people assume I love the brands because I am a snob or a label slut for the sake of being a label slut. Not true. Anyone who wears Coles or Target with their labels & admits it to the whole world they bought brands recycled for cheap as chips isnt a snob. IMO anyway. Plus I am lovely & down to earth. 

However the reason I am a label slut is because of the quality afforded by the labels.

Whilst I dont sew, I understand garment construction and when I see something made beautifully with an amazing cut and a beautiful fabric, I get excited. Then you put this item on & it looks amazing. The reason is because it was made with many many fit model fittings - the process of working the samples over & over is very time consuming & costly. That's one of the reasons an expensive garment is expensive.

Look at this next photo of a button hole for the jacket.

The button has the GA signature inscribed. But its the button hole that I love. Its bound with the same fabric, not just ripped open & overlocked. This is serious work. It demands serious respect.

If you see an item on the high street with bound button holes, you are likely to have found a good quality piece. The high street doesnt waste time/money on details like this unless it is trying to create a certain quality about the garment. 


The necklace

A Funkis piece which I have shown you previously.
Knotted together with a black cotton cord the large matt silver circles feed my circle obsession.

Interestingly the size of the circles is the same size as the white flowers on the jacket. The many circles also mimic the  circular pattern (like a snail shell) of the jacket's flowers. I couldnt have planned this better if I tried.

The rings

The Bottega intercaccio (woven look) ring on the bottom & an intercaccio copy on the top. 

The shoes

My bronze Dorothy flats by Jil Sander. 
Until I started "What I Wore" these were in the to sell pile. Since then I have worn them twice and hope for more wears. 

In case you're wondering the warm metal tone of the shoes didnt clash with the cool metal tones of the necklace and the jacket. When I looked in the mirror, i was really happy with the combination.

It was meant to be.

See you tomorrow.  



  

What I Wore: One colourful piece can work with everything

Another easy dressing day where the bling & the shoes amped up the look.

The sweater

From Sussan for $50, purchased in 2003. 
100% cotton & a beautiful quality knit (they dont make 'em like that these days...)

Its got a good weight, so you cant see lumps & bumps from the outside.

STYLE TIP: Select a colourful top & you make it easy to "match" a bottom in any colour which is in the top.

The pants

Wide 3/4 lime pants by Verge.
100% cotton
I wore this yesterday & obviously I didnt hange them overnight - they were resting on a chair (not folded obviously).

I dont even know if the sweater has lime on it - but it has s o many colours, that the pants work.

The necklace

This necklace is from Lovisa.
Its a Dries Van Noten copy from SS 2009.
Notice the similarity, not in the balls, but in the rest of the rings?

The bracelet version

The necklace is a multi colour metal - it is silver toned on one side & gold toned on the other.

STYLE TIP: Having gold & silver in a single piece of  jewellery increases its versatility. You will generally only suit EITHER gold or silver near your face, however having a two tone piece increases your change of wearing the wrong metal successfully. 
Two tone jewellery also helps you to wear the often forgotten pieces like belt buckles or shoe ornaments. 

If you look closely at my photo you may also notice that the black cord on my necklace has knots. I have done these so I could shorten the cord and wear it at the Dries length. If I had cut the cord, re-attaching the metal clasps would have been very messy.

Bracelets

The usual bunch of related colours. 

The rings

The light is terrible, but the bottom ring you have seen before - ManiaMania from the Corner Shop - a massive quartz stone.

The top ring is a $7 one from Sportsgirl with a purple flower on an aqua background. I keep waiting for it to tarnish & it hasnt. 

The shoes

A camel flat pump by Escada with a black stacked low heel.

There were from the David Jones warehouse from Summer 2001 - the label on the box has the details. Original was $650, reduced to $399, but I would have paid around 70% off that price - around $120.  

This type of closed flat shoe is my bead & butter. Smart but comfy. And sturdier than ballet flats.

See you tomorrow. 

What I Wore: Max pop with opposite sides of the colour wheel

True to form, I took a piece from yesterday (the white string tee) & re-wore it. With very different partners.

The top

Nathan Smith white cotton tee, David Jones, $70

The pants

Lime 3/4 cotton pants from the New Zealand brand, Verge.

SHOP TIP: Verge is sold in independent boutiques rather than the majors. Its market is 30s+ (IMO) but rather than boring stuff, the colours & cuts are quirky versions of classics. 

I found these at a store called Plumage on the ground floor of Macquarie Centre.

I have NOTHING in my closet in lime or anywhere near lime. 

Except for these pants. 

I love the fact that they are wide in the leg. Dont try this at home unless you are tall.

The scarf

Confession: I have had this for years & never worn it previously.

"What I Wore" is definitely making me wear my stuff more.

The scarf is a 100% wool Fendi ,which i bought at David Jones in the Sydney CBD for $300.

Its mainly red (a burgendy red) with the brown/black "F"

logo running down one side of the scarf. Its front is the same as its back - that's where the money went on this one.

The necklace

The necklace is a Valerie special.

