How to 'toughen up' (or dress down) a pink and/or girly dress

Are you one of those people that looks a really pretty and feminine dress and thinks: "Oh, how beautiful! If only I could wear something like that", but feels they could never wear something that girly?  I am one of them.  Not my sister, she wears girly, frilly, lacy and floral with not one moment's hesitation, even with strappy feminine sandals.

Or, perhaps you have a beautiful dress hanging in your closet but feel you can only wear them on the rare 'formal' occasion?

Either way, for those who would like to wear a feminine girly dress (and yes, even in pink), here are some ideas on how I would wear it.  For some reason I don't feel comfortable in a girly feminine dress and strappy high heels, I need to pair them with something sporty or 'biker chic', or roughen it up a little.

Case in point: this beautiful and romantic pink broderie anglaise dress by Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini, via Avenue 32.  As you may know by now, I am a huuuuuge fan of online shopping, and Avenue 32 is one of all-time favourite stores.  Not only do they stock some of my favourite designers (Roksanda, Preen by Thornton Bregazzi, Maticevski), but also amazing new designers that I absolutely love discovering (e.g. Litkovskaya, Anna K, and more).

 Pink and pretty: Philosophy by Lorenzo Serafini broderie anglaise dress

 I loved mixing the delicate and feminine broderie anglaise with some texture, like fur (and further down, leather), and tough 'motorcycle' boots

Jacket: Dries Van Noten (old), Boots: Balenciaga, Dress: Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini (available at Avenue 32)

Pair a feminine dress with a little something sporty, I'm a big fan of bombers, and this is my new favourite, from Zara (!), love its beautiful embroidery!

I paired the dress with two sporty pieces, the bomber jacket and my trusty sneakers...I live in flats and sneakers, comfort is paramount, and not just for my feet, I feel more comfortable in my own skin too...

Dress: Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini (available at Avenue 32), Jacket: Zara, Sneakers: Adidas x Topshop (similar here)

 Nothing like a good black leather jacket to pair with a girly dress...my Helmut Lang jacket is one of my favourite buys of 2015, it goes with almost everything!

 Frilly details...

 And of course, one of my favourite footwear choice for a feminine dress: none at all, cozing up at home with a sweater thrown over, or barefoot on a beach (I will be bringing this dress with me to Byron Bay next week), love the contrast of cozy with girly...

In a nutshell, my favourite pieces to wear with a feminine dress are:

*Sporty-chic jackets like bombers, and silk hooded jackets

*Leather motorcycle jackets Faux-fur or denim jackets 

*Oversized chunky knit cardigans

* Tee-shirt, turtleneck or fine knit crewneck sweater under the dress

*Footwear of choice: mid-heel boots (with a chunky heel, like Isabel Marant Dicker boots), sneakers, Oxfords (like my favourite Dieppa Restrepo Cali oxfords), perhaps flat strappy sandals.

How about you, how do you wear your pink and/or feminine dresses? 

Outdoor photography by: Kevin Khaw

Indoor photography: me

Happy Friday everyone!
x
CC

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The New Guard - extra 50% off Sale items ( + Recent Buys: Dries Van Noten outerwear)

Ok, so this week has been a 'bad' one (or good, depending on whether you are looking from my wardrobe's point of view, or my wallet's).  Moments I received my email from Barneys Warehouse  I received the one below from The New Guard store.

I first mentioned about The New Guard two years ago, when I received a similar email, and just had to share with you all in this blog post (and I know I am responsible for enabling several purchases, oops!).  Since then my excitement for that store has grown even more, and peaked when they began stocking my favourite designer ever, Dries Van Noten.

I had already bought a tuxedo blazer from the TNG a little while ago, so went in today to purchase a Stella McCartney suit.  Somehow I came home with not one, but two other Dries pieces in addition to the suit, which I wasn't counting on (double eeps!), but seriously, how could I resist such an opp?

If you can't make it into their Pop up Store, you can use the code POP50 for an extra 50% off sale prices online. I am still itching over a few pieces I had to sadly leave behind (inc. these Stella McCartney sandals)

www.thenewguard.com.au

 All black in my 'changeroom'

Love this pic I found from Cahier D'Exercise of the long coat:

 Pics via Cahier D'Exercises

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Labor Day Outfit in 'My Red Lippy' Panama hat

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

It was a lovely long one here Down Under with some lovely sunny weather (except for today), but for 3 days we got to sun it up in the pool and have a lovely time!

Outfit details:

Hat: My Red Lippy Panama:

I must admit I am terribly un-sun smart, and only ever think of wearing a hat when at the beach (and not even that at times).  When asked to wear a hat to my Lil' Brigs #1's 'pre-school's picnic lunch, I realized I didn't have a hat, and found out about 'My Red Lippy' later on that day.

