BeautyGoddess

Showing posts with label day outfit. Show all posts

Tuesday 23 January 2024

SUMMER ESSENTIALS - HOW I STYLED LINEN SKIRT TWO WAYS

Hello, my dear friends, how is 2024 treating you so far?

We have been quite busy over the festive season as I am sure so was everyone else. Our social calendars are fully booked with various events and activities It's traditionally the time when you catch up with your friends to have that last meal before the year ends; It's the time when a lot family and friends get-togethers are happening as travelling, partying and generally having a time with no care in the world.

We didn't do a lot of travelling per se but we did a lot of driving around Sydney and surrounds showcasing how beautiful our city is to my cousins from Germany. And of course there was a lot of eating, drinking, talking and basking in the warmth of being a part of a loving family.

So as you can imagine, I didn't have much time to partake in the craziness aka as Black Friday Sale nor in the days that followed BFS. I did, however, manage to pop into Zara and buy an A-line wrap-around skirt that am wearing a lot this summer.

I initially was attracted by the untraditional pattern of the tie-dye. The A-line silhouette is very simple and flattering, the fabric is light and even if it creases a lot, hey it's linen and it's what expected from it, right?

My initial thoughts were to add it to my casual clothes section of the closet as linen is normally associated with the care-free life style and I really like wearing it with just a simple white t-shirt and sandals. On the second thought, with the help of right accessories I can smarten it up into the next level. Whenever I buy a new piece of clothing, I always picture the different ways it can be styled and the more of them, the happier I am. And soon I had the opportunity to do just that.

One sunny Saturday, we were taking our abovementioned German cousins to un upmarket Italian eatery called Trattoria or as local call it Tratt for a Saturday lunch. The restaurants sits right across the road from the famous Bondi Beach and offers a breathtaking view over the ocean glistening under the summer sun, surf and tanned and toned sunbathers sprawled on the white sandy beach. The restaurant is a destination and is highly popular amongst locals and visitors alike. Although it's within walking distance to the beach, you will never see anyone wearing bikinis or board shorts there. People make the effort of dressing up for the occasion as the Italians do.

I was thinking of wearing my new linen skirt (so Italian) but dressed it up for the occasion with the assistance of heeled sandals, a statement necklace and a "new" handbag.

You have seen me wearing these shoes from Alohas before, same goes for the necklace. As for the hand bag, it was my first foray into buying anything second hand. I saw it in in the window of our local pawn shop shining so brightly that it was hard to miss. I went inside and ask the shop owner if I can have a closer look. Turns out it was made by Italian brand called Pinko and a lovebirds buckle is their official trademark. This and a heavy white metal chain were the features that I really like about this bag. It was hugely discounted as the second hand item should be and I bought it without any hesitation and it is now on a high rotation.

Quite satisfied with the result, I quickly grabbed a silk colourful scarf (one can never predict the wind factor when you are near the ocean) and headed for the door.

What do you think of this transformation? How would you jazz up your casual outfit? I enjoy reading your comments and suggestions so lease share your thoughts in a comment section below.

Until then

Anna

xoxoxo

Thursday 2 April 2020

ME AND MY DUNGAREES

Hello everyone,

How are you keeping? Are you well stocked with food and activities that will help to see you through this madness and come out on the other side unscathed?

Although you have seen me wearing these dungarees on Instagram, thank you for your "likes" and comments, but I didn't actually publicise them on my blog. Then I thought that while the most of us are in a locked home without much to do, why not open a discussion to find your opinion about whether women of a certain vintage, like myself, should wear dungarees in public?

This past summer the dungarees were hugely popular in Australia among young and not so young women and I thought they look cute but I never contemplated the thought of going into a shop and buying a pair for myself. Somewhere in my head I always associated them with Tom Sawyer's look, a cheeky little boy the adventures of whom were so hilariously written about by the great American writer, Mark Twain.

I did a little research about the origin of dungarees and here is an interesting fact: the first mention of dungaree occurred in the 17th century and it was referred to a cheap, thick, coarse cloth, usually coloured blue or white and "worn by impoverished people in what was then a region of Bombay, India a dockside village called Dongri. Hindi name of this cloth was “dungri”. Dungri was exported to England and used for manufacturing of cheap, robust working clothes. English began to call “dungri” cloth a little differently, and it became “dungaree”. Everyone who needed clothes for hard work that would not tear after a short time, from workers to slaves, began to wear dungarees".

Who would've thought that 400 years later they would become a fashion statement? I bought mine in Cape Town last year on a total whim. My husband and I were in the CBD for business and on our way back to the car passed a nice looking shop called "Just Cruizin". A quick look through the big store window confirmed my first impression about it and we pressed the buzzer, which is a common practice in South Africa, to let us in. As it happened, a sales assistant, nice lady of a similar age to mine, was wearing a pair of dungarees in deep indigo. She was all smiles and very helpful and when I asked how she feels about them, she just smiled and said "Fantastic".

