#ootd: Regatta Monday

This year I decided to continue where I left off last year, that is, by making it a year with a number of 'firsts'.  So today, being Freedom Day and a national holiday here in Malta, we headed off to watch my first ever Regatta.  From the little that I know about this boat race, it is hugely contested by the cities surrounding the Grand Harbour and it takes place both on Freedom Day and on Victory Day (8 September).  Moreover, the beautiful weather that graced the island today called for spending the afternoon out in the sun.

To celebrate the weather, I chose to wear my new Zara yellow blazer which I bought a few weeks ago and hadn't worn as yet.  I don't know why - I'm usually the most colourful thing walking around in Valletta - but I was feeling it was a tad too summery for the last weeks.  I decided to also give my new leopard print espadrilles from H&M a road test - the weather was warm enough to warrant not wearing any socks or stockings.  I kept the rest of the outfit simple with grey, denim and beige neutrals and matched the print on my espadrilles to a scarf I had bought ages ago from Accessorize which has a vintage map print and leopard print trimming.

I was so chuffed with the outfit and with the gorgeous weather that I even got into a bit of a (clumsy) jump half way through the afternoon!

What I wore: 
Blazer - Zara
T-shirt - Zara
Jeggings - Suite Blanco
Espadrilles - H&M
Handbag - Mango
Scarf - Accessorize
Sunglasses - Blumarine
Necklaces - Astrid & Miyu
Ring - Parfois

Event Post: Sweet Treats Party by Jane Norman & Oasis

Candies on tap? Check. Fashion savvy advice? Check.  20% off gorgeous clothing? Check, check and triple check!

of hearts and stripes 

A busy week came to a perfect ending with a fantastic shopping event at Jane Norman and Oasis in Valletta.  Beautiful dresses and handbags (my all-time guilty pleasures) took my mind off the week's stress as I browsed the racks and made mental lists of what to buy (the self-imposed shopping ban has looooooong been lifted!) Unfortunately, since I was heading out to another event after this, I did not manage to do any shopping, but I will definitely pop in again pretty soon.

this dress is perfect for every shape or size and the emerald colour is so flattering

breton stripes - one can never have enough of them

I love love love this dress! The embroidered neckline is so pretty!

Swatching away with Dorianne

Caroline from Caroline's Fashion Styling provided fashion advice to all the fashionistas who flocked to the store while Dorianne from *ask Dorianne guided those of us equally in love with make-up on the latest offerings by Pupa Milano - such gorgeous colours which really complemented the collection over at both Jane Norman and Oasis.

The Pupa Milano stand at the event ... I have my eyes on that mat yellow nail polish - so fresh for the new season

Caroline's dazzling smile and superb styling advice

bags in cute pastels and neutrals

I admit I'm more of an Oasis girl so I spent most of my time at the event on the Oasis floor, eyeing up some delightfully embellished dresses in the perfect shades for spring, while my Mister patiently waited as I caught up with Caroline and Dorianne in the meantime.  There's no stopping us girls when we meet :)

Wednesday Wishlist

I realise that once again I've been a bit MIA in blogging - the usual excuses reasons come to mind (work commitments, errands, appointments) and added to that much needed quality time with my bf who's finally back on the island.  You don't really blame me now, do you?! To make up for this lack of blogging, I'm making the most of this mid-week public holiday and bringing you a Wednesday Wishlist ... instead of packing for my work-trip / city break starting tomorrow that is! Priorities, priorities ...

Well, these are the items I'm currently craving, pretty badly ... even though practically each one of them comes with a little proviso.  Read on, and help me choose which item(s) I should actually invest in, and which one(s) I should ditch.

A trench coat (it's a Mango vs Zara kind of thing ...)

This has been on my wishlist for a number of months now, but I've always opted for less classic pieces. Blame it on my new work life, or the final realisation that I'm hitting my mid-30s pretty soon, I'm starting to look at more classic items to place in my wardrobe.  I love the texture of the Mango version but I'm a bit miffed it's not fully lined.  On the other hand, the Zara version is fully lined and the perfect length for my height but I'm not so thrilled with the material.  Decisions, decisions ... unless, of course, I decide to spend my whole paycheck on a real Burberry ... mmmm....

Superga classic white sneakers

A throwback to my Physical Edu lessons back in primary and secondary school, plain white sneakers are one of my current 'must-haves' in my wardrobe.  Perfectly adorkable when ditching the daily heels at the weekend, they can look equally cute and on trend with cuffed jeans, ditsy dresses and why not, even with a dressed down trouser suit.  My dilemma on this piece is whether to go for canvas or seek more durable (and easily cared-for) leather.

Kenzo x New Era flower block cap

I fell in love with this topper the minute I laid eyes on it - the coral and aqua colour combination is just perfect for summer, and the pattern and oversized embroidered logo is just such fun.  The problem is, I can't really see me wearing it, nor can I see where / when I would wear it! I'm no longer much of a beach bum, so that's out of the equation already ... Saturday morning markets? Glammed up with heels for the weekend? I'm so confused!

