US Luxury Buys

These are arguably the most exciting purchases on my trip.  I don't own many designer items so this was definitely the perfect opportunity to spoil myself since designer items are so much cheaper in the States.

Coach Legacy Mini Tanner - Black Saffiano Leather

I absolutely love this bag. I think it is so cute and sleek.  I had seen it online before my trip and was so excited to see it in person.  I have to admit that it is a bit small for my liking because I like carrying a lot in my handbag.  But it's perfect to bring along to a party or dinner.  I got 25% off since Macy's was having a promotion.



Kate Spade Cedar Street Luciana - Black

I purchased this bag for work.  It's simple and big enough to fit  A4 documents if I need.  What sold me was the flap at the top.  It really irritates me when bags only have a button closure on top because your belongings aren't secure and if it rains then you're in all kinds of trouble.  I got 60% off at the Kate Spade outlet as they were having a 60% off storewide sale.



Juicy Couture Sunglasses

I bought these sunnies because I already had a pair of aviators at home and wanted something that was a bit more feminine. I really like the mirrored sides as they're not too over the top but are still eye catching. These were also heavily discounted from Solstice Sunglasses.


So those are all my fancy purchases. Hope you enjoyed seeing those. I've decided against doing a post with my clothing purchases (which I mentioned in my last post) because it would take me a while to take all the photos.

Recent Haul: Shoes and Daiso Makeup

I actually bought these things over a month ago, but didn't get around to taking photos and all that til now.

I bought 2 pairs of shoes from the Tony Bianco warehouse sale in Collingwood. 

To be honest, Tony Bianco heels have to be one of, if not the most uncomfortable and unflattering heels in my opinion. I think their shoes are more catered to those with skinner feet, I have very wide feet. Plus, I find the angle that they make your feet sit very steep and just awkward. That being said...I love these heels. I think the colour and design is SO pretty and they were marked down to $30! Yes, they are uncomfortable and yes, they are very unflattering on my feet but when you are in a warehouse surrounded by other women grabbing at shoes...it does things to you lol.

I haven't worn them out yet and I'm undecided about if I want to keep them or sell them.

I needed some new flats firstly because my current ones are on their final leg and I'll need some for work next year. The Tony Bianco flats I already have are really comfortable so I hope these are too. I thought the big buckles made them more dressy and hence suitable for work and play.

I bought a pair of Basque loafers from Myer while they were having their further 30% off sale prices sale.

I've never really been a fan of loafers. Most of the ones I've tried look odd on my feet and make my feet look even wider. But these come up a bit higher in the front so they are more flattering. They're not my usual style, I call them my grandma shoes lol. Thought I'd give them a go since they were marked down.

Finally I had an itch to try Daiso makeup. I picked up a mascara and some powder. I plan to review these products sometime soon.

Latest Purchases: Sportsgirl and SheInside - My geometric obsession

I think it's safe to say that I have a bit of a geometric pattern obsession right now.  For the past few months, I've been gravitating toward anything with a geometric or Aztec print.  Seriously, show me anything with a triangle on it, and I'm there lol.

Statement necklace - Sportsgirl - Original price $19.95    Purchase Price $4.95

Photo from Sportsgirl website 

I'd looked at this necklace on numerous occasions and wasn't sure if I should get it but my sister finally pushed me over the edge plus it was on further discount.  The colours are soft, I love the triangles and it looks a bit like a fox's head which I thought was pretty cool.

Scarf - Sportsgirl - Original Price $29.95    Purchase Price $19.95
I remember seeing this scarf when it was full price.  I really liked the blocked colourful pattern but I thought $29.95 was too much to spend on a scarf like this plus I basically never buy anything full price.  Then when I saw this in the sale section, I made a bee-line for it, but I wasn't so impressed when I saw the price tag.  $19.95 is still expensive in my opinion for what it is, but I really wanted it.
Side story, in store it was always bunched and hung up, so it wasn't until about a week ago when I wore it for the first time that I noticed some of the coloured blocks resembled letters.  I literally ripped the scarf off my neck, laid it flat and discovered the pattern actually spelt out "When in Rome."  It seriously felt like I had decoded some ancient mystery, totally blew my mind lol.

Navy Batwing Long Sleeve Geometric Cardigan Sweater - SheInside - Original Price $55.81   Purchase Price $26.40

Photo from SheInside website

 

I recently discovered SheInside which is an online store.  It has permanent free international shipping and I found a 20% off coupon that also applied to sale items.

