What I Wore: SIA wears her hospital colour, brown

Do you know your best colours?

Whilst most people can wear most colours, generally, they can only wear certain shades of those colours. 

Stay within these certain shades & you will always look brighter, healthier, more relaxed & less stressed than if you were are wearing something outside those shades. 

It follows that for the colours that a person generally CANT wear, it will be hard for them to find ANY shade that will work in the colour. Not impossible, but hard.

I call the colours that you cant wear, "hospital colours" because they make me look like I should be taken to hospital. For me, they include cream, browns & yellows. 

Under no circumstance do I wear these colours & any shade variation of them. Its just too hard. Why keep trying with my hospital colours when I have so much choice with the colours that do flatter me?

STYLE TIP: If you love a colour but cant wear it near your face, then wear it as pants or a skirt, in an accessory (that isnt near your face - such as a belt or a shoe or a bracelet). You'll still get the hit without the hospital effect. 

But today I wore brown. Near my face. Yikes!

The jacket

Despite the colour in the photo, the jacket is a dogtooth camel & black fully lined wool. Its Dries Van Noten & I bought it on ebay for around $80.

I have to admit I didnt expect it to be as camel/brown as it is, however the cut won me over so overall I was happy & I  didnt try to re-sell it. 

The jacket was originally double breasted. However as I grew horizontally over time, it became too small. So I removed the top button to make it single breasted. But I was still stuck with 2 buttonholes where there should only have been one. So I sewed two buttons on a thread so they were joined 2 cm apart and linked that contraption through both the buttonholes. Instant single breasted jacket. The jacket fits me again!

The other buttons stayed as they were since by virtue of the angle at which they were placed, whilst they were real button holes, the buttons were not functional.

STYLE TIP: The jacket doesnt have buttons on the cuffs - making it easy to alter the sleeve length. If you are small & tend to need sleeves shortened, this is a good thing to look for in a jacket. 

The top

That good ol' Coles Mix black tee for $6. Or one of the four of them I purchased last week. 

The jeans

Not Your Daughters Jeans in an indigo wash.

The necklace

A tan leather & sterling combo from La Loop. This is actually a glasses holder (you slip the glasses arm into the loop). I have a few of them including a pearl version (in a previous What I Wore) and a neon elastic version, all from Belinda, from many years ago.

I found the lighter tan popped well against the more sedate shades in the jacket.

The cuff

You may want to kill me, but this Hermes cuff was $95 from The Frock Exchange when it first opened in Balmain.  No box, but pristine. A fabulous find. Jealous?

The scarf

STYLE TIP: When I have a jacket that I dont wear much, I like to wear a scarf with it, so the jacket collar is protected from secretions and grime from my neck. Its alot easier (& cheaper) to clean a scarf than it is to dry clean the jacket.

So I grabbed a black linen rectangle which I got from a Kid's Direct Warehouse sale. Its a Petit Bateau and KDW is the agent for that brand in Australia. The scarf is very simple with overlocked edges. 

STYLE TIP: I also like the lengthening effect that 2 scarf ends have on the torso when they just hang vertically from my neck. The easiest scarf tie.

The shoes

These are brown too!

In a satin weave of bronze and black, lined in leather, I have had them for almost 20 years. I bought them from the Bally warehouse when it was in Camperdown for $99, reduced from $199, reduced from $499.

Granted the heels & the style is a bit granny, but I like that they are solid yet smart. Notice the leather piping around the vamp? Lovely detailed fine work.

SHOP TIP: The Bally warehouse is now in St Peters and since Bally now has quite a few more stores Australia wide, its a good place to visit for bargains.

See you tomorrow (when I wear shoes with pom poms....)