Wednesday 29 May 2013

@thechicndamned on instagram

 1/ Brunch date with the girls (and dudes)
 2/ Winter necessity- I've worn these so much already and still love them like the first day
 3/ Breakfast burrito @ Trio, Bondi Beach
 4/ Ellery pre-order, navy silk tee
  5/ Standard outfit for college of law last week
 6/ Brunch @ Bird & Bear
  7/ Succumbing to Shanghai food cravings
  8/ Monochrome is really taking over my winter wardrobe
  9/ Life changing cucumber mojito
 10/ Pumpkin soup @ Bread & Circus

Monday 27 May 2013

quilted velvet

Josh Goot velvet bomber | Sportsgirl tank | Zara skirt | Valentino rockstud heels | Celine trio bag

What's the one thing that's better than quilted leather? Okay, maybe not better. Not much can compete with a classic Chanel 2.55 in my heart but what can at least compete with it? Quilted velvet of course! If you follow me on instagram (@thechicndamned - shameless plug!) then you might know how much I love this Josh Goot velvet bomber. It's the perfect item of decadence to wear with any outfits, especially for chilly autumn days. The studs in these shoes add a nice contrast to the luxury of the velvet- one of my favourite fabrics! For me, this was such a perfect no-brainer outfit for this limbo-weather. A cross between luxury, leather, studs and my favourite- stripes!

 x karen

Thursday 23 May 2013

rainy days


Dreary rainy days are only fun after you've turned your bed into a cave