Fashion Files

In honor of Spring finally arriving here in Sydney I thought I might put together a few Spring outfits. I’m just so excited that Spring is here, and I have really been enjoying the clear blue sunny skies and seeing the lavender in my garden blooming. Today, I picked some to put in my cute vase that sits on the hall table. The bees were feasting on the pollen so I had to be super careful when I picked a few sprigs. See how pretty the lavender looks in the vase? Anyway, let’s move onto some ideas for Spring outfits. Let’s Look At Six Spring Outfits Outfit Number One I bought these slim straight jeans from Witchery a few weeks before lockdown and I haven’t worn them yet! I really like the highrise silhouette because it makes my waist look thinner. The straight cropped legs fit really nicely and the raw edges are not too raw. Do you know what I mean? I’ve seen some that look severely frayed and I think the jeans end up looking a bit shabby. Any white top with faded denim washed jeans is such a classic look. I think this outfit looks clean and bright and so good for spring! It gets super hot here in Australia so these jeans are just perfect to add to my list of spring outfits, especially right now and in the coming weeks when it’s still cool especially in the mornings. The pointy patent leather shoes give the outfit a bit more of a sophisticated edge and so it looks a little dressier. These jeans would also go well with boots, loafers,  sneakers, or even sexy stilettos. It just depends on the occasion. Outfit Number Two This next outfit is super relaxed, casual and comfortable. The skirt reaches just slightly above the knee so it isn’t too short and I like to wear this skirt with sneakers. Again, this is a skirt I bought from Witchery. I don’t receive any affiliates for mentioning Witchery, I just really like their clothes. The cute skirt has fine black checked lines running through the fabric and so I think it looks good with a black t-shirt. I have worn this with a white t-shirt too but I think I prefer black. The black t-shirt is from Uniqlo and I like the scoop neck. It’s a nice change from the usual round or crew necks. Crossbody bags are unbeatable! They are so handy for when I’m out and about and I need my hands to be free. This lovely bag was actually a Kris Kringle gift from a work colleague a few years ago and the logo says it’s from Jag. I love the neutral color because it goes well with any outfit. The black piping around the bag is also a cute detail that goes nicely with the black top. Outfit Number Three This next  Spring outfit has my favorite neutral color combinations. The wide relaxed stone-colored pants are very comfortable. The high-rise fitted waist, zipper, and button make the pants have a slightly more tailored look. The rusty-colored top has a really cute neck detail. See how it is stitched nicely around the neckline to give the whole top a drapey look. I wear this outfit with the top tucked into the pants to give a more fitted look. I also read somewhere that if you wear looser pants it’s a good idea to wear a more fitted top. Vice versa when wearing a loose top it’s probably a good idea to wear more fitted pants or skirts. I think this makes sense. The rusty suede sandals go so well with the top. I’m always a bit conscious to not look too matchy but I like this combination. Outfit Number Four I used to never wear pink, then all of a sudden a few years ago I started liking pink and I shocked myself! But I can’t get enough of this dusty pink now because I think it just says spring! I picked up these pants from ZARA last year and I really love the cut and fit. They look way more expensive than they actually were and they don’t wrinkle, what a bonus! The creamy-colored top is from Country Road Australia. It’s probably a bit hard to tell from the photo but the cut of the top makes it look nicely fitted when I wear it. I bought this one a few years ago,  the good thing about Country Road is that they often bring out the same or similar pieces each year but in different colors. So last year I bought the same top but in black. I love my little Furla Metropolis bag. My handbag expert friend introduced me to the Furla brand a few years ago and she encouraged me to spend a slightly eye-watering amount on this little bag. It’s very cute but very little so I usually wear it when I don’t need to carry much. Outfit Number Five I’m not into a lot of animal print but I quite like this snake print blouse from Country Road. It has nice flutter sleeves and a gathered front. It is very loose and comfortable so I like to do a front tuck into the black shorts for a little shape and definition. The shorts are from Witchery and they are made of a nice thick satin elastane fabric. They are not too short and they fit smoothly without looking boxy. They make a nice going out pair of shorts. Outfit Number Six Another dusty pink favorite, this top is made of a polyester satin fabric with a gathered front and button detail. It’s pretty,  feminine, and can easily be dressed up or down depending on where I am going. The top is quite long and wide even though it is extra small. I always wear it tucked in and because the fabric is thin it doesn’t look bulky. The shorts are the same as

