The black whole

I love colour! I always try to wear something with a strong colour or pattern just to add that pop of interest. But sometimes even a colour enthusiast like me just wants to dress sombre, in greys and blacks.

It's okay though because then you can look at the silhouette and get back to basics with some classic shapes and some good quality. There is also that always fun option of adding colour and interest with accessories. Ooooh, I do LOVE to experiment with accessories!

I'm staying local today. I have noticed that I do a lot of my dream shopping in international stores on the Internet, neglecting to even check the local brands. It's bad of me because it's no biggie if every second person has a jumper that you covet - it is your mission to make it fit in with your style by adding a little something different to it.

My pick of the black goodness today goes as follows...

(l-r top line - Country Road outfit, Jag dress, David Lawrence skirt, Jag shirt, Just Jeans scarf, Just Jeans hat, Jag sweatshirt, French Connection jacket, Jigsaw necklace.)

Nice, but maybe a little too monochrome? Jazz them up with these bright spots.

(l-r - Jigsaw red belt, Lancome lipstick, Ice purple watch, Elk wooden necklace, Jigsaw scarf, Louen Hide bucket bag, David Lawrence silver bag.)

What I really wish though is that I was walking the streets of Oslo on a sunny summer's day looking exaclty like the gorgeous Hanneli. Wouldn't that be perfect?

Dress me!

Today my wardrobe is offering up zero inspiration. That can be blamed in part on the fact that I can't seem to make a dent in the pile of laundry that seems to be having dirty laundry babies all the time! No population control is the problem.

So a good portion of my clothes is sitting in a pile on the laundry floor along with half of Hubby's sock drawer and various pajamas and school uniforms.

But I know where the clothes are always clean and freshly ironed - the gorgeous Wonderful World  Wardrobe! I'm getting virtually dressed today ... actually, I'm also really dressed just in case you thought I was wearing my skin suit today.

So, if I had access to the ability to click my fingers and make clothes magically jump onto my body, this is what would appear.

 Old Navy gingham shirt, Piper Lime sequin cardigan, Urban Outfitters pants, Asos colour block bag, etsy silver necklace, and grey boots from Shoe Show.

If you wouldn't mind, I would like you to picture me in this outfit today instead of the reality - jeans and a jumper. Your cooperation is appreciated.

Rachel style

One of my favourite actresses, Rachel Weisz, has just married my stand-by husband .. you know the one you have waiting in the wings in case things don't work out with the current one? Or is that just me?
Anyway, I am going to have to find a new stand-by because  *sniff*  Daniel Craig is off the market!

I have always like Rachel Weisz so I can't be too angry with her, although it is a little inconvenient to have to go and find a new celebrity crush. But maybe it won't last!! ;)

I thought I would show Rachel how I don't hold it against her by having a trip down memory lane to revisit some of my favourite Rachel looks.

Yum!!! I don't know who designed this dress, but I love it! And Rachel looks flawless.

Not so yum. Sorry I had to show that even Ms Weisz is not perfect. This is like some sort of satin pant suit with a brocade pattern. Eek!

Casual yet funky and gorgeous. I am going to have to try to recreate this look for myself.

Casual Rachel on the go looks as good as dressed-up Rachel at an event. Not fair!

Divine!

Better than Angelina any day!

Love her use of colour - and she has the best hair ever!

I just hope she and Daniel have children because those kids would be superior beings.

(All images come from Getty)

Songs and mud, no style

Six years ago a friend and I went to the Glastonbury music festival with my two girls then aged three and 18 months. My friend worked on the Festival's PR team so we had 'VIP' treatment, which really just meant a largish tent within smelling proximity to a bank of port-a-loos. The tent was behind public lines so we got to see all of the badly behaved celebs park their ridiculous cars on our front lawn.

But, it goes without saying, we had a FABULOUS time and my girls still claim they can remember every second of it!!

Most of the people there looked like this...

..... that is tired, dirty, sleeping, and drunk! And the mud was like mud you have never seen before - like brown Clag glue that has had sand and all of the earth's smelly things scattered in it. Blurk! I can still smell it.

It was amazing how happy and friendly everyone was under the trying circumstances. And it was fascinating to see how everyone sort of deteriorated over the days. The first day they arrived sparkling and all dressed up and ready to go, by the end of the weekend they were sleeping in muddy clothes and wandering around in those same clothes all day!! I think my girls stayed in the same clothes they are arrived in, undies and all. It took all of my efforts to get their teeth clean and to stop them from disappearing into the mud.

When they bands came on stage we forgot about all of that and got down with our bad selves. I'm not usually much of a dancer but the crowd enthusiasm made me forget that. The bands included the White Stripes, Coldplay, Beautiful South (my favourites from the whole festival!!!), Elvis Costello (a close second) and New Order. Musical fabulosity!