This cardigan was on sale.  I LOVE IT!  At first I wasn't so sure of the fit.  A lot, if not all the clothes on the sight are one-size-fits-all, so I was concerned it would bee too big and boxy, but it wasn't.  It's really baggy on me, but in a good way! I've gotten heaps of compliments on it too.

Have a great weekend!

Easter Haul 2013

Over the Easter long weekend, I went shopping at Highpoint.  The end of season sales were winding up so I managed to get my hands on some pretty awesome bargains.


Lime peplum top from Bardot - Was $59.95  Now $20
"Hi my name is Pauline and I'm addicted to peplum tops."  I can't get enough of them, I probably have about 5 tops with peplum detailing.  I love the colour, it looks great with my skin tone.  The neckline looks so darn good too haha.  I've only ever tried this neckline once on a dress and it looked terrible, but for some reason this one looks great.

Riders by Lee skinny jeans from Myer - Was $109.95  Now $42
I already had a pair of Riders by Lee jeans and they were so comfortable and super stretchy.  So this purchase was a no brainer with the sale price.

Gold and blue statement necklaces from Equip -
(top) Was $16.99  Now $4.25        (bottom) Was $14.99  Now $3.25
These discounts are ridiculous!!  End of season sales in fashion jewellery stores like Diva used to be awesome with huge markdowns, but in recent years, they've been pretty stingey (I would know, I used to work there =P).  So I was mind-blown when I saw these prices at Equip.  I probably need to pay Equip a visit more often.

Now for la pièce de résistance, I actually bought these before the long weekend.  My friend had a $50 off voucher for Jo Mercer which she didn't want and I'm a Jo Mercer kind of gal.  Put 2 and 2 together and I came home with a new pair of boots haha.

'Charity' ankle boots from Jo Mercer - Was $179.95   With voucher $129.95

DIY: Broderie/Lace Hem Shorts

This is a really simple and easy way to change up the look of some basic shorts, or in my case, to make my denim short shorts a bit longer to help cover up my saggy butt action which was peaking out the bottom (not a good look lol).

You can also use this technique on skirt hems, sleeves, anything!

All you will need is:

• Pair of shorts
• Length of lace or broderie (I chose broderie because I thought it would be a bit more durable than lace. I bought mine from Lincraft.)
• Tape measure
• Needle and thread/sewing machine
• Pins

Preparing the broderie/lace
 
1.  Measure the circumference of the leg of your shorts and cut a length of broderie/lace which is about 3cm longer.
2.  As you can see, the top edge of the broderie hasn't been finished off and so is fraying, so I needed to fix that up.  (To save time you can just buy some lace/broderie where the edge is already cleaned up)
Fold the top edge over twice, pin it in place and iron it so the edge is crisp (as shown in the picture below).  I also did this to the 2 ends of the broderie.


3.  Using a sewing machine, sew in a straight line on the edge of the folded parts to secure it down.

Attaching the broderie/lace to the shorts 

4.  Turn your shorts inside-out.
5.  Pin the broderie in place
6.  Sew the broderie onto the bottom edge of your shorts.  I chose to do this by hand with a zig-zag kind of stitch (sorry I don't know technical names lol) so that the stitching wouldn't be visible from the outside.


7.  Turn your shorts back the right-side-out and you're done!

Post-Christmas Splurge: Jewellery

To all those uni students reading, I hope you all had a great first day back at uni. Hope it wasn't as boring for you as it was for me haha. And for any Melbournians, how ridiculous was the rain today?! I got totally drenched even with an umbrella!

Anyway, finally the last instalment of my Post-Christmas Splurge mini series. It's almost the end of February, but oh well...better late than never.

Sportsgirl

Sportsgirl always has such nice jewellery, especially when it comes to statement pieces. However, it's usually fairly pricey. I bought all these pieces on sale but even then they weren't amazingly cheap, but I loved them so much that I bought them anyway.

I have been crazy about rose gold for a while now. So I bought these two necklaces.


I am absolutely in love with this piece. My sister showed it to me when it was still full price and I fell in love with it but I couldn't really justify the price. So when it went on sale I had an excuse to get it lol.

This necklace is really long. It's nice and basic and good for layering.

These earrings have to be one of my all time favourites. I am a sucker when it comes to black and gold jewellery, I just love the combination. They are really light and they are on posts as opposed to hooks so they are so comfortable to wear. I love the tassle, the filigree gold ball...I love everything about them and I just think long, straight earrings are always so flattering on everyone.

Forever New

This was a random impulse buy. They are just basic medium sized studs. I thought the stone was really pretty since it's kind of sparkly/shimmery and looks like it has little cracks through it. They were on sale and there was an extra 30% off so just decided to grab them.