I have taken one Isabel Marant bauble (green) & combined it with the blue, red & amber which were all from a Diva bracelet. The chain is sterling. This works well with lots of things as it has all the primary colours and sits near the face.

The bracelets

A whole stack of bracelets in the colours of the outfit. I lied above when I said I have nothing else in lime - her is a borlotti bean bracelet.

The ring with squares is a stainless steel from Fossil.
The chunky ring is from Dinosaur Designs for $95.

SHOP TIP: I got the chunky ring at the Dinosaur Designs annual warehouse sale. For anyone who likes their stuff, put yourself on their mailing list & you'll bag some serious bargains.

The shoes

Here is where the outfit went from OK to pretty special.
I added a pair of pretty shoes by Jimmy Choo which I have had for over 10 years. 

The shoes are red & its no coincedence that I chose colours on opposite ends of the colour wheel (red & green). This gives you maximum pop. 

They were bought at the David Jones warehouse for $90 because the straps were broken. A bootmaker fixed them easily and I had a $1,200 pair of shoes, box included. 

I never wear these shoes any more but doing "What I Wore" has definitely encouraged me to wear them.

The reasons why I dont wear them is because of the sling back design - they dont fall off the heel, but when I walk they flip flop as the heel lifts off from the sole. Drives me mad but since I wasnt going any lengthy distance today, I gave them a whirl. 

See you tomorrow. 

What I Wore: Kmart loves Lanvin

I needed a comfortable outfit yesterday - because some days you just do.

The top

The most comfy thing in the world is a sweatshirt.

100% cotton from Kmart.

I modified it by cutting off the sleeves.

Notice its a size 20? I like my casual gear oversize and I never worry about the number on the tag. I worry about the fit and the look, not the number on the tag.

As for sweatshirts, the only time I have been inspired by workout gear (since the 80s) is when I saw Dries Van Noten AW 2010 collection. 
It was the same collection where I saw the long open weave wool scarf. Yes, this collection had tracksuit tops.

and the black tie version....

I went to Peopke in Paddington to try on the sweatshirt - they had it in navy & grey. It was $240. It looked terrific, I mentally noted the proportions as I wasnt prepared to pay that for something so plain which was cotton & not solid gold!!!

I went to Kmart that same afternoon to find the substitute.

The other top

Since the sweatshirt is a large size & the armholes would be bit peek-a-boo, I like to wear a tee under it showing just a bit of sleeve.

So I grabbed a white Nathan Smith tee. This is a brand carried by the larger David Jones stores and is in the denim section - cool stuff to wear with your skinnies. It has strings sewn into the side seams and the sleeves. the strings can be tied around the body or left to hang loose.

The strings are a copy of what Ann Demeulemeester has been doing for years - but compared to her prices, I thought Nathan's work was a serious bargain. It was $70.

STYLE TIP: If something works, buy duplicates & buy it in other colours. I also bought the tee in black. See? I practice what I preach. 

The pants

The Target grey cotton version which I also bought in black, navy & taupe. Practicing what  preach again. The pants were reduced to $15 when I bought all the different colours.

The necklace

When one wears a sweatshirt, one runs the risk of looking sloppy. So the accessories are all important.

Out comes a Lanvin multi layer pearl with black silk strips (love the raw edges). This was from Trunk, the designer recycled store in Paddington which doesnt exist any more.

I paid about 70% off retail & got the original box & packing. 

Love the fact that I can vary the length and that the fabric isnt slippery so it doesnt come undone. 

The rings

The cream bow is from Diva (or Lovisa, I get those two confused) for $7.

The "scarf ring" is a sterling silver from Martin Margiela. I think I got it from Assin in Paddington for around $300.

I have worn it to death so far. 

The bracelets

I did my usual stacked bracelets trick. This time in silver, pearls, white, black & mottled taupe.

The shoes

I wouldnt grab these at first instance, but I scanned the one of the shoe walls & figured, why not?

I didnt expect to have a "running a marathon" day, so why not dress up a sweatshirt with a nice shoe?

These are about 13 years old - purchased from David Jones for that proverbial bomb. A terrific work shoe but also looks good with a frock.

Look at how fine the straps are...& that little keeper....just love.

I think the reason I dont wear them more often is since the heels are so thin, they tend to get stuck in cracks & escalators. 

PS: Oops

I wore this outfit at Fitted for Work.

A lovely SIA reader who worked there with me, said I looked like an 80s throwback (or something like that). Hmm, that wasnt the look I was going for. 

In this regard, the sweatshirt had two issues:

1. The basque was wide & when you looked at the overall outfit the eye moved horizontally around the hip area.
Not a good look. 

2. As the basque clung onto my hips, it raised the sweatshirt up & I had to keep pulling it down during the day.

So I cut off the basque just below the seam.

When I look at the Dries runway photos, their basques were turned under - not visible. Bye bye basque.

The result is that the sweat sits straight vertically & doesnt hug the hips. & it looks less 80s in the process.

I love raw edges.

See you tomorrow.

What I Wore: The magical powers of a rectangular scarf

The beauty of having lots of clothes in black (& navy) is that you can mix them all together and no one can accuse you of having gotten dressed in the dark. It's layering made easy. 

