At Liberty

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Dress: Gift, vintage Liberty House poly-blend

Heels: Target suede

Bag: Novo patent

Cuff: Disney Couture "Alice in Wonderland" silver

Ring: Disney Couture "Alice in Wonderland" silver

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Finally posting some pictures of the outfit I wore to a meeting in Brisbane two weeks ago. Sorry for the delay, dear readers - it feels like sometimes I just can't keep up with outfits I post on Instagram every day... That's the life of a fashion blogger, I guess.

This gorgeous, monochromatic dress - given to me by the mother of a dear friend - is a 1970s vintage gem from Liberty House, an off-shoot of Liberty's department store in London... you know, the one that is not only famous for being crafted from the wood of East India Company ships but for creating those irresistible & eminently collectible "Liberty Print" scarves sold around the world. Yep, that one.

But I digress.

The sumptuous mixture of a graphic, stylised tribal pattern & a houndstooth print with black yoke insert & bright pink "pop of colour" is edgy & instantly arresting while the flowy, maxi-come-baby-doll-dress is relaxed & has a somewhat sweet vibe... a juxtaposition that I absolutely LOVE & that I often feel only comes from vintage clothes from the 1960s and 1970s when young women were finally "coming into their own," so to speak. 

Scroll down for a closer look at these funky prints in all their glory:

As Hannibal from The A Team often opined, "I love it when a plan comes together" & this is true when it comes to the choice of shoes for this outfit! These stunning pink suede, pointy-toed pumps (or court shoes, as my mother calls them) were from my local Target store for the princely sum of $10 & have definitely been good value in terms of their cost-per-wear ratio. The particular shade of pink just seems to "match" with a variety of patterns & trim in my wardrobe - though none more so than the piping detail on the yoke of this dress. What's more, the fact that the "pops of colour" are so far away from each other (neck & feet) has an elongating effect on my frame, which for someone who is only 5 foot tall is a fashion WIN.

I should also quickly mention my choice of handbag here - a boxy, black patent option from Novo - that was chosen to blend in with the black in the patterns of the dress in order to let the aforementioned "pops" of pink become the feature. 

Statement pieces of jewellery were chosen to accompany the look - a silver Disney Couture cuff & ring inspired by The Mad Hatter's Tea Party in "Alice in Wonderland" & designed by avant garde UK jeweller Tom Binns. The graphic elements echo those found in the print to create a cohesive look, as evidenced below: 

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The Mad Hatter: "Have I gone mad?"

Alice: "I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret: All the best people are."

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll, 1865

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A Trip to the Orient

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Dress: Anthea Crawford silk/satin

Jacket: Vintage, Ipswich Antique Centre silk (from Hong Kong)

Heels: L&J suede platforms

Bag: Gift, Vera May patent

Ring: V&A Museum, London gold & diamante

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Posting pictures of what I wore to attend an important meeting a couple of weeks ago (more information as it comes to hand... if all goes according to plan) when the Autumn weather had just started to turn that little bit cooler in the mornings & late afternoons & it was finally time to "dig out" all those gorgeous coats & jackets from the back of the cupboard where they had been languishing for the entire long, long, long hot summer...

This stunning, vintage Opera Coat in an amazing shade of pink/purple (depending on the light source; either artificial or from the sun) was the perfect nexus for a sumptuous, memorable, Oriental-inspired outfit comprised of only 5 easy pieces. Sourced from my local Ipswich Antique Centre, the coat is made from lighter-weight Hong Kong silk & is covered in a tiny pattern of lamps, teapots, deer, flowers, dragons & leaves, as evidenced below:

As avid readers of this blog will already know, I regard pattern-mixing as my forte, so the dress underneath the coat was unlikely to be a block colour; in fact, it was a draped, silk/satin paragon from Anthea Crawford, redolent with large, photo-realistic Chinese orchids in gradient shades of pink, purple & silver. Here are a few pictures of the dress without the jacket:

The relatively straight, midi-length cut of the dress - disregarding the amazing under-bust pleating that visually whittles the waist when the dress is worn on its own - & asymmetrical neckline work well with the 1960s cut & Peter Pan collar detail of the Opera Coat while the difference in pattern-sizes (one large, one small) & similarities of hue create a sense of cohesion-through-eclecticism that is pleasing to the eye. 

Black suede platforms from L&J were used to "anchor" the otherwise busy look but instead of a matching black handbag, a chartreuse patent option from Vera May was carried to "draw in" the touch of green in the coat's print & really "pop" against the myriad of pink & purple shades.

Only one piece of jewellery was required: a chunky, gold & diamante cocktail ring in the shape of an oversized bow that was originally a souvenir from the V&A Museum in London, finishing off a rather whimsical look. 

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Here Comes The Sun

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Dress: Anthea Crawford textured jacquard

Heels: Betts for Her floral satin platforms

Clutch: Betts for Her floral satin

Necklace: Thousand Island Dressing silver & faux pearls

Bangle: Thousand Island Dressing silver & faux pearls

Bracelet: Sea Wish, Coolangatta silver, gold & diamante

Ring: Vintage, gold & diamond

Scarf: Katies cotton

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Bringing the sunshiny vibes in this lemon & white floral textured jacquard dress from Anthea Crawford with draped v-neckline & pleated waist detail, mixed with a pair of sky-high floral satin peeptoe platforms & matching envelope clutch. Pattern mixing for visual interest is one of my favourite & well utilised styling tricks & these two seemingly divergent prints - one in yellow & one in green - worked harmoniously due to their shared bright palette. 

When it came to jewellery, I inadvertently repeated the "2 matching pieces" thing, donning a thin silver choker with pearl ends & diamante tips, as well as the matching bangle. For the other wrist, I chose a statement, chunky silver & gold flower bracelet with diamante tips to match those on the bangle & necklace & for my pinky finger, a thin, gold band with diamond chip tip - tiny yet full of sentiment, as it was given to my Mother by my Father when they were both very young. See below for a close-up of most of the aforementioned pieces:

In this ever-changing weather, it never hurts to bring a scarf or wrap along to ward off the chill of the air-conditioning, so I decided to "up the ante" in the pattern-mixing stakes by choosing a gorgeous cotton option in a monochromatic chevron print, complete with lemon yellow tassels along the edges. I think it just adds that little extra element to the overall look that really makes it "pop!"

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