A Classic In Green Leather

"Classic" is not a word I throw around lightly. Especially when talking about clothes. To me the word conjures images of Audrey Hepburn in a little black dress, Jackie O in a Chanel suit, and I only have to mention Marilyn Monroe to know that you are already picturing her in the same iconic dress that I'm thinking about. These women made these pieces the timeless classics that they are today- but you don't need a celebrity of yesteryear wearing an outfit to prove it can stand the test of time. 

The humble trench coat may have been given a bad rap over the years (thanks to a stereotypical image of a flasher and dodgy guys on street corners peddling fake rolex's) but it's simple cut and strong lines have kept it current through many decades. All of them in fact since it's inception in the 1850's. Thanks to Burberry, we have a coat that with a good fit will be flattering on anyone.

My version of this classic has a definite army feel. I don't know if it's the leather (soft and buttery) or the shade of green (dark and forresty)  but I can't help but feel like some sort of glamorous war time spy when I'm wearing it.

While it is a very flattering cut, there certainly isn't a lot of room for weight variation. A few cheeseburgers could be all it takes to pull at the buttons and destroy the clean lines completely. There has been at least one Winter that I didn't think I was doing it justice so it stayed on the rack!

To roll with my idea of "war time glamour" I have played around with my scarf options for these pics. I am more likely to wear one around my neck in real life- but it sorta suits the head scarf version too. Doncha think? I also imagine it working with an unconvincing french accent. You know the one.

"I shall say zis only waaance...."

I honestly don't know why, but a fake moustache just felt like the right thing to do here. I can't explain where that particular gut feeling came from but I stand by it enough to include the photo in this post!

Classic Red and Black VS Purple Plaid Geek

I am kind of over compensating in this entry. I never got a picture of Mondays outfit so I have recreated it.

So Mondays outfit was I thought- a little boring. I don't really felt like I extended myself too much with it. Thankfully a friend at work told me I looked "Classic" which made me feel much better about the whole ensemble. Red and black are quite "safe" colours to put together. I find myself doing it quite a lot lately in fact. Black pencil skirt and black cap sleeve top with red belt and flower. I pretty much worked the whole thing around having a reason to wear the shoes though. I think if you're going to wear statement shoes you need to be careful not to have too much going on in the rest of the outfit. (Yes- I do have a line I don't cross...) These statements came from my favourite shoe store- Trademe- and were under $20.00. Zebra striped peep toed with red bows... how can you go wrong!


The outfit was teamed with a puma embroidered cardi that I actually bought from a friend of mine. Through Trademe. And I didn't know it was someone I knew till they sent me the sellers contact details. That has now happened to me 3 times with 3 different people. True story.


Now we are all caught up on the beginning of the week- today's outfit was purple plaid geek chic. The dress was from a fantastic store in Melbourne that I also bought a vinyl Piano key tote bag from. AWESOME. The least awesome part of reminiscing about this store is that I left my favourite pair of sunglasses in the changing room and was many hours away by the time I realised. Boo.


The shoes were coincidentally bought the same day. I actually bought them first- and then found the dress about an hour later. (I wasn't even trying to match them. I had other purple things in mind to co-ordinate the shoes with at the point of purchase...) I really like the frilled detailing and purple soles. They are also very comfortable to wear.



Topping this all off is my favourite horn rimmed glasses (to hide this mornings bags under my eyes) and a handmade ghost badge bought form the "Camp A Low Hum" music festival in Levin a few years back. One of the bands were selling them there with their merch. I don't recall the band at all- but their handcrafts were quite impressive.