The House Clothes Challenge

Most fashion people think that house clothes are hideous.

SIA is not one of those people.

There is nothing nicer than coming home, getting out of stuffy clothes into something soft and cuddly which doesn't restrict your movement. 

Just to be clear, house clothes are the things you ONLY wear around the house.

When the door bell rings, unless you are sure it’s the Net-A Porter guy or a charity collector, no one outside the house sees you in your house clothes. No one.

Even going to the letterbox is fraught with embarrassment when it’s in your house clothes.

Don’t ever try to tell me that you thought you would go to the shops in them. Because you always see someone who happens to be the last person you would ever want to see you in your house clothes.

House clothes are typically old, pilled, ill fitting, faded, in cacky colours with remnants of stains which don’t come out no matter how many stain cycles you run it through.

How can anything with those characteristics not make you feel blah?

Hardly self esteem inducing.  Hence house clothes definitely are hideous.

There is only one rule for clothes like that.

Throw them out.

Don’t even keep them for painting the house, washing the car or moving house.
Yes, throw them out. You heard right. 

But instead of roaming the house naked, you will prepare yourself for the purge.

Here’s what you need to do:

Take the next $100 you had planned to spend on the high street crapola and go to Target, Coles, Big W, Kmart or wherever and find some new house clothes.  

With that sort of budget, you should be able to get a 4-6 pieces depending on what you go for. Personally, I would suggest a trip to Coles & the whole range is available on line. Bonus, at the moment, everything is on sale, everywhere.

SIA suggests:

·       pretty colours – think lemon, lavender, pale blue or pale pink
If you hate pastels try black, navy, red, orange, hot pink & grey marle.

·        in sizes which fit you

·        throw in a print

·        in shapes which flatter your figure – big boobs, no high necklines please

·        make sure they all go together

If you keep your house clothes fresh and worthy of you, then SIA totally approves of your house clothes. 

Mind you, you’ll still wear them only around the house. This post in no way, shape or form authorises you to wear house clothes outside the house. But at least now you can face the neighbours at the letterbox with confidence. And the Net-A-Porter guy.

Are you willing to take the house clothes challenge? 

WIW: Shop your closet - Versace lost then found

I had completely forgotten I had this magenta jacket until I saw it a couple of days ago on the rack. It became the hero piece of today's outfit. That's shopping my closet at it's best. 

The jacket

Versace Jeans Couture in a woven wool, fully lined.
Very bright. 
About 9 years old & I owuldnt have paid more than $150 for it. It as from the David Jones Warehouse & back then, it was a great place to shop for designer items.

Always love faux button holes on the cuffs. 

The top

A new Coles Mix tee in 100% cotton, in a mint colour.
$6. If you had told me I would be combining mint & magenta, I never would have believed you. The mint picked up the green in the leaves of the flowers on the jacket. 

The scarf

The day was quite mild so technically I didnt need a scarf.
However I like to wear one just to shield the collar of the jacket from skin debris and oils. 

Its alot easier to wash a scarf than to launder a jacket. 

Its a ribbon wool rose colour from the Farage warehouse sale. It was $10. Its a few shades different from the jacket, but in the same colour family. 

The jeans

Not Your Daughters Jeans
My standard. Enough said. 

The necklaces

A sterling fashion cross.
A costume pink skull from Isabel Marant via ebay for $50.
A magnifying glass on a black rubber chain - my current favourite.

The bracelets

A motley crew of bits including my beloved Bottega bangle. 
I also really like the silicon pink baby - $20 from Reverie in Putney. 

The rings

You've seen these before. 

The shoes

Gucci lizards in red-y tone. Small wood stacked kitten heel.
From a designer recycled store in Paddington which is way overpriced so I dont go there much these days. But these were reduced (the shape is way too conservative for Paddington-ites) to $120. A steal.

Love the black piping along the edges & the symmetry of the pattern.

Speak tomorrow. 

WIW: Gotta love a textured scarf

The whole point of today's outfit was the scarf.

but from the top....

The sweater & top

A Sussan wool blend I found on the sale rack for $29 I think.
I have worn it quite a bit lately - it hangs nicely & doesnt cling. Gotta love that. 

The top is a Coles Mix white tank with a back zip. Very Celine. So practical for layering. $12 I think. I also have quite a few in black, one in pink (without the zip) & one in navy (without the zip).

The jeans

Grey Not Your Daughter's Jeans which have an unintended hole in them which I need to stitch up. Note to self.

The scarf 

The Alan Gallacher UK merino wool felt scarf. From the recycled shop, The Frock Exchange for $110, it is a dark grape colour with pale blue accents which go back to the sweater colour.

The accents are baubles all over the body & on the tips of the fringe. It also has slits all over it which was another part of the appeal for me. 

Love this scarf.

The necklaces

The triple circle Zambesi silver necklace, $95 at a warehouse sale at their store in Paddington.

A long bead necklace with a Greek coin, $30 from Favourite Things By in Beecroft.

The necklace with the gold balls was originally on a gold yucky looking chain from Ojay for $30. I used pliers to move the balls to a sterling chain which looks much nicer. The silver chain was about $50. The mixed metal thing works for me - its versatile.

The shoes

Nappa navy ballet flats. Very old. Very expensive 
But worn & loved with lots more life in them. 

See you tomorrow, where I go back to suits & heels.

What I Wore: Shades of blue, pops of orange

The sweater

A fine wool blend from Sussan, on sale for about $20.
Has a slight batwing sleeve and a vee neck with an overall relaxed look. 