A Pencil skirt has a straight and narrow cut, it is slim fitting with a hem that falls either just at the knee or below. The Pencil skirt is very flattering to the figure and can even make you look taller. What a bonus for us vertically challenged girls! I bought this lovely black pencil skirt from Country Road a couple of years ago and I really love the fit. It is comfortable, flattering, and can easily be worn for any occasion depending on how you style it. Today I thought I would style the classic black pencil skirt 5 ways. I have some casual looks and a couple more dressy looks for fun evenings. I hope you like them. Pencil Skirt Outfit Number One First up I thought I would try a casual look. Here I have styled the skirt with a classic white T-shirt and denim jacket. I added some cute fun slip-on sneakers with a star pattern. This is a great outfit for mid-season weather,  like what we have here in Sydney at the moment. We are heading into spring and have enjoyed some warmer days but it’s still too cold for me to bare my arms brrrrrr. I like wearing a skirt with sneakers. It’s a cute look as well as being practical for all those days you need to run around doing errands. I bought these cute slip-on sneakers from Gap when Sydney opened its first Gap store. I was super excited, but unfortunately, Gap didn’t last very long here in Australia’s tough fashion market. Consequently, they closed their doors about three years ago.  Outfit Number Two This is a great Autumn or Winter outfit and one I have worn a few times. I like the ankle boots with the skirt, it’s a little bit dressier but still fun and casual. When I wear a jumper with my pencil skirt, I make sure to do a front tuck. This way the whole outfit doesn’t look bulky or frumpy. I like front tucking because it will give you a more figure-flattering look. Here is a closer look at the ankle boots. Ankle boots look incredibly stylish when worn with a pencil skirt. I bought these from Country Road last year, I love the pointed toe and angled heel. They are also really comfortable and warm. Perfect for going out on a winter night. Outfit Number Three Yes! A fun bright T-shirt with a back pencil skirt. Why not? I love this T-shirt which I bought from a place called Mitchell Road Antiques. My sixteen-year-old Son actually spotted it for me. At Mitchell Road Antiques they sell vintage homewares, furniture, clothing, and accessories. My family and I really love going there on the weekends. Sadly we can’t because it is shut due to the Covid lockdown. Once Sydney opens up again, this is the place I’ll be heading to first!! Anyway back to the outfit, I am very conservative when it comes to wearing bright colors. But somehow I don’t mind this orange. Maybe it’s because I have a weakness for Reese’s peanut butter cups. This outfit just screams fun and styled with leopard slingback shoes it is also a bit daring. Well, it is for me anyway, I usually go for more neutral colors. I would also wear this T-shirt tucked into the skirt, or front tucked. Outfit Number Four For this next look, I have styled the pencil skirt with a white shirt. I really like this white shirt because it has a really nice button detail, see the slits on either side leading up to the collar. I paired this look with some patent leather clogs, for a slightly more relaxed comfortable feel. I have such a weakness for clogs, they are truly comfortable and can elevate any outfit from simple to fun and interesting. This dusty pink brooch adds a tiny bit of color to the outfit. This brooch is beautifully made and I bought it on Etsy. I had been looking at the classic Chanel Camellia brooch for a long time. But I wasn’t keen to spend over $500 on a brooch. The Last Pencil Skirt Outfit~ Number Five This outfit is perfect for a night out. The black pencil skirt is teamed with this gorgeous shimmery gold top. Again I like to tuck this top into the skirt to maintain a flattering silhouette. The strappy heels paired with the pencil skirt make this outfit look elegant and dressy. I can’t wait until Sydney opens up again and we can go out for dinner. I will be wearing this for sure! I hope this post gives you some inspiration for styling a black pencil skirt! If You Are Interested In How I styled a striped Black and White T-shirt. You can find that here Links To Two Of My Favorite Clothing Stores Country Road Australia     www.countryroad.com.au Witchery   www.witchery.com.au  

I love reading about style and fashion tips, and I often get great inspiration from Pinterest, magazines, or style books. One of my favorite items in my wardrobe is the simple black and white striped T-shirt. It is just so classic and timeless. It can be quite easily styled in a variety of ways depending on the occasion. I can style this simple T-shirt for a dressier look or I can style it down for a casual look. It’s just fantastic how versatile this t-shirt can be and it’s a great inexpensive wardrobe must-have. I bought this basic round neck black and white striped T-shirt from one of my favorite clothing stores Witchery, and I thought it might be fun to put together a few outfits and have a closer look at a few style tips. Style Tips For A Casual look Wearing A Black And White Striped T-shirt With Shorts This first outfit is super casual and something I might quickly throw together when I need to run errands. I  really love my (well worn) pink sneakers which I paid next to nothing for at Big W. The shorts are from Esprit which has now sadly closed all of its stores here in Australia. One of the most useful style tips that I like is to combine subtle colors to a simple black and white outfit just to soften the whole look a bit. For this first outfit, I added my dusky pink sneakers and my usual Apple watch which just so happens to have a pink band!  Wearing A Black And White T-shirt In Between Seasons This next outfit is great for in-between seasons. I don’t like being cold so for cooler days I like to throw a jumper over my shoulders. Alternatively, I sometimes like to add a classic denim jacket too. As we are heading into spring here in Australia, the weather is starting to warm up a little bit during the day but it is still too cold especially in the afternoon/evening. So this is the kind of outfit I like to wear during this trans-seasonal time because I can add or take off layers as I need to. White Sneakers I love these white Superga sneakers, they are super comfortable and go so well with anything.  