Electric Blue

*

Dress: Anthea Crawford crepe

Jacket: Zara faux leather

Ankle Boots: Wittner leather, patent, silver zips

Bag: Nine West denim, vinyl with silver hardware

Hinged Bangle: Precious Stones Jewellers silver

Hinged Bangle: Oxfam silver

*

So excited to share a few snaps of the stunning electric blue crepe dress with faux wrap detail, visible satin lining & asymmetrical ruffle from Anthea Crawford that I "styled up" recently to attend an archaeology lecture with a dear friend before indulging in a spot of antique shopping at one of my favourite haunts, Empire Revival Antiques... formerly the Paddington Antique Centre... To "tone down" the dress' vivid blue, I added a black faux leather waterfall jacket from Zara (purchased last year but similar styles are currently available), matte & patent leather ankle boots with silver zippers from Wittner, a funky indigo denim & black vinyl handbag with silver hardware from Nine West to carry all the essentials while adding textural interest & finally, a pair of silver hinged bangles - a chunky, art deco inspired piece from Precious Stones Jewellers & a delicate, thin option from (sadly now defunct) Oxfam Shop that was first worn to my high school formal 18 long years ago & has never, ever dated!

A Trip to the Orient

*

Dress: Anthea Crawford dupione silk

Coat: Vintage, Chinese silk

Heels: Wittner suede & elastic

Bag: Vintage, carved nut & leather

Necklace: Vintage, beads & carved wood

*

Avid readers of this blog would probably already be aware that a dear friend of mine from England has recently been in town & that we had the pleasure of attending a few elegant social events together, one of which was an archaeological lecture he was presenting, where I wore this gorgeous oriental-inspired ensemble. 

The look itself is relatively simple - five pieces in all - but made quite a statement due to the use of vivid shades of purple & green, anchored with accents of black. I started styling with this gorgeous dupione silk fit-to-flare midi-length dress from Anthea Crawford then added a small-scale floral printed oriental silk coat with three-quarter-sleeves & Peter Pan collar detail (gifted by a dear friend) to ward off the wintertime chill, slipped my feet into a pair of comfortable yet fashionable Mary Jane style suede heels with ballerina-style elastic straps from Wittner & carried a kitschy handbag carved from a nut with a 1970s style leather clasp. To complete the look, I added a chunky green stone & cloisonne beaded necklace with carved wood pendant that I picked up at a recent Antique Fair in my hometown. Voila! 

Scroll down for a peek at the look without the jacket...

*