Winter

Black & Gold

by ilikeyourshirtfashionblog

What colour never seems to go out of style? Black. What do I find myself wearing if I don’t know what to wear? Black. It is difficult to deviate from the prosaic shade which seems to compliment any outfit, particularly for those who prefer black over brown. And with autumn and winter approaching for the southern hemisphere, there is a guarantee that black will replace the vibrant colours of summer in order to blend into the looming grey skies. Therefore, I am challenging those who will don black this season to spice it up with a ‘popping’ colour, and I suggest metallics. Yes, metallics are reminiscent of the 90’s and occasionally possess a certain trashy quality of the 80’s, but Saint Laurent reinvented the incorporation of metallics into an ensemble during their Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer ’15 collection and demonstrate how they can be worn in both a casual and dressy sense.

Saint Laurent Spring/Summer '15. ikifashion.com
Saint Laurent Spring/Summer ’15. ikifashion.com
Autumn/Winter '15. fashionbeautytrends.com
Autumn/Winter ’15. fashionbeautytrends.com

Which leads me on to my next point of discussion…gold shoes! I may have jumped on the bandwagon and bought a pair of Doc Martens- mostly because they were gold and half price (justifying your purchases makes your conscience feel better). Obviously I considered the fact that gold is not always the easiest colour to team up with, however they make a statement, which is reason enough.

Black is the undermined best friend of the metallic colours such as gold, because it compliments without detracting from the flamboyance. Black and metallic instantly glam up an outfit, and don’t have to be reserved for night outings or appear gaudy. As long as there are no other elements of the outfit which are bright or intensely eye-catching, then metallics can always look appropriate.

I took my Docs out for a strut around the city the other day, wearing predominantly black in the awkward summer/winter weather. Let me know what you think about the black & gold combination!

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Jumper- Minkpink

Dress- Cotton On

Shoes- Doc Martens

Necklace- Sportsgirl

Bag- The Leather Satchel Co.

Follow me here or on my Instagram! Laura x

Swinter

by ilikeyourshirtfashionblog

The other day I watched flocks of people scuttle around Melbourne city in their coats and scarves with disbelief. For those who do not live in the southern hemisphere, this is an uncanny observation. It is summer after all, and typically, we Melbournians should be sweltering in 30+ degree weather by now. Naturally I was shocked by this sudden bout of winter and was caught in only a blazer to keep me warm.

Obviously both Melbourne and I were not in a summer mood, because although I was unaware of the cool weather, I had decided to wear my favourite winter blazer. The bottle green tone creates a nice contrast with the cream, and also helps in dressing down the bordering-on-formal dress. Wearing pretty flats can assist in dressing down an outfit without making it look cheap, so I find it within my best interests to keep an army of nice sandals or ballet flats for when I go out. This comes in handy considering I still struggle with the discomfort of heels.

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Blazer- Zara

Dress- Sportsgirl

Necklace- Sportsgirl

Bag- ? (‘Twas a gift)

Shoes- Rubi shoes 

Hats aren’t Just for Bad Hair Days

by ilikeyourshirtfashionblog

I found a $6 hat in a shop the other day. I’m not typically a hat person because honestly I feel like they just don’t suit me, but the reduced price tag and the maroon colour was screaming out at me. This was the beginning of my fascination with hats-not so much on how they suit me-but other people’s magical abilities to pull them off. Nina Dobrev wears them religiously and looks fantastic. And with the amount of people rocking the wide-brimmed felt hats for winter it has become clear to me that hats are no longer confined to being worn for protection against the sun and for covering up a case of forgot-to-wash-my-hair-oops. I was inspired to wear it for non-beach and non-chaotic hair purposes on a day out. I actually enjoyed it, and I even felt lighter on my toes despite the extra head-weight which does not make sense. Unfortunately it meant that if I took it off when I was indoors I’d have to deal with some seriously static hair. Needless to say I rarely removed it from my head.

I must add that I am tremendously excited that it is now winter. Somehow the cold and grey skies make me want to get creative. And blog more. Which is something that I have neglected because education has been a large obstacle for time. Learning is great but it hasn’t left me much time to blog, or even get out of the house to be overly honest. Until next time, hopefully I’ll acquire more inexpensive and fun hats to play with!

Leotard- Forever New

Skirt- Forever New

Denim jacket- Op shop

Bag- Vintage

Shoes- Lipstik

Grunge is Back

by ilikeyourshirtfashionblog

Those three words provoke a variation of reactions. Some believe that grunge belongs in the period of Nirvana and Pearl Jam and that’s where it should remain. Others, typically the younger generation embrace the style as modern and effortless. Personally I love it, which may be because I am venturing through my teen grunge phase at this convenient time. You would think that the designers from Givenchy and Yves Saint Laurent attended festivals and walked through city streets in order to obtain inspiration for their most recent collections, as the style is reminiscent of what tends to saunters down the street these days. The fashion houses that opted for grunge this season had a distinct contrast against what other designers did, as the look is relatively casual, youthful and messy. It’s very different and suprising for high fashion brands, however I’m thrilled that it has been done. Now people may consider me as ‘high fashion’ rather than ‘angsty adolescent’.

