Daily Outfit: Julep

I have been craving a Mint Julep since I purchased this gingham blazer, which is actually a whole suit, in November of last year. There is something so Southern Gentleman feeling about the garment that I find myself worrying that the acquisition of this is just the latest step in my evolution into Colonel Sanders (The KFC guy – I feel old having to explain that). This is probably why the blazer has not got a lot of wear since I purchased it. I really wanted to pair the navy with a pop of bright orange today, to really play the colours off one another.

Daily Outfit: After Gianni

I have a turbulent love/hate relationship with the designs of Gianni Versace. I think it started when I was in early high school and I was only starting to appreciate fashion. I believed that Versace was pronounced ‘Ver-sah-chae’, and was subsequently humiliated when it was publically corrected. This theme was continued later in life when a Versace-obsessed ex-boyfriend of mine disappeared from my life, leaving me heartbroken and hateful. Versace became a symbol of my ex, and for years I vehemently loathed the house of Versace.

Daily Outfit: Seersuckered In

Today’s ensemble is an exercise in persistence.

A year or two back I purchased a blue and white seersucker blazer from a Church Fete I was attending with my mother and grandmother. I saw it on the rack amidst hundreds of sad old faux tweeds, and fell in love instantly. My best friend Mags, not so much. Like several other items of my clothing (A skull-print singlet, a coral bomber jacket), she exhibited an instantaneous and almost violent dislike to the blazer. 

In hindsight I can’t blame her really. It was, I’m fairly certain, a women’s jacket, which fit me poorly, and which I styled horribly. There were also several items in her wardrobe which I was less than delicate about (my apologies, Mags).

More recently I replaced the original Jacket with a blazer from Etsy. I was adamant that I needed a blue and white seersucker blazer to complete my wardrobe. Mags inspected this new blazer and gave it a begrudged nod of approval, however, I never truly believed that she approved. As such, I have not worn this blazer since buying it.That is, until I decided to wear it today with the following:

Blue and white seersucker blazer – Meeting Street, Etsy
Orange wool vest – Etsy
Blue and white checked shirt – T.M. Lewin, Thrifted
Black resin and silver Medusa head cufflinks – Versace, ebay
Brown leather belt – Country Road
Lightly distressed ARC jeans – G-Star
Brown leather Shoes with crosshatch detail – Raphael Steffens

I was skeptical as I was getting dressed this morning that this ensemble would work. I was convinced that it wouldn't. However, when I was dressed and standing in front of the mirror, I suddenly felt that not only was the ensemble working, but that the blazer was in fact, somehow tying all the elements together. I’m giving the ensemble a 9/10. I’m not sure Mags would approve though.

Daily Outfit: Rinse Cycle

I had a fairly hectic weekend, between working Friday and Saturday nights, making the Boyfriend’s prehistoric birthday cake, having his folks over and going out for Yum Cha– there was just never any time to get things like laundry done. As such, when I pulled out my outfit planner this morning I realised that 40% of what I had planned to wear was in the wash!

This actually worked out in my favour, however, as the outfit I had planned was not really one of my best, and while what I actually wore today isn’t going to knock any Sartorial socks off; it is comfortable and something that I feel that I look fairly good in. This made my transition from weekend to working-week that much more bearable. It’s also a little relaxed, which I could do with a dose of for this week.

Birthday Love:

Today is my boyfriend's birthday.

 



 

Being the gooey romantic that I am, I wanted to make some small token of my affections here on the Blog. This shitty collage doesn't even remotely my feelings justice. He is the sinceerest, sweetest man on the planet, and every day the life that we share together brings me an endless source of joy. I couldn't be happier.

 

So happy birthday Sexy Panda - I love you.

 

 

Xx

 

P.S. If two dudes kissing and being happy groses you out, go eat a dick! It's 2012!

Daily Outfit: Business Casual

Business Casual is a funny term. It is, according to the ever reliable Wikkipedia, the most common form of dress required by workplaces in America. It’s also highly open to interpretation. I’ve often thought that I slot easily into the Business Casual slot, because I wear jeans to work almost every day. However, I’ve been reading up on Business Casual in preparation for a thorough wardrobe overhaul, and I’m starting to feel somewhat of a square peg in a round hole.

It seems that affectations of a Business or Corportae wardrobe, such as neckties and blazers, are placed towards ‘Overdressed’ on the spectrum of Business Casual, and items like cufflinks, collar-stays and tie-tacks and bars are completely off the scale all together. It seems that I am something of an anomaly – a hybrid of Business and Casual, but closer on the spectrum of Business.

