Today the weather was mild & I decided not to wear jacket. Since the ironing pile was quite large (understatement), I decided a sweater was appropriate.
The sweater
Enter the Zara cotton one I bought a few days ago. I removed the cloth tag on the collar as it was scratchy. I have stored it with all my spare buttons & hang tags That's in case I have issues & need to consider a return, it helps if I have all the bits & show that I have looked after her.
$70 in 100% cotton in a chunky open moss stitch type knit (knitters, correct me if I ma wrong here, please) and a large cable down the centre front.
The other feature that sold me this sweater was the vee neck. Since I love dark colours (like black) but dark colours (like black) dont love my face, having the vee brightens up the face due to the exposure of decoletage.
As it turns out the vee was the perfect breadth & depth to complement a Hermes scarf (or any 90 cm silky square.
SWEATER SLIMMING TIP: If you are bottom heavy, ensure your sweaters dont have a basque at the hem, or if they do, the ribbing on the basque doesnt come in narrower than the side seams. Otherwise your hips & thighs may look like a porky sausage end. Go for a straight side view. Always.
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| oops, she turned sideways when I wasnt looking..... |
Notice also the split at the sides? It just helps to accommodate a pear's bottom half.
The jeans
The jeans almost dont rate a mention as you have met them in previous "What I Wore" posts.
They are a dark grey Not Your Daughter's Jeans in a straight leg.
The scarf
So far the outfit is basic pieces in dark colours. Not very exciting. The outfit needs a statement. I do that with jewellery and/or shoes/bag and/or a scarf or occasionally with a printed item of clothing.
Today, its a colourful silk scarf.
I chose a 90 cm silk square & did a basic double knot tie. Instructions in the next post (tomorrow).
Its a Hermes & I probably bought it from one of my collector friends, who for a while, were massive enablers of my collection.
Its the New Orleans theme, which was re-issued for Katrina & the colourway is black with aqua accents.
The aqua in this scarf sings on me. In fact this baby is what made me realise that I had moved from a winter to a summer. More on this later.
Arm Party
I dont think you have met my elastic bracelet collection, have you?
The warm colours sit in an LV scarf box and the cool colours sit in a twin box.
Here they are open....
I have made at least half of these babies.
The elastic bracelet obsession started about 5 years ago when Lisa Ho stores were selling Santos Wishes elastic bracelets in varying beads. they were great quality - the bead colour wouldnt scratch off & I especially liked that they were not mixed with any metals except the religious "wish" dangly bits. Since these dangly bits didnt rub directly on the skin, there was no unsightly tarnishing.
I was buying them for a while, but at approx $70 per strand, the price annoyed me. Then I decided that all they were were clear elastic & beads, how hard can they be to make?
So I found the Bead Shop in Surry Hills (now only selling on line, but cheaper than when they maintained the shop front) and started making many colours.
Even a genuine Swarovski band of beads would cost me around $20 to make when city stores were selling them for $60 odd. As for the beads, a typical cost would be $10 and it looked identical to the Santos Wishes.
Basically I stack heaps on each wrist in colours that complement or contrast with the outfit. Easy, cheap & cheerful.
So I picked a bunch for one wrist & a bunch for the other wrist & off I went.
The rings
The chain ring is an Ann Demeulemeester, bought for a bomb from Assin in Paddington. I cant for the life of me eat or drink wearing it & I am so paranoid when I take it off to eat, I will forget it - so she get very limited outings with her over protective mum.
The multi square one is stainless steel Fossil, reasonably priced ($60?) I think, but if I bought it on line, it would have been even more reasonably priced.
The bag
I wear the same bag for 7 months or so, then rotate another.
Currently it's this kitchen sink toting 3.1 Phillip Lim which I bought from Belinda for around $350 & I LOVE it.
However I had a few incidents today with this baby - I use the long shoulder strap on my right shoulder & as the sweater is a very open weave, I ended up with 3 massive (10 cm) pulls on the back right bum where the bag was rubbing against the bag hardware. Not happy. Trying to get the pulls back into the knit, but I think I will just have to settle for pushing then through the inside instead.
Alternative bag?
Seriously I dont have the energy to add an alternative bag each day for the sake of the photos....but today I did find in my storage bins one of the most practical handbags on the planet - the Longchamp Le Pliage.
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| here it is folded up.... |
The basic version is made in a very durable nylon, leather handles & comes in every colour of the rainbow. Also in varying sizes & varying size straps. Great for travelling (lightweight). But the real beauty of it is no matter how much stuff you have in it, its stylish - after all, its French.
They also do leather version & printed versions...huge industry. If you know someone travelling, get them to get you a duty free one.
The shoes
Shoes are just over 20 years old. An Italian brand called Donzella which was heavily stocked at boutiques on the North Shore back then.
The shape is the slipper style which is in ATM & I quite like the bow even thought it is a bit schoolie. So I keep wearing them.
Notice they are navy & the rest of the outfit is black/grey?
Doesnt matter - I mix black & navy all the time. It works most of the time.
Moral of the story
If you like basics in neutral colours, build your wardrobe around them.
"Neutrals" include black, navy, cream, white, burgendy, chocolate, grey, forest green...get the picture?
But make sure you have some "fancier" pieces (can be scarves, jewellery, shoes, bags, hats or even basics in prints or brights etc) to pretty up the neutral basics.
"Fancy" can be in terms of colour, shape, cut, fabric, texture - anything that isnt "basic".
It actually works out cheaper to re-wear neutral basics & to change around the fancy bits so that you look current & up to date.
Plus, your friends & work colleagues WILL remember your fancy pieces - they WONT remember the neutral basics (trust me on this), so you can get more mileage from those neutrals by re-wearing them (& varying your fancy bits).
After all, you dont want to be remembered as the girl who always wears "that scarf", or "those shoes", or "that bag"!
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