I don't believe in basics, well not in the way that nearly every magazine or fashion blog preaches their importance to your wardrobe - "The 10 must have winter basics you need have in your wardrobe now" with a list of mostly black, white and denim pieces that are all incredibly boring to my eye. For me my winter wardrobe basics are of the loud and bold variety, sure I need a raincoat but make mine yellow with bright flowers all over it. Pink tights replace black tights, a cute pink beanie instead of a grey one, pink patterned gloves and so on, you get the picture - give me all the colour please! As Buzzfeed said recently of my style it's "retro meets rainbow, and shows that bright colours shouldn't be confined to the warmer months"!!! These photos were taken on a cold and rainy day whilst we were away in Daylesford, at beautiful Lake Daylesford. Did I mention it was absolutely freezing cold and lightly raining when we decided to walk around the lake? Thankfully I had my trusty and oh so bright Tsumori Chisato raincoat to layer over my outfit to keep the rain at bay, which had all the Daylesford locals and tourists starring at me as I was the brightest person in the whole town that day.
Outfit details Yellow flower raincoat Tsumori Chisato Pink leather jacketGorman Neoprene tie dye co-ord jumper and skirt Shakuhachi no longer available but the dress is on sale at David Jones Pink tights Kardashian Kollection from Woolies Pink glasses Bespecd Nara's in Rose Pink Pink ear muffsDaiso Pink beanieDaiso Lilac backpack Little shop in the main street in Noosa Brogues Gorman
Underneath the raincoat I was wearing my trusty pink Gorman leather jacket which kept me toasty warm. A biker jacket is a must have piece for winter in my opinion, and I love owning one in statement making pink!
My outfit was this Shakuhachi two piece co-ord tie dye neoprene jumper and mini skirt that I picked up at their store in the Emporium on sale. Neoprene get's a bad rep from a lot of people who don't like the texture, personally I find it really warm and comfy and I love how bright this set is.
Protected from the rain in my hooded raincoat from Tsumori Chisato. My Daiso gloves help keep me warm too.
Pink glovesDaiso Yellow flower raincoat Tsumori Chisato Lilac backpack Little shop in the main street in Noosa
As does my Daiso beanie and earmuffs! Perfect winter basics in my favourite shade of pink!
I'm super excited to announce that I'm teaching a class with Lady Petrova at her School of Fabulousness all about finding YOU & YOUR PERSONAL STYLE on September 19! In this insightful class, Fashion Hayley & Lady Petrova will teach you how to create your own signature look and fine tune your style identity. We will also help you with your self confidence and teach you the tools so you know what styles, colours and silhouettes suit you & your figure best. 100% Body Positive, Fun, Quirky and Insightful! For more information and to secure your spot please click here. I can't wait to meet you all (｡♥‿♥｡)
I had the most incredible weekend away for my birthday this year. Henry and I took the v-line train to Daylesford, a stunning country town about two hours from the city of Melbourne known as the spa capital of Australia. As we don't drive we didn't get to visit the nearby Hepburn Springs as well, but in our short two day visit we sure packed a lot in. Walking around the town is pretty easy, although all the tourism does seem to be set up for those that drive as we were often advised something was just a quick 5 minute drive away and then when walking there were no footpaths, or footpaths that suddenly take you up people's driveways and to their house. We did eventually make it to all our destinations though, the beautiful Lake Daylesford, the old Convent Gallery and tea house and the epic vintage store that is the Mills Markets as well as taking advantage of the previously mentioned Spa's with a relaxing massage and facial for me, a wonderful birthday treat. All of our adventures were documented over on my instagram. On day one we walked up to the Wombat Hill Botanical Gardens, to take in the scenery and snap these outfit photos. My dress is a bit wrinkled from spending over two hours sitting on the train, but oh well I still looked cute!
It was absolutely freezing cold! Luckily I was prepared for this and had brought with my my cute pink ear muffs, beanie and gloves all from Daiso!
I just love my super cute Daiso gloves, you can't beat them for $2.80!