Proof is in the Plaid:

This morning I unintentionally broke my own rule about dressing up to face Monday looking your best. I had planned the ensemble two weeks prior, and forgotten about it until I opened my little book of ensembles and put it all together. It definitely isn’t one of my best. I’ve given it a 5/10.

Tangerine Dream:

These orange ‘Andrew Pant’ Chinos by Polo really seem to divide people. They either love the colour, or they hate it. No one gets around to discussing the shade of orange (dull tangerine to bright peach, they seem to change), or whether the pleating at the front works for or against my body shape (I’m thinking against); or even whether I should be shot for walking around with exposed hemmed cuffs! Everyone is stuck on loving or hating the colour.

Lobster Diaries:

The Lobster is sort of my spirit animal. I’ve come to realise this over time – mostly because of the ridiculously intense reaction I have to anything Lobster related. I mean, when I saw these Pants for example, I literally screamed “MINE!” and spent two days earning my boss’s ire by staring at the eBay window, making sure no-one outbid me. I did a much similar thing with the Necktie (of which I now own three...). I don’t really have a ‘reason’: I love eating Lobster and I love them as a creature as well. I just really like Lobsters.

Orange Monday:

I knew that I would be walking into a mammoth day at work, and being a Monday, I wanted to face the week looking a bit sharper. I have been loving the colour orange lately - and this Shirt that I snapped up at the Polo Outlet store in Homebush is probably my favourite orange thing in my wardrobe right now. Not only is it orange, but it has a button-down collar, and is checked. Win, win and win! I really liked having a pop of bright colour in my outfit as well - it really livened the whole look up.

For this Monday morning I'm wearing:
blue felted wool Puffer Jacket – Country Road
orange and white check Shirt – Polo Ralph Lauren, DFO Outlet Homebush
navy silk Necktie embroidered with footballers – Lands End, thrifted
brown leather Belt – Country Road
slightly distressed relaxed fit ARC Jeans – G-Star Raw
brown leather Shoes with lattice detailing – Raphael Steffens

I'm not sure that everyone would agree - but I've given today's ensemble an 8/10 in the rating system that I am using for my own entertainment (as you do). This ensemble was comfortable all day, practical, and featured my favourite colours heavily. I'm in week 8 this week - and I think after week 10 I might feature a week of my highest-rated ensembles so far. I'm keen to see if anyone agrees with me :p

Xx

Daily Outfit: Rule-breaker

Rules are important. I'm a bit of a stick in the mud at the best of times; but when it comes to clothes and how I dress I really do believe that there are rules that should be followed if you want to look well put together. I'm not saying I always follow these rules - hell, if I'd been posting in April this year you would all be asking "Are you shitting me with this? You basically wore pajamas to work!"

Daily Outfit: Bow-Tied Up in Knots

I am mortified to admit that I do not know how to tie a Bow-Tie, and that all the Bow-Ties that I own are the cheat sort where they are already tied and all you have to do is hook them together. It's sartorially equivalent to admitting you walk around with a sock in your Y-fronts or tissues in your bra. I think that especially given my age (twenty-seven come December 30) - I should own and be able to tie a Bow-Tie by now.

Daily Outfit: Monday Morning Alchemy



Monday’s are hard. The alchemic laws of equivalent exchange are at play, and if you don’t get things right, the consequences will be dire. Monday sets up the way that the rest of the week is going to go down: A shitty Monday filled with niggling little chores and duties, strained interactions with colleagues, and braved in a crumpled and dirty shirt; will buy you a week of much the same. I know this through hard-won experience of the fact. What you put in on a Monday is what you get back for the rest of the week.

Daily Outfit: Sunday Cinema

Today I had a date with Mags for lunch and viewing The Dark Knight Rises. It is honestly the first time I have been to see a movie before 7:30 PM in... God, it's been so long I can't even tell you! It is a whole other world.

Competition: Cocktails and Dressing Well

Creating a good cocktail and creating a good ensemble are a very similar process when you think about it. In each instance the basic idea is to take a collection of separate parts in different quantities, blend together and present artfully, in order to create an appealing, unified whole. And, in both instances, those that are able to do so are lauded socially as possessing a marvellous talent. Think about it. Bar Tenders and Stylists – who doesn’t want either of those as a friend? Or cocktails and great style – who is turning down either of those?

My best friend and I love a good cocktail and any opportunity to dress up, and we have been planning a trip to Melbourne for a little while now to indulge in both.