A Girl and Some Clothes : November 2012

Friday 30 November 2012

Oh Summer Brights!

I could not resist this gorgeous dress and it forms the basis of this bright and happy summer outfit full of bold colours and sharp textures.

Featuring (price low to high):

Remember Me? The Bangles were most recently featured in Blue and Green Can Be Seen!

Thursday 29 November 2012

Budget Buys: May I Have A Word

Cheap and Cheerful: May I Have a Word?

Now that I am a bit busier no doubt you have noticed the outfits are a far cry from my goal of one a day! However, I have put together this new 'Budget Buy' outfit with the main inspiration drawn from the 'Hello' bracelet and 'Amour' earrings. Enjoy!

Sunday 25 November 2012

Christmas Cocktails: Blue and Green Can Be Seen!

Christmas Cocktails: Blue and Green Can be Seen!

In the lead up to the silly season I'm focussing on party season appropriate outfits. This one is to inspire those of you attending afterwork drinks at any time. Generally with black and white my instinct is to add red accents, simply because that is a look that I love. I resisted today and went with blue with the slightest hints of green.

Featuring (price low to high):

Friday 23 November 2012

One Store Shopping: Flirty in Florals

Flirty in Florals

Lately when I have been feeling lazy, I feature outfits from one store. Today's is a spring appropriate outfit built initially on the navy dress and then the floral blazer from Forever New. With summer just around the corner I am going to have an even harder time soon!

Featuring (price low to high, all from Forever New):

Remember Me? The Layla Textured Ring was featured in this outfit.

Wednesday 21 November 2012

Not-Quite-Summer Brights

Summer Brights

After yesterday's 'ho-hum' post I thought I would bring a bit more colour back in. Here is an outfit pushing my comfort zone as its both a) pants and b) lots of colours. Neither of which I wear anymore. With the cami, slim pants and cardi the idea is this will serve you well at this time of the year when it seems Mother Nature cannot decide whether to rain or shine.

Featuring (price low to high):

Remember Me? The Mini Button Zip Tote by Mimco also featured in this outfit.

One Store Shopping: I'm Feeling A Bit Blue

I'm Feeling Blue

Had a few ordinary days in the Puggy family and extended family. I won't expand here for a variety of reasons, but I was feeling very ho hum today and with no reserve outfits all I could really be bothered creating was something, well easy. So everything in today's outfit is from Topshop, and its more suited to Autumn than Spring because at the moment I feel more Winter than Summer like. But hey, at well over 100 pounds at least the shipping would be free... Oh and yes, I am aware this is more oxblood, navy and cream, but that did not have the same ring to it.

Featuring (price low to high):

NB: All pieces by Topshop and all prices are approximate.

Tuesday 20 November 2012

Down The Rabbit Hole

This whimsical, slightly over the top outfit was inspired by the 'Once Upon A Time' necklace, I added the various animal elements including butterflies, rabbits and birds to create an 'Alice in Wonderland' feel and mixed the colours up to keep it eclectic and vintage, yet not so over the top that it looks too costume-like.

Featuring (price low to high)

Sunday 18 November 2012

Nine To Five Nautical

As you have no doubt noticed, I am enjoying the nautical look at the moment. But I am also trying to keep my outfits acting as useful inspiration for readers. So I've created this Nine to Five appropriate outfit with a definite nautical touch.

Featuring (price low to high)

Remember Me? The Alannah Hill Belt was also featured in this post.

Saturday 17 November 2012

Splurge, Sensible, Steal: The Pretty Peplum

Peplum is yet another trend I cannot wear. I am almost a perfect hour glass. I think there is a one cm difference between my hips and boobs. As a result, if I wear peplum I automatically look more like a pear.

But this is a pretty trend and I can see how it would do wonders for girls with different body shapes - so I have made it the feature of today's Splurge, Sensible, Steal.

As always, even if I don't always say it, I love receiving any feedback you might have - and if you are enjoying my outfits, be a few days ahead of everyone else and follow me on Polyvore.

SPLURGE

Le Posh Peplum

I have to admit I struggled with this outfit - I found the gorgeous top and skirt and put them together to create an illusion of a dress (with the added benefit of being able to split them into two different items if anyone buys) - and then struggled with the accessories. I confess I am still not 100% happy with this one! What would you have done differently?

