getting weird looks is an everyday (off) thing for me.

When you're forced to wear black all the time for work, it can get a little boring. That's not to say I don't play around with my work-drobe a bit (I play with texture, shapes & accessories to keep things as interesting and as far away from depressing as possible). But let me tell you, when a day off comes 'round, it usually takes me twice as long now as it used to (which was already preeettty damn long) to get ready. I become so giddy at the prospect of being able to finally get to don new purchases I'd made during the week that I'll often spend hours putting outfits together, days in advance. I even get a strange little pang of guilt for wearing black outside of work hours (which sometimes is difficult to escape...c'mon, every girl knows the versatility of black, whether it be shorts or tights, or heels or an LBD) because it feels like a waste of precious colour-wearing time.

Anywho, on my days off, I like to indulge a little. Go a little crazy with pieces and colours and shapes and fabrics (and heights) I don't usually get to wear. This sometimes means that I'm in jeans/cargos/shorts and a t-shirt. But more often than not, it means that I'm in something that I absolutely love but:
- may be a tad overdressed for what I'm doing (usually just lazing around watching tv with the bf, going to eat, or shopping)

- gets me a lot of strange looks from people I walk by

- one or more of my siblings make a joke about/cringe at.


Today's outfit was one of these. I LOVED it. I loved the way it looked, and I loved the way it felt. I'm pretty sure there was really only one particular part of it that pushed it into the realms of strangeness; that made me feel the slightest bit self-conscious: the hat. I'd been searching for a cute felt hat for a while now, having fallen in love with the many I'd seen gracing the pages of glossy magazines (I'm such a sucker). And I finally found this adorable one in Sportsgirl, on sale for $20! I don't care how many people pull faces at me or make jokes about it - I love it, and will continue wearing it long into the season :)

Pee Ess. I also love my new wide leg pants from Dotti. So chic, & sooooo comfy!

Knit by ROSEBULLET, $10; Tank (worn underneath) from SUPRE; Trousers from DOTTI, $19.95 down from $79.95; Shoes from by TONY BIANCO, $60 down from $200; Hat from SPORTSGIRL, $19.95 down from $39.95; Bag from FOREVER NEW, $59.99.

And then it got a tad chilly so I chucked on this Cardigan ($19.50 down from $39 from FORCAST), and added a necklace ($5 down from $19.95 from DIVA).

goin' gaga

Hello there! Why yes, I've missed you too!

I'm sorry I'm hardly around anymore, it's a busy time of year for me. I think of you all the time though, I promise.

It's a Monday night and I'm still recovering from last weekend's birthday celebrations. Every year, as my birthday approaches I step up my shopping game as I begin the hunt for the perfect dress. Some years I find it, others I've settled. Last year I had my heart set on a red dress. I had this picture in my head of a siren-red body con dress that would hug all the right figures, and just scream sex. I never found that dress (there were NO red dresses around until AFTER my birthday, when they popped up in virtually every store I walked into, sigh). I settled for a pink dress I had bought a while back but had never worn. And it made me die a little inside. lol

It was then that I vowed to start looking for my next bday dress (NBD) early. For a while I became obsessed with red dresses, with a small collection of six or so accumulating in my wardrobe as possibilities for NBDs. Lots happens in a year though, and the idea of wearing red on my birthday became less and less appealing as this year's celebrations grew closer (namely the fact that every second fb birthday album I looked at starred a stunning, semi-drunk birthday girl in a red dress).

I love following trends, but at the same time I hate looking like everyone else. I like to stand out; I like to be different.

So when I saw Lea Michelle on the cover of Shop Til You Drop in this long sleeve, fully gold sequin dress, I knew it was the one.

With the help of a friend (may I say, one I thought unlikely to be able to help with such matters), I managed to find out who this dress was by: Balmain. And apparently it had graced over 7 magazine covers, globally. Whoops, I guess I'm a bit behind in my reading haha. And it came with the ridiculously insane $34,000 price tag. Yes. $34K. Like, a car. Or a house deposit. And just like that, it went from being the one, to being wayyyyy out of my league.

