Tuesday 10 May 2011

Of Course Everybody NEEDS A Cape!

Don't they? Surely they do! I had this argument with my (very practical in the fashion dept.) Mother Dearest today. There are some amazing capes out and about this season - especially a particularly gorgeous camel-coloured, brushed wool cape from Miss Shop WITH military style features. Was a perfect compromise of practical winter warmth, fashion forward yet not too expensive to warrant the purchase... which in my book = true love!

Buuuuut, I didn't buy it.

Nope.

I didn't.

Not at all :(

In fact I had almost reconciled to the idea. That was until taking my Mum shopping this afternoon. I saw just one remaining - one left, and firmly clutched in the arms of a woman who quite frankly would've looked jaundiced in camel damn it! So yeah. Bitter and twisted much? I did crack this one out though...


Cape: Dotti
Jeans: K-mart


It's from Dotti - who have some verrrry cute things this season - and a very nice warm ochre colour but I am not sold just yet, the detachable fur collar is the only thing that gives its cheaper price away - it seems uneven and just doesn't sit right for me. Not sure, I love it in theory, but will keep an eye out for another I think.




Speaking of budget purchases though, I did have a 'moment' in Big W the other day. I bought a long sleeved black and charcoal striped v-neck top for $10.87 and these adorable RASPBERRY flats for a mere $8.97! Awesome much!


Ballet Flats: Big W


I haven't been doing much shopping lately due to budget restrictions but I realised that I wasn't doing my other favourite thing; which is 'people watching' down Rundle Mall, trying on different clothes and new season arrivals and thinking of ways to put them together - often in a budget form, remixing items from my wardrobe or adding an investment piece to an otherwise simple outfit. I used to head into town at least once a week, spend the day wandering around and have lunch out. Sometimes I'd get a massage or once a month a mani & pedi, then I'd come home and parade any new purchases or ideas to my hubby often declaring the collection of bags "looks worse than what it is" to which he'd laugh and roll his eyes and say "sure hun, show me your bargains." The process was often more fun than the actual purchase.

So, in the interests of getting back in the saddle, I spent the day with my parents in town today. I wore my afforementioned $11 striped top, a pair of $10 dark, skinny jeans from K-Mart, Rubi ankle boots and one of my favourite Cue coats from last season (read: $400+) I love that the majority of my outfit cost about $60.00 but how easily a look can be transformed by adding a punchy piece.

Anyhoo, the purpose of today was primarily to find my mother a dress she could wear to a wedding we are attending later this month. We found an elegant, stunning, and very versatile aubergine sheathe dress by Anthea Crawford (I think), but she wasn't convinced it was wedding-y enough and ended up buying a fitted shimmery sea-green dress. It looks very pretty and she has a figure to die for but I think it's gonna need some amazing accessories to amp it up a touch - I have my work cut out for me hehe!

As for me, what on earth do I wear? Being on a verrry strict budget (anathema to me *sob*) I am having a hard time finding something that I love. I found a gorgeous strapless Charlie Brown number today with a c-c-crazy bird print all over it. Charlie Brown is a bit of a hit and miss for me most visits; sometimes they have something beautiful but mostly I find a lot of the prints a bit dated or "loud". But. This dress, while still being loud-ish would look pretty awesome with neutral accessories, so I am considering a layby if I pick up another job (eek!) On the more practical side, I found a sweet Cue dress which would be incredibly versatile and trans-seasonal but again with most versatile dresses; not very wedding-y - what to do, what to do?

Will sleep on it ;) my first shift in (an additional) new job tomorrow, so should have been in bed four hours ago - tut tut. Goodnight all xB

Monday 9 May 2011

It begins...

Yep, today Adelaide is officially cold! The puppy and I are clad in cable knit and thanks to a very special delivery from my gorgeous cousin Kelly over at Polkadot Lane, my head is toasty too... Check out the stunning colour of this slouchy beanie!



