Today's was very spur of the moment. I'm going to my first Summer 2012 BBQ - and this is what I'm wearing.

It's now time I finally enjoy summer. YAY!! Exams are over and I'm relatively less busy than I've been. This means I can finally blog more often. Here's another outfit! I know I've been posting a lot of outfits lately but it seems a lot of you readers enjoy them and styling outfits is what I enjoy the most. I've decided to take a more outfit-oriented approach to blog entries. Please do tell me what you think! Here's today's look -

4 days left for my exams to be over, and 4 days left for a new hair style. YAY! Sorry I haven't been posting as regularly as I should but so many things to do and so little time. Here's some background info about this look...

I love the Pirates of the Carribean and for a while I chanelled the pirate-Keira Knightley/Elizabeth Swann vibe in the way I dress. Think neutral shades, paired with lace and rich draping (she was an aristocrat for a while wasn't she?) and tarnished silver jewellery. As an outfit composed mainly of vintage and thrift store finds it has become somewhat of summer uniform for me. I loved this pair of culottes the moment I set my eyes on it. Now Elizabeth in Pirates would never wear printed fabric, let alone an anchor print. Anyhow, I thought the anchor print to be a rather fun one. Enough blabbing - here are the photos!

Culottes | Vintage
Lace top | Thrift store
Belt | Vintage
Lips | Catrice - 060 'Oh Juicy!'

Originally, today's outfit was built around this white boyfriend shirt - the first in the Wardrobe Basics series. I wanted to wear it and the palazzo pants seemed like the perfect piece to accompany the shirt's masculine look. The palazzo pants are just so effortlessly chic you'd want to wear them with anything and everywhere. Trust me. [I blogged about How to Wear Palazzo Pants here] In the end, the pants overpowered the shirt and it kind of gobbled up the focus all to itself. In a good way! Don't you think? I went for shades of white and nude in this outfit, to keep it summery and fresh.






Boyfriend Shirt | ASOS
Palazzo Pants | ASOS Petite
Straw Clutch | Vintage
Pearl / Statement Necklace | Vintage
Wrap Bracelet | E-bay (New Look just got similar ones now!)
Wedges | Peacocks
Lips | Revlon

Summer makes it all the more difficult to get dressed to work in the morning. Shorts and loose fitting t-shirts or a swimsuit are all you feel like wearing. Yet office wear requires a certain level of decency and so we often face the long-standing dilemma of comfort vs decent work-wear. I thought of a few items which I deem to be basic and ideal summer work wear. The pieces you keep wanting more of! Here are a few outfit sets I created on polyvore.

THE SHIFT DRESS

THE PENCIL SKIRT

 Go monochrome - pick a colour and stick with it. The printed skirt makes the outfit pop!


Pop-art inspired. Makes me feel like liquorish! Always a plus.

AND MORE...

HAVING PLANNED YESTERDAY'S POST MUCH EARLIER THAN IT WAS POSTED, I FAILED TO MENTION ANOTHER TWO FAVOURITE DESIGNER BRANDS OF MINE. CALLING CELINE & GIVENCHY.

As much as I appreciate a good statement piece, and I can't reiterate this enough, I still find a special sense of comfort in neutral pieces. Of course, a 'neutral' piece for me must still sustain an aura of freshness, otherwise neutral is simply a euphemism for dull. And dull I do not like. I like Resort collections because they bridge the gap between seasons and often offer the pieces you're exactly looking for, trans-seasonal pieces that will last a lifetime. Not to mention they complement any statement piece you might have bought for either of the major seasons - i.e. Spring/Summer or Autumn/Winter.

First off - I was happy to see the hobo bag back! The last few seasons didn't quite put the hobo in the spotlight. The oversized grab bag was taking its time, and the hobo bag's place on the runway and on the street! Although we haven't seen the last of that I assure you, spotted at The Row, Proenza Schouler and Balenciaga *again* (see first and fifth picture from the Proenza Schouler collection pictured here.)

Bags aside, here's a round-up of my favourite Resort collections so far...

BALENCIAGA

THE ROW

It suffices to say I have withdrawal issues and whilst I cannot wait to get the summer looks going, I am still thinking up a few spring outfits. This is one of them. I love this leather-look skirt and I'm having a hard time letting it go for summer. Of course, just as I will miss a few items I will enjoy others!

This is what I came up with today.


Shirt | Pull & Bear - also worn here.
Skirt | River Island
Shoes | Topshop
Gun-metal box clutch | Pieces
Silver Cuff Bracelets | ASOS
Nails | Catrice - 'Bye, Bye Birdy!'
Lips | Revlon Stormy Pink
Hair | Air-dried, au naturel.