Minimalism and Special Event Dressing

Minimalism and Special Event Dressing

This is what normally goes through my head when I receive an invitation to something slightly fancy. Oooh, exciting. Yay, we are free that day. Bother, we have something the day before – why are these things always clustered together? What am I going to wear?

The what am I going to wear question quickly becomes “What am I going to buy?” A wedding, a big party, a celebration is a lovely excuse to hit the shops and indulge. But not this year. This year my wardrobe options are limited to strictly in-house shopping. Read more

Boys Clothes Take-Over

photo courtesy of I LoVe Kool

I wonder if all mums of boys ask the same thing — where are all the cool clothes for little boys? When I visit a department store to shop for my little guys, I’m inevitably disappointed. I circle around a few times trying to find the boys section. Eventually I land at two racks. With girls’ clothes crowding either side. One rack is full of licensed product and cartoon characters. The other is a sparse collection of t-shirts, jumpers, track-pants and jeans in an odd assortment of sizes (and never the sizes I need).

Fellow mothers of boys, we have been heard. Creative types have seen our need and they are ready to fill the gaps in our son’s wardrobes. Read more

What to wear to Adele

I’m old. I know this because I listen to ABC radio in the car, can’t see without my contacts and have an emergency set of tweezers on stand by. But despite my advancing age, or perhaps because or it, I’m headed to a concert next week. Like a lot of people in Brisbane, I’m off to see Adele.

Tickets were a Christmas present from my husband. There was a great deal of hinting. I actually unwrapped the Adele biography. A few moments of frantic searching revealed no tickets hiding in the pages. So I had to ask “does this mean what I think it means?” We had a circular, cryptic conversation that amused him and frustrated me. Happens often.

Anyway, after confirming the existence of tickets, my mind turned to what to wear.  There are a few practicalities to consider. It will be hot. We will have to walk a fair way to the concert itself – Gabba parking being horrendous. There shall be dancing. We are going out to dinner before hand. Read more

Where to find sewing patterns

Where to find patterns

One of the things I love to do with my spare time (the little I have) is to sew. It’s such a lovely thing to take fabric and a pattern and create something beautiful. For those who’d like to try sewing, or are looking to get back into it, finding the right patterns is key.

So where do you find the best patterns?

The traditional place to buy patterns is a fabric store. They have pattern books on display where you choose your ideal look. Then you locate your code and size in cute, old-fashioned filing cabinets. I have fond memories of selecting my grade seven graduation dress just before we bought ALL the taffeta. But that filing cabinet is not the only place to look.

Here are few that you may not have tried …

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Getting back to Corporate Style

Next week I step back into heeled shoes and corporate clothes (read more about why here). After a couple of years working for myself, it’s a huge sartorial change.

getting back to corporate style

At the beginning of the year I culled my wardrobe. It’s a new year tradition. This year I focussed on figuring out my office wardrobe, how it would play with my existing casual threads and identifying any clothes I would need. Happily, I discovered I have a lot of clothing that translates into office wear. Unhappily, many of the pants and dresses I wore years ago no longer fit.  Read more