BLACK AND WHITE BLOUSE STYLED TWO WAYS

 Hello dear readers, hope you are all well.

First of all, I would like to share with you exciting news - last week my middle step-son (I had three step-children from my husband's first marriage and he has two step-daughters from me😄) and his partner had a baby boy👦. She is originally from Japan so the baby has her almond shape eyes and thick mob of jet-black hair on his tiny head and looks absolutely gorgeous.  No name yet, though.  In Australia you have 60 days to name your newborn and after that the name will be assigned by some Government body.  Hopefully, it will not come to that.

Another not so exciting but still very important news is that after five months of looking for a job, I finally got one.  Back in September last year, the owners of the company I worked for 10 years decided to retire and sold the business to a company based in Melbourne.  I didn't not see it coming, I was hoping to stay there until I chose to retire in a few years time but that was not meant to be.  The job that I was doing was transferred to their Melbourne head office thus rendering my position redundant.  I was devasted.  

It was a small bookkeeping job, just two days a week which suited me perfectly.  It left me with enough time to help my older daughter with her two kids twice a week, and attend yoga, pilates and barre classes in my gym.  It gave me a reason to leave the house in the morning, dressed in clothes other than the gym gear, talk to people outside of my usual circle of friends and acquaintances, give my brain something  to do and earn some money.  Not that my husband ever denied giving me as much as I want, I still wanted to have my own funds.

It took me almost five months to find a replacement and it was an absolute struggle.  Sadly, my old bosses were literally old and not big friends of modern technology. Once I started viewing job ads, it hit me how far the technology has moved on in the past few years.  And it not only applies to accounting software but how much the technology has become an integral part of all aspects of the business.  I don't want to bore you with the details but if you imagine that you have been using the rotary phone and then one day someone hands you the latest model of an IPhone and tells you that this what you will have to use from now on and you have to figure it out all by yourself.  It was not enough that I have over 10 years of accounting experience, in the eyes of the recruiter I was a ignorant neanderthal.  Which is not far off, giving that I am turning 64 this year and probably was the oldest job seeker on the market.  there were days when I felt stupid, useless, hopeless and frustrated.

I was just about to give up, when a recruitment agent who saw my profile on Seek (Australian job seeking site) and offered me a role in a small company, doing exactly what I was doing for two days per week.  Sounded good to me, so I asked him to set am an interview with the MD.  During the interview, I realised how many similarities this company shares with my old workplace.  The software that they were using was about 20 years old, every document is printed on paper and either filed in the old fashion manila folders or piled high on the desks and tables or along the walls.  The MD himself is a man in his seventies so my age didn't bother him in the slightest. All he cares about is that the job is well done.  And here comes the best part - the office is literally 500 meters away from my home and I walk there in under 5 minutes.  So all and all, it worked out in the end for me, fingers crossed.  I sincerely hope, it will last🤞.

Now that my mind is in a better place, let's talk about fashion.  For today's outfit, I chose a monochromatic black and white colour scheme.  I do love bright colours and wear them quite but today  we were going to see a French movie called "The Taste of Things" which was a part of French Film Festival and I wanted to wear the colours that are so popular amongst Parisian women.

The blouse is a new addition to my wardrobe.  My younger daughter bought it for me when she was working at Country Road retail store over the Christmas break.  In fact, I was just wandering among the racks and this print caught my attention.  I also liked the fact that the blouse is cropped so I don't need to tuck it in which comes very handy when you are wearing a silk pencil skirt and you can't tuck anything inside it as it will ruined the smooth look of the fabric. 

I asked my daughter if she can apply her staff discount but she generously just paid for it.  

My cropped unhemmed pants are so old that I don't care to remember how long it is since I bought them but I like their style, they look trendy, I can still fit into them and that is good enough for me.

The movie was an absolute joy to watch. The lead roles are played by Juliette Binoche, who plays Eugenie ( a renowned cook with no equal) and her ex-husband Benoit Magimel playing Dodin, "an epicure whose ideas for recipes combined with Eugenie's talent, combined culinary magic" .It's brilliantly filmed, both actors are on top of their game and if you haven't seen it yet, I strongly recommend.

The other night we were going to the Opera House to listen to a classical concert and I was wearing this same blouse but this time instead of white jeans, I put on black pants adorned with pearl buttons running along the bottom part of the pants;  the sneakers were replaced with black patent cup-toe shoes (worn here) with a pearl clasp and swapped silver chains hanging around my neck with a long string of pearls linking all the elements of my outfit together.  

I like this blouse when I just saw it hanging on the rack and now knowing how adaptable it could be, makes me feel even better.

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo

HOW TO TRANSIT LINEN PANTS IN AUTUM IN TWO DIFFERENT LOOKS

Hello. my dear friends, hope you are all well

We are a half month through our Australian autumn but the warm weather still holds which means that we haven't packed our summer clothes yet.  However, these days if I have to leave the house early in the morning going to work or for a walk after the sun is set, I would grab something warm to cover my shoulders.  

It's this in-between-the seasons period when you need two sets of clothing, one for the warm time of the day, the other - when the air gets cooler.  It could be a hoody if I am going for a walk, a jumper or a unbuttoned shirt if I am running errands and wear something quite casual or in case of a more formal occasion, a classic blazer does the trick.

It might sound like too much hassle but it's quite simple, really.  I still wear my summer clothes but always have a jumper with me, a blazer or sometimes just a long sleeved shirt to throw over a t-shirt or a singlet, depending on what our plans for the day are.