Moschino Jeremy Scott FW14-15 iPhone 5 case

This thing just grew on me.  When the pictures of the Jeremy Scott capsule collection for Moschino's FW14-15 started emerging, I'll be honest with you:  I was scratching my head no end.  I just couldn't come to terms with the whole McDonalds inspiration.  But without realising, my heart started settling on the fries shaped iPhone case.  After my Marc Jacobs 'Shorty' pug shaped case proved to be quite a conversation starter last year, I can't wait to own this one now ...

So there goes.  These four items are actually not letting me sleep soundly.  I'm serious.  Please do help me out in this oh-so-first-wordly decision process ...

My Fashion / Beauty Pet Peeves

Ok, let's just bear in mind that it is Monday, and a rant is always therapeutic on this first, most trying day of the week. Today I bring you my fashion and beauty pet peeves - the things that I just can't bear in any way, shape or form, and that every time I lay my eyes on, I cringe and pray for there to really be a Fashion / Beauty Police to charge the wrong-does.

So let me go all Joan Rivers on these:

• The jacket: bomber

This is the least forgiving of all shapes.  You have to be rake thin to carry it off and it has to sit right on the waist-line.  Cropped versions just make one look like an American football player while longer versions just drown the figure and not in the appealing way boyfriend blazers / coats do.

• The pants: mum jeans

High-waisted, loose around the hips/bum shaped jeans and shorts are a hipster girl's heaven.  But not mine. Possibly because I remember these jeans way too well from the first time they were round.  Dear millennials, you're not doing yourselves any favour with these jeans.  If you really need to go high-waisted, the slim-hipped bell-bottom ones from the 70s are way cooler.  I promise.

Bomber jacket + mum jeans - pinned from vogue.es in this arguably adorkable look, but just doesn't work for me ... sorry!

• The skirts: micro-mini

Anything which is shorter than 2 inches above the knee is a no-go zone for me.  Not because I'm a prude.  It's because of the message lengths impart.  Such short skirts can hardly ever infer an air of elegance and sophistication, unless worn with opaque tights.  And even that is pushing it.

The best - and modesty saving - way of wearing very short skirts is by pairing them with opaque tights and oversized tops.

• The tops: ruffled shirts

Anything with ruffles really.  Despite being a very girly-girl, I'm averse to most things ruffled. Especially when the said ruffles are strategically placed around the placket front.  Busty girls like yours truly end up with a fin de siecle look reminiscent of Downton Abbey's Dowager Lady Grantham ...

• The dresses: body-con

I don't know how many times I've said this, but I just hate body-con dresses.  This is most definitely because, as a curvy girl I can't quite pull them off as well as a skinny (UK) size 4 or 6 girl.  But when I look at curvy celebrities squeezed into such dresses, I just feel they are trying to hard.  And I don't want to be like them.

Body-con might be short for 'body confidence' and Kim K sure isn't lacking of any of that.  But with such a skin tight dress, she leaves little to the imagination (we've seen it all before anyway, whether we wanted or not!)

• The shoes: platform stilettos

I've had a few of these.  And I've managed to fall or trip in each and every one of them.  This may be the basis of my aversion, but for quite obvious reasons, they kind of remind me of the shoes the less savoury characters used to take off just pre-fist-fight on The Jerry Springer Show back in the day.

Not for the faint hearted, and not for me.

• The bag: cheap looking bags

There are some really nice bags around which are of fantastic quality, even in non-leather varieties, which still don't cost a fortune.  Why oh why would one therefore choose to buy a bag made of tatty material that is quite obviously the cheapest of plastics, adorned with some ridiculous glittered chiffon rosette in a matching shade of bubble-gum pink? Why?

• The make-up: matching eye-shadow and nail lacquer

I have to qualify this: I'm an adventurer when it comes to nail lacquer but extremely conservative when it comes to eye make-up.  I like my make-up to complement the outfit by picking up notes from the pattern or contrasting with the main colour.  But having, say, blue eye-shadow and blue nails? Not for me! Especially if the rest of the outfit is of the same colour.

Perfect on an editorial, much harder to pull off in real life.

• The hair: perfectly formed top-knot

Overly-coiffed hair is my nightmare.  And the donut-shaped top-knot, when it's perfectly done, with no stray hairs or straggling ringlets jutting out of it takes the biscuit in my opinion.  What started off as (another) hipster trend has been mainstreamed into ubiquitousness.  And it is not nice.

Top-knots are by nature, relaxed hairdos so the operative word here is to actually keep them relaxed!

Now, now, as a rant, this post is not intended to be offensive to anyone.  I just needed to get these things off my chest - it's only my opinion and I'm sure it counts mostly for just me! I'm also sure that there are other things that make my skin crawl: for instance, the skort and the wedged trainers, but I'm guilty of owning both so I can't hate them as much as I'd like.

Do you have any fashion / beauty pet hates? Come on, I know you do ... let me know xxx

Lemon topping

If there is one thing I'm really dying to wear right now is my new yellow blazer. Yes, yellow. The bright, sunny colour that evokes all things spring and summery. It's not that I am a summery person per se, but I just love the colour so much and I don't think I had really come across any before this week when I headed over to Zara. 

lemon topping by tikkamars featuring fitted dresses

I love how, despite being a primary colour, yellow lends itself as well as a neutral, pairing up with monochrome for a classic look, with pastels and metallics for a sophisticated yet on trend combination, or even with bold pattern clashes ready to be snapped for a street-style blog.

