Bags, bags, bags

When I was young, I never thought I would grow to like bags.  They are heavy and you have to carry them around all the time.  I despised the fact that women were expected to carry bags and men just stuffed their items into their pockets.  I still don't like carrying bags.

But hell do I LOVE BUYING BAGS!!

Kikki.K Norrmalm

Excuse me, but when did Kikki.K start selling bags, and aren't Mimco angry that they're trying to steal their style??  Also, this bag is $450.00, the average price at Mimco!!  Regardless, you can view the whole range of Kikki.K bags and wallets here.

Laptop/iPad/Tablet Cases as Clutches

A4 clutches are in at the moment, and I'm particularly loving the idea of using an laptop/iPad case as a clutch. 

Blackberry PlayBook Leather Envelope  $59.99

Marc Jacobs Quilted Leather iPad Bag $495.00

Just waiting for a point in my career where $1000 sounds reasonable to spend on a bag...

Reed Krakoff $990.00

In the meantime I'm just gonna laugh along to Natalie Dee...

LOL... drowns my money related pain..

Accessories haul

Remember that episode of Friends where Chandler Ross (!)  talks about "Unagi" - a state of total awareness.  (n.b. it actually means eel in Japanese).  Watch it here.   SOOOO Funny....

Anyway,  USAGI headbands are in at the moment.  Usagi means rabbit, and as you can see, these headbands look like rabbit ears.  They are absolutely adorable!  I picked this one up at Sportsgirl for about $20.00.  The "ears" have wire-like stuff in them so that they stand up and can be shaped into folded down rabbit ears as well as standy-up rabbit ears.   Casual Friday here we come (i.e. me and my bunny ears).

Also, I cut my fringe (I mean cut it myself, with scissors).... and haven't cut or dyed my hair since everyone thinks it's a horrible idea.

Do you like my hat??

hope Necklace

DANGER!!!!!!

uuuuunnaaagggiiiii.    LOL

Corporate Fashion: Plaid

Fall/Winter 2011 runway shows taught us that plaid is back in fashion.

Me and plaid are not the best of friends, since I wore a plaid blazer for most of my schooling career, but that doesn't mean we can't make up.  The most important thing about plaid is to remember not to wear it like you live on a farm.  The farmer does not want a wife!!

Burberry Prorsum

Paul Costelloe

Versus

Carven

Plaid is not traditional corporate wear.  In order to bring it to the office, items should be tailored.  For women, plaid should be worn in feminine shapes such as tailored dresses, coats and skirts, not as a daggy shirt from the op shop.

mmm.. sexy plaid man

plaid cape on Blair

Knowing Australia is always a little bit behind in the fashion stakes, it's often hard to find key trend pieces.  I hate it how trends flood retail stores seasons after the particular trend has already come and gone.  However, plaid, being a classic item, is easy to find if you look hard enough.

Cue Check Pants $259.00

Country Road Long Sleeve Check Dress $229.00

Witchery Pintuck Shirt Dress $99.95

Vero Moda 50's Style Belted Tartan Dress $61.65

Nishe Tartan Ruffle A Line Skirt $30.83

If it's all a bit too daunting, maybe you can just try a check headband?

Corporate Fashion: Geek Chic

So according to Westfield, Geek is Chic at the moment.  Having been somewhere between the definition of geek and nerd my entire life, I'm hoping that being me might become popular at some point this season.  Aren't we all a little bit geek nowadays, LOL-ing in the office and facebooking our locations?

As far as I can tell the whole Geek Chic movement centres around wearing thick rimmed glasses.  It also involves fully buttoned-up shirts, checkered patterns and anything related to things geeks like, such as pac-man. 

Since being pretty is the most important thing in the corporate world, followed by being intelligent, I think that Geek Chic is definitely a look to pull off in the office.  Looking smart and sexy at the same time is the name of the game.

