Today I'm having another crack at the Outfit Under $50 style challenge over at Mystery Case and doubling down on the November Style It project with Redcliffe Style and Kimba Likes, using my dupe of their chosen Katies tee from Best and Less. 




It's a cooler spring day in Adelaide so I teamed the tee with my best op shop score of recent times, the Review pants which I'm pretty sure were BNWOT when I picked them up off the rack. Thank you, anonymous and generous donater! I love Review clothing but their price point is generally way out of my frugalista reach so I was most excited to find these and even more excited that they fit! Their tapered zippered ankle meant I didn't even have to get them taken up. What a great day that was.




On my feet are a pair of leopard ballet flats from the "Comfort" range at KMart, which surprisingly are as comfortable as asserted. They have some nice padding that you don't often see in cheap shoes. I love stripes with leopard. If it were cooler, I'd also have thrown on my leopard scarf (also from KMizzle).




To accessorise, I've added this unusual copper leaf necklace I picked up at my local op shop and the Mimco earrings I got free from joining the MimCollective through a magazine insert. Bonus. Party. Excellent.

To be honest, I am not digging the boxiness of this tee on me, hence my surly expression. This was also the reason I didn't pick up the original Katies number. I think I'll need to trade up to a more flattering shape.

Obvs, I looked this glamourous. Image from Huffington Post.

There are a lot of bees in this tree, hence my wary expression

Around my messy bun, I have wrapped a navy and floral bun twist.

Evidently I also totally inappropriately wore it to work sans pants, with my Minnie Mouse chunky velcro strap Mary-Janes and that awful orange hair with what appears to be a butterfly hair grip.

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  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.