The jeans

Today I popped on the trusty Not Your Daughters Jeans in denim wash.

The top

The top is a Marni cotton very A line top/dress with an empire bust. Its as thin as you can imagine, but God bless Marni, its double sided all over. 

STYLE TIP: Empire busts are great for pears.
An empire bust is where the horizontal seam is just under the bust & the top/dress flares out from that point (rather than flaring out form the waist, like a traditional waisted piece).

Looks like a maternity top...hehehe

SHOP TIP: Bought from a designer recycled shop which is no longer - Trunk in Paddington. This was Robby Ingham's store but he closed it soon after his retail manager left his employ. She was the same retail manager who set up The Frock Exchange for the Belinda group. I have bought quite alot of accessories from this store, namely Chanel & Lanvin...stay tuned.

The sweater

On days when you want to feel warm/cozy, any black cashmere will do. This is a NZ brand called Sophie Boxer, which used to be sold by Belinda. This is a 42 and I also bought a 44. The sweater are very plain except for a 2 velvet blingy ribbons sewn on either side of the vee. I unstitched those & voila, I had 2 plain sweaters.

The truly amazing thing about this brand is that it has never pilled. Ever. Apart from my Armani cashmere, this is the only brand I have ever owned which hasnt pilled. 

STYLE TIP: I dont think I have ever bought cashmere at full price. Both the sweaters were purchased at 60% off, around $200 each at one of Belinda's warehouse sales - if you look around you can always find cashmere on sale...it just takes time to locate it & watch it until it does go on sale...

Slight problem now - it has a critter hole which I need to darn up. So sad this happened to one of my basics. 

STYLE TIP: If you love wearing items in toning colours, especially neutrals, you've made getting dressed fast - as your clothes are easy to mix & match. Since the colours worked together with this top and sweater, all I had to do was ensure the proportions worked. The top peeked out enough from the sweater hem to have a ra-ra skirt effect. I never thought I'd be going for this look, but it looked cute and gave the look a feminine feel.

The scarf

STYLE TIP: I cant emphasise enough how a rectangle scarf slung over your neck can hide a multitude of sins.
It is the easiest way to add spunk to an outfit, or if necessary, a distraction.

The only reason I grabbed a bright scarf was b/c the rest of the outfit was so dark and "grab it & go".

In hindsight, I needed it to hide the critter hole. So stylish, not!

The other thing a scarf like this is good at is hiding a belly. 

Back to shopping for cashmere....once Belinda's stores stopped stocking Sophie Boxer cashmere, the lady who owned the licence to distribute in Australia, started having warehouse sales for a mailing list clientele. That's where I scored the scarf. 

I turned up bright and early (just before it opened at 9 am) on a Saturday morning in Rushcutters Bay & this if I hadnt grabbed this, someone else would have. It was the only bright coloured item there. Everything else was neutral.

STYLE TIP: Every warehouse sale has one offs or items which are special. They get grabbed by the people who are the first ones to walk in when the door opens. Its good to be on of those people.

STYLE TIP: The scarf is quite wide & quite long. If I was petite I wouldnt be advising myself to wear it. 

Mr scarf was $150 I think and is 100% cashmere and its in my colours. Worth the loss of sleep to be there early.

The necklace

I have previously introduced you to some of my silver necklaces by Ann Demeulemeester. When I scan ebay for her stuff, all sorts of interesting things come up.

This leather coin purse with silver hardware was one of them. I think I paid about $100 for it & its leather & looked new. Its not soft & sqashy - its moulded & hard. 

Due to my obsession with circles & balls, it had my name on it. She also did an oval egg shape too which I saw later, but I prefer my ball.

It had a cacky cotton cord on it which I disliked, so I threaded a black grosgrain on it, put clear nail polish on the end so it wouldnt fray, tied a bow & voila!

The rings

Multi ring ring was from Funkis (I think).
The wide ring was an ebay find from Linda's Stuff. 

Arm party

I grabbed a bunch of beaded bracelets from my collection which tone in with the colours in the scarf and piled them onto one wrist.

The other wrist wanted to wear an Hermes cuff.

I bought this cuff many years ago when The Frock Exchange opened in Balmain. It cost me $95 and was in mint condition. 
Unfortunately there was no box, but I did a happy dance anyway. Its so classic and will last forever.

SHOP TIP: The Balmain branch of The Frock Exchange has now closed - only the Clovelly branch is still alive. Since these stores are linked to Belinda, they are a gold mine.

The shoes

Black pumps by Tino Lanzi, who has a store in Westfield Sydney, which I used to wear to work. Nothing "fashionable" per se, but good workhorses for those days you need a work horse.

Paid a bomb & they are about 12 years old. If I polish them up a touch, you'd never know they are older than last season. 

STYLE TIP: I am too poor to buy cheap shoes. 

Summary

Probably the main thing I want to emphasise today (other than make sure you protect your woolens from critters) is the power of a rectangular scarf to hide lumps & bumps (belly included). Just swing it around your neck & off you go. 

That & "I am too poor to wear cheap shoes".