CONFESSIONS OF A FORMER SIZE 6

#ootd: I tried to look royal ...

As I mentioned in my last post, today marked the start of a new life. Well, part of. The other part - moving to my new flat - should hopefully come pretty soon.

Starting a new job is always a daunting experience, and first impressions are unfortunately the one to last. And that first impression, mostly comes from what one is wearing. So I looked to an always impeccably dressed, if unorthodox / unlikely fashion icon for inspiration: Queen Elizabeth II. Yes, you read it right, the British Monarch herself!

You must admit that the Queen is always so well put together, and I do find her dress + dress-coat combination to be a quintessential effortless chic look, even if it is pretty much always the same, save for the colour (which is usually one from a spectrum of pastels ... she is the top lady in lavender after all!)

So I took a page out of her lookbook and wore my new H&M salmon single-button coat (shown here in black) which I got for Valentine's among other things and paired it with a navy Zara dress which I've had for quite some time and is more or less the same length of the coat. Navy and salmon might not be an obvious combination, but I accessorised with my Sef Farrugia Delores scarf which has both colours in its pattern, as well as a touch of blood red which matched my new TopShop Kathleen patent pointed shoes. The finishing touch came through my brand new navy Zara mini city bag which I feel has such a Jackie-O meets Queen E-II look.

The photos here, I must admit, are not of a quality fit for a Queen ... but what do you think of the look?

Labels: fashion, fashion blogger, former size 6, H&M, office look, ootd, personal style, Sef Farrugia, style, style inspiration, Topshop, workwear, zara

And we'll never be royals ...

It all started with this two-tone Zara wrap-around knitted jacket.

It was very much a love-at-first sight affair, with my loving anything loose fitting and oversize, it looking so cozy and enveloping, and of course being from my favourite brand of all ...

But then, disaster struck.

While the jacket can of course be worn on its own as a jacket, a few days ago, I wanted to wear a coat on top of it since it was rather chilly outdoors and I was wearing a relatively lightweight garment underneath. With its batwing sleeves and very thick knit, it was practically impossible to wear anything on top of it.

And then it dawned on me: I had seen this perfect biker-style cape coat over at ASOS quite a few weeks ago. I immediately loved the shape and style and placed it in the 'save for later' cache. I kept thinking about this cape coat but never committed to buying. The reason was very simple: the colour! I am somewhat scared of royal blue as I fear that it may wash me out as a cold colour since my complexion wears warm colours better.

But I decided to take the plunge nonetheless. Wearing a warm colour or monochrome scarf to separate the blue from being directly next to my complexion should do the trick ... at least I'm keeping my fingers crossed! To save on luggage space to fit all my mister's Christmas presents, this cape coat will be meeting me in Krakow next week ... and as usual, I am virtually packing through Polyvore instead of actually packing the rest of my luggage! Better get myself started!

Toodles!

And we'll never be royals ... by tikkamars featuring leather handbags

Labels: asos, fashion, hunter, Le Specs, polyvore, style, Topshop, zara

London shopping list

London shopping list by tikkamars featuring ted baker

Labels: fashion, polyvore, style, Ted Baker, Topshop, zara

how to wear neon yellow shoes

this morning i went out on a whimsy and bought the infamous neon yellow shoes i had been dreaming about for some time. i was actually quite pleased with myself because, apart from them proving to be rather comfortable (the actual walking in them test is yet to come), they were only zł89, which is about €23 ... or 10 of the old maltese lira! that's quite a bargain for something which, in all likelihood, i will wear a few times this season and then forget all about them.

the somewhat difficult part was actually figuring out how to make the most of this bargain. so i mentally browsed my wardrobe and went onto polyvore to create these three sets. i pretty much own all the items in them (or am very close to getting my hands on them, or have very similar items either here or back in malta). i had already styled a rather basic set with a plain white box-fit top and ripped jeans yesterday, but needed to figure out some other options ...

the black and white combo is perfect for a night out with friends, having a few drinks or even clubbing. you could fit a jacket in the city-bag if you've a tendency to feel chilly at night like i do. the outfit could even work for some city strolling or a shopping spree i suppose. the second outfit uses a denim dress i've spotted at h&m's divided section. i love the washed denim look which makes it so 80s. i like to think of myself strolling along the old town's planty park or on the sliema promenade in this outfit during summer ... the last outfit is a tad more conservative with a crisp white shirt and beige skirt. i like to give my corporate wear an edge so i think that this outfit would definitely fit my purpose and shed all inhibitions of walking around the office in neon shoes.

with all this said, i'm off to draw up the list of 'missing' items from my wardrobe to complete these looks and plan the next shopping expedition ... cheerio!

how to style neon yellow shoes by tikkamars featuring a cotton shirt

Labels: ALDO, black and white striped pants, Codello, fashion, Illustrated People, Massimo Dutti, neon, neon shoes, polyvore, Ray-Ban, Reiss, skater dresses, Steffen Schraut, striped pants, style, Topshop, white shirt, zara

confession #000035

... or, my first love

back in the day when i was a wee kid, i fell in love for the first time. it was a strange kind of love, because it was with a music video. and till this very day, i can't fall out of love with it.

my first (and long lasting) music video love is *bows head in pure embarrassment* is a-ha's take on me. hitting the uk charts in 1985 when i had just turned six, the video was impressively avant-garde for the time, cleverly blending animations with reality, bopping to a heady mixture of glorious 80s synthpop.

that most captivating of scenes...

every so often i close my eyes and picture the romance between the gorgeous (yes, i suppose i still fancy the voice behind a-ha) morten harket and a cute-looking bunty bailey, revolving in between hand-drawn sketches and a somewhat misty diner. that's when i don't have prompt access to youtube. otherwise, i can catch myself clicking on the repeat icon. i know, it's somewhat sad.

certainly, pitbull and christina aguilera's recent revisiting of that most iconic of cheesy synthesizer tunes has not done much to lessen my undying love for this song, or video. hearing it every other hour on my radio work companion, it comes as a surprise to me as well that i don't just break into a song and dance.

in honour of this musical throwback thursday, here's my polyvore take on bunty and morten's looks for a modern-day casual date.