Some Daily Outfits give me more challenges than most – especially when children and roller skating are involved! I was invited to take Miss Five on her first skating expedition this week along with a group of mothers and children from her school.  She was SUPER excited about going, wondering if she was supposed to win a gold medal and jump off big stuff! Me, well I used to be a big skater, going a few times a week and carving up the floor…. but that was a very long time ago.  I still had the old skates out away in the cupboard, but the have only been out on the rink about once or twice in the last eleven years.  This presented a whole new wardrobe challenge – just what does one wear when rollerskating with a bunch of five year old children??

I had to think long and hard on this one as my first instincts were to go with some of the outfits I last wore and break out the whole Olivia Newton John in Xanadu tpe of look.  But just in case that may cause the other mothers to shield their children from this crazy woman I decided to go with something a little less theatrical.  There was no way I was going to wear my workout gear for this ,as for me, workout gear belongs only in the gym so I had to think of the next best thing.

After a bit of a rummage around in the depths of the wardrobe I came up with an outfit that I haven’t worn in a while – it was one of my last pregnancy staples!  I have this great skull print jersey dress that has an open, cross over back that I used to wear backwards while I was pregnant with Miss 2. I’d throw this over yoga pants for casual days and it did the trick.  So it was the perfect thing to be both cute and comfortable whilst skating too.

Outfit Details:

Skull Print Dress – Episode    Tank Top – Portmans

Cropped Yogo Pants – Puma   Pewter Ballet Flats – U.B.H

Hair Bow -Bought so long ago I can’t remember!

Skates – Check your local skate store!

Of course it turned out that none of the other parents intended to skate and I ended up the only one over 3 foot tall on the rink!

During my trip to Sydney over Christmas I had a few hair disasters. Whether it was the heat and humidity or the windy weather, I didn’t come prepared for either and it left me at a bit of a loss for ideas as to how to fix my hair.  I wanted something chic and simple that could be achieved quickly and with very little, if any, product.  So  I put on my thinking cap, did a little experimenting and came up with a winning solution.

You saw it in my latest Vlog and requested the tutorial, so here you are!

Enjoy!

So another new quest begins. I’m trying to master the art of casual dressing, and by that I mean casual glam of course! The problem is that my version of casual and everyone else’s seem poles apart, but there are activities in my life that really do require toning it down. Taking the girls to swimming lessons, hanging in the park, school sports days… all these things must be done without heels and really without stockings, so I am setting myself some challenge rules.

No Heels – This doesn’t mean flats necessarily, but it does mean no ‘spike’ style heels, so wedges and platforms are okay (You didn’t think I’d give them up did you?!)

No tight skirts – picnicking, playing and running all cannot be successfully achieved in these

No super perfect hair – because really, having a casual outfit and a super structured hair do just doesn’t really gel.

I may add to the rules, but I don’t want to give myself a heart attack all at once!  So because this is the first time I’m actively applying the rules to an outfit this year, I’m giving you an extensive outfit and makeup list along with lots of gratuitous photos.

So let’s break it down.

• Blouse – Sea foam green chiffon, found at Colour Mix in Chinatown
• Wide leg pants – Made by me to Kwik Sew pattern 2990, the MOST brilliant pants pattern ever!
• Shoes – summer wedges from Rohde

My Christmas present to myself – A gorgeous ring from Sweet & Co.

Going for a softer, more romantic makeup look. But of course, still with SUPER sized lashes!

• Lashes – Eyelure pre glued lashes in style 116

An experiment with a pinky toned, romantic style makeup.

• Base – I’ve custom mixed Laura Mercier Mineral Powders in Tender Rose and Soft Porcelain
• Cheeks: MAC Desirous
• Eyes: Physicians formula Baked Sweets collection and Lancome Colour Focus Electric Dreams 308
• Liner – Missha Black Pearl liquid liner
• Mascara: Loreal Extra Volume Collagen in black
• Lip liner – Max Factor Raspberry
• Lipstick – Loreal Sheer delight Cherry Delight

So what do you think of casual glam?

Stocktakes sales are a crock. Not only are many of the claims misleading, but much of the merchandise is shipped in expressly for the purpose of clearances.  Unlike the stocktake sales I remember from my childhood, the sales today are a continuous round of promotions and are often no better than a retail wolf in sheep’s (poorly made) clothing. But once you’ve realised that this is the case, how do sort out the good clothes from the rest of the bad and the ugly?

Know the real value.

Before the sales how much was the piece you want listed for? Chances are that it was overpriced to start with, but the first port of call is to establish if there is actually a real discounted price from the original retail price.

Was it worth the original retail price in the first place? Looking at 90% of the garments in the stores today, I can only shake my head at what is being offered to us.  Unfinished seams, pulled threads, missing buttons, second rate textiles; to say nothing of the cheap labour used to produce them.  But environmental and human ethics arguments aside, when did such poor quality become the norm and the supposed acceptable standard?

