What I wore to play - a paisley shift.

Ever have one of those days? The type when your son flashes your undies to all and sundry at the local shopping centre by using your dress to steady himself on an escalator. The type when both children manage to either wee or poop all over the bathroom floor? ( and not at the same time so you have to clean up twice! Sad when you are just grateful that it was on the tiled floor). Anyway, that has been today. So I am celebrating the fact that a) I am dressed today and b) I quite like what I am wearing! But it also explains why I look like I have been dragged through a hedge.

I bought this dress a few months ago but have only just gotten around to wearing it. I think it is going to be a firm favourite. I bough it at Temt. They have zero online presence and the website is awful. The shops are a bit of a nightmare as well, to be honest, but I have to say that I enjoy the thrill of the hunt and finding the gem amongst the dross and the ugly. As an added bonus - It's cheap! I think this dress was $14.95.

 I was initially attracted to the print. I love a good print. The colour combo is not one that I would usually wear but I do love all the individual colours and wear them quite often so combining them seemed a good idea.

The hem length was an initial concern and still remains so.  I need to be extra careful when bending over! Having said that, I have enjoyed the short hem today. I am feeling really confident at the moment body wise and kinda enjoy showing it. I think the loose shape and covered up top balances the short length.


The shoes are also new. I needed new sandals that I could also wear to work. These were from spend less shoes, of all places. As a bonus, they have buy 1 get 1 half price at the moment so I bought them in Tan at the moment. They are actually really comfortable and are as substantial and well put together as much more expensive versions I looked at.

Shoes: Spend less shoes, Haze $29.95

So this is how I play. Very cheaply today! Do you have a summer "uniform"? I need one, stat!


Lily

What I wear to work - a Dressy Bessy dress with spots

This dress is one that I have bought fairly recently. Which actually just means post kids. Given that kid 2 is almost 2 it is not actually that recent! Anyway, this dress is lovely to wear. It's cool and comfortable and (I hope!) looks nice. I worry a little about the fabric, I think there is potential for shrinkage, but as we line dry everything I am hoping it will be ok for a while.

The brand is Dressy Bessy. I bought it at a local boutique. I really love small boutiques for finding something a bit different. The website here has some really amazing things. I think I will need to spend a bit of time perusing!

The pattern and colours are quite gorgeous. I love colour and pattern, I think it is my inner magpie coming out.


How do you dress for summer? Do you have a go to outfit or look? The cotton is quite cool and breezy to wear so it is especially good for steamy summer days...like the ones we are having now!


Lily

What I wore to work - denim and sparkles

I am lucky that my workplace is relatively casual. I don't wear jeans but I am not expected to wear a suit. Neat, tidy, professional looking.  Not terribly exciting. I've mentioned before that I am struggling with trousers at the moment. They don't seem to fit right. Two pregnancies in a short amount of time will do that. So I feel schlumpy and dumpy all day. Hence the reason I wear dresses. A lot.


So today it's another dress. A Denim Shirtdress. Comfortable. Love it. Of course I have to add a little something-something to it. Today it was a sparkle necklace and patterned shoes. Which probably should not be worn in the same outfit but that is how I roll.

(Please excuse the creases, a morning moving computer hardware around will do that to a girl!)

Dress: Target USA, similar here
Necklace: Target Aus, similar here
Shoes: Diana Ferrari, similar here.

I find the process of blogging an interesting one, for a number of different reasons. Being a proud tech head I love the actual IT process involved. The hardware, the software, coding, love it all. I find the taking of photos also quite fascinating. I am frequently (daily) surprised to see how outfits look in a photo, as opposed to how they look in my head. Sometimes it is a nice surprise, sometimes (all too often) it is quite confronting. Is that how that outfit actually looks?? Why didn't anyone tell me??

Overall though, it is a positive experience and one that has me thinking. And isn't that what it is all about?

Lily

A dress for the festive season

I like to wear a dress on Christmas Day. We usually walk that line between fancy and casual for Christmas. I would say Smart Casual but that doesn't really clarify things at all! It's a dress code I loathe because I never know what it means and whenever I go to something that is "smart casual" there is always such a range of dress. Which shouldn't really matter, I guess, but for some reason it does.

So Christmas Day. Not too casual. Not too fancy. It needs to be weather adaptable. Christmas Day can be bloody hot. But it might not be. And it needs to be a decent length. This is probably the trickiest one. So many dresses, I hold them up and they end mid thigh. I'm not 20 anymore. So even though I probably have the legs to carry them off, I don't want to spend the day worrying that I will flash my undies to my nearest and dearest.

Some of the options I have been weighing up...

Country Road Sketch Print Dress $179

I like the print on this one but the fit could either be very, very good or very, very bad ( and boxy)

Country Road Sarong Leaf print dress $129  

I love the cut and especially love the colour. I can't handle the white shoes though. Clearly I am unfashionable, but they are just the worst! I would pair it with something less Nana orthopedic shoe, either a flat sandal or chunky sandal with a heel.

Country Road Hibiscus Print Dress $79 (reduced)

This one I am quite intrigued by. I saw it in store the other week and it was more of a pale pink background and the print seemed less leaf like in person, compared to the website images. Or maybe I wasn't paying much attention and have got it all arse about. It happens.

Twist Maxi Dress - Watercolour Floral $59 (Target)

This is really pretty. I like pretty. I don't usually do blues in clothing (unless it's navy or a stripe) but I like this. Again I really dislike the shoes.  Black and mildly clunky. Not what I would put with a pretty dress.

Target  Tie front dress - Stripe $40

This one looks comfortable. That's important. Also, I love a stripe. I think I would have to see how this one looks on. Could go either way I fear.

Veronika Maine tropical garden scoop neck bell dress $249

This last one is right up my alley... except for the price and I think it might be a tad short. Plus it's hand wash and shouldn't go in the machine. Which means it either would never get worn because it was in the laundry waiting to be washed or I'd chance it and chuck it in the machine and it would then be so small that any movement - sudden or not - would result in an undies baring incident.



So far the target stripe dress and the country Road Hibiscus dress are my top options. I think I can safely add "must be a pattern" to my checklist as I have just realised that all my options feature a print. I also think that I need to hit the shops and try some dresses on. That will be fun with an almost 2 year old and a 3 year old in tow....

What do you wear for Christmas Day? I need ideas!

Lily

What I wore to work - floral blue wrap dress

I seem to have been wearing predominately dresses lately.  I have always worn dresses a lot but the last few weeks have been somewhat prolific. Since having children my shape is not the same (derr) and sometimes pants seem to highlight the fact. Too big in some parts, too small in others. You would think that at 20 months postpartum I would have it sorted. Apparently not.

I love wearing this dress. It's comfortable, looks ok and reasonably flattering. On slightly cooler days I layer a Kelly green elbow length cardigan on top.

The print is a white floral on dark blue background in a slightly stretch viscose jersey fabric.

The shoes are a wedge peep toe. Comfortable for work, add a heel to a look and fairly neutral. The boring work horse of your wardrobe that make so many other combinations possible.

The dress was from Big W, many years ago.

This Missoni for Target wrap dress ($79) is a similar feel in black and white.

This dress from Target  ($20) is also a similar option.

I personally prefer the Missoni option above. I think it would be quite flattering on.

What are you wearing for work? Are dresses a staple for you as well?

Lily.