Diva

I bought heaps of stuff from Diva. During the Christmas sales, all their sale stock went down to 4 for $10 and later 6 for $10 so I definitely got carried away. I would like one thing, but then I'd think 'what's the point of buying one thing for like $5, when I can buy another 3 or 5 for an extra $5?' So ordinarily I wouldn't pick up some of these pieces, but due to the deal I couldn't help myself lol.

Feather earrings have been in lately, so thought I would give some a go. The brown ones are basic and I thought the gold and brown would look really nice against my black hair. The black earrings are huge and have some bling on them. Definitely more for special ocassions. I think they would look really nice with an updo and maybe a strapless dress.

Out of these I was most excited about the antique gold chain ones with the turquoise beads. The chains actually come down the front then go back up to connect to the earring backing which I thought was pretty cool.


Lastly I bought all these different beaded bracelets. I like the look of layering bracelets together and I thought they all looked good together or with other bracelets I already own.

So that's all for my post-Christmas sales purchases. I hoped you enjoyed checking out what I bought.

Good night!

Post-Christmas Splurge: Clothes & Accessories

Sorry it's taken me a while but finally getting this post up. I was doing a unit over the summer at uni, so I was busy studying for the exam and I underwent surgery to get all 4 of my wisdom teeth out yesterday, so my face is still all swollen. Anyway, let's get into the bargains!

Mossman



Aren't these high-waisted shorts the cutest? I really like the white diamond pattern on them. They aren't the most flattering thing in the world since they poof out around your tummy, bum and hips but I still wanted them lol.

Jeanswest

I rarely go shopping in Jeanswest but when I went shopping with my best friend, we stumbled over one of their outlet stores which contained all heavily discounted stock with an additional 40% off!

This coat is so thick and warm and amazing quality. It was an absolute steal! It's a very baggy type of coat so will definitely need to be worn with fitting bottoms to balance it out. Will definitely be wearing this a lot in Winter.



I've been wearing this light jacket a lot since I bought it (hence all the wrinkles lol). It is so perfect for the warmer weather, great to bring along in case it gets a little chilly in the evening. When you tie up the waist-tie, the jacket can look fairly dressy so it's a really versatile piece.



I have a thing for feathers, so this scarf really was a no-brainer lol. I wear a lot of basic plain tops so I thought the colours in this scarf would be a good pop of colour for my outfits. This scarf was also on sale like everything else I got, but on top of that it was buy one get one free, so my best friend grabbed one too.

Valley Girl

I love the look of maxi skirts on many people but was never really sure if it would suit me since I'm short with stumpy legs lol. This was really cheap so I thought I would take a chance and stay safe with a black coloured skirt. It's not very clear from this picture, but if you look closely on the left side of the skirt where the sun is kind of shining through it, it's actually one of those 2-layer skirts where there is a shorter opaque under layer and a sheer top layer, I've also been really liking this trend, so also wanted to give it a go. I've worn it a few times now, I quite like it but it is a bit of a tripping hazard haha. I may need to get it taken up a bit.

Cue

I've been looking for a good quality basic blazer. I love Cue clothes but they are often way to expensive so I was really happy to find this blazer on sale that fit me well. (I must say this photo makes it look quite boring n shapeless...but trust me it looks way better on and in person.)

Forever New

If you recall from a few posts back, in my "Pre-Christmas Shopping" post, I bought a clutch from Forever New. Well...I couldn't help myself and they had so many pretty ones on sale so I bought some more.

This clutch is absolutely gorgeous, the photo really does not do it justice. The gold and pearl beading is stunning. The only downside would have to be that the beading is only on one side so you have to be wary of which side you have facing out.



The fan shape of this clutch is so unique. The lace makes it more feminine but what really sold it for me was the rose gold chain tassle on the zipper lol. Darn, I forgot to take a close up photo of it haha. As you can tell I also have a thing for tassles.

Joanne Mercer

Over the past year or so, I have definitely developed an obsession with Joanne Mercer shoes. There is a store near where I work and it's also a half outlet store so it's really convenient for me to go to (especially on my lunch breaks =P) and there are usually some good sales going on. A lot of their shoes are really good quality, all the shoes I've bought from them have been made from real suede/leather. I also find that their heels fit me better than other brands. I have very wide feet, so finding some that fit and are reasonably comfortable is sometimes diffcult.