Prim & pretty is not the look for the incoming autumn/winter, but rather dark & edgy. So I took inspiration from Givenchy to channel this new wave grunge. Patterned maxi skirts paired with baggy jumpers proved to be a key combination for the brand which I attempted to imitate with slightly less punk.

Skirt – asos

Jumper – Bettina Liano

Sandals – asos

Bag – ?

Personal note: Should load up on the eyeliner and red lipstick next time I aim to channel some grunge.

Leather in the Fields

by ilikeyourshirtfashionblog

Leather for winter is like being offered free money: always welcome. And especially this year with a massive revival of the silver-studded biker jackets from a couple of years ago and the clunky leather boots, leather (real or fake) is always on trend for winter one way or another. However I chose to downgrade the edgy, lethal look black leather usually provides by pairing it up with a relatively dainty dress that is often too delicate in appearance to wear on its own. Incorporating my vintage leather jacket balances out the wildly feminine look and also makes the dress wearable in winter, which is a bonus.

Leather jacket- Vintage

Dress- Sportsgirl

Shoes- Lipstik Shoes

Bag- Vintage

Belt- ?  

Spots and Socks

by ilikeyourshirtfashionblog

It was suspiciously not bone-cold chilly the other day which granted me the luxury of deciding not to don a coat outdoors. This was exciting because I don’t own a coat that compliments the dress to my liking, so a single layer could suffice in the pleasant temperature. I bought the dress yonks ago from a small market and thankfully leopard print in public continues to be acceptable, and although I’m not entirely convinced that the kinky print can be pulled off as a beacon of sophistication, I am completely sold on this dress.

The over-the-knee socks worked well in the weather and to liven up the outfit I adopted a vintage bag that I discovered during my annual exploration through my mother’s wardrobe. She may have owned some timeless pieces, but there was plenty of rubbish among the gems that she is convinced will come back in style ‘sometime soon’. I don’t have the heart to tell her that it’s 20 years past the time.

Dress- Sweetaeacia

Bag- Vintage

Shoes- Nine West

Socks- DIY made

It’s been a while…

by ilikeyourshirtfashionblog

Wowzers. It really has been a while and the only excuse that I can offer is that I have been super busy doing non-fashion related things (namely being locked up in my study with coffee and trackies while cramming my butt off) which has left me with basically zero time to document anything really. I apologise profusely and regret that I have neglected my blog for this while. But no need to dwell in the past, because presently it is officially winter, and for those who are accustomed to my repetitive rants would be aware of my enthusiasm for the chilly season. And it has by no means disappointed, because already in June the temperatures have fallen drastically close to snow weather and I have spent copious amounts of time wishing I had a whole wardrobe of coats to flaunt in these freezing temperatures. Of course snow is practically unheard of in Melbourne, but if climate change is legitimately transpiring then anything is possible.

Anyway back to my point. Unless you tend not to part with your lovely heater, you would have realised that monochrome, which is a fancy word that refers to the black and white trend, is huge. So colossal in fact that black and white are the only visible colours in select stores- I do not jest. I’m not complaining about this, purely because black and white are relatively flattering on most people and ever classy as an outfit. Personally, I find limiting your outfit’s visual appeal to these two colours (or shades, take your pick) makes it appear a little stiff for casual wear, so I tend to employ some other colour to make it pop.

Below I am wearing my 50’s 3/4 pants which provide that pop effect, and is accompanied by a black trench coat to protect me just in case snow-like substances appear from the sky anytime soon. I am probably crazy to wear clogs in this weather but with  scarf like that, who cares.

Coat- Forever New
Pants- Bardot
Shirt- Minty Meets Munt
Shoes- Sportsgirl
Bag- Marikai
Scarf- Vintage

Ain’t No Sunshine

by ilikeyourshirtfashionblog

It was unreasonably cold today which was why I had to reason with myself to wear stockings. But I find this almost exciting, because the days are steadily becoming cooler and greyer which means that winter is near (!) and personally, I believe that there is no greater season. Yes, I am one of those ridiculous people who actually welcome the cold, because I find that layering up, inhaling the scent of fire wood and sipping scalding hot chocolate to escape the chill utterly thrills me.

Here I opted for my velvet blazer to shield me from the cool elements, although it didn’t do much in regards to the rain.

Blazer- Zara

Shirt- Sussan

Shorts- Just Add Sugar

Shoes- Inui

Bag- Vintage

Stockings- ?

The Long & Winding Skirt

by ilikeyourshirtfashionblog

Move over hippies from the 70’s; maxi skirts are becoming classier than ever. They are also being worn by women everywhere during all four seasons, because essentially, they can be worn at any time. They can look great without appearing too conservative and can also provide a chic, bohemian look. However if you believe that there’s too much fabric covering the legs, then there are plenty of sheer ones out there to show off the legs, or ones with sexy thigh splits that unquestionably exclude the nun factor. I don’t mind covering my legs, and only recently have I recognised my fixation for maxi clothing, as you could probably immediately pick up from my previous posts. I think I enjoy the sinuous sensation they bring.

The skirt was a well-spotted sale item from Forever New which complements this Forever New top that was a Christmas present. The fairly cool weather today meant that longer sleeves were required, and to be honest I’m becoming quite excited for winter!

Cheeky split!

Skirt & Top- Forever New

Bag- Fiorelli

Shoes- Sportsgirl

Socks- Target