Slouch Beanie: On Polkadot Lane




I am in love! When Kell kindly offered to send me one of her creations, I just couldn't decide - the poor thing had to sit on chat for a goodly time, while I ummed & ahhhed over colour choices! Glad we decided on this one though, it's such a divine shade xx

Kell makes the most amazing assortment of crafty fashion, from these snuggly beanies, to childrens clothes and handbags - my cousins are so ridiculously talented it makes me sick! Ahem. Checkout her Madeit store here.



Definitely looking forward to Winter this year, loving the snuggly weather and Winter fashion is certainly my favourite. Although chilly nights, woolly scarves and log fires are lovely when you first appreciate them in Autumn, I guess they aren't so super in the dead of Winter when you can't rationalise a heated toilet seat?!? I heard an interesting theory the other day that if you were born in Summer you gravitate towards Winter and vice versa... might have some merit :P How 'bout you? What's your favourite season? Are you a Winter Bunny or Summer Babe? For lifestyle and / or fashion??

Monday 25 April 2011

Meh.

Yeah, it's a little too early in Raspberry's blog life to have a post entitled "Meh" but you know what? Meh. Since my first posts my outfits have been more Peter Alexander *gush* than pencil skirted fabulousness.

PJ Pants: Peter Alexander

Been a bit bleurgh and I think it's contagious coz my pets are also a tad sooky :( So when better to introduce them :D


Napoleon is a French Bulldog and most definitely my trusty
sidekick, he loves wearing jumpers and almost always insists on planting his weighty buttocks on my lap when I am online - I'm thinking I should make him a blog contributor!

Jelly is my cat, she's a bit of a cow but we love her anyway. She also loves jumpers and coming on walks with Napoleon.

So anyway, I've been on the hunt for a job as I've just recently resigned from our family company as director. I'm feeling a bit dejected about the whole process really. There's only so many 'Thank you for your application but... no.' that you can take in one month! But regardless, there is a story: On one of my woe-is-me evenings after yet another rejection I figured the only thing for it would be to get pizza and watch American Idol (yes... I am one of them!)
As I wandered into my local pizza bar (conveniently attached to a swanky little
Italian restaurant) jeans and uggboots in tow, I thought I'd mention to the lovely girl behind the counter that I was looking for work and asked whether they hire often, then to my mortification she dashed off and grabbed the owner!

I am in my ugg boots people!

Cherry red uggies in fact - hardly stealthy and hardly appropriate attire for any kind
of job application! Anyhoo, long story short; she hired me and I now work there nights and this at least will give me the chance to pay bills while still hunting for another Mon-Fri kinda job! Yay! Another plus about this job, apart from the smell of prosciutto, is that management gives you a free small pizza every shift. So while the weight loss benefits of a new waitressing job may be somewhat marred by the presence of a large pizza menu; my sidekick and I are certainly having a field day!

This past week on the other hand has been somewhat bitter-sweet. My cousin and bestie Danielle from Curiouser & Curiouser came down with her three kidlets from Melbourne for a family visit over Easter. She amazingly spent all day with me on Wednesday helping me sort through the largest pile of financial crap I've ever seen and then came over again on Friday to help me move furniture, gather things to sell and organise generally.

Friday evening she headed off to the airport to pick up
her hubby Ben and I must say that what followed was quite possibly one of the most epic evenings in history! You know one of those nights that you shriek "we are so awesome, we need a dictaphone to remember our awesomeness" insert finger wagging, somewhat slurred syllables and an interest in mixing "Sexy, Citrus" beverages from France because "I've been to France - have you been to France? - and I am deserving of France's goodness" with "Amazing peaty, singular, peaty, peaty" beverages. Add some Glee, a prosciutto whore or two, an alien and Nathan Fillion and cue a night of insane laughter, belly aches, heartfelt hugs, skeletor and 5am bedtimes...

EPIC, I say!

