Aje of Enlightenment

 

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Dress: Aje cotton

Heels: Jo Mercer leather, elastic

Bag: French Connection suede, vinyl

Hinged Bangle: Precious Stones Jewellers silver

Cuff: Najo via Precious Stones Jewellers silver

Bangle Stack: Gift, vintage silver

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Before the "Big Wet" we endured here in Queensland (& in Northern NSW) and this slightly "Smaller Wet" that we are currently right in the middle of, there were the usual pockets of beautiful, warm sunshine that made everything look very verdant & green going into the cooler months of the year here in Oz. On one of those days, I donned an utterly divine white cotton asymmetrical puff-sleeve midi smock dress with Greco-Roman-inspired braiding details from Aussie label Aje & took this beautiful pictures in my neighbourhood in the early afternoon after attending an event in my beloved River City. The rest of the ensemble took even further inspiration from the ancient Greeks & Romans with a pair of gladiatorial black leather heels with elastic ankle straps from Jo Mercer to add a modicum of height, a boxy black vinyl & suede handbag with oversized silver handles from French Connection to carry all the essentials & a plethora of silver jewellery adornments - a tribal cuff from Najo & a "wave" shaped chunky hinged bangle from the delightful ladies at Precious Stones Jewellers as well as an armful of vintage bangles in different styles that a dear friend gifted me as part of a "care package" while we were separated during the earliest part of the pandemic.

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And Then There Was... Drake

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Dress: Sacha Drake jacquard

Heels: Kitten D'Amour vegan leather

Bag: Gift, handmade & upcycled dupione silk

Hinged Bangle: Precious Stones Jewellers silver

Bangle: Gift, 20th Century Antiques & Collectibles vintage silver

Bangle: Gift, 20th Century Antiques & Collectibles vintage horn

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So excited to be getting (somewhat) back into the swing of things here in Queensland despite the encroaching "next wave" of coronavirus cases expected to peak here in the next few weeks. I'm sharing all the gorgeous pictures of an outfit that I recently styled up to attend a "Murder Mystery" party in my beloved River City with a 1920s theme. I know, I know, this gorgeous polka dotted jacquard mini smock with huge asymmetrical puff sleeve, ruffled hemline & tie belt from Sacha Drake is a bit reminiscent of the 1980s but I wanted to go for something markedly different from my usual "flapper" sartorial sensibility & with the right art deco inspired accessories, it was the ideal look & feel that worked with the party's Agatha-Christie-esque, "And Then There Were None" (one of my all-time favourite of her many, many whodunnits) overtones. To wit, I've added a pair of black vegan leather double silver buckle heels from vintage-inspired label Kitten D'Amour, a funky handmade & upcycled dupione silk drawstring pouch bag in shades of red, black & a hint of bright blue from a little Aussie boutique on Etsy to carry all the essentials (including mask & hand sanitizer), a beautiful silver art deco style "wave" hinged bangle from the lovely ladies at Precious Stones Jewellers in The Myer Centre & finally, two vintage bangles - one silver & one horn in a shade of chocolate brown/black - gifted to me by my younger brother & discovered at the sadly-now-defunct 20th Century Antiques & Collectibles in Coolangatta on the Gold Coast.

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New Farm

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Dress: Sister Jane via Hummingbird the Shop cotton

Heels: Kitten D'Amour vegan leather

Bag: Country Road vinyl, satin

Brooch: QLD Art Gallery gift shop handmade & handpainted ceramic

Bangle: Gift, 20th Century Antiques & Collectibles vintage silver

Bangle Stack: Gift, vintage silver

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Finally sharing all of the gorgeous pictures from a recent day out in New Farm, browsing around one of our favourite antiquing haunts, New Farm Antique Centre (formerly Commercial Road Antiques) before heading over for a delicious, leisurely lunch & a few cocktails at the delightful Botany Restaurant & Bar at Newstead's gentrified Gasworks precinct. Owing to the rapid re-escalation in Covid cases of late, we stuck to pretty strict (personally imposed) Covid-safe protocols including mask wearing, maintaining social distancing & using a liberal amount of hand sanitizer in the hopes of protecting ourselves as best as we can in these seemingly-interminable circumstances. Both businesses we visited had absolutely no issue with any of this & in fact, we commend Botany for still having tables a safe distance away from one another, in areas where fresh air can flow freely & still requiring vaccination check-ins at the door. 

For the occasion, I donned a gorgeous, fresh yellow & white gingham cotton midi dress with ruffled straps, tiered hemline & shirred bodice with black satin ribbon detailing from Sister Jane via the wonderful Hummingbird boutique in Paddington, a pair of black vegan leather dual buckle heels from Kitten D'Amour that are the brilliant fusion of comfort & style, a black woven satin & vinyl shoulder-bag-turned-crossbody-bag from Country Road to carry all the essentials, a funky, handmade & handpainted ceramic cockatoo brooch from the Queensland Art Gallery gift shop, a vintage silver bangle stack (gifted by some dear friends) & a single vintage silver bangle from the sadly-now-closed 20th Century Antiques & Collectibles at Coolangatta.

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Calamari with Lettuce & Aioli

Crispy Skinned Barramundi on a bed of Mashed Sweet Potato, Crispy Potatoes, Bok Choy & Eggplant

BEST. COCKTAILS. EVER.

Absolutely ADORED my Elderflower Cocktail...

Scroll down for more pictures of the beautiful "greenspace" created in the gentrified Gasworks precinct that truly brings a bit of magic to inner-city Brisbane...