The Glasses

Anne Hathaway

Justin Bieber

Jennifer Aniston

Socks and Heels

Buttoned Up Shirts

Geek Accessories

In other news: The rapture appears to be running late.  There is no zombie apocalypse, and I will have to pay my credit card bill after all.  Twitter reports suggest New Zealand has escaped without harm.  My looting plans have not come to fruition. 

Fashion Tips for Business Casual Friday

Another casual Friday, another fashion disaster.  Here are my tips for negotiating business casual Friday in the corporate office.  I thought most of these were self-evident, but from what I saw last Friday I now know that common sense isn't so common.

• "Casual" is not synonomous with "ugly"
  
  
• Clothing that is never acceptable in the office, is still not acceptable on Friday.  For example, see through clothing, fishnets, pajamas, mini skirts.
  
  
• You should wear clothes that are a little more on trend than usual.
  
  
• If you wear the same jeans every Friday, it becomes a Friday uniform.  The idea of casual Friday is to be able to break free from the corporate uniform.  Not to create a new Friday uniform.  This takes all the fun out of Friday.
  
  
• It doesn't matter that it's casual Friday, people will still judge you.  When you are relatively junior, there is not much to differentiate you.  Most people at work will have amazing degrees with great marks and high intelligence. People who are higher up on the corporate ladder only really have your personality and how you dress to help form their impressions of you.
  
  
• Your clothing should match your personality. You spend most of your life in work clothes so pick clothes that you like and that you would wear even if you didn't have to go to work.
  
  
• Casual doesn't mean unprofessional. Don't wear that shirt you just bought with the Charlie Sheen quotes on it.
  
  

• Your clothing should be clean and neat. Casual Friday is not "no-iron-Friday"
  
  
• Look at what other people wear, casual Friday standards are not universal.  If you stand in Martin Place for a few hours on a Friday morning you might begin to believe that some offices have a dress-like-a-hobo-Friday policy.
  

What are your tips for casual Friday?

Fashionable Shorts for Business Casual Friday

 When I first started at my job I had a week of offsite training.  Being young and fresh out of uni, I was intent on making a good impression and somehow pretending I was grown up enough to be in the office.  I was excited, fresh and full of hope...  until I saw the dress code.  The entire week would be "business casual" and not even the person who wrote the policy truly knew what that meant.

The particular policy at my workplace has some very specific rules; no summer dresses, no leather skirts/pants, no spaghetti straps/singlets/having shoulders that exist at all.  I was even given a whole training hour on the meaning of "business casual", where it was emphatically pointed out that earrings cannot be too long and dangle-y, and those wearing boat shoes should leave them at home.

Now, all of that is fair enough.  It sends the message that the business casual dress code REALLY means business with a twist, with nothing casual about it at all.  However, for some reason tailored shorts are allowed.  For people with no style, this can only lead to horrible misunderstandings at work.

How NOT to wear shorts at the office:


   1. If you don't normally bear your legs at work, don't bear them in shorts
Shorts and skirts are very similar.  No one wants to see your hairy legs in the office.  If there's a good reason you never wear skirts to work, there's probably a good reason for you not to wear shorts either.

I don't even care that the shorts below are Arthur Galan.  Half of you is going to work, and the other half appears to be going to the beach.

    2. Your shorts should never be tight
This can be said for almost anything you wear to work, but tight shorts are never going to look work appropriate.

Below, Michelle Obama shows us not to wear shorts that get eaten by our crotch.

     3. Don't wear them if you even have to question whether they are work appropriate
The best advice in our business casual policy is "if in doubt, don't wear it".  If you look in the mirror and you're not quite sure if those shorts are a good idea, they're probably not.

I saw the below pair on FashionPolice.net, click through to see how much worse they are from the back.

How to SUCCESSFULLY wear shorts in the office:


Wear tailored shorts.

Make sure they are not tight.

Check the length, if they're a tad too short, consider wearing them with tights/stockings.

Wear them confidently.

Choose something appropriate for your top half.  Add a blazer or jacket, don't wear a bikini top or a charity t-shirt.

Add some heels and transform your look from "weekend casual shorts" to "dressy office shorts".

Valentino Spring 2010