I hunted for weeks in shopping centres, and trawled countless online boutiques for something even remotely similar, but all I got was boring sequin shifts, and tacky, cheap, too-bright-gold tarty little numbers.

And then, late one night, whilst sifting through what felt like hundreds of pages on ebay I found it: a cheap knock off of the Balmain gold sequin dress, from a dodgey asian seller. The shoulders were a bit more gaga-esque, and the sequins looked obviously more budget - but for the $33,920 price difference, I was willing to let that slide. I wasn't sure if it'd be completely hideous when I saw it in person, but being the closest I could find to what my heart desired, I took the plunge and clicked 'buy it now'. And I'll tell ya, when I finally had it in my hands, I didn't regret it at all (what I did regret though is not reading the measurements carefully enough to realise how short it was - the seller gave the option of having it lengthened but I was careless...I ended up having to wear it as more of a long top with cuffed shorts than a dress). Teamed with some cheap look-a-likes of Christian Louboutin's Bianca Heel, I certainly felt a million bucks in this outfit, despite spending a whole lot less. Sooooo gaga.

Dress, $79 including postage from Ebay; Shorts, $10 down from $40 from Cotton On; Belt, $2 down from $15 from Rubi; Heels, $40 down from $60 from Spend-less shoes.

something different.

So if you've followed this blog for a while, then you've heard me ramble on about being a sucker for a lot of things - I'm a sucker for sequins, a sucker for lace, a sucker for red dresses, for high waist pants, for oversized bags, for chunky accessories, for tan-coloured shoes (actually, for ANY-coloured shoes)...I talk (or rather, write) lots about being broke from spending my pay on more clothes or shoes or accessories, that I convince myself that I need.

Tonight I'm going to be showing you something a little different. You see, I went to the shops today (obviously nothing new there) but I didn't come home with any new dresses or wedges or sparkly necklaces for you to see. I do have one thing to show you though:

This is Duk. Today I bought him some happiness. I don't think even the perfect pair of pumps could top that :)

I may be a sucker for a lot of things, but one of my biggest soft spots has got to be charities. Particularly ones that help the kids. I now donate to four separate charities on a monthly basis, despite only being a casual sales assistant & a part time student. I try so desperately to avoid talking to charity people because I know as soon as I make eye contact, it's all over. My boyfriend always yells at me about it. 'You complain about having no money and then you go and sign up to another charity...Just say no next time!'

I wish I could be one of those people who just keeps walking, but I just can't do it. But c'mon...just look at those big eyes...who could say no to those!?

Oh well, I was just gonna spend that money on shoes that I don't need anyway, right?

homer simpson's muumuu.

A few weeks ago I dragged my uni mate (a 21 year old male, with no appreciation for clothes or shoes or artsy stuff or you know, culture) to Glebe markets, after my last exam for the semester. It was only a short visit, but as usual, it didn't disappoint, with a haul of two vintage tops (one of which was a double french cuffed mens dress shirt that I picked up for a bargain $5), two vintage leather jackets (for an unbelievable $10 each! - though I did give one of these away to a friend), and last, but not least, an amazing batwing floral print maxi dress, again for only $10.

Now I loved this dress as soon as I saw it. But there was that little nagging voice in the back of my head telling me that not everyone would see it in the same light. I held it up against myself and turned to my friend, asking if it looked too 'nanna'. He pulled a face, and nodded, adding 'and kind of weird...' I just shrugged it off and put it down to him having no sense of style.

Later that afternoon, I met up with some girlfriends, and showed off my new purchases. While they were fairly impressed by the tops, and very impressed by the leather jackets, the dress didn't quite get the same reaction (think initial silence, followed by roaring laughter). It went a little like this:

'Do you remember that episode of The Simpsons when Homer gets really fat?' my best friend said to me, '...yeah, well it looks like that dress thing he wears!'

'You mean his muumuu?'