After being diagnosed with a melanoma at 5 months pregnant with her second child, Sarah Curtis sought out beautiful hats with wide brims that actually kept the sun out to protect one's my skin.  After much disappointment of never finding the right hat that both looked great and was fully functional, she started ‘My Red Lippy’.  These Panama hats are handwoven in Ecuador, as Sarah works with an Ecuadorian Co-op that helps women and children through teaching the a trade, and have a wider brim than your usual Panama hat, to offer greater sun protection.  Reading about Sarah Curtis' story made me realize I really should be more sun-smart, and it's so great that I can do that whilst still being stylish!

Dress: Sundry Clothing (available at Shopbop):

You all know about my love for stripes, when I first put this dress on I had to do a double-take to inspect the fabric composition tag, as it is so so uber soft! I will be wearing this a lot in the next few months.

Shoes: Dries Van Noten sandals (from 2009 collection)

Bag: Celine Navy Trio

Watch: Larsson Jennings Chain Metal watch in black (available at Liberty, from Larsson Jennings and Net-a-Porter) 

Sunglasses: Jimmy Fairly

Skincare: Dermalogica Dynamic Skin Recovery with SPF 50 (available at Selfridges,  Adore Beauty and David Jones)

Pressed Juices (black!) Lemonade - yes, black! It is part of their new Spring Range, and I was intrigued, for those who are too, the black is due to the Activated Charcoal, which you cannot taste at all, it is simply an unsweetened lemonade, very refreshing, actually.

Johanna Basford colour-in postcards: bought this 'book' of postcards with Lil' Brigs #1 whilst on our 'date' at the Art Gallery last week, she loves it! (you can find the book version here - which I have since bought, as well as another set of the postcard book, it is too cute!)


Thanks to Gina at Torstar and Sarah Curtis for my hat, I love it!  

Thanks to Kate at Bell Fashions for my Sundry dress, it is so beautifully soft I want to live in it!

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Peanuts' Snoopy and Belle dressed in designers threads (by designer I mean: Dries Van Noten, Rodarte, J. Mendel, Opening Ceremony and Calvin Klein)

For Peanuts' 65th anniversary, the 2014 iteration of “Snoopy and Belle in Fashion,” which features vinyl beagle dolls wearing the designer looks, launched Sept. 8 at the New Museum during New York Fashion Week.  From there, the exhibition will travel to the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, Moscow and Milan (sadly it won't come Down Under). 

Dries Van Noten crafted some made-to-measure outfits from his Spring/Summer 2014 collection, lucky Snoopy & Belle! 

Were you a Peanuts' fan growing up? I sure was!

Happy Friday everyone!

pic via DVN's blog

 Dries wasn't the only designer to dress the brother & sister duo:

 Betsey Johnson

J. Mendel

Pics via wwd.com

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What I wore: pastels and florals, oh my!

It is funny how colours can change one's mood. In taking the first picture below, I fished out this little-worn Miu Miu Bow bag I've had in my wardrobe but hardly wear.  I obsessed over the Miu Miu Bow bag for the longest time! When I finally got my hands on one, I was carting my 'baby bag' everywhere, so this was put on the back burner, and then I found it a little 'girly' whenever I reached for it.  Doesn't mean I didn't keep taking it out of the wardrobe to be admired from time to time, haha.  Anyway, I digress.  After snapping the pic, I decided to wear it over the weekend, and teamed it with one of my favourite dresses by Dries Van Noten.  Its painterly florals has me giddy like a little schoolgirl whenever I see it, ever since I saw it on the runway for the Spring/Summer 2005 collection.  Because I would feel too 'frou frou' in anything else, I 'dressed it down' with some Isabel Marant Dicker boots.  I'm not sure why I don't feel quite right unless I'm slightly 'undone', does that make sense?  Probably not.

 Peut-etre magazines, Miu Miu Bow bag, Chanel ballerina pumps, lily flower from my garden in an Antipodes water bottle glass (love this bottle!)

 Went on a little shopping spree at Country Road, mostly falling hard for their homeware and childrenswear (this is only a sample of what I got *gulp*) - first time I've ever actually partaken in their 'spend and save'.

My espresso coffee machine conked!!! I am so lost without it! Had to make my espresso this morning on the stovetop, and couldn't froth my milk! First world problem, I know, but I drowned my sorrows with some macarons whilst perusing one of my favourite Dries Van Noten lookbooks from Spring/Sumer 2006.

Wore this to my brother-in-law's big birthday celebration bash (take 2 - this time for family), it was a fabulous lunch at the Barossa, the kids had an absolute ball, as did the adults!