STYLE TIP: When buying batwing sleeves, take care if you need to sweater to fit under a jacket.

The jeans

My current fave jeans, wide leg rolled up to become boyfriend style. 

The scarf

The scarf in a toning colour to the sweater was necessary to pull the outfit together. 

This scarf is way way old & the font on the label proves it. It was $29.

You definitely dont see "Made in Italy" in any Country Road pieces now. 

The top

After recently putting holes in a tee due to friction with my jeans, I am not worried about this & so wore a Coles white tee with a full length back zip under this fine sweater. Problem solved. 

The orange necklace

This necklace was the piece that inspired the outfit. 
Its from a boutique in Beecroft called Kopy-Katt and it cost me $25 (50% off). The pattern is in both sides of each tile. I love it - its fun, vibrant yet the tile shapes make it totally modern too.

Its from a local designer called Jenny Brocks, who isnt anywhere on line, so unfortunately I cant see more of her pieces except when they land in store....ggrrr.

The coin necklace

A 1963 shilling set in sterling silver from Beautiful Things By in Beecroft. The rubber chain is my own. I paid $80 for this. I would have preferred the coin to be form the year of my birth, but I have seen others  not set as well & preferred to grab this one instead of waiting. 

They also had copper coins set in sterling but my cool toned complexion couldnt handle those.

The bangles

Hermes enamel bangles set in palladium. Paid a bomb, but these are timeless pieces. 

The shoes

Miu Miu flat Mary Janes which I bought pre loved (but actually new) from the Balmain Frock exchange (no longer operating, but they have a store in Clovelly).

See you tomorrow.

What I Wore: Pinstripes, soft style

More meetings. 
Needed a jacket, even though the pants could be casual.

STYLE TIP: Important negotiations? Wear a jacket. You will be perceived as more experienced & capable than if you keep the top layer relaxed.

The jacket

A Sonia Rykiel black wool with a thin cream pin stripe.
Very old & when I bought it, it was really large, so they tailored it for me. Now its a bit snug around the waist, so I have to wear it open. But they kept all the seam allowances in, so it can be taken out & since it's wool, it will steam perfectly so all the seam lines will disappear.

STYLE TIP: When you have clothing taken in, leave the seam allowances in, so its possible to take it back out, later, if necessary.

The thing that really sold this jacket to me was gathers at the hem of the front sections. So cute. I remember thinking at the time that ironing would be difficult. Yes, but that's what steaming is for.

Love the little Sonia Rykiel ball on a front pocket. Each collection has a different bauble and every item in the collection has the bauble, so this could be used to date the item.

The cuff buttons are actually press studs. When we altered this, the sleeves needed to be shortened, so we had to unstitch the sleeves from the shoulders & take them up. It wasnt possible to do a professional job by taking 1-2 cm from the cuff as the button button would be too close to the hem to look appropriate.


The sweater

A Coles Mix 100% wool sweater from last year. Needs de-pilling desperately. Oops. 

You've probably noticed that I wear all my tops out - never tucked in. Its because even though I am long waisted, the moment I tuck in, my proportions go all wonky & I look stubby. Plus I prefer the top out as it hides all my lumps & bumps better than if I tuck in. 

STYLE TIP: The rule for sweaters, skim not cling. 

The jeans

I know, I am being lazy but I LOVE my boyfriend jeans. 
You may be sick of seeing them, but considering I bought them for $20, cost per wear (CPW) is now about $1 & rapidly going down further.

The necklaces

Both the necklaces sat within the vee of the jacket. The multi circle one is adjustible, so it made it even easier to sit them so their curves were in sync.

The multi one was from Belinda, on sale. Its very heavy but sits perfectly. It has silver toned rings with gold tones ones at the ends & in the middle. Its by a New York designer, name escapes me.

The one with the single large oval & the rubber strand is an Italian piece, Jolly Veneza and it came from Beautiful Things By in Beecroft. Love this place - a treasure trove of high end imported jewellery/accessories & normal homewares.

The bangle

Bottega Veneta from ebay, worn many many times.
Love.

The rings

The bottom piece is silver from Beautiful Things By at Beecroft. This si the first time you have seen this. Its an oval sitting on top of a circle. Your finger goes into the circle, so the oval just sits on top saying "hello" to the world. 

The top piece is stainless steel. I have worn this before.

The shoes

The Car Shoe black patent flats. Comfy & stylish.

See you tomorrow. 

What I Wore: Preppy in primary colours

Another casual day.

The sweater

A Trenery navy & grey stripe with grey sleeves.
100% wool. Under $100.

The top

A Coles Mix navy tee for $2.

The jewellery

Left to right:

Bottega Veneta intercaccio bangle from ebayland.
Three Bottega intercaccio rings
A black wood & sterling chunky ring.
A Isabel Marant grey pear drop necklace from the Frock Exchange for $95.
A bunch of bracelets, not too expensive.

The bag

A Benetton school bag which I wear cross body but can also be hooked up backpack style. In red, blue & green.

I bought this in 1993 and that's all I remember about the purchase. I have actually been trying to sell it, but i think it worked the preppy angle of this outfit quite well.

It has loads of room for my kitchen sink and all its contents.

The jeans

My cheapie $20 wide legged jeans which I roll up & wear boyfriend style.

The shoes

My YSL navy patent wedges. 

See you tomorrow.