Today's Outfits

Jeans- Target $50
Peacock T-shirt- Ebay, from Target $20, LOVE this shirt!
Cardigan- Rockmans $12
Shoes- originally $59 got for half price when hubby purchased a pair of shoes.
Earrings- permanently borrowed from my Mum, my favourite earrings!

Navy waterfall jacket- Miller's $19.99
Blue Sequined tank top- Valley Girl $10, I always thought their clothes would be too young & trendy for me but if you look they have some lovely pieces.
Navy pants- Made by me
Same shoes as above
Earrings- bought somewhere in Sydney
Ring- Diva $3, another favourite!

Indigo

Day 6- Indigo by nessa-elle featuring J Brand jeans

Saturday

Another colour I love, well I think most of us do as who doesn't have something denim in their wardrobe! Saturday mornings mean kids sport events so we had a busy time running around. I dressed for comfort and practicality.
In the afternoon I saw a client (Hi Josie!) and had a great time doing her colours and make-up. I love it when I can help someone find their best colours, not just use a swatch as a guide but really see in the mirror what looks good and what doesn't. It's exciting (to me anyway!).

Mary doesn't have anything specific to say about indigo but re-read blue or wait for violet for the gist of it.

Today's Outfit

Blue tunic- Autograph $19
White pants- Crossroads, years a go $5
Belt- gift from my Mum, from Malaysia
Brooch- Made by me
Silver thongs- Can’t remember.

Blue

Day 5 Blue by nessa-elle featuring Emilio Pucci

Friday

Yay, I made it to Friday. The weather has fined up and I’m in one of my best colours today. I bought this top recently on sale, I loved the colour and fabric but the cut doesn’t really suit my shape. It reminds me of Maggie Taberer (Australian fashion icon, above), she wears white shirts like this with white pants and just drips coolness even though she’s nearly 73!!!

Oh to be so half so hip at that age.

From the book “The Complete Style Guide” by Mary Spillane
BLUE
Includes: True, royal, navy, clear and medium blues; not pastel versions or aqua.
Psychological Power of Blue.
Positive: Peaceful, trustworthy, constant, orderly.
Negative: ‘Holier than thou’, tiresome, predictable, conservative.
Wearing Blue for Emotional & Physical Impact
• The deepest blues project the most authority (think police), if you want to look like the person in charge navy or deep blue do the trick.
• Inspire confidence.

When to avoid wearing Blue
• When making a creative pitch. Blue and creativity are not felt to be synonymous.
• Anywhere you need to stand out.

Green

Day 4- Green by nessa-elle featuring Forever21

Thursday

The weather is still a bit iffy (not sure if it’s going to rain or not). All the kids are at school today, so I’m going out to do some stuff. I love green but didn’t feel in the mood for it today.

From the book “The Complete Style Guide” by Mary Spillane
GREEN
Includes: Olive, moss, forest, spruce, pine and true greens (not too yellow or too blue).
Psychological Power of Green
Positive: Self-reliant, tenacious, nurturing, dependable.
Negative: Boring, stubborn, risk averse, predictable.
Wearing Green for Emotional & Physical Impact
• When overstressed or overtired, green produces restorative results.
• Helps you feel “down-to-earth” , more balanced and level headed.

When to avoid wearing Green
• When fundraising, research has shown people will donate to you.
• Rallying for a political movement, It projects dated, backwards ideas.
• In the evening unless it’s Emerald in satin or silk (not a head turner apparently).

Today's Outfit

White cardigan- Trent Nathan free from friend.
Green tank- Target $8
Patterned skirt- Made by me
Silver necklace- Diva $10ish
Earrings- Made by me
Silver shoes- Kmart $25

Yellow

Day 3- Yellow by nessa-elle featuring Tibi dresses

Wednesday

Another tricky colour for me! I do love yellow though, it’s such a happy colour. I have a little bit of yellow that have hardly worn, I need to wear it with something dark like black or navy.
The day started out okay but ended up cold & wet so I had to put on pants and a thicker jumper (sweater) in the afternoon.

From the book “The Complete Style Guide” by Mary Spillane
YELLOW
Includes: Sunny, bright and banana versions, through to gold, but not pastel shades like lemon.
Psychological Power of Yellow
Positive: Cheerful, hopeful, active, uninhibited.
Negative: Impulsive, tiresome, whirlwind, volatile.
Wearing Yellow for Emotional & Physical Impact
• Too cheer yourself up, particularly on a dreary day.
• When in a fun mood.
• If working with children- it’s the colour they most prefer.
• If you want to stand out in a crowd.

When to avoid wearing Yellow
• When negotiating (e.g. a divorce settlement) as it has frivolous connotations.
• Anytime you need to be taken seriously.

Today's Outfit

Black cardigan- Target $24
Lemon tank- Big W $8
Black skirt- Salvo’s $2.50 (fantastic skirt, what a bargain!)
Necklace- Made by me, about $8 (It's hard to see from the photo but it's a mixture of lemon pearls and natural yellow stone beads, with a yellow shell flower as the feature)
Shoes- Kmart $15

Orange

Day 2- Orange by nessa-elle featuring Monsoon

Tuesday

This was the one that worried me most! I don’t own anything orange (at least I didn’t think I did) and couldn’t buy anything what was I going to do. It’s not a colour my family wears so it’s not like I could borrow something of my hubby. As fair skinned, blue eyed, ash brunettes it really doesn’t suit us. As I was hanging up one of my favourite summer tops on the washing line, it dawned on me it had orange in it (it also has pink & purple) so that’s what I wore. I also discovered a necklace I’d put in a box for costumes. So it all worked out okay in the end.