The Miranda Skoczek x Gorman collaboration is so amazing. This dress is the Team Miranda dress, I love everything about it from the name to the cute applique motifs to the cut. The perfect winter dress for me, I am living for jumper dresses these days.
The last time I went to Daylesford was on a school trip many many years ago. All I remember from that trip of our shot stop in the town was there was a lolly shop that sold giant chocolate freckles and I knew I wanted to see if they still did. So we found the shop, on the main street of the town and found what I thought were the giant freckles but were in fact just medium sized ones as right up the back was this giant thing. Of course we had to buy it even though Henry grumbled over the $20 price tag, but hey it was my birthday! It was actually pretty delicious, and a lot of fun too!
Super cute cut out brogues with copper detailing. I love that with the cut out detail when wearing bright tights you can see them poke through. For some reason that makes me very very happy haha!
Hello and welcome to my first post of 2015. I had planned on doing a round up of what 2014 meant to me but in all honesty I've needed this short break from the blog to clear my head after a pretty eventful and intense year. But now I'm back and pinkerthan ever thanks to the Westgate Park natural salt water lake that turns bright pink in summer. As pretty as it looks I don't recommend bringing a picnic to eat around it as we had planned because it smells like egg farts which isn't exactly appetising. Speaking of eggs how amazing is my pink bubble dress by Brisbane designer Soot with it's prehistoric egg like shapes dotted around? I bought it when I visited the designer Edwina Sinclair in her studio in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley when I was in town for the opening night of Future Beauty at GOMA and have been waiting for the perfect location to pop up to shoot it in. The pink lake was kinda the perfect place to shoot this very unusual piece don't you think? So amazing to have come across this little known part of Melbourne.
These pink coke cans were just made for me. I just wish Coke Zero had these cute colours available too cos I don't actually drink full fat coke. I had a sip and it just tasted like icing sugar! FYI Coke didn't send me this or pay me or anything it's just a cute can and obviously their marketing team are great because here I am advertising coke for free just cos of a pink can #smartmarketers!
OMG this bag you guys, how amazing is it? Made by local Melbourne label Maude Studio I just love how much is sparkles. It reminds me of an old Barbie doll dress of mine from when I was a kid. The love heart shaped musk stick bangle is hand made in Melbourne by a man in his 80's called Alan. I love that it looks like one of my favourite childhood lollies - musk sticks. It's part of a set of three bangles stocked at Save Yourself Shop.
I've recently discovered SNS manicures - these are my natural nails dipped in an organic acrylic powder that sets hard and lasts even longer than my usual shellac.
I bought these super kawaii platforms at the South Wharf Windsor Smith outlet for $30, can't go wrong with that! Pink platforms Windsor Smith
Getting away from Melbourne for a few days last week to the beautiful Sunshine Coast was a much needed break and I'm already missing the lazy days by the pool. I have had a lot of changes to my life recently, namely Henry and I have mutually decided to end our relationship, or as Gwyneth would say we have decided to consciously uncouple. We are both happy and at peace with our decision and looking forward to what the future brings. He will always have a special place in my heart and I am hopeful that we will continue as friends. The Sunshine Coast was the perfect place to regroup and focus on myself in the wake of this situation and I'm really glad I got to enjoy some much needed fun in the sun with friends. Of course I went all out with the #pinkcore poolside pieces as my love of pink just never ends!
I just love this pink floral bikini by independent Australian swimwear label Azalea Swim. I'm all about the #fatkini this year and this one is just so cute. I love love love the cute little frills. Azalea Swim cater up to a size 18 which is perfect for inbetweenies like me.
Not having Henry as my usual outfit photographer is going to take some getting used to. I really wanted to showcase just how bloody awesome these Doodad and Fandango ice cream earrings really are, hopefully you can tell. I've been wearing them everywhere since I got then. I want so many things from their collection, would make the best Christmas pressies!