Featuring (price low to high):

SENSIBLE

Pretty in Peplum - Mauve Gold-ess

I've called this one Mauve Gold-ess for two reasons. 1) Cheesy names are something I really enjoy and 2) the maxi dress with the rose gold seemed very glam and goddess like. My favourite piece? The Rocking Horse Ring - so different!

Featuring (price low to high)

STEAL

Price-Wise in Peplum

I've had to do a bit of importing with this one - as I continually complain, really affordable dresses are hard to come by in Australia. New Look though has very affordable flat shipping rates so if you get a few things its not too bad at all.

I added the blue and black skull scarf to add an element of fun to this outfit. I personally really like it, and I am more of a fairy princess as opposed to skull sort of girl...

Featuring (price low to high):

Friday 16 November 2012

And So It Is Spring Time

Goodness knows what possessed me to create a spring outfit with only two weeks of spring left, but I did, and here it is.

I chose the lightweight pants in an effort to avoid all skirts and dresses and the batwing top as it provides coverage if it gets chilly, but is light enough to be cool if it is warm. The mint bag adds a spot of pizzaz to an otherwise (pretty) but subdued ensemble.

Featuring (price low to high):

Wednesday 14 November 2012

The Glam Gatsby

Gatsby, or 1920's Art Deco style fashion is set to make a come back with the release of Baz Luhrmanns' The Great Gatsby in 2013. As an aside, so glad he did not use Nicole Kidman again, Isla Fisher is much more my style of firey red head!

Featuring (price low to high):

Remember Me? The bolero in this outfit was also featured in What To Wear To A Cocktail Wedding.

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Splurge, Sensible And Steal: The Summer Maxi

Personally, there are very few kinds of maxi dresses I can wear, the one featured in Why Cant' We Elope is one of them. But just because I cannot have it, does not mean I cannot look does it? Thus I will keep looking at gorgeous maxis I would never be able to pull off, stunning pumps I cannot really afford and goodness knows what else!

SPLURGE

The Summer Maxi - Splurge

After putting together this outfit it occurred to me the dress was not really that much of a splurge, sure its not cheap, but many people would think the price is perfectly reasonable. And then I realised having an affordable splurge is far from a bad thing, and plus, the colours are so earthy and interesting I was not going to change it.

Featuring (price low to high):

SENSIBLE

The Summer Maxi - Sensible

This floral dress caught my eye and I based this series around wanting to use it. Its pieces like this that make me curse my short and curvy stature!

Featuring (price low to high):

NB: J Crew are doing free shipping to Australia until 30 December 2012

STEAL

The Summer Maxi - Steal

Teals and purples are a classic combination. I've used varying shades of each to add depth to an otherwise quite plain outfit. The scarf could be worn around the neck, waist, hair or on a bag. I confess I definitely struggle with these steal outfits! Far more work goes into them than anything else I feature I think!

Featuring (price low to high):

STOP PRESS - Oroton are doing 50% off online and in store until the 18th of November. Simply print this voucher or use the code FF2012 online.

I Wear More Than Skirts!

I Wear More Than Skirts

So a simple cycle through this blog shows that the vast majority of my outfits are skirts and dresses. Given on my last wardrobe count I own one pair of jeans, one pair of harem/fisherman style pants and a pair of shorts, thats not surprising.

However, its awfully discriminatory if any of me readers like pants and shorts! So I do apologise and made this outfit for you. That said, I would so wear this! I am trying to make seasonal outfits and clearly this one is geared at summer, but given autumn and winter are my preferred seasons I daresay I will sneak some woolies into the mix as the temperature rises!

Featuring (price low to high)

Monday 12 November 2012

The Capsule Wardrobe Project - Part Five: The Jeans Have It

I started the Capsule Wardrobe Project on A Girl and Her Pugs. I only have one last post to do and while I considered posting it on the original blog - I decided to do it here as I have decided to move the inspiration boards.

If you are interested - here are the other parts...

I tentatively had more 'parts' planned, and who knows - I might do them yet. But currently there are no immediate plans to publish more outfits from the capsule wardrobe project.

I'm the first to admit that I am not a huge fan of jeans. Frankly, they don't look that good on me and I have a terrible habit of forgetting they should not be put in the dryer and shrinking them. Oops.