So to find out what you are paying for, take the time to do a little investigation.  Turn your garments inside out and read the construction and care labels. (By law, all garments sold in Australia must have these)

Consider the fabric used – is it man made, synthetic, natural – how much of each type makes up the final product? Something that is 100% wool is infinitely better than a %10 wool 90% acrylic blend, that is unless you like sweaters that get stinky and pill up.

If you think I’m gong to pay $100 for an acrylic sweater in the sales just because you have a popular label, you have another thing coming! Well made Australian Wool at that price is a bargain, synthetics from China are not.

Read the care labels CAREFULLY. Does it warn of bleeding dyes, colour fading; is it a high use item that is designated for Dry Clean Only (so that in the end it will be no bargain at all?)

Check the seams. Deconstructed fashion is one thing, but having seams that haven’t even been tied off is quite another. Check for loose threads, seams that haven’t been caught in, missing buttons (does it come with a spare?)

Check the fabric for condition. I’ve been caught out a few times in my haste and discovered upon wearing that my new jersey top actually has a small hole in it that becomes a huge run the minute I put it on.  Have previous shoppers stained it, snagged it or even returned it worn? ( Yep, I’ve seen sweat stained garments in stores).

Check the fabric for flaws. Changing rooms aren’t just good for checking out how we look in the clothes, but also the condition and quality of the clothes themselves.  Hold your garment up to the light and inspect it for holes and irregularities in the fabric weave.  One of the worst culprits for this at present are T-Shirts.  The fabric appears to be getting thinner and thinner with less and less fabric memory or spring back. It might look okay at a cursory glance, but when you get out in the sun everyone will know if your belly button is an inny or an outy!

Consider it’s “fashionability”. Is the item discounted because it is “so last season”? (which of course really means a few seasons ago if you go by catwalk trend time).  This is one factor that can be a blessing in disguise.  Your ideal teal blue top may no longer be the colour de jour, but it may be your favorite and make your eyes irresistible to handsome men.  If so, then it is very likely that you will be able to find a real bargain as the demand for your top is on the wane.  Just make sure to hunt out the best quality version at the lower price.

Know what you want. Sales are not the time for window shopping or browsing unless you enjoy the sharp stabbing pain of buyers remorse. Evaluate the gaps in your wardrobe and go out shopping with the keen eye of a game hunter.This is not the time to be emotional, but to be ruthless. You never know what is around the corner so if you blow your last $100 on five poorly made tops, you just may miss out on the perfect single one at the same price.

Patience. The best bargains are not available at the beginning of the sales.  Prices continue to drop and the crowds get smaller.  For me, I can attest to finding the best and most enduring bargains at the end of the sales.  This relies on a few things however; you need to be able to pick quality (which you should by now), you need to have a body or feet that do not fit the average medium of the population. For example if you are a size 8 or a size 16, you are likely to find good pieces in your size at the end of the sales at better prices.  Lastly, it helps to be stylish rather than fashionable.  If you want what is ‘in fashion’ then it stands to reason that so does everyone else. But if you are seeking classics, avante garde or just plain like to get creative, then you’ll find these pieces still standing at the end part of the sales.

So now I have given you my secrets to shopping the sales with success- go forth and save… or not and just make your own!

I’ve been having the best time these holidays. I’ve had Mr. SKM all to myself for a little while so we’ve been attempting to get out together a little bit more.  People often ask me whether Mr. SKM is also into all things vintage and retro, but I have to admit that I am alone on that island in this household. Even so, there are a few things we have in common. Our love of Sci Fi T.V, Kung Fu action movies and EATING! I’m no brilliant cook and as he tells me since I started blogging, I spend even less time in the kitchen, but still I love food. Now, I’m not going all ‘Food Blogger’ on you, but I’ve been asked to occasionally share snippets of what I’m doing in what I’m wearing, so here goes.

Last night we went on a bit of a date night to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie (which as an aside was crackingly good!) and proceeded it with a bit of a ‘pot luck’ dinner.  By that I don’t mean a 1970′s style dinner where everyone shows up to your house in lounge pajamas with a casserole, but the type of dinner you haven’t booked and don’t know where to go until something just jumps out at you. And what jumped out to us was Kam Fook at Westfield Doncaster.

Right off the bat I loved the decor and the pretty pretty crockery. It suited my Princess mood perfectly.

And then I see Princess Tofu on the menu! Oh this is going to be a good night!

Sheer heaven on a plate! By FAR the best Salt and Pepper squid I have ever eaten. I believe you can tell the measure of a Chinese restaurant by the standard of their Salt and Pepper Squid and the calibre of their dumplings. Kam Fook – you win for me.

Ironically, even though I live in the Antipodes I still bought a bottle of water from… Antipodes?! After the trials of the Christmas and New Year party season I am trying to be good to my body but still trick it into thinking that I am having something special, hence the bottled sparkling water.

Can’t you just taste it?