Ok I'm kinda against shopping at H&M but I do pop in to have a look from time to time, usually on my way to the Strand Arcade's boutiques such as Gorman's Weekend store, Fat or Funkis. Anyway I was doing just that when I chanced upon this cute pink basket bag and I just had to have it even if H&M are highly questionable ethically and I prefer to shop local whenever possible. I can't be perfect all the time guys! This was only $10 which is both good and bad, good for my pocket but bad knowing just how little the people making it would receive. I feel so much guilt but I figure I do more than my bit and one bad thing is allowed. Don't hate me.
Oh look here! This is me doing my bit, haha. These awesome cute thongs/sandals are by Honeybees Australia and $2 per every pair sold goes directly to bee research. Bees are currently endangered and with them they will take our flora, fauna and a third of our diet if they do die out. So saving the bees is a really important cause, why not get some cute poolside shoes at the same time?
My most recent trip to Japan was during their spring, meaning most of the clothes in the shops and that I bought were spring/summer pieces not really suited to the freezing cold winter Melbourne has been having. Thankfully that cold weather is now finally over as we are officially into our spring and Melbourne has sure been showing us some beautiful sunny days of late. This of course means I can finally wear all the clothes I bought in Tokyo that have been tucked away in my wardrobe taunting me with their cuteness all winter long! This cute white dress being one of them. By one of my all time favourite Japanese labels Ne-Net who I first saw at Tokyo Fashion Week back in 2007 (can someone tell my why I wrote my blog in red text back then?) and have loved ever since. This dress with it's oversized collar, drawstring waist and super kawaii penguin embroidery just had to be mine. I've spoken before how Japanese brands are generally one size fits all and this brand is no exception. This means not every piece I love will fit me so as soon as I find one that does I buy it straight away. Annoyingly this means they're often a little short on me but I can live with that for the cuteness of the design - I'll just wear them with leggings!
This bag is also by Ne-Net, but a previous collection. It's apparently meant to be a polar bear but looks more like a bunny rabbit to me. Cute either way.
Winter in Melbourne is all about layering. It's a must in this city of four seasons in one day, so that's why we're always carrying around cardigans, rain coats and umbrella's as you just don't know what to expect. That's why I love this lightweight floral rain poncho by Tsumori Chisato I picked up whilst in Tokyo last month. It's not only cute and fun - it's practical too! You see it folds up into an easy pouch so you can slip it right into your bag to use when needed. I love it's fun colours and floral print though so I've just been wearing mine as much as possible (mixing prints is a bit of an obsession of mine), but as the weather warms up I can see myself popping it into my bag for those colder moments Melbourne is known for.
I bought this cropped red jumper at Target on sale for $15 the other week when I was caught out in exactly one of those bitterly cold Melbourne moments and needed something fast as I'd forgotten my cardigan. Thankfully I found this and I think it works perfectly layered with this outfit. I think cropped style tops work really well on my body even though they're actually considered a plus size no-no. Obviously I don't listen to those out dated fashion rules and you shouldn't either! Stuff the rules, wear what you want and you'll look fabulous (like me haha).
What's this? Another Gorman dress? Why yes. Yes it is. You could say I have a slight addiction to the brand right now. But it's not my fault that they produce so many cute dresses now is it? Anyway I bought this dress the other week after waiting and waiting for it to go on sale but it just never did so I caved and bought it full price because I didn't want to miss out. That is until it went on sale today. So yes while I paid full price you can now get it on sale for $40 off. Lucky you! I'm just so in love with the dress that it doesn't matter too much that I missed out on getting it on sale.
Look how cute the cat ear shaped flaps are on the pockets of the rain poncho! Kawaii!
Henry bought me this fabric scrap chain link necklace by Mercibeaucoup for my birthday. That and all my other Tokyo purchases will be featured in a new Tokyo shopping haul video next week so look out for it.
