The Updated Wardrobe List

I have been madly scribbling away in my carnet du style in all the different tabbed areas – especially the Wishes/Gifts tab. There are a lot of things I will never own written in there in there now (exhibit a: a Celine Duo-Coloured Micro Luggage Bag) but there are other things too, both sensible and not so sensible.


For example, I have an intense inexplicable desire for a denim shirt. Which, admittedly, is odd for a girl who lives in her jeans and avoids the whole Canadian tuxedo/denim onesy look like the plague. I am loath to invest in a denim shirt because I think it ultimately boils down to a ‘trend’ item and I am way to old for that whole dumpster-chic thing that all the people wearing the aforementioned shirt around my town seem to have going on. I am also not a waif – far from it in the chest department – so I am wary of resembling some sort of cowgirl-hooker as I am also blonde and have a penchant for a bright pink lip. So, alas, I think this is one item I think I will have to consign to the style scrapheap. Sigh. On the other hand I spotted a lovely khaki silk shirt that fits well with my colour scheme and I am still on the look out for the perfect pale blue linen shirt. Any ideas?

source: style scrapbook

Time for a quick list update as it is now completed for Autumn:
-leather skirt
-leather shorts
-black loafers
-long sleeve Breton tops
-taupe suede booties

source: country road

The suede boots were admittedly a total impulse buy. There is no way around it. I walked in, they were on sale for one night only – I hate sales like that as they force you into either instant purchase or lengthy regret – I tried them on and when they fit like a glove I bought them. My justification is that I don’t have any dressy boots that I can throw on with pants or a skirt for a night out. I have the ubiquitous black knee-highs but they are off to eBay soon because they are just so not me. On any level. I love them on others but am way more comfortable in my short charcoal suede biker boots and, now, my taupe suede booties. While, after much consideration, I thought that I would make my very first designer shoe purchase and buy Marant’s Dicker boots, my long consideration and elephantine shoe size meant that they were all sold out. Sigh. But help was here in the form of a local brand who does lovely all-leather shoes and who have done their own version – albeit slightly less cowboy-esque, a good thing in light of my above revelation. So, long live the boots.


For the record, in the staples department I have bought:
-pale blue legging jeans
-dark skinnies (that I am going to crop to the perfect length)
-white cotton tee
-gray marle cotton tee
All of which were insanely cheap for the quality and all were bought in Singapore.


How are everyone’s seasonal shopping lists going?

Holiday Hangover

Hello, everyone, apologies for the slight hiatus, I have been in Singapore visiting my brother and I am officially in love. With the country that is, not my brother. That would be weird. Ha. So I spent a week doing the following things:
Eating.

Fois Gras Sandwiches at TWG

Fish Head Curry at The Banana Leaf Apolo

Drinking.

'Traditional' Tiger Beer at Any Random Street Corner

Chocolate Martini with Gold Dust and Chocolate Balls at the Swissotel

Getting Free Upgrades.

Our one night at Marina Bay we got upgraded to a suite with a giant marble bathroom and two (!!) living rooms. This was taken at breakfast time by the rooftop infinity pool.

Having My Feet Chewed By “Doctor Fish”.

I can't decide whether I loved it or hated it. But this is the leased blurred shot I could get as after this I was mobbed by fish and squirming so much they are all really blurry.

It was absolutely brilliant and Singapore now rates highest on my list of places I would love to live. (I still adore Paris but there is the whole language barrier thing.) I am very bummed to be back at work actually.


I managed to avoid any impulse buys, although there was a terrible lapse in my judgment when I decided that it was a good idea to go shopping in Zara after a seafood buffet (mmmmm… snow crabs) with free-flowing champagne (it was Mumm. We drank six bottles). All I can say is thank god for tiny Asian sizing because I walked out empty handed. Phew, that could have gotten UGLY!


I did, however, replace some jeans and basic tees that have worn out and bought 4 metres of the most amazing Japanese silk in black and royal purple for a teeny S$24. Although my favourite purchase is this: a Moleskine Passions Notebook to help me organise my wardrobe even better.

Which I hilarious considering my passion is actually for notebooks… but they don’t make a notebook about notebooks just yet.


And as an even better surprise I came home to this post on my favourite blog. I am supremely chuffed to win, especially since some of the other comments sounded like truly divine smells. I’m still waiting for mine to be bottled so I can wear it every day.


How was everyone else’s Easter break… if you had one?

