Almost Posh

Wardrobe Wednesday || Monochromatic Spots

Today, I thought I'd post about my outfit, being that I found a spot in the yard to take a few photos this morning.

I'm getting better at the timer camera app and found a better place in the yard to take it. Don't mind the green waste bin or the barbecue, will you?

Today I'm wearing one of my bargain $5 Kmart basic tees with a Khoko skirt from Harris Scarfe that I bought AGES ago, never wore and very nearly got sold at a failed market stall. It was rescued and reborn recently. I always thought I couldn't do a midi length, being short, but I think this works. What do you think?

I'm looking at my shoes! It's a thing now!

Said shoes are Target leather ballet flats which were about $40 as I recall, because I ummed and ahhed about spending that much on Target shoes #frugalista. Still, you can't really go wrong with black leather ballet flats so I consider it an investment.

That's what I'm thinking as I look at them, speculatively.

It was a bit cool in the morning so I threw on a Cotton On cardigan I bought earlier this year on sale for $15. You can't tell in the photos but it is a shockingly neon pink and gives that pop to a monochromatic outfit.

Finally, my silver key necklace was a Christmas gift from my bestie a couple of years ago.

Were it not for the shoes, I could have got this outfit in the Under $50 Challenge!

November 05, 2014
0 Comments

3 Ways I Ditched The Summertime Blues

body issues

I had a bit of a self-indulgent pity party about why I can't / won't wear the latest summer trends.

On reflection, it was really quite negative, morose and boo-hoo. It's only my fault if I'm dagging around in ugly clothes; it's not like somebody else is buying them for me and forcing me to wear them at gunpoint. And yes, while I do have friends that legimitately look like they've just stepped off the same Bonds swing-tag I snapped off my latest tee when they're allegedly dagging out at home, that's no reason why I shouldn't lift my game.

Turning to the internet for advice, I read this article at Fox In Flats.

It spoke to me. I am that person. I love to dress up for work and when I'm out and about but around the house and if I'm not going anywhere of importance (where I might see someone I know), it's all baggy sweats and hoodies, more often than not streaked with some form of child mucus. As soon as I get home from work, I'm all "hey" to my husband, then it's straight into my pyjamas; printed flannelette in winter and oversized souvenir t-shirts and shorts in summer. I catch sight of myself in reflections or go to take a selfie with my daughter and be like "Who even are you? And why are you saving all your best looks for work instead of the people you love?"

So as of now, I've decided to change my approach.

Last Friday, I mentioned K-Mart currently have $5 basic tees that are soft, comfortable, non-see through, have a nice wide v neck and come in a good variety of colours. It's amazing how much difference just wearing one of these with a pair of 7/8 pants instead of a printed sports tee lifts an outfit just a touch but is still comfortable. I've bought them in both my regular size and a size up for comfort to wear with Cotton On Body lounge pants around the house.

And would you believe, I feel better already.

The other day, it was super hot and all I had planned was the grocery shopping. Usually, this would be a job for shorts and a t-shirt but I chose a comfortable Katie's maxi dress (which may or may not have been worn in the late stages of pregnancy) instead. When I got home, I didn't change but kept it on.

And I felt better.

I took a style cue from a friend and tried a basic tee with a floral print skirt for a day out rather than a work dress or jeans and top.

And I felt better.

I went to Cotton On and tried on a singlet and a pair of print pom-pom shorts similar to the ones I was going on about.

They looked absolutely terrible so I was totally justifed in my previous post but at least I had a go.

Bonds tee - 2 for $24

Jigsaw skirt - gift from friend

Kmart sunglasses - $5

November 03, 2014
0 Comments

Fashionomics Friday Link Up || Patterned Pants

adelaide

I'm still working on my outfit photographing technique and haven't quite got to my desired level (being pinned by a stranger on Pinterest) but here is one I managed to snap last week early in the morning during the brief few minutes before finishing getting ready for work and waking the toddler up to prepare her for day care.

Morning has broken

It's really hard to find somewhere to balance your iPhone such that you can get a full body shot in decent light with a non-heinous background. This was taken by leaning the phone against the stubby aerial of my Suzuki Swift, activating my camera timer app then trotting up the driveway a bit, striking a pose and hoping not to be busted by any work-bound neighbours . . . unfortunately because our house faces east, the morning sun is behind me and it was a bit overcast so it's got kind of a dreamy filtered look to it.

I combated the lack of visible detail by taking a few different angles.

Now, the point of this post is to illustrate the bargaintastic nature of this entire outfit, as follows:

KMart basic black tee - $5
Cotton On print pants - $15 on special
Rubi wedge sandals - $5 on special a few years ago
Diva chevron necklace - $3 (from Savers)

Outfit total = $28

The most expensive thing pictured is my pedicure which was an astonishingly overpriced $35.