My ex-colleagues know my obsession with this brand way too well and got me a very nice voucher as a farewell gift and one of my little purchases was the yellow blazer on the top right of this Polyvore set.  If I could I'd have got all the three Zara jackets featured here, and the shoes et al!

#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?

Trend Watch: Moody Blooms

If there's one pattern you should be investing in at the moment - be it from the sales or from the new collections already making their way into our favourite stores - it is definitely moody blooms.  Look out for dark floral patterns, preferably botanical with bugs and butterflies included, or digitally manipulated florals abstracting the essence of the the nature-inspired motif.  Palettes are dark and moody, in rich jewel tones contrasted with saturated yellows, rose and green.  Go for head-to-toe if you dare or sport a patterned bag or jewelled statement necklace for a more subtle look.  For more inspirational images, view my dark floral trend Pinterest board here.

great lengths

I'm not sure if it's a question of age (I'll be turning 35 this year, God help me), but the more time passes, the more I'm attracted to skirts which fall below the knee - way below, to mid-calf or more, really - otherwise known as midi-skirts.  I'm not talking about the pencil / body con / 'can only walk in tiny steps' kind of skirts, but the full circle or pleated variety which are just as gorgeous, and so timelessly elegant.

Being petite and wide-hipped, this kind of skirt could possibly look rather disastrous on me.  But I'm craving owning one really badly ... Just look at all these fabulously elegant outfits found on Pinterest! Even the more casual ones have that chic je ne sais quoi which make them so utterly perfect ... so utterly Parisian! So until I find the perfect midi length full skirt to fit my less than perfect figure, I'll just keep day-dreaming by browsing more outfit posts and pins ...

my ASOS sale picks

I'm not good with sales.  That might be a bit of a shocking statement, coming from someone who reputedly lives to shop (of course, I do many other things, and my interests go beyond shopping and fashion, but I do seem to come across as a uni-dimensional character to some).

I like to get my new clothes / shoes / accessories as soon as they hit the stores rather than after weeks (or months!) hanging on the rails or lurking in warehouses.  Having said that, it doesn't mean I don't do any shopping during the sales! I do like to keep the economy going all year round, you know! So after spending most of my weekend cooped up at my desk catching up with work related matters, I'm treating myself - and you, dear reader - with my ASOS sale hit list.  In case you're not aware, the ASOS sale is currently up to 70% off so there are some very good bargains to be had.  Smiles all around. So without further ado, and in no particular order of preference:

ASOS Trench Mac With PU Trims (€105.35 NOW €63.21)

You can never go wrong with a classic mac, and the PU trims, though an adornment which follows a current trend, are not in any way interfering with the classic allure of the garment.  

ASOS Pencil Skirt with Ruffle Front in Tartan (€56.18 NOW €39.33)

OK so tartan was HUGE this year, but when is it not, come winter? This skirt will take you through a few winters to come, I promise you.  Plus, the midi length means that as you grow older, the cut will remain age appropriate.  A second plus, is the ruffle which adds that Vivienne Westwood kind of punch to anotherwise plain shape.  

Reason Homies Vest (€42.14 NOW €29.50)

Now, we've seen these designer pun t-shirts all over the place in the last month, and if you haven't got yours yet, this is the time for it.  It doesn't matter if they'll no longer be the trendiest item come next month - you can always wear them to the gym and look cool while fulfilling that annually renewed new year resolution!

KG by Kurt Geiger Calista Leather Pointed Block Heel Court Shoes (€154.51 NOW €92.70)

I prefer getting classic shapes during sales - which most times is like going on a treasure hunt - because when classics or more high end lines are a tad out of reach during the rest of the year, they suddenly become more affordable.  Hence, this pointed pump with contrast block heel.  Modern, yet timeless. 

Pop Boutique Coco Sleeveless Dress with Collar (€42.14 NOW €29.50)

If there is a shape and style that is 'me', then this is it.  I lost count of the collared dresses and outfits I own and wear, but I know that this is the style I feel is mostly representative of me.  So this is a time where I 'invest' in it - who cares if I won't see any peter pan collars on the runway during the year? It's the personal style that really counts!

Meghan Fabulous Sofia Clutch Bag (RRP €154.51 NOW €84.28)

Maybe I'm a bit late in getting on the clutch bag bandwagon, but I'm currently obsessing on these.  I think it's also because I'm trying to reduce the amount of junk I carry around with me.  I can't be likened to Mary Poppins all the time, can I?! 

Traffic People Metallic Wrap Detail Top With Open Back (RRP €91.30 NOW €49.16)

If you buy one trend item from the sales, make it this.  Forget anything flapper or Gatsby inspired, this year will be all about late 70s / early 80s glam courtesy of American Hustle.  I can't wait to rock the Farrah Fawcett flick once again!

Now, let me see how much more damage I can do to my bank balance ...