I have wanted a piece by local Melbourne label POC since I first saw the designers individual RMIT graduate collections back in 2012 so I was really happy to score this dress from their first POC collection on the weekend at the fundraising garage sale I mentioned in my last post. The garage sale was raising much needed money for 19 year old Isabelle 'Baby Riss' Ruiz who has been diagnosed with the rare, life threatening blood disease aHUS, the medicine for which is not subsidised by the government making it grossly expensive and out of reach. Her medicine costs $600 000 per year! You can help by donating directly over at her Fundly campaign and like their facebook page to keep up to date on their campaign and Baby's health. In terms of the dress I am so happy to have been able to have my money go to a good cause AND get a dress I love and have wanted forever! I love how the local fashion community got together to donate their wears for the cause - it makes me want to support the designers who donated even more.
My turban is a beautiful silk scarf by my very talented textile designer friend Eloise Rapp whose label Rapp just launched an amazing new collection - the lookbook for which is just about the best thing I've ever seen.
My pineapple AND Gorman obsession continues with this outfit. I lusted after the pineapple bag for months last year but as I was saving up for my Tokyo trip I could never justify it, so you can imagine my surprise and delight when I stepped off the plane back to my house in Melbourne and there it was sitting on the bed waiting for me with a lovely note from Henry - AND the bed was made. Double surprise haha. The necklace was also a gift, this time from my sister for Christmas, and I do love it so. The top is actually old season Gorman that I picked up last year on a friends facebook sale page, and I love how it works so well with the new season pineappke pieces. This outfit is one of my all time favourites - I love how all the pieces just come together and work so well.
ATTENTION MELBOURNE PEEPS - Tomorrow Saturday 8th Feb from 1pm there is a super amazing CHARITY GARAGE SALE happening at Goodtime Studios 746 Swanston Street Melbourne for Baby Riss who has been diagnosed with a life threatening blood disease the life saving medicine for which is not on a government subsidy making it grossly expensive and out of reach ($600,000 per year). Lots of Melbourne designers have donated goods for the sale including PAGEANT, POC Denim, Kinoak, Kloke, POMS, Dress Up, Livia Arena Label and more plus there will be racks of vintage too. If you can't make the sale then there is a fundly campaign raising funds for her life saving treatment, any donation helps. xoxo
I've been in love with Gorman this season, I think I've said it before on here and I know I've expressed it on my twitter and instagram accounts numerous times, but seriously, they're doing something right this spring/summer. FYI this is in no way, shape or form a sponsored post - I do just really love the label, and have since their inception. This dress is a recent-ish buy from their Boxing Day sale and it gets me so many complements. The contrasting side panels help to define my waist - it's like a magic trick, honestly! I also am in love with the zig zag patten on the bottom and the sleeves. Essentially I just love this dress! Outfit details Dress Gorman Flower crown Local garage sale Sunglasses Tsumori Chisato from Pet Shop Girls Watermelon necklace Gorman Bangle Tsumori Chisato Tote bagLactose Intoler-Art Coral flatforms ishoes Lipstick Shanghai Suzi in watermelon
I wore it to check out artist Ben Morrison's field of Sunflowers in industrial North Melbourne. The artist saw that this industrial block next to the train line wasn't being used and was just accumulating weeds and rubbish so got permission from the owners to beautify it. And it really is beautiful, especially during 'golden hour' (just before sunset) which just so happened to be when we visited. The sunflower field can be accessed from Macaulay Station on the Upfield Line, just walk beside the train tracks under the freeway overpass to the location on this map. The flowers should be in bloom for another two weeks or so. Just watch out for the bees!
My friend Laurie and I look a little stressed out here because there were many many bees, but we had to get the perfect shot y'all!
My bright yellow shellac manicure matched the sunflowers perfectly.
Bangle Tsumori Chisato
Hot tip! Don't wear heels or platform shoes if you go to check it out. The path leading to the field is treacherous and rocky, just like in this photo, and I almost fell on my ass numerous times. But my shoes are so pretty guys!
This bag was a gift from Brandon of Lactose Intoler-Art whilst I was over in Tokyo. I love it as it reminds me of him when I wear it, missing you Brandon xoxo