Regardless, for many the humble jeans are an everyday item. And so I created this sub-collection from the Capsule Wardrobe. The full wardrobe can also be viewed on my Pinterest and Polyvore accounts. I've not bothered adding explanations here - the idea of the capsule wardrobe project is that you can see for your self how many ways a few items can be worn.

Business Casual

Business Casual

Capsule Wardrobe Items

Accessories/Additions

Splash Me In Reds

Splash Me In Reds

Capsule Wardrobe Items

Accessories/Additions

Sleek in Stripes

Sleek in Stripes

Capsule Wardrobe Items

Accessories/Additions

Jacqui E - Chalk Striped Scarf - $19.95

Cozy in My Cardigan

Cozy In My Cardigan

Capsule Wardrobe Items

Accessories/Additions

Dress Me Over

Dress Me Over

Capsule Wardrobe Items

Accessories/Additions

Review - Wide Belt - $29.95

Saturday 10 November 2012

Naut on My Yacht!

Right - I am not the most on trend person - far from it. But frankly, I don't want to be. I want my fashion choices to be (as much as possible) something I won't look back on in years to come and go 'OMG, what was I thinking'.

Nautical is classic. There are heaps of different spins on it, but at the end of the day the preppy nautical look is never going to date tragically. I hope anyway as I love it!

Featuring (price low to high):

Thursday 8 November 2012

Retro Glamour By The Pool

Let's be honest, you really should not wear these babies anywhere near the water, some things just do not mix well... Like puddles and stilettos.

BUT they really were essential to create this Retro Glamour By The Pool Set. I am thinking of eras gone by where a desire for pale skin and the perfect coif meant very few women would actually swim. Making the stilettos almost practical after all.

All items available in Australia - no importing required.

Featuring (by price low to high):

What I Own - none of these actual items - but I do own a swimsuit from ASOS that is not dissimilar to the one shown here.

Wednesday 7 November 2012

Corporate Cool in Summer Heat

Summer Corporate

Keeping cool while dressing corporate is a constant challenge in Australian summers. Unless you live in Hobart maybe? We women are a bit luckier than our male counterparts as we can generally get away with not wearing a jacket when it gets hot.

Regardless though, judging by some of the outfits I have seen before keeping cool yet corporate is still a challenge. Here is one take on it. My tip - avoid polyester. Always avoid polyester if possible, sometimes its not possible if the item is very cute, but always avoid when its over 35 degrees or.... smelly!

Everything available in Australia - no imports required!

Featuring (price low to high):

Yes the bag is pricey, yes you could get something similar for a lot less. I liked this one! Plus a nice leather bag is not all that expensive when you divide its price by the amount of times you will use it.

Tuesday 6 November 2012

Splurge, Sensible And Steal: The Sequinned Dress

Now personally, this whole sequinned dress thing for the most part reminds me of my traumatic time in the local calisthenics group. But then I saw the 'splurge' dress and changed my mind. To be clear, I cannot afford the splurge dress, and if I could, I am not convinced I have anywhere to wear it, but damn do I want it!

Hopefully you know how this works by now! I pick a theme and then create three outfits based on a 'splurge', 'sensible' and 'steal' price point.

I do the best with what we have here in Australia, I confess for this one I had to go offshore more than I like to as a) the splurge dress is what gave me this theme and its overseas and b) getting a steal dress in Australia that is not sold out in every size is getting harder and harder and I want to post items that are in stock enough that people can purchase them if they want to.

SPLURGE

More is More - Sequinned Splurge

I've kept the accessories to a bare minimum for all of these dresses, and I think you can see why! With this much bling on the boddy you don't need anything else apart from shoes and a clutch for your lippy. To accessories this I would honestly only wear studs in my ears and maybe a plain bangle. But I am a bit boring....

Featuring (price low to high)

Remember Me? The Lady Garland Clutch has also been featured in this post...

SENSIBLE

She Sparkle's

I would have preferred a clutch a bit more 'clear champagne' than what I found, but c'est la vie. This outfit unfortunately involves importing still but most of it is available here in Australia.

Featuring (price low to high)

Remember Me? The Lydia Clutch has also been featured in this post...