Having been there it always amuses me to see photos of celebrities poncing about in their cool outfits, looking to me like they have been photoshopped into a field. I mean, where is the mud? Where are the dark circles under the eyes? Where is the unbrushed, straw hair?? These pampered pooches obviously fly in for a couple of hours of press time then board a helicopter home. Seriously, at any given time there seemed to be four or five helicopters lined up to arrive or leave, each of them bearing someone too posh to slum it with us.

Like waving a red flag!

Ruby reds are on my mind today -

• The red hibiscus flowers that are experiencing a mid-winter bloom thanks to the appearance of the warm winter sun. They are in a planter box at our front door and it makes me so happy to walk past their happy flowers!
• Oozing, roasted red tomatoes that are going into our soup for dinner tonight.
• The red beads on my bracelets bought in India 10 years ago... not so much the pale, pasty arm though!
• Red shoes ANYTIME. I bought my red desert boots a couple of years ago in London, but these are the same ones!
• Bold red lips. I'm over the pale lips thing but a quick search of the Internet shows celebrities are still way behind me. They'll have to leave behind flesh coloured lipstick sooner or later!
• and my favourite red cardigan bought from Gap yonks ago!

Look out! Colour below.

Another trend I love but am not sure if I can pull off is coloured jeans/pants. I have never been bold enough to venture into colour or pattern on the bottom instead of the top territory, but looking at some beautiful examples in the media has made me think seriously about finding the courage from somewhere!!

I could start off by easing myself into the coloured bottom waters by sticking with neutrals. White?!? Hmmm .... maybe because I do like white in winter as well as summer.

Kelly Rutherford, Leslie Bibb, Fearne Cotton, and Cameron Diaz all looking good in white pants.

Or I could leap in and pull on some bold colours and wear them with a self-confident swagger.

 I mean how good does Elle MacPherson look!? I'd like to think I'm just a pair of red jeans away from looking like this while I drop my kids off at school, but probably there is more of a gap than I'd like to admit ;)

I seriously love these tartans pants from Tripp NYC. With a big white or black jumper slouching over the top I think I could venture this far! Could a 40-something Mum wear these??

Worn out but not old

I'm feeling old and past it today :( I went for an interview with the career guidance company that is 'handling' me after my job was 'restructured' and he kept going on and on about how I shouldn't put dates on when I was at Uni, are dates on my first jobs ... because apparently people with half a brain will work out how old I am and those same people will be aghast at the idea of hiring someone in their early 40s!! Egads!
Really?! Is that old now? I am in a serious career crisis if it is!!

Also, yoga last night was intense and I managed to do something to my knees that is not good .... so I now not only is my resume telling me I'm past it, my knees are too. *sigh*

So I need some quirky fun today and who better to look to for that than Zooey Deschanel!!! Of course!

Zooey is 31 but he can still rock out the cute, quirky, retro look with the best of them and I want to borrow some of that vibe and give it the 40s treatment.

Let's revisit Zooey first though cause she's gorgeous.

Got to get a red and white t-shirt with a diagonal stripe. I will, however, not be wearing a red bow on my head.

Broderie Anglaise in the form of this blouse from Anthropologie. It's winging it's way to me as I type such is my inability to resist the lure of all things Zooey.

A peak of flouncy pink skirt beneath a black jacket and above black tights and brown boots. Not to mention a fabulous musical career!

Complimentary jewel tones together. I haven't tried on a gathered skirt in ages, but this outfit makes me think I might.

 

A natty red hat and gorgeous retro coat so that I too can look all winsome and like I am about to send my lover off on a train to destinations from which he might never return. Not that I would do that Hubby, relax ;)

Stripes and spots go together lots and lots!

Today I bring up a point on which I differ with a friend of - spots and stripes together! Not a terribly controversial topic you wouldn't think, but apparently my friend HATES it! Hates them together!! (Her shouting, not mine.)

I learnt this about her because I was having coffee with her once and across the room she spied another coffee sipper who was wear a pair of spotty flats with a stripey t-shirt at.the.same.time.in.the.same.outfit. This so incensed my friend that I was treated to a 15 minute tirade about how much she hates those two things together. Apparently the wearer ought to just pick one or the other not pile both together causing a clash of patterns that is outrageous to behold!

Yikes!

Well, I am seeing her this afternoon and I am trying a little experiment - will her head spin around if she sees me wearing a spot t-shirt in direct contact with a stripey belt? Really, I think this is the least adventurous of all the pattern clashes out there, but I happen to like pattern clashes and may just have to be a lot more bold in the future!

Sunshine almost always makes me smile

The sun is out in Sydney today! I feel like I have emerged from a dark wet tunnel onto a bright sunny beach! Hahaha! In Sydney we are such babies about overcast weather, and I'm orignally from Queensland so I'm especially partial to sunny days. I know the rest of the world labours under cloudy, cold skies for much longer than we do, but that doesn't make it better!

