Frocks & Frou Frou

Cardigan: Dangerfield

Blouse: Michelle Tan

Skirt: DIY

Belt: Torrid

Shoes: Leghorn Rouge

Gosh, I’m getting a lot of wear out of this DIY skirt! I’m so pleased, because I usually don’t re-wear my home-made items as often as I probably should. It’s such a comfortable and neutral template to play contrasting colours and prints against. Like this floral blouse and the red love-heart cardigan. With a patterned skirt it risks becoming A Bit Too Much, but I think it works with the soft grey drapes.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned that I finally found a new fragrance – even without the help of my perfume guru Haz-Mo’s Ma who hit the nail on the head with Lancome’s Poeme, my previous “signature” fragrance.

I like the idea of a waft of scent that is so familiar that it encapsulates the memory of an individual.

My Mum used to wear Guy Laroche “Fidji”, and the year that I spent in London as a 19 year old I found that the best cure for homesickness was to walk down to the local chemist and take a quick whiff. Eau Du Mum.

As I’ve grown older my body chemistry has changed, and Poeme – though still lovely – doesn’t seem to *pop* on my skin the way it used to. As you know, I decided to take up the hunt for a new signature fragrance and got my heart set on a big boofy rose scent.

Thankyou to everyone who offered me their suggestions – over the last few months I’ve tried them all… and then some! And I’ve finally come to the sad conclusion that some kind of chemical reaction occurs when I wear rose that makes it turn sour. Not a single fragrance managed to escape my bad rose ju-ju. One fragrance that went particularly pungent was Jo Malone’s Red Roses. In the bottle it was exactly what I wanted; an unadulterated rose, fresh out of the garden. On my skin it turned, and became a really potent funk. And boy o boy did it STICK! I could still catch unpleasant whiffs eight hours after testing the fragrance.

Eventually it was that longevity that led me back to Jo Malone. I’d decided I needed to expand my criteria outside the realm of roses, and where better to start than with a product that didn’t even seem to be able to be washed away?

I systematically tested each bottle over the course of a few weeks – deliberately not looking at names, so as not to be influenced by my preconceived ideas – and ended up unexpectedly falling in love with the Iris and White Musk. I never would have touched a musk beforehand, but it just…. worked.

Since I started wearing it four strangers have commented on how nice I smelled (and The Sophisticate likes it, too) so I’m considering it a winner.

Back to fashion though:

I am still loving my red-bow belt.

I spent the whole day in heels (Maz you would be proud). Wedges. I can actually walk in them.

I’m rediscovering my old jewelery, including these cute leaf earrings that my brother gave to me.

Cardigan: Glassons

Blouse: Sportscraft

Skirt: DIY

Belt: Glassons

Tights: Sussan

Shoes: Chie Mihara

Hat: n/a (random sock shop in the Frankston Town Centre)

So I’m really a little bit into mustard at the moment, and over the last few weeks I’ve been on the hunt for mustard coloured shoes, a la Anjali from Golden Means who always makes me jealous when she wears her Kate Spade Kellie Too heels.

The search has been fruitless (so far! It’s ongoing!) but mustard kind of seems to be everywhere at the moment.

I bought this mustard-coloured cardi from Glassons during their 2 for $45 sale (the other cardigan’s a lovely olive green) and on the same afternoon I spotted the Perfect Floppy Beret from one of those cheapo sock shops that pop up in shopping malls around Australia. At $20 it was probably the most expensive item in the shop, but it was hard to go past when I saw how well it matched the cardigan.