One of the pieces of clothes that I tend to wear quite often lately is a pair of my new ecru linen pants.  Thanks to their simple style and neutral colour, I don't need to worry about my colour choices and I could easily dress them up and down by mixing them with casual or formal pieces depending on what we have on during the day.

Last weekend, for example,  we were going to the Art Gallery of NSW to view the Kandinsky exhibition from the Guggenheim museum in NY.  As you all know, in this day and age nobody is expecting you to adhere to a "dress code" anymore and roll up at the door wearing a tux or a ball gown and elbow length silk gloves.    Ever since COVID all the rules of what should be worn where have become blurred or just simply disappeared.  However, my husband I, both born in another era, still like to follow a dress code, at least to a some degree and dress up accordingly.  

We are both love and respect art so for this particular outing I chose to wore my linen pants topped up with a simple white t-shirt but then I put on my red classic blazer from David Lawrence and accessorized with my new LV scarf to elevate this casual outfit to another level.  

And I decided to carry my Pinko metallic handbag with heavy metal chain to mix things up a little.

The exhibition was quite extensive, one of the biggest outside the US, and we loved it.  As a former citizen of the former USSR, I felt very proud that such a prolific and talented painter was my fellow  countryman.

This weekend, on the other hand, we were invited to a combined birthday party, my husband's middle son and his girlfriend were both turning forty.  The party was taking place in the park where they hired an open patio with casual tables and chairs and BBQ area where the host, with the help of his male guests cooked us some sausages.  

There were also a lot of different dips, freshly sliced vegetables and a several bowls full of potato chips.  In other words, it was a very casual  laid back affair, the atmosphere was very relaxed and very enjoyable.

My outfit was equally very casual.  The same linen pants but instead of a t-shirt I wore a singlet, in case the weather would warm up as the day progressed and I could take off my pink and white striped shirt that I casually threw over the singlet and left it unbuttoned.  

So, here we go - two very different occasions and two different looks, the only common thing between them was a pair of linen pants.

Glad you stopped by, please let me know what you think, I love reading your comments.

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo

HOW I STYLED MY NEW LINEN JUMPSUIT

Hello my dear readers, hope you are all well.

This jumpsuit that I recently found in Myer department store was a totally accidental purchase.  In fact the reason I was there in the first place was because my younger daughter asked me to return some of her purchases that she didn't have time (they are all so busy) to do it herself.  

Besides, the Australian summer is almost at it's end and I was not going to buy anything that will have to wait another 6 months to be worn.  However, when I saw this fun looking green belted linen jumpsuit, I couldn't resist its bright print.  On top of that,  it was hugely discounted that tipped the purchase of it.

There was one feature of it, though, that I was not sure about - thin spaghetti straps which usually  means that you can wear a decent bra underneath.  However, on a closer inspection I saw that the back panel of the jumpsuit was elastic that tightens up the fabric around your rib cage and keeps everything nicely tucked in place.  You know what I mean.

It comes with the belt which is made out of the same fabric which I like, it also has side pockets and closes with a side zipper.  Tick, tick, tick.

I had a few ideas of what to wear with it and decided to go for the bold statement.  Thus I settled for the red colour shoes and a handbag.  If you look at the colour wheel, you will see that red and green sit right opposite each other and thus are called complimentary colours.  The best and most recognisable example of this winning combo would be the Christmas colour scheme.  

Sadly, these I don't wear these red suede shoes very often so I jumped on the opportunity to air them out.  My LV handbag is quite old, alas not vintage and goes perfectly with the shoes.  I like the playful vibe behind this outfit.  Wouldn't you agree?

Is a jumpsuit your cup of tea?  And if yes, would you prefer it to be in one solid colour or print?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.  I really value your opinions, my dear readers.

Outfit details: Jumpsuit (Wayne Cooper), Shoes by Edward Meller - Old (worn here)

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo

WHAT I WORE ON A HOT SUMMER DAY

Hello my dear readers, how are you all faring in 2024?

In this post I would like to continue what I started in the previous post, summer and linen.  If you missed my last post, you can catch up with us here.

Today I would like to present you my new linen waistcoat (UK version) or a vest, as its called in the United States.  If you live or have been in Australia during summer months, you sure know how hot and humid it could be, so wearing items like vests, singlets or spaghetti strap dresses makes perfect sense. 

Out of all summer fabs popping up on the streets of Sydney, the linen or light cotton vests seems the most popular.  Some women like to wear them paired with wide legged pants and flats sandals or sneakers, while others opted to wear them with pencil skirts and heeled shoes, a smart way of mixing casual and smart for the office.

I was on the lookout for a linen vest myself and when I saw a vest in bottle green colour in Zara, I couldn't resist adding it to my closet.  It came right on time, as the temperature in Sydney has soared to new heights in the last couple of weeks.  Today I am wearing it with my old white Bermuda shorts and flats but I also tried it with my new tie-dye skirt (worn here) and white linen pants (yet to be shown ) and it looks great with both.

It might make you chuckle looking at me wearing a scarf in the middle of the hot summer day but we are on the way to a museum and as all other public places in the city, it is heavily air-conditioned and very cold which makes me get seek easily, hence I seldom leave the house without one.

As I am writing this post, I am looking at the images that my younger daughter just sent me from one of the ski resorts in Japan, where the snow is up to her knees and the temperature is below zero.  And she is absolutely loving it.  Go figure 😀.

Until then,

Anna

XOXOXO