The welcome "cool change" in the weather this weekend has me thinking back to the recent heatwave South East Queensland experienced & many of the vibrant Summertime looks that made it just that little bit more bearable. Here are four of my favourites:
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LOOK #1
Dress: Vintage, cotton
Sandals: Zu vinyl lace-up
Cross-Body Bag: Sportsgirl suede & stud
Faux Tattoo: Sportsgirl
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Heading out for a spot of shopping in my hometown in a vintage neutral printed cotton mini dress with sweet neckline bow detail that I picked up at the Ipswich Antique Centre before my trip to the beach last September. The breathable, pure 1960s cotton fabric & breezy trapeze shape made it the perfect choice for a day of climbing temperatures & made me feel a little bit like Gidget, if I'm honest... & that's never a bad thing, considering she's been one of my literary (& "small screen") heroes since I was a little kid!
Shiny gold lace-up sandals from Zu really edged up the otherwise "cutesy" look while a tan suede cross-body bag with fringed hem that I picked up from Sportsgirl elevated the neutral tones in the dress pattern & gave the whole thing a "boho" twist, rendering jewellery unnecessary... always handy on a sultry day...
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LOOK #2
Dress: Suzanne Grae crepe & elastane
Sandals: Novo leather lace-up
Necklace: Lovisa silver & bead
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For morning tea with a dear family friend, this rainbow Ikat printed maxi dress from Suzanne Grae was ideal - bright & cheery in spirit & oh-so-cool with its relaxed tiered shape & breathable crepe fabric. Moreover, the mullet hemline (shorter at the front, longer at the back) is bang on-trend! Rather than drag the look down with dark hued accessories, I chose a pair of crisp white leather lace-up wedge sandals from Novo to keep it fresh & clean.
Clean & simple was also the name of the game when it came to jewellery - a long silver drop necklace with chunky white beaded "flower" pendant from Lovisa (more than five years ago!) all that was required to complete the ensemble.
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LOOK #3
Dress: Sunshine Fashion cotton
Sandals: Novo leather lace-up
Bag: Basque vinyl
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Dinner with friends on a balmy night can be difficult to dress for as the effort it takes to "glam up" in the heat just seems overwhelming. A simple styling solution is to find a large-scale, bright, graphic printed cotton dress in a darker hue to build around, like this red rose & green leaf printed empire-line option from Sunshine Fashion. The print's black background makes it acceptable for night & the busyness of the floral means that jewellery isn't required (if you don't want to layer up, of course).
Black accessories also help to make this cotton dress dinner appropriate - a pair of funky leather lace-up heeled gladiators from Novo & a textured vinyl handbag from Basque to carry all of the essentials.
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LOOK #4
Dress: Vintage, cotton
Sandals: Novo leather lace-up
Clutch: Cosmetics Plus vinyl & stud
Cuff: Gift, Wallace Bishop silver
Bracelet: Du Monde Paddington silver & shell
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Two of my favourite colours for Summertime dressing are green & white as the combination just looks so fresh & cool. Add in the fact that this vintage 1960s strappy shift dress is covered in a cute nautical print & I'm not ashamed to admit that I almost did a "happy dance" in the middle of the Ipswich Antique Centre as I triumphantly carried it to the counter to be wrapped in tissue paper & placed in a carry bag.
When it came to styling it up for an afternoon out, the accessories just HAD to be white & silver - my trusty pair of white leather lace-up wedges from Novo as well as a vinyl envelope clutch with silver studded edge & tasseled zipper from Cosmetics Plus.
The theme continued with the funky jewellery pieces chosen - a silver Wallace Bishop cuff that was given to me years ago by a dear friend & has a sweet engraved message on the inside & a chunky silver & shell beaded bracelet from the artisan Du Monde store in Paddington.
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