Houndstooth

Keeping it short and sweet this time as I temporarily ignore the joys of undergraduate life and the stress of the end of semester (yay for exams, said no one ever). As a distraction to the 12 weeks worth of cramming I need to do, lets talk printed shirts…

Photo Credit: Jude Newton (Facebook) (Instagram) 

Ive mentioned this fixation of mine previously and finding this classic houndstooth print from Shieke was a sign (I believe) that I need to be on the lookout for more. My love for black/white/grey outfits is no secret, and definitely obvious from previous blog posts, however the monotony of monochrome is a problem...this is where prints come in. For a more daring look, try clashing the print of the top to the bottoms, this could be a shirt/pants combo or the ever-popular crop top/midi skirt silhouette, if you keep both pieces in the same colour family with clashing prints, I guarantee you'll be surprised at how beautifully it will work. The white leather jacket is an easy alternative to the typical black and the trusty coated jeans are out again once more.

Jacket: Asos (similar) 

Shirt: Shieke

Coated Jeans: Cotton On

Shoes: Asos

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Happy Shopping!

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The Crop Continued...

My love for high quality, basic wardrobe staples is no secret; versatility and reliability are perhaps my two favourite words when it comes to investment pieces, however, when it comes to trendier purchases, these terms aren’t always applicable. This Zara cropped jumper has proven to be an exception to the rule...

Layered with a T-shirt for uni and now with a printed blouse for a dressier outing, the cropped-jumper trend gets two thumbs up from yours truly, and a whole lot of late nights spent scouring the internet for more (I think I need one in a pastel blue shade...restrain is a highly overrated commodity it seems).

Printed shirts are definitely starting to take over my wardrobe in favour of cotton basics, there's something a little bit more 'grown up' and polished about them, at the ripe old age of 21, I figure it's not a bad time to start building my collection.

Photo Credit: Jude Newton (Facebook) (Instagram)

Cropped Jumper (Zara - In store only)

Leopard Print Blouse (Bardot) (similar - Equipment) 

Jeans (Dr Denim)

Ankle Boots (Jo Mercer)

Bag (Alexander Wang)

Happy Shopping!

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Pastel...

Apologies for the lack of outfit posts lately, miserable weather and the never-ending mountain of uni work has made shooting impossible, however I am back with some more, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed writing them!

One of my biggest downfalls, as far as style is concerned, is my tendency to stick to 'safe' and 'easy' trends; monochrome and black on black are the main offenders-in-question, and I bet I'm not the only one guilty of this. What better way to dip your toes into the world of colour than to give this season's pastel shades a go? These pastel colours are proving to be huge this year, being featured on every item of clothing for AW14 including tailored pants, jumpers and winter coats.

If wearing blush-toned pinks and powder blues seems uncomfortably girly to you, try incorporating them into a more 'grown up' silhouette. I chose a satin camisole for this, but a long sleeved shirt will also work. Avoid cotton T-shirts or long sleeved basic tops in these shades; wearing these could bring back memories of those awkward pre-teen years *cringe*.

Finally, I paired the with some coated jeans from...you'll never guess... Cotton On! I usually like to invest a bit in denim and pants as I seem to prefer these to skirts and dresses for most of the year, my favourites so far are by Lee, Neon Blonde and Bettina Liano. Denim-snob that I am, I normally wouldn't head towards cheaper options, however, Cotton On has really outdone themselves this year and I would highly recommend checking out their coated denim/leather-look range, it is right on the money in terms of style, fit and durability. A long-line white blazer to offset the blue was all that was needed to finish this off, and of course my new bag!

Photo credit: Jude Newton (Facebook) (Instagram)

Blazer: (Forever new - sold out) (similar J. Crew) (similar (Oracle - affordable)

Camisole (Bardot)

Coated Jeans (Cotton On)

Bag (Alexander Wang)

Necklace (Tiffany & Co.)

Shoes (Steve Madden - sold out) (similar Siren) (similar River Island)

Happy Shopping!

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Transitionables

Because a few rainy days was all it took for me to miss Summer and because I spy a few days in the mid-20s coming up despite it being the start of autumn, I thought I'd go ahead and post my last warmer-weather-appropriate outfit(s) for the season...

An important skill that would have saved me hours of stress in the past, is being able to to quickly and easily transition an outfit from day- to evening-appropriate. With long 10-hour uni days, it can be difficult to find the time to run home, change and make it to an event on time so I've learnt a few things through trial-and-error to maximise efficiency and cater to my laziness (changing in a uni bathroom is the last thing I want to do after a full day of classes). Read below to see how a casual uni outfit made it through the day and to the Chadstone AW14 runway show later that night.

Pick a simple silhouette that can be dressed down or accessorised later on, for me this was a leather skirt in a skater style and a double-layered tank; the lower layer was tucked in and the shorter cropped length was left out. These pieces can easily be called wardrobe staples and are used and abused often thanks to their versatility and basic design. Pair the all black look with a pair of brogues, a denim jacket and basic jewellery and you're ready (and maybe even awake for your 8am lecture). To keep things interesting, don't be afraid to mix metals when picking jewellery, this was a big no-no for me for a long time until I actually gave it a go; here I've mixed silver (necklace, earrings, bracelet), rose gold (jacket buttons) and gold (watch and sunglasses).

Photo credit: Thilina Appa (Facebook), editing by Jude Newton (Facebook) (Instagram)

Double Layered Tank (Portmans - sold out) (Similar from Portmans)

PU Skater skirt (Dotti)

Denim Jacket (Portmans)

Brogues (RMK - on sale!)

Sunglasses (Tiffany & Co. - sold out) (Similar from Tiffany & Co.)

Watch (JAG)

Earrings (Tiffany & Co.)

Necklace (Lovisa)

For the runway show, I swapped the denim jacket for a dressy black blazer with a baroque embossed design; contrasting textures and fabrics is the oldest trick in the book to keep black-on-black looks from looking bland. A pair of white lace up heels, a red envelope clutch and a matching lip colour took all of 2 minutes to add and I was all done and barely able to contain my excitement long enough to shoot these looks before I went to drool over everything at the show.

Blazer (Forever New - sold out)

Heels (Novo - sold out) (Similar from Spurr) (Similar from Tony Bianco)

Clutch (Jo Mercer - sold out) (Similar from Marc Jacobs) (Similar from Olga Berg) (Similar from The Mode Collective)

Happy shopping!

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