This look is a bit of a departure for me - being short and having a bit of a fuller figure at the moment, I've been a bit wary of any non-fitted pants, especially lightweight patterned ones. I'm happy to say that after road-testing the outfit for the [fairly warm] day, I felt cool in all senses of the word!

I am absolutely in love with KMart's basic $5 tees. It seems like it's always hardest to find the simplest things and I had been after a good fitting basic black tee for ages. Even Bonds didn't deliver as expected. So when a friend alerted me to these soft, comfortable, well-fitting bad boys, I shot over to KMart and snapped some up. I got four for the same price as one clingy Bonds number.

Nice neck detail and even a dipped hem for extra luxe!

All this for $5. It will be interesting to see how they stand up to a few washes which will reveal just how fashionomical they are.

October 31, 2014
0 Comments

Hair Raising - hair hack test

90s

I confess, I am next to useless when it comes to managing the dead follicles that grow out of my scalp.

Leaving the years of questionable colours and cuts aside (including a particularly rank perm in Year 8), I have never understood how other people manage to wrangle pins, straighteners, clips and combs to effortlessly present Pinterest-style hair-dos where I am lucky to manage anything other than a hair-don’t.

I have fine, limp hair but strangely, plenty of it, as most hairdressers like to comment. No surprises there, you just have to check the power brush head of my Dyson after a week and there's enough to construct a decent weave.

I rocked a short concave bob for years to avoid any of these hassles (and even then, could never achieve anything near that salon-fresh look after the first post-haircut wash) but decided to grow my hair after my baby was born to see how long I could get it without having to try and make it look presentable for work every day. After a year, I had got this far:

If only it grew as fast as my daughter did

I was undecided at this stage, whether to cut it off again or keep going. Since it had taken this long to get this far and I had got past the infuriating growing-out phase (the one where you are scraping a tiny pony nug together with elastic bands and lots of bobby pins) I decided to keep it going.

Suddenly, a new world was opening and I discovered one of the greatest inventions of our time:

$9.99 from Priceline, as is the image

The bun donut meant I could finally achieve what I’d been secretly pining for all these years, a bun!

This quickly became my go-to style and I decided that while I was at it, I would also be bringing scrunchies back. So I did.

90s hair, don't care

Giddy with my succcess, I searched Pinterest for more easy hair hacks.

Step one, “section the hair . . .”

WOAH, WOAH, WOAH, I said “easy”.

Anyway, I did find this one on the Fox in Flats blog and thought I could possibly manage that, so I documented my trial below.

Here it is about 18 months after I started growing it.

Put hair into high ponytail. I can totally do that!

Use rollers to roll up bits of the ponytail, curling under.

I didn’t actually have any rollers to hand but I found some at Priceline for $4.99

This was actually super hard! The hair didn’t stay rolled as tight as I’d have liked and jamming bobby pins in to hold them down was really difficult.

Anyway, I managed.

Spray with hairspray.

Cover with a stocking top. Done and a scrunchie added for good measure and some cuteness.

Sleep. I can totally do that! Being all piled up on top of the head meant that sleep was uninterrupted, in fact, I could hardly notice it.

The next morning, it was time to check the results . . .

Well, there is a lot of volume here but not what I’d call much in the way of curls or even “beachy waves” as promised. I’d previously gotten better and unintended results from a day of slightly damp bun donut wear.

I will come for you at night time

So it went into a ponytail which was nicely voluminous but dropped fairly quickly.

Next time, I will:

Have slightly damp hair
Maybe try a setting spray
Use the hot rollers my mother-in-law has subsequently let me borrow
Apply more hairspray
Have longer hair

October 27, 2014
0 Comments

Throwback Thursday: Boho

90s

This Thursday, we take a leap further back in time before Port Hedland, taken at a friend's house in Gladstone, (SA not QLD) circa 1996, aged 17.

This is not my bedroom - I was never into Johnny Depp, Christian Slater, Matt Dillon or River Phoenix enough to grant them precious poster real estate on my walls - but I certainly had Edward Furlong, Brad Pitt and Dieter Brummer, and probably Kelly Slater.

So what am I rocking here?

Carefree expression

Long hair don't care, complete with the sketchy fringe I suffered through for most of my life

White sleeveless button up shirt - origin unknown - artfully tied at the middle with what appears to be a black crop top underneath.

Midriff - back when I had one.

Indian-print cotton maxi skirt with irritatingly jingly bells on the ties that I absolutely LOVED. I believe it was purchased from the incense/crystals/candles shop in Port Pirie. I googled "incense Port Pirie" to see if it still exists but was indundated for links to what appears to be illegal synthetic cannabis so excuse me while I erase my browser history. I believe I also purchased (voluntarily, with my own money) a purple tie-dyed bell-sleeved velour top, complete with its own set of jangly bells which was often teamed with this skirt in the cooler months. Sadly, no photographic evidence exists from what I can gather.

I know for a fact there are a pair of these on my feet . . .