Luck Be a Lady

Frocks and Frou Frou Frocks and Frou Frou Frocks and Frou Frou Frocks and Frou FrouTee: Ruby & Lilli

Skirt: Sera Lilly Curve

Shoes: Naturaliser

Melbourne’s in the grip of a long, last gasp of summer (in mid-autumn) so I’ve been enjoying a few more weeks of bare legs and t-shirts before the tights and cardigans come out for good.

I haven’t worn this pretty blush skirt very often since it arrived in February and I’m actually thinking I might get a bit more wear out of it with a slightly shorter hemline. There’s a few layers, so it’s definitely a job for a tailor, and not my own wonky hemming skills.

The “Lucky” tee is from Ruby & Lilli’s current season, and I’ve had my eye on it since I saw a sneak peek of it on Instagram. As usual for a Ruby & Lilli tee it fits beautifully, with a wide, rolled neckline and a great foil print on the front.

POP-IG-with-all-info-4MEANWHILE! I was really excited to get an email earlier this week from the lovely Kerry Pietrobon from Harlow, letting me know that during May lucky Melbournians and Sydney-siders are getting the option to visit a Harlow pop-up shop to have a play with the beautiful clothing that’s usually only available online, and try and buy in person.

Being online gives us the opportunity to reach out to anyone that is on a mobile device or a PC and that is amazing, it allows women all over the globe to shop Harlow from the comfort of their homes. However  we also know that there is nothing like popping into a beautiful boutique that has been perfectly curated with a selection of fashion and accessories that not only fit your body, but also your personality and walking out with your purchases with a spring in your step from receiving personalised service.

 – Kerry Pietrobon

The pop-up boutiques will be open from 10am to 8pm during the week, and 10am to 6pm on the weekends – nice long opening hours that mean you can drop in after work, or before a dinner out. For more information you can check out the pop-up pages on Facebook: Melbourne here, and Sydney here.

HARD0233_Diva_Tshirt_Dress_Black_-_low_res-1842_1024x1024I’ll definitely be dropping by at some point – I’m dying to check out the new Diva Slouch T-shirt dress and I’m keen to try the denim that I’ve heard so much about.

Bubbly

Frocks and Frou Frou Frocks and Frou Frou Frocks and Frou Frou Top: Ruby & Lilli

Skirt: Sussan

Cardigan: Sussan

Shoes: Chie Mihara

Spring feels tantalizingly close: it’s in the air, the new growth on the trees and the evening light.

It’s a fresh start for me, too. After my redundancy a few months ago I just started a new full-time job in a brand-new industry. After twenty years working with books I’ve found the change a little bit sad, and a little bit daunting, but mostly exciting. As much as I love bookselling and publishing it’ll be good to try my hand at something new for the first time in my professional life.

So transeasonal transition, huh?

I’ve always found that the secret to surviving these in-between months is layering, so I was really thrilled to be able to try a couple of Ruby & Lilli’s long-sleeved tees.

I’ve been a fan of the Ruby & Lilli fit every since I bought my Hello Lover tee, and I was interested to see what their winter range was like.

The fabric’s quite different, it doesn’t have the same slouchy softness of my three previous t-shirts, rather it’s a more structured cotton fabric. I did love how the gold foil dots were on the sleeves and the back of the tee as well as the front, (though on me the critical placement of two of the dots, um, raised eyebrows).

The fit, of course, is perfect. The body of the tee skims without clinging, and the neckline has that wide scoop that really flatters a full bust. One major issue I’ve found with other long sleeves tees has been that if they’re not skin-tight in the body then the shoulders and upper arms are way too big. It’s a real credit to the designers at Ruby & Lilli that they understand that making clothes for plus-size women doesn’t means just making them BIGGER all over.

And the sleeves are long enough to cover my wrists, hurrah!

Frocks and Frou FrouThe Ruby & Lilli long sleeved tees are only four dollars more than the regular short-sleeved versions, and they’re an ideal item to carry you over these inbetweeny months before summer hits for real.