STEAL

Sequinned Seductress - Steal

This was the only sequinned dress (with a decent size range available that I could find for under $60.00. There might be more out there, but with the fabric embellishments I'm not sure how much cheaper you could find.

This is a very sexy look - I personally could not pull this off without looking cheap in the wrong way. Proceed with caution! But if you can do it - you will be rewarded with an outfit for well under $100.00!

Featuring (price low to high)

NB: The shoes are on a super sale - they were available in all sizes except for size 10 when I created this outfit - no promises as to their continual availability!

Monday 5 November 2012

Splurge, Sensible And Steal: Cocktail Wedding

Le Sigh - a cocktail wedding is my favourite, I think of glamorous frocks, gorgeous canapés, delicious cocktails and venues ranging from museums, libraries, lounge bars and warehouses. We were married earlier this year and had a cocktail wedding - so it seemed a natural choice while I am doing the 'Splurge, Sensible and Steal' with a wedding focus.

I've kept the colours very classic, black, champagne and so on are oh so appropriate for this style of wedding! Most of our guests wore outfits not dissimilar to this, and they all looked fabulous!

SPLURGE

What To Wear: Cocktail Wedding - Splurge

The ironic thing with this splurge outfit, is that it did not end up being all that more expensive than the 'sensible' outfit. Whoops. That's probably because when I created it the dress with the statement necklace did not need much more. Reiss is a brand worn often by the Duchess of Cambridge/Princess Kate, if its good enough for her, its good enough for me! Generally I try to avoid 'match matchy' items (i.e. those from the same 'set') but the necklace and bracelet here from Mimco are so darn pretty I did not want to.

Featuring (price low to high)

SENSIBLE

What To Wear: Cocktail Wedding - Sensible

I do admit that a lot people would not find the prices of the items here all that sensible. But I guess when it comes to weddings I like to go a little flashy. Plus, the bolero, clutch, earrings and bracelets are all very versatile and can go with just about any after 5 look. And the shoes and dress are oh so pretty!

Featuring (price low to high)

NB: When I created this outfit the dress was on a $75.00 off sale - it might still be check it out!

STEAL

What To Wear: Cocktail Wedding - Steal

As you have probably noticed, I am having a very hard time finding on-shore dresses for a steal - so here is yet another UK import. If anyone knows of super cheap Australian dresses (or shoes) please do let me know!

Generally I prefer to use items that are not on clearance, but I am finding I have to with some of these steal outfits - so if you like something buy ASAP! Always in stock when I create the outfit and outfits are generally posted within two days so you might get lucky.

Featuring (price low to high)

Sunday 4 November 2012

Splurge, Sensible And Steal: Garden Wedding

Another episode of my Splurge, Sensible and Steal series. Keeping with the theme from last time, and given its in the heart of wedding season, I've gone with a 'What to Wear To A Garden Wedding' theme.

Personally I love garden weddings, even better if they are followed by an afternoon reception featuring picnics and croquet. But then I am a Nanna in disguise!

SPLURGE

What To Wear? Garden Wedding - Splurge

Some people are against black at a wedding. Personally I think as long as you don't look like you are going to a funeral or trying to upstage the bride, anything goes! So long as its tasteful and appropriate for the venue of course! And the name of this dress is just so darn wedding appropriate! This outfit is not full of splurges, to me a splurge is something you balance out with more affordable items! The dress is most definitely a splurge though! And that is the key piece after all.

Featuring (price low to high)

What I Own - the Diva Necklace, and I have to say, its served me well over the past 6 months for its money!

SENSIBLE

What To Wear? Garden Wedding - Sensible

Pretty florals will always be suitable for a garden wedding. I've used a multi-coloured dress in purples with teal accents and paired it with a variety of pieces that all complement the dress without being too matchy-matchy.

Featuring (price low to high)

NB: I personally buy my OPI from David Jones but had to source this image from a different website.

STEAL

What To Wear? Garden Wedding - Steal

Keeping it pretty in pink and pearls. The shoes tower, but the thicker heel makes them more practical for a garden than they first appear. I found it more difficult then I originally thought to do this steal outfit and ended up having to import more than I wanted.

Featuring (price low to high)

NB: The ASOS pumps were on a new season sale when I created this outfit and may revert to full price.