I didn’t feel myself all day though.

ORANGE
Includes: True Orange, pumpkin, tangerine, bright peach.
Psychological Power of Orange
Positive Attributes: Vitality, fun, enthusiasm, sociability, uninhibited.
Negative Attributes: Superficial, common, faddist, giddy
Wearing Orange for Emotional & Physical Impact
• Wear only if it suits your colouring (Warm Spring or Autumn), and then in measured doses.
• If you want to be seen in the dark; try neon orange (ha ha!)
• If you want to wear an energising colour

When to avoid wearing Orange
• For business of any kind, orange is the least professional colour
• When you want to look elegant, as orange is a “declassifier” and looks cheap on some seasonal types
• When dieting as you are more prone to act impulsively in orange and less likely to maintain self control

These are from the book “The Complete Style Guide” by Mary Spillane. I don’t know if I agree with all of them but they are interesting!

Today’s Outfit

White cardigan- Trent Nathan free from friend
Orange (white, pink & purple) top- Crossroads $5
White pants- Made by me, white calico from Spotlight
Necklace- free from friend
Earrings- free from friend.
(what can I say I have great friends!)
Gold sandals- Kmart, years a go, will be going soon as they are really uncomfortable

Today's Outfit

Black cardigan- Target $24.01 (20% off day)
Red tank top- Kmart $7
Skirt- Salvo’s $3.50
Earrings- Diva (too long a go to remember)
Shoes- Shoe Show $19 with DIY decorations (will be on a future blog)

I haven’t worn the red tank or skirt before so the plan to wear more clothes from my wardrobe is working.

Red

Monday

Today is going to be warm and sticky. It was 20 degrees by 7am and the humidity was around 85%. I love red but just didn’t feel like wearing it today, it felt too hot. I’m not sure if it was my clothing choices or the emotions it psychologically induces.

Did you know colours certain colours actually affect you physically and psychologically? Wearing the right colours in the right situation can help get the right reaction from people and also boost your own feelings. I will include these in my days colour wrap-ups. These are taken from “The Complete Style Guide” by Mary Spillane. My comments are in Italics.

RED
Includes: True, warm, burnished, bright and cool variations. Not shades that are too light (such as pink), mixed (such as fuchsia), or too dark (such as burgundy).
Psychological Power of Red
Positive Attributes: Up-beat, confident, assertive, exciting.
Negative Attributes: Aggressive, domineering, bossy, threatening.
Wearing Red for Emotional & Physical Impact
• Choose for occasions when you want to be recognized, or to catch someone’s eye.
• Can give you an artificial energy boost when tired.
• To project authority without being threatening, wear red as an accent or in moderation, e.g. a blouse under a neutral suit.
• If you feel cold it gives you a feeling of warmth.

Avoid wearing Red when
• Overtired or overstressed as it can exacerbate tension.
• Not prepared to be called on to defend your position, as you would be signaling you are.
• Being interviewed for a job you want; you’ll give the impression that you’re not a team player. Whenever my husband has been for a job interview, I won’t let him wear a red tie as it looks like you want to be the boss, but I guess it depends on what you’re going for, it could be good to present yourself that way!

Coming Soon "Rainbow Week"

I’ve been thinking of ways of wearing more of my clothes. Did you know most of us wear 20% of our wardrobe 80% of the time? I have lots of clothes, I’m a bargain hunter, op-shopper and a dress-maker. I fall in love with colours, patterns and textures all the time. Style and price are the two things that pull me back to reality! Only certain styles suit me and I won’t compromise on that and price, well I try to be wise with my money.
So I’m trying to come up with ways of wearing more of my own clothes and I thought of a rainbow as a good starting point. It has seven colours so I can do it for one week. So I’ll start on Monday 26th, wearing RED.
So in case you don’t know the colours of the rainbow are RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, INDIGO & VIOLET. I need to wear at least one item of clothing that colour. I can also wear my neutrals and I want to not wear just accessories in the colour, like all in black with a red belt for example. If I do that I’m not really challenging myself to wear more of my clothes.
Tuesday and Wednesday will be the hardest as I don’t wear orange or yellow, that said I do have one thing in yellow but orange? I also don’t want to buy any new clothes, that would make the challenge pointless. I am allowing myself to sew something but only if I already have the fabric at home.
I will post what I wear each day and let you know how it goes. Keep blossoming!

Dare to be different!

A friend of mine is organising a ladies mystery tour and the theme is “dare to be different”. She wants everyone to wear a colour they would never normally wear. We both thought it was hilarious as the colours she never wears are pink & purple, which I wear all the time and my colours were yellow & orange, which she wears all the time.
I love the idea of doing something different although in my mind I was trying to work out how I could still look good and wear colours that don’t suit my colouring at all.
Most of us have paradigms when it comes to dressing. I have a friend who never wore pants, she just didn’t think they would suit someone her shape and size. Then one day a friend convinced her to try some on and she bought them. She was overwhelmed with compliments, mainly because nobody had seen her in pants, she looked great and it was a nice change. Well after that she was in them all the time and now I can hardly remember her wearing anything but pants as they suit her lifestyle. Maybe someone will have to get her to try a skirt again!
Dresses have been my challenge. I love dresses, I just had trouble finding ones that suited my shape. I’m an 8 shape or hourglass and my waist is nearly 2 sizes smaller than my hips. Shift style dresses make me look pregnant (which I’m not!!) as do empire line. So thank God for wrap dresses which I finally discovered a few years a go. I’m thinking of challenging myself to wear a dress everyday for a week soon, just to shift my paradigm. What could you challenge yourself to wear?