Ahem. On the more practical side, Ben was amazing helping to move building materials (we're renovating) from our front porch inside, lifting giant vintage club chairs and sexifying my Xbox 360! Danielle.. well it would take me too long to list everything she has helped me with but we've gathered over 100 dvd's to sell and four bags of my clothes including Alannah Hill, TH, Veronika Maine, vintage goodness, Witchery and Mollini boots (never worn! *sigh*)

Being able to de-clutter and sort through things to hopefully make some money back is very cool. Although I am a bit heart-broken about some items, I must remember it's all for the greater good! Yes. Yes it is. *TWITCH*

I am having a bit of a love affair with these earrings and hairpin though I can't remember where I got the earrings... :(


Hairpin: Alannah Hill

Also, I am very excited to see that Pippa's posted the first blog challenge: BELTS and that I managed to get in despite being very tardy ;) check out the belted lovelies here.

Hope everyone enjoyed the sooper long weekend x

Friday 15 April 2011

Challenge 1: Statement Belt

Dress, Cardi & Belt: Jigsaw
Blue Platforms: Zu

So here we go! Statement belts a-plenty... Although methinks not much can stand up to the 'statement' the Monet dress makes! {Honestly I think it's more of a Pollock, but what would I know :P} I figured I'd better post my entry for ChunkyFRESHdressed here just in case as I didn't get to email mine to Pippa before the deadline - tut tut!

{We've already had the procrastination conversation though, haven't we?}

Definitely looking forward to the next challenge!
Time to shop my wardrobe!


ver·tig·i·nous/vərˈtijənəs/Adjective
1. Causing vertigo, esp. by being extremely high or steep.
2. Relating to or affected by vertigo.


Dress: Jigsaw
Red Peeptoe heels: Heavenly Daze at Shoobiz
Red Belt: Review


So which look do we prefer? Red or Blue?

Sadly it definitely needs to be worn with a belt cinch of some type as it lacks vital darts under the bust and looks all saggy {read: v.v. unfriendly}
Tricky... How would you wear this dress? Could we pull it off with opaques and Metalicus top underneath for Winter, I wonder.

Welcome!

Well hello there! Welcome to Raspberry - in Heels!


For those of you that know me, you will probably have heard me mutter for quite some time now, about starting another blog that exhibits my LOVE of all things glamorous! Fashion, style, theatre, amazing food, history, IMPRACTICAL footwear and quirky cardi's! *sigh*

I am however a chronic procrastinator and it was only after reading the divine
Lilli's blog post accepting the challenge presented by Pippa from Runway Revolution that I figured I'd better get off my festively plump backside and get going!

What better way to start than to join in and accept the challenge?! It's an online style challenge site called ChunkyFRESHdressed which will focus on different fashion basics or themes and modelled by a variety of women. Each stylish woman featured will be exhibiting their personal style and flair, perhaps giving inspiration to other women to step outside their comfort zone. Showing ways to combat different challenges we all face in either budget, body type or age.

As Pippa says 'chunkyFRESHdressed is an online style challenge for chunky chicks'. Awesome much! I figure this will give me a good base from which to get started! I have many ideas and pictures in my head but this challenge really appeals to me as I love the idea of taking a basic item and making an amazing outfit from it - regardless of whether it comes from Target or Lisa Ho! Cue Danielle, someone who can always translate my rants about colour & themes into gorgeousness!

The first challenge was: Statement Belts

Dress & Belt: Jigsaw


My first thought went to my black and white snakeskin belt that I've taken to wearing with a black dress & snakeskin heels, but it felt a bit dreary, a bit glum. Cue the crazy splash of colour in the form of this gorgeous bubble-hemmed Monet Jigsaw dress - with pockets! Don't forget the pockets!


I usually team this dress with the above belt, also from Jigsaw. I love the subtle patent leather that seems almost dip-dyed and I add a pair of sky-high suede blue heels and a bright cardi. In the interests of changing it up for the Challenge I tried several different combinations but found the berry red belt and peep-toe kitten heels really popped!




Blue Platforms: Zu

Red Peeptoe heels: Heavenly Daze at Shoobiz

Red Belt: Review

Blue Belt: Jigsaw


Dress: Jigsaw

Red Peeptoe heels: Heavenly Daze at Shoobiz

Red Belt:
Review


Anyhoo, welcome again. I'll be popping up another post for the first Challenge later, in the meantime - have a loverly night!!!