Excuse the mess

I know this sounds really gross but I've worn the same polka dot blouse 3 times this week. It's just so cute and easily chucked over anything - from cutout dresses to jeans to florals and even block colours. And it's perfect for this in-between weather we've been having, with the right amount of length as to keep the goosebumps away, but thin and lightweight enough to stop excessive amounts of sweat (and anyone who's been shopping with me can attest to how unusually sweaty I can get under even the simplest of circumstances).

I'm just so glad to be able to go out without having to lug a coat around again. And that my legs get to see the sun again. Not that my legs need any sun really, my skins never quite been pasty. And they are often covered in bruises, but that's another story haha.

On sunny days when I'm at work I often complain to customers about it, and ask them why they're not outside enjoying the glorious weather. Today the sun's out to play and I've got the day off...so I'm gonna head out and make the most of it. Yep, I'll probably end up in a shopping centre of some sort haha.

Have a good one guys, and excuse the messy room...I've started to try and sortbout some stuff to get rid of on eBay...

Work

Wow, twice in two days - aren't you kids lucky?! Haha.

Just a quick one to show you today's work outfit. Who said black had to be boring, eh?

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.