It was then that I decided to give them a try. I normally don't like baggy shapeless garments, even my casual clothes have to be well constructed but when I put the dungarees on, I felt liberated like I had not a care in the world. Looking around the shop, I noticed that all the garments were made of high quality cotton but cost far less then the price that I would pay for it in Sydney so I continued shopping. A blue wrap-around blouse, a pair of earrings and a cocktail ring and a pair of dungarees, of course, all found their way into my shopping bag.

The first occasion that I wore my new dungarees came the next day, when my husband and I took a drive to Stellenbosch, a picturesque small town just about 40 minutes drive from Cape Town surrounded by beautiful vineyards and the mountains nature reserved. Our destination was Vergenoegd Wine Estate, well known not only for their wines but also for the daily parade of over 2,000 Indian Ducks that is well know all over South Africa and attracts a lot of visitors.

They called Runner Ducks because they stand upright like penguins and instead of waddling, the ducks run. The show takes place three times daily and it was a lot of fun watching those ducks, running along the path, aided by the vineyard's staff. I was pleased that I was dressed for the occasion 😎

Back in Sydney, I grew to like my dungarees so much that they become my "go to" casual outfit. I saw some girls wear them with just a small tank top underneath but you have to draw the line somewhere and that's where I drew mine. My two most favourite ways to wear them is either with a plain white t-shirt or with white and dark navy stripes top and a pair of sneakers.

Here is my question to you my dear friends: "Would you wear a pair of dungarees and if not, what would be the reason"?

Please share your thoughts

Until then

Anna

xoxo

Sunday 12 January 2020

HOW I WORE RED STRIPY CROPPED PANTS

Happy New Year, dear friends.
It has hardly been more than two weeks since we welcomed in 2020 but it already feels like an eternity, wouldn't you agree?

Having had a lot of free time on my hands during the Christmas break, I took an honest inventory of my wardrobe and concluded that at this moment in my life I don't need any more clothes and therefore should stay away from all those crazy sales bonanzas temptations. What we needed was new furniture for out dining room, so while most of the people were hunting for discount clothes and shoes, so while most people where hunting for clothes bargains over Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Boxing Day sales, we went to look for a new dining table and chairs but not necessarily for the two of them together.

Funnily enough, a couple of months ago we came to the realisation that the leather on our dining chairs has worn out beyond repair and it was high time to say goodbye to them and went to look for new ones. It took us quite some time to find the chairs that we liked but when we finally found and bought them, turned out that due to their elaborate style, their size by far exceeded the parameters of our dining table. Lesson learned: measure the item before you buy it and not after 😃. Luckily, we fairly quickly sold them on-line and armed with the measurements, started all over again. This time the chairs that we chose were quite the opposite, lightweight classic bentwood style in natural oak.

I liked them until the moment we brought them home and put next to our dining table. The problem is because our table is made from birch wood, it differs from the chairs in colour as well as in the wood grain. It didn't work at all. However, the table was also quite old, and we were contemplating replacing it too, so armed with one of the new chairs, off we went again to find a new table. After looking at a few tables made out of wood, it became clear that it was impossible to match the colour and the grain of the wood. The best solution in a situation like this was instead of trying to find a match, go for an opposite.

At a BoConcept store which specialises in Danish furniture we found exactly what we were looking for: a sleek looking table in black laminate with matte finish and black lacquered legs in total contrast to our light colour chairs, which sales assistance described as "the ultimate piece of minimalistic furniture where it's monochromatic look and clean lines create an elegant frame makes it a perfect table for any home". It will be delivered to our home by the end of January and I will share with you the before and after photos then. I must tell you, I can't wait to have it in my home.

Only once, on my way to the gym, I popped into Zara store next door just for FOMO. There while browsing among heavily loaded racks of clothes, I came across these red stripy pants. I was not going to buy them at first, I just liked the vibe generated by their bright and bold look but when I put them on and looked at myself in a mirror, I was smiling, I had a feeling like I had no cares in the world and with that attitude I walked out of the dressing room straight to the cash register and the rest, as they say, is history. 😍

When one of the main items of your outfit has such a strong presence, the key to making it work, is to chose the other elements in a simpler style, preferably in one solid colour of a lesser intensity, like white or natural so when you put them all together in one look, they would look harmonious and not fight each other for dominance. Today I settled for a simple button down white shirt sleeve blouse, but black or dark navy should work too. When the time came to choose the footwear, I wasn't sure what will work better with these pants, the flat slides or the sneakers and I tried both; the sneakers won hands down.

Outfit details:

Pants and top - Zara

Sneakers - old Converse Chuck Taylor

Sunglasses - Adidas

Tuesday 17 December 2019

MY NEW SANDRO BIKER JACKET

Hello everyone,

I have been on a hunt for a new leather jacket for quite some time but without much success. I've tried heaps of them but because I have quite narrow shoulders, they all look bulky on me around this area. Then, one day while scrolling through the images on my computer screen, I came across a jacket that look so much different to everything I had seen so far that I immediately wanted to have it.