'YEAH! IT LOOKS LIKE HOMER SIMPSON'S MUUMUU!! aaaaaaaahhahhaAHahhahahahHAhaHAHAHahahAHAhAHahahhaa'


I told her I didn't care what she said- I'd make it work. All it needed was a thick, tan, high waisted belt and loose curls. And today, I'm just gonna go right out there and say I rocked it. Lookout kids, the muumuu look is back...

Homer Simpson's muumuu

Vintage dress, $10 from Glebe markets; Shoes, $60 (down from $200) from Wanted Shoes, Belt, $7.50 (down from $15) from Supre; Bag, $30 (down from $90), Urban Originals from Trade Secret; Sunglasses, $2 (down from $20) Ring, $5 (down from $13), Bangle, $2 (down from $10), and Charity Bracelet, $1, from Rubi Shoes.

Bargain accessory buys: vintage look sunnies ($2), Bangle (reads: 'There is no way to peace. Peace is the way'; $2), and peace sign charity bracelet ($1), all from Rubi Shoes.

Inspiration

I randomly bumped into some old friends on Thursday night, whilst ducking into a local Thai restaurant for some takeaway. I was on my way to a drive in movie with my boyfriend, not expecting to see anyone else that I knew, and thus, wasn't exactly looking my best. I mean, I wasn't exactly in trackies (thank god I rethought those!), but I was quite oddly dressed - think, a pleated men's shirt, requiring cufflinks, wet look tights, brogue booties & red lips. Okay, it might not sound that bad, but definitely not my best. So while it was a pleasant surprise to see my friends, they caught me off guard which got me flustered, and when I get flustered, I sweat. Which then makes my fringe stick to my face. Which in turn makes me MORE flustered. It didn't exactly help that the two other girls at the table were beautifully dressed. I apologized profusely for looking like a 'hobo'. In retrospect, that was a poor choice of words. It was more 'manly' or 'odd' than 'hobo'. Anywho, I digress. One of my friends was wearing a black maxi with a thin loose knit, gladiator sandals, & chunky accessories. And I couldn't stop gushing about how much I loved what she was wearing.

I really did love it. So much so that I took inspiration from it today when I got dressed (of course with my own spin that not everyone will understand)...

Loose knit top, $25 from @Topshop; Black singlet (worn underneath) $4 from Tightrope; Maxi skirt, $19.95 from ValleyGirl; Socks, $2 from Rubi, Heeled loafers, $45 from Zu; Sunnies, $2 from Rubi; Bangles, $3 each, and ring, $5 from Lovisa.

ebayyyyy

Another shameless plug. I've got a load of stuff listed, with more listings scheduled for tomorrow night - bid away here kids!

red.

I picked up this dress a few months ago whilst on a vintage spending spree at St Vinnies. And by spending spree, I mean my total three massive sacks of clothes & bags came up to $85. Hooray for cheap thrills! What I really love about op shops is that you can find some really amazing pieces, with loads of character...minus all the snootiness (not to mention ridiculously marked-up prices) of vintage boutiques. My cousins don't know how I do it - one has a fear of wearing clothes that could potentially have belonged to a dead person. I don't know why that matters, because it's not like they're gonna want it back or anything. Or maybe they will and I'll have spirits following me (but they can follow all they want because I'm not giving anything up without a fight!)

Anywho, away from that strange tangent. I love red. I love it's vibrancy. I love that it oozes sexiness. I love that it draws everyone's gaze as soon as it enters a room. I love the way it makes me feel. So naturally, I fell in love with this dress as soon as I lay eyes on it - sure it had a very 80's-90's feel to it; sure it was a few sizes too big for me; sure the hemline sat at that weird length that made me look short and frumpy - but I loved it, and I believed, with a few minor tweaks & a trip to the tailor, we could make magic happen, me and it.

Oh yes, being the epic procrastinator that I am, I still haven't made it to a tailor, but I clipped it back and took these photos just so you could get an idea (like a month ago, and only got around to blogging it now haha). The lady ended up giving it to me for $7.50 instead of the $15 marked because I'd bought so much stuff. I felt a little guilty about accepting discounts from an op shop, but thanked her kindly and tottered away with my bags of loot.