Outfit details: Dress: Dries Van Noten (seasons old), Bag: Miu Miu Bow satchel (available here), Shoes: Isabel Marant Dicker boots (available here, anthracite available here and here...).

Hope you all had a fab weekend!

Happy Monday!

xx

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From Sydney: Mak Mak macarons and Assad Mounser crown

Doesn't this bag look good enough to eat? Sadly it isn't mine, nor did I get the chance to borrow it from my little sister while she was visiting over Christmas, but I did get to snap a pic, to drool over until I see her (and her gorgeous flap bag) again:

 Whilst in Sydney I made a point of trying out some Mak Mak macarons, as recommended to me by the lovely Hannah Rose from 'Capture the Castle'.  A little research informed me the were voted 'best macarons' in Sydney by a blinded panel which included non other than Chef Peter Gilmore from Quay...needless to say, I was not disappointed.  They were A M A Z I N G ! And so purdy!

 I was only there for 4 days (one of them being a public holiday), so I only managed a quick spot of shopping, and in that, I snapped up this black 'crown' by Assad Mounser.  I was immediately drawn to it when I walked into Land's End Store, put it back down, thinking: I could never pull it off. But had to pick it up again:

 Still loving my Seed striped espadrilles...and loved my Scanlan & Theodore black drop crotch boyfriend pants so much, I scouted myself a pair in navy/ink.

 This was the actual colour of this heart-shaped poof at church (Sunday School), how cute is it?
Outfit details: Shoes: Seed striped espadrilles, Pants: Scanlan & Theodore, Bag: Proenza Schouler PS11 Classic bag (available at Net-a-Porter HERE, HERE and directly from Proenza Schouler HERE), Dries Van Noten black raglan top

PS. If you aren't already, you can follow me Instagram here (or Tumblr here).

Apologies that I update there daily, but here so sporadically.  I blame the ease of posting from my iPhone, it is just so much easier with the little ones and everything else...

xx

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Susie Bubble Fashion Weeks Street Style - dancing to the beat of her own music Pt 3 - my pics of her outside Chanel Haute Couture

I have been following Susie Bubble for the longest time, including when she was posting pictures on MyStyleDiary (before she was THE Susie Bubble).  Back in the day she also used to comment here, and even wrote to me a couple of times.  So I was particularly tickled to see her outside Chanel's Couture show during Paris Couture Week, especially since she was wearing the Dries Van Noten skirt she had blogged about a month or so earlier, and that I had actually seen in Dries' flagship store the day before (in all its beaded/embroidered glory - sadly, the 36 was the only size missing on the racks, which was slightly on sale too).  I was just about to muster the courage to go up and say hi, when I heard my name being called...by none other than Peut-être magazine photographer/creative-director/editor-in-chief Nathalie Malric, whom I was there to meet.  Susie, maybe next time?



all pics my own

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Emmanuelle Alt and I outside Chanel - Paris Haute Couture Week 2013

Ok, so the title is very slightly misleading, as I'm not actually with Emmanuelle Alt outside Chanel's Paris Couture show, but I did see her, and snapped some pics to share here. I also saw her later in the day, but will save those photos for another post... I was so excited about seeing 'The Alt', I completely didn't realize Barbara Martelo was also in front of me, until I got home and saw her in my pic on the computer screen.


 Chloe by Phoebe Philo dress, Dries Van noten sandals, Helmut Lang blazer, Chanel reissue bag and Ray Ban folding Wayfarer sunglasses

 Wanted to use my Dries Van Noten embellished clutch, but opted for the more practical Chanel reissue, as it was to be a long day...

 sans blazer...

This was a beautiful 'door' outside a very gorgeous (and posh) store...isn't it beautiful?

And there she is...and Barbara Martelo in the red leather pants.

Grabbed some fish tartare after the show, before Stephane Rolland's show

 The Alt

Mr Brigs had some escargots...when in France...

all pics by yours truly

(the blurry one being from my iPhone - my dress in the beautiful apartment in Marais)

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Dries Van Noten now available online at Barneys!

I am always excited to discover a new online stockist for my favourite designer (Dries Van Noten), or when a new store starts stocking it. I was a bit upset that Browns Fashion will no longer ship Dries outside the UK (such a shame too, they revamped their online site so beautifully), so when I read that Barneys was going to start stocking Dries online I did a little happy dance. I received their lookbook of Dries' Winter 2013 collection (clicking on any image will lead you to a piece featured in the pic), and just had to share it here:

My favourite piece currently available is this stunning embroidered clutch I actually saw at Le Bon Marché in Paris, it looks like a book and too gorgeous!

Available at barneys.com

Hope you all have an equally beautiful weekend!


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