Wardrobe 101

 In an effort to organise my rapidly-descending-into-chaos wardrobe I have been busily dividing it into two sections: classics and trends. These are then divided by item type. Can you tell I’m a Virgo? Depending on my passion for a particular garment these can be very large or very small selections. 

By far the biggest is my blazer section. Given my uniform of skinny jeans, white tees and heels/boots/ballets (depending on the weather and/or occasion), I find my blazers are indispensible when it comes to dressing up an outfit and adding some interest. Given the neutral colours of most of my collection I will also team them with a bright silky scarf.

The scarves are an interesting feature of my wardrobe. I used to be a necklace girl. I was never seen without at least one or two brightly beaded necklaces and often contrasting bangles too. But three or four years ago I suddenly segued into scarves – brights, patterns, scenes, you name it I have it – and I wear them like jewellery to add colour to my outfits. Now, if my friends see me without a scarf they get worried that something is terribly wrong. Although I still have all my beads, I really need to sell them because they are packed away in a box and never ever used.

So, anyway, the pic shows my blazers. The camel and the check are new additions, both from Zara. The camel is ‘inspired’, shall we say, by Stella McCartney-style tailoring, while the check satisfies my urge to dress like a modern-day Laird in cream trousers, white shirt, said blazer, wellies and a silver stag’s head brooch. (I often wonder which fashion planet I was actually born on – my parents’ love of period BBC dramas seems to have had an interesting effect on my sartorial development.)

The jacaranda-coloured blazer is a lightweight summery one that comes out when I feel the need to be bright and cheerful. I also have an electric pink pin-stripe one that I forgot to photograph. It is eye searing-ly bright and only comes out if I am having a particularly good hair day because it is a serious “look-at-me” colour. It is still on the maybe list for eBay. We’ll see how it goes.

Is there a particular item of clothing that seems to collect in your wardrobe or is it just me?

Leather Shorts as Work Wear

I never thought that I would ever have the courage to walk out of the house in leather shorts let alone rock them at work, but in this weird hot/cold and sunny/rainy weather we've been suffering I've found my DIY'd shorts indispensable, along with my faux-leather ra-ra skirt. I'm lucky in that my job doesn't come with a dress code, I just need to look neat and presentable... although a few time the publisher has looked at me funny (she would raise an eyebrow but her latest round of botox/eye-lift has pretty much nixed that option from her repertoire.)


Today my inspiration is from an editorial in Turkish Elle of all places - I will post a pic on my inspiration board soon - but I added black tights because it is starting to get cold in the mornings. The jacket is Zara and has awesome suede elbow patches. I feel very Doctor Who ;)

 "French girls still have the Jane Birkin culture. You can go just like that, without makeup, without managing your hair."

Emanuelle Alt
via hatsofftothezebras.tumblr.com

image source: globaldesignstudies.blogspot.com

An Announcement

I have an announcement to make – in case the title didn’t clue you in – I am now a very proud aunt to my second niece :) The new little treasure was born to my oldest brother and his wife yesterday morning and I cannot tell you how excited I am.

I am very much looking forward to making her as vain about her appearance and as style-conscious as I am ;) My sister-in-law has already blamed me for their three-year-old daughter’s love of clothes and accessories. Too cute. But now I am feeling the pressure to be the cool young aunt who is super stylish ;) …I am already planning to kidnap them when they are a little older and take them to Paris.
 

Anyway, above is the outfit I am wearing to celebrate my new status as an aunt of two – still rocking the bright lip/nail combo hence the subdued colour palate. The top is one of the ones I picked up in the aforementioned shopping mission. I found it in the old lady section of my favourite department store. It’s just their house brand but it is a good quality comfy cotton top. Tick new wardrobe essential.

Ditto on the Obsession

Despite lusting after this particular beauty trend for a few years - it seems to be one of those very cyclical trends that are declared new again every time - I was finally inspired by the lovely 312 to give it a go. Needless to say I instantly fell in love. It actually goes quite well with my almost monochromatic wardrobe and is a nicely summery touch to my outfits - a good match for our unseasonably warm April weather.


I went a little crazy with the matching nails, something I do rarely, but I had just  rediscovered this pot of colour in my drawer and it was a perfect match for my new Mac 'Girl About Town' lippie.


I think I'm in love.

please excuse the dodgy setting/weird claw hand/bad light

A Bout Du Rêve

I wish I was in Paris.


I wish I was watching life on the Boulevard Saint Germaine pass me by from my favourite vantage point at the front of Le Deux Magots, sipping on a hot chocolate and scribbling in my Moleskine.


This is what I was doing in January and I would give anything to be there again.


image source: corbisimages.com