A quick visit to the link revealed that it was made by high fashion French label Sandro and costs a fortune. However, the image of it has been on my mind ever since and every time I thought about this jacket, I wanted it even more.

My only other purchase from this label was my blue and red stars jacket that I bought few years ago but still wear it a lot which draws complements every time I wear, so it was no wonder that I liked the leather one so much 😄. One day I mentioned to my girlfriend how I had found the perfect jacket commenting about its high cost when she suggested that I should check Selfridges of London website.

According to her, everything that she likes on Sandro or simiarly expensive brand, she compares it with Selfridges and it is always much cheaper and that's where she ends up buying her fancy clothes. I don't normally shop and buy on-line, somehow it never looks as good in life as it looks on the screen, besides even if you don't have to pay for the postage on the point of sale, it's always the buyer who pays in case of a return that annoys me a lot. However, I followed her advice and struck gold.

Not only was it the change of seasons period and all the department stores were trying to get rid of the old stock in order to bring in clothes for a new season, but also being an overseas purchaser, I was exempted from VAT which in Britain equates to 20%. Bottom line is - after I paid for the jacket and overseas delivery charges with the exchange rate which is not in the favour of $AU, I ended up paying half of what it would cost me had I chosen to buy it from Sandro. The jacket arrived safely a week later all wrapped up and packed inside a big box and it looked as fabulous as I imagined.

I tried to describe it for you but then I came across a description of it on the net which sound so poetic and says it all that I wanted to share it with you. To be brutally honest, I couldn't have done it better even if I try.

So here it is: "Sandro uses this leather jacket to add a little rock’n’roll to its tailoring tropes. Structuring is a key element in the French label’s design and, like a tailor’s chalk, the raw, tarnished edging highlights these details – the coin pocket here, the thin, buttoned belt loops there, the buckle, the biker collar – taking your eye from point to point."

I can't explain how hugely popular the biker jackets are in Sydney at the moment especially among younger women. Despite the fact that we are in the middle of summer season, they still wear it in the evening over the singlet or a t-shirt or even to the gym over their Lycra tops.

I also wore mine over a t-shirt but paired it with wide legged pants in a black and white houndstooth pattern and a pair of white sneakers that are also extremely trendy right now.

What do you think of it?

Monday 16 July 2018

DOTS, DOTS AND MORE DOTS

Hello everyone, hope all is well with you.

It's still quite cold in Sydney and I am not in the mood for outdoor photos shoots, however last week the weather played nicely and blessed us with a couple of warm days. Not wanting to miss such an opportunity, I put this outfit on and asked my husband to go to Bondi Beach to take some photos.

I spotted (no pun intended) this skirt during the end of financial year sale (in Australia it ends on the 30th of June) but they didn't have my size so I tried to order it on-line. I generally avoid buying clothes and shoes via the internet. I've tried a few times but every time I liked the item and paid for it, for various reasons I was disappointed when it arrived so I had to return it and pay for the postage.

At least, at Zara (their online store) the postage didn't cost me anything and I really liked the skirt so I took a gamble and ordered it. To my great surprise and delight, it fitted perfectly and looked exactly how I imagined it would.

Although it is made of quite light fabric that is more suitable for warmer months , I am planning to wear it all year around, like on the day like today for example, paired with a jumper and ankle boots.

Although a black colour jumper seems like the most obvious choice, I decided to wear this particular jumper because its print resonates with the pattern of the skirt but on a different size scale thus creating a visual story with a sense of fun.

I wanted to keep the black &white colour scheme for the entire outfit including accessories and for this reason selected this black bag in a classic square shape with an elegant slim white strip along the edges.

I must mention the story behind the handbag I am carrying. It belonged to my late mother-in-law who was an avid collector of handbags and gorgeous scarfs (that's why I am quite often seen wearing them). After her passing, my father-in-law wanted to share them among the family members. It was his way of honouring the memory of his beloved wife.

The only thing that I was not mad about is the strap - it was too short and not very attractive. So I decided to improvise. I had a black and white woven belt hanging around so I thought to re-purpose it into a strap. Using the existing fittings, I just replaced the old strap with my newly created one and voila, a totally new bag.

As I mentioned earlier, we took these images at Bondi Beach which, apart from being one of the most famous beaches in the world, has an amazing Graffiti Wall along the promenade.

The images keep changing quite often and even for us who live near by and take a walk along it quite frequently, it is hard to keep up. The graffiti behind me is one of the recent additions and for a total dots effect I couldn't help but to pose in front of it. It is created by the a contemporary Indigenous artist, Zachary Bennet-Brook, the owner of Saltwater Dreamtime, "who has a love for for the ocean and creating artoworks which represent his culture and passions."

Till the next post
Love
Anna
xoxo

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