Just like this relaxed casual outfit in the picture above. Sometimes I like to wear my white sneakers with jeans and a blazer for a more tailored but fun look. Other times I have worn my white sneakers with a cute dress. I really love experimenting with the High-Low mix!  Wearing A Black And White T-shirt With Leggings For this next outfit, I have put the black and white striped T-shirt together with leggings and ballet flats and this can also be another great trans-seasonal outfit. Combining Ballet flats and leggings works perfectly for a casual yet chic look. I bought these leggings from ZARA and I really like how they are not see-through. They are the perfect thickness. The cross-body bag is also a fantastic ZARA find. I was shopping with a friend who has an amazing eye for bags and she spotted this one from about a kilometer away.  This lovely bag is leather and was very reasonably priced. A Dressier Look Dressing up the black and white t-shirt can be easily done by combining it with a pencil skirt like the one below. The silhouette of a pencil skirt looks very sleek and lifts the outfit to a whole new level. I like to add a brighter colored shoe for a bit of interest and to break up the black and white palette. Clogs I love love love these clogs!! They are just so incredibly comfortable and I think they make any outfit look dressier.  Like I mentioned before I think a nice bright-colored shoe will make the overall outfit look a whole lot more interesting! By combining the black pencil skirt and clogs with the striped T-shirt automatically makes this outfit look a whole lot dressier. This is something I might wear if I’m catching up with friends for lunch or going shopping in the city. Silver Jewelry I like to wear very simple silver jewelry. I really think silver looks beautiful with any black and white outfit. For our wedding anniversary a few years ago my husband gave me this super chunky wrist cuff. He picked it out all by himself and I was so impressed! For this last outfit, I combined a really pretty Veronika Maine skirt. The fabric has a sheen with a lovely pattern. I added some cute suede pumps and a big rose clip from Mimco. I love this clip because I can either wear it as a brooch or in my hair. By adding a silver clutch with a bit of bling, this whole ensemble can be worn out for a dressier occasion. It’s cute, stylish, and very feminine. This silver clutch has a cute glittery look and I like using it for special evening occasions. It’s by Gregory Ladner who has a great variety of pretty accessories that are very reasonably priced. The sued pumps from Marc Fisher are unbelievably comfortable. I know they don’t look it but they really are. If I had known how great they were going to be I would have bought another pair. I have worn gorgeous-looking shoes that have made me want to throw them under an oncoming truck and walk around the streets barefoot. There is nothing worse than being in agony when I am out and supposed to be having fun! I hope you liked some of these style tips and that you enjoyed looking at these outfits as much as I enjoyed putting them together. Thanks for stopping by! If you would like some ideas for preschool teacher outfits, you can find them here              

Luscious, Bouncy, shiny, sleek hair! That’s always been my goal. Growing up I had dreams of having side-swept cool hair like this. (I also wanted Belinda Carlisle’s face, lips, and earrings) but not wanting to be too greedy I would have just happily settled for her hair.   I spent hours in front of the mirror with my hairdryer desperately trying to tame my wiry thick frizzy black hair. If by some miracle the weather was on my side and it was a blowy dry day, I kind of had a semi tamed style and on those days I would document this event on my calendar. Today 4th August 1987 Ruth had a good hair day. There weren’t many of these days. My reality was more like this.   Sigh! When it came time for my school formal, my desperation for sleek hair hit an all-time high. How was I going to go looking like a frizz ball? I ended up going to the hairdressers and pinned all my hopes on her performing a miracle. What happened was, I came out looking like a bad version of 1984 Madonna. I ran home, washed my hair, and started all over again. I pulled out the iron and ironed it. This was before the days of hair straighteners and as it was January and summer in Australia I was fighting a losing battle. The humidity got me. Anyway fast forward many decades later and I will admit I have spent a lot of money on hair products. I blow dry my hair AND use a straightener. I have even spent a small fortune on Keratin treatment, which at first I thought was my miracle answer but soon realized that while my hair was not frizzy anymore, It was now super flat.  Recently I discovered this Schwarzkopf Extra Care Normal Balance leave-in treatment. It’s about $9.00 at Chemist Warehouse. Not a bad price at all! And so far so good! I do add quite a bit, maybe double what it recommends but I must say, I’m impressed. We had a super rainy week last week and while I did not have my dream sleek look, I didn’t look too scary either. My hair was, let’s say ummmmmm what’s the word? It was ok. Yep. It was more than ok, it was pretty acceptable! So there you go. If you are fighting the frizz, maybe give this a go. It’s a better alternative than a paper bag over your head.