Cory. If you have been following my blog for a while, you would know I bought these guys in a caramel suede for full price. (Click here to visit that post). Well I absolutely loved them so when I saw the same boot in black for under half price, I almost fainted. It's going to be so handy having both colours. Love love love!





Yamelia. I spotted these sandals about a year ago when they were full price and I just didn't think it was worth spending that much. Then they kind of just disappeared off the shelves. So you could imagine how surprised I was when I found these a year later on sale lol.

Kally. You can't really go wrong with a basic pair of black leather pumps. These are super duper tall. Haven't had the chance to wear them yet but when I do hopefully I don't hurt myself lol.

I hope you enjoyed this instalment of my mini "Post-Christmas Splurge" series. Only one more post to go and it will be all about jewellery!

Good night!

Christmas pressies

I received some lovely Christmas presents from my sister this year (as always).

• Rose gold studs by Von Treskow. I have been obsessed and always on the lookout for rose gold anything ever since I got my Fossil rose gold watch. I absolutely love these. They are basic ball studs and they are a good larger size so they make a bit of a statement.
• OPI Designer...De Better! from the Muppets Collection. This colour is so gorgeous! I love foiled-finish polishes and love gold tones. No doubt, a winner in my book.
• French Pink voucher for a Mademoiselle exprés manicure and a French Pink Essential pedicure. I have never had a professional manicure or pedicure in my life so I'm a bit anxious but very excited. Now just have to find the right time and occassion to use the voucher.
• Satin robe. Yes, that luxurious, satin, red with small white dot pattern background is in fact a robe lol. It looks and feels so amazing and luxurious on my skin. When I sit down to do my hair and makeup for special occassions, I always throw on an old button-up shirt I have, so it's easy to change out of without ruining all your hard work. So this is definitely an upgrade haha. Can't help but feel rich and sexy in this!

Thank you sister! =P

Enjoy your weekend!

June/July Clothing & Accessory Spree

With all the end of financial year sales and other midyear sales, I did a fair amount of shopping over the past couple of months. Knowing me, everything I bought was on sale lol.

From Forever New I bought:


Cute little crotchet knit vest. It's kind of a beigey colour. I fell in love with the design on the back.


Peach coloured loose blazer. I'm not crazy about this jacket, I do like it though, it's pretty cute. It's a bit big for me. I mainly bought it because they were having a 'buy 1 get 1 half price' sale that day and I couldn't find anything else that I was in love with.


Grey vintage style blazer. I LOVE this. They released a creamy/pinky version a little while back and it went on sale but I couldn't find my size anywhere! So when they released the grey version I had my fingers crossed that it would eventually go on sale, and it did lol. So as soon as I found it in my size, I snapped it up. It's not very practical in that it's quite thin so not very warm at all. But it's so pretty and feminine.

From Glassons:

Rust coloured merino wool long top/dress. There are little straps on the sleeves to hold them up if you like, or you can let them down. Lately I've been loving rust, browny and burnt orange type colours. The merino wool is so warm and smooth and it's nice and light too. I've been wearing this with leggings and you can add a belt to add a little shape too.

From Bardot:


Black stretchy waist belt. I find it really difficult to find waist belts that fit. So I was really pleased to finally find a black one that did. Good basic to have.

From Myer:


The weather down here has been getting really cold (with the exception of the last few days...what's with that??), so I was in need of a beanie. I found this nice basic cream/beige coloured one for really cheap.

From Sportsgirl:

I'm a sucker for any combination of black and gold. I've been wanting a new handbag just because I felt the one I had been using wasn't big enough especially for winter when you have scarves and all that jazz to carry around. This bag was on sale and on top of that there was a further 30% off!

About a month ago I was taking part in a uni program where I basically followed barristers around and went to court and stuff. So I was in need of some businesswear.

From Oxford:

I bought 2 shirts. One in blue pin stripes and the other in thick purple stripes. I really like the french cuffs, they're a nice fancy touch lol.

From Cotton On and Portmans:

I got the basic black long sleeve top from Cotton On and the pin stripe pencil skirt from Portmans. I had been on the lookout for a pencil skirt for a while. I have massive issues with length because I'm short plus I have a really small waist but a very wide butt lol, so if I find a skirt that gets over my bum and is big enough to fit it, then it'll be far too big for my waist and vice versa. This one was the best fit I could find. It's still big around the waist but it's ok lol. I also picked up the pant version of the skirt. The waist design, colour and pattern is exactly the same. So they are high waisted with wide legs. (I couldn't take a photo because it was in the wash lol)

So that's all the clothing and accessories I purchased over the last 2 months. Hope you enjoyed.