Cardigan is from OldNavy and the white t-shirt is from Cotton On

So in celebration of the sun I wore my sunniest, while still being warm, cardigan. It's yellow - what could be sunnier than that! It's my attempt to keep the sun around for a while, sort of a sartorial sun dance :)

Let's stay with all yellow for a while - searching for these yellow lovelies made me feel very happy.

The watch is from Jules B, the scarf from Boden, the rug from Zainterior, and the clogs from Anthropologie. The others are random images off the internet.  

"I bet you never saw a pet as wet as they let this wet pet get"*

All of this wind and rain currently hitting Sydney has left me feeling a bit chilled and bedraggled. The weather reflects my mood (or is it the other way round?) because I often feel swept along by my life, particularly now that I am out of work.

But pretty things make me feel better so I have decided to share some gorgeous raincoats that I wish I had hanging in my wardrobe right now.

Last year I bought this raincoat from Boden when we were in American and it gets dusted off every time it is cold and wet in these parts. It's a bit too heavy to wear in Spring/Summer though, but I do get a lot of compliments on it because it is a large departure from the boring black macs most people throw on in a precipitation situation.

I did some ebay shopping for you (but honestly, mostly for myself) and found you the pick of the rain coat crop! All of these sellers deliver to Australia so go Mac happy!

Eileen Fisher

Polka dot mac

 BCBG mac

Calvin Klein black cape

Gap summer trench

Zac Posen raincoat

Nautica rain jacket

Stylish ways to keep dry - I feel better already. Let me know if you buy anything!

(* Dr Seuss knew how we felt in One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish!)

You can do this at home

(getty images)

I really like this Lisa Kudrow look - nothing at the forefront of fashion about it, but it is easy to reproduce and easy to wear. We aren't talking about hanging out at Paris Fashion Week, just running around living your life.

Lisa looks really casual, relaxed and happy in this outfit and I want that. Come on, we all have a pair of jeans, a black shirt and a grey cardigan in our wardrobes don't we? The tan belt and beads are the essential icing on top, and good hair is kind of key as well!

Lisa is a gorgeous lady in her forties (48 according to her Wikipedia entry) and she knows how to dress her age. I have dark hair but I like to think that from the neck down we could be style twins. I also do that picking-at-my-fingers thing when I am talking to someone I don't know well! Separated at birth! ;)

To recreate Lisa's look try these online buys:

 Gap black shirt

+

Witchery belt

+

Elk necklace

+

Jag jeans

+ 

Ruche cardigan

= casual Lisa Kudrow perfection. 

High waisted? An inch too far?

I must confess to a love of the high waisted jean! I know!! Who do I think I am, Katie Holmes or something?
Let me assure you I am no Katie Holmes in figure or fortune, but I still can't get the funky look of highwaisted jeans out of my head.
Really, the truth is that no woman who wore these jeans when they were a child (I'm raising my hand) should slip back into them 30 years and three children later. So I want to try to recreate that 70s jeans look without the risk of looking like I have just dusted off my real 70s jeans.
My solution is to don a waisted blouse that povides that high waisted look with it's own cunningly included tight waist.
A la...

I bought this Ralph Lauren silk blouse from ebay in summer and it's a perfect fit, perfect colour, perfect silky feel. All round perfection. I am going to wear it with my Lucky Brand Charlie flares and a red cardigan I bought from Target years ago. You need the right platforms as well ... so from the ankles down I'll look something like this little beauty from Shoe Show.

A sheep crossed with something fashionable...

The jumpers shelf in my wardrobe is in the most dire need of an overhaul! I have some old jeans, some tired shoes, and some pre-2000s t-shirts but it is my jumpers that are letting my wardrobe down.
Cardi's in all colours and v-neck woolies don't seem to cut it any more, so I need a couple of new winter warms to add some zing to the jeans + boots + t-shirt + jumper combo that I seem to favour lately.

Now, just so you know, I CANNOT do the boxy cropped, or oversized batwing thang! I can't! I have boobs and those boobs make boxy things look like I'm hiding a furry animal on my torso.

So this from Jag will never happen...

Even with skinny black jeans, and the best black boots, and all sorts of fabulous jewellery this would never look good on me. So rejecting that shape rules out at least 50% of the knitwear in the shops at the moment! Every women's wear retailer is having a serious Flashdance throwback!

However, this could be a goer.

Nice but still not quite the ticket. So, of course, I scoured some of my favourite internet shopping sites for inspiration, and now I'm sold! Looks like the good old computer mall might win out over actually turning up to a shop once again! (I seem to like stripes a lot ... I never realised that.)

(l-r top line - Urban Outfitters, Free People, Tracy Reese, Nordstrom, Land's End Canvas, Nordstrom .

l-r bottom line - Lucky Brand,  Free People, Land's End Canvas, Gap, Banana Republic)