That perfect dress

6 reasons why I love this dress and decided to buy it the moment I slipped into it:

• It's actually machine-washable; really important factor in buying clothes.
• Such a great fit and super-flattering (I'm all for wearing things that suit your figure, and that's not to be mistaken for telling people they look fat - they need to be considerate to themselves and others by wearing things that flatter their size)
• It's from Target so it's only $70!
• I can wear it to work, parties, go shopping, grocers, movies...
• It goes with anything - except pants, of course.
• It's modest - no splits up to there or no cuts down to there.

That's six reasons, isn't it? Right, just checking.

Bag me a dress

I bought this bag from Topshop online two nights ago. Impulse buying at its worst or best I'm still not sure, but I do like the bag very much. And it's 100% leather so it's another plus point. It's also my first online purchase so I hope I'm doing the right thing.

Also, today I bought an LBD to wear to my friend's wedding. I'm actually quite happy with it because not only it fits me well but it's also versatile enough to wear during the day as well as during the night. I can actually see myself wear the dress with the satchel bag above. I'm excited♥

(Image courtesy of topshop.com)

See by Chloé

Loving these pieces by See by Chloé

(Images courtesy of net-a-porter.com)

LMFF Runway 4: Presented by InStyle + Runway 5: Presented by Yen

So I went to the fashion shows two days ago. They were quite awesome, both for different reasons.

Runway 4
This show was presented by InStyle magazine, featuring Arabella Ramsay, Kate Sylvester, Manning Cartell, Thurley, Ginger & Smart, Lisa Ho, Nevenka and Obüs. While Arabella Ramsay's collection was a bit disappointing for me with the Western-influenced offering of fringe boots and lots of checks, Lisa Ho's collection was just divine. According to her, blue is going to grace our closet for seasons to come, with its wide range of the hue including cobalt, teal and navy.

Nevenka led the pack with the trend I so look forward to: patchwork. They teamed it with rich berry, and though it's not my favourite selection, I applaud them for their feminine take on sheer blousons and ladylike pussy-bow tops. Playing up on that femininity is Manning Cartell with its generous usage of sequins and sparkly, flirty pieces.

My favourite collection would have to be Obüs for its sublime collection of rich colours, particularly peacock-blue. Winter dressing is made effortlessly elegant with a mix of mustard, teal and lime-green.

One trend that I definitely see across all collection for that show is clashing textures. Whether it'd be lace with embroidered lining, ruffles, fin-like dresses and the arty layering of knitwear, they had it all. I'm so looking forward to winter thanks to this show...

Runway 5
This second show was the one shown later in the night and it was definitely something quite special. Though I don't like everything in it, but I still like the way a few pieces were real stand-outs.

The highlight of the show, for me, was definitely Antipodium's collection. Lots of gorgeous power-dressing pieces such as structured cigarette pants, blouses and sharp knitwear make for something rather different yet still accessible. Not to mention all the models were wearing ankle socks with skyscraper heels. So Alexa.

The second stunner was Friedrich Gray, and it was simply because of the piece that they showed midway through: that luscious black maxi-dress with white and blue asymmetrical, ruffled neckline. I wish I could provide a picture to prove how beautiful it is, but for the time being, let's just believe me when I say it's simply stunning.

Basically it was a great night, and I actually like what I wore to the shows. Any fashion enthusiast should know that makes a good night into a great night. And I'm now counting the days till the next fashion event: Melbourne Spring Fashion Week!

Let's hope this time I have better luck in getting into more shows rather than just two...

Market-trawling

I got myself a maxi-dress from my trip to Camberwell Market yesterday. It was actually my second choice, because there was another that I saw that was equally gorgeous; a chlorine-green print dress and it's got strings attached so I can either make it as a halter neck or plain tube dress with a bow.

But anyhow, the purple dress makes me feel so ethereal and actually like a woman. If that makes sense at all.

Along with the dress, I also got 3 scarves - for the price of $10! One of them is - I'd like to believe - vintage Celine.

I wanna go again next week.

Pre-loved loves

The cape cost $6 and the dress $12.

The cape can be worn with simple black singlet, skinny jeans and Converse. Or if I wanna be very girly, I'll wear it with heels and a great body-con dress.

As with the dress. I was thinking of wearing it with body-con skirt, belt and flats. Or I can just change the skirt with a pair of leggings. Or I can wear the dress unbuttoned, put on a singlet and skinny jeans underneath and finish off with flats again.

I have so many ideas with the two and I only paid that little. Life can sometimes be too good to be true.

Miss Selfridge

I remember when I first stepped into a Miss Selfridge shop 12 years ago in The Netherlands. It was bright, loud and since I was only 9 back then, I thought it was too mature.

Fast forward to now, I find myself defending my love for chainstore stuff because I'm very impressed with Miss Selfridge's current collection. It's a mix pallette of quirky-preppy (think nautical details, ruffles and colours) and structured glamour (visible in the fabulous selection of 2-in-1 dresses, modernised work shirts and textured accessories).


One of the dresses (top left) is even named 'Alexa'! I'd like to think that it was named after the Alexa Chung, but then again, the details are cute enough for me to love it.

(Images courtesy of missselfridge.com)

Is nautical only for summer?

I bought this dress yesterday, and I'm starting to have second thoughts about it.

Don't get me wrong, I love the way it looks. But somehow it doesn't look all that when I layer it with anything.

Maybe I'll just wait till summer to wear this. Note to self: please refrain from buying stuff for summer and start buying stuff that can actually be worn now. Now.

(Image courtesy of supre.com.au)

By the way...

I bought this dress today.

I'm paying tribute to the art-painting print trend. It's $30 from Valleygirl and it fit me so well.

I also bought that tee from Bonds the other time. I ended up only buying the blue-grey colour, since I didn't feel like buying black or white at the time. :P

(Image courtesy of valleygirl.com.au)

Dress me up, dress me down

These dresses caught my eye when I was browsing through net-a-porter.com. It's not like I'll be able to afford them anytime soon, but I thought I'd post them up here for the sake of inspiration.

Ballerina bustier dress by Matthew Williamson. It's got stars on it, need I say more?


















Bi-colour tank dress by Pringle 1815. Liking the colour combo of yellow and grey, as well as the neckline detailing.


















Easton shirt dress by Mike & Chris. Love the simple, crisp silhouette and the neckline is so retro-quirky.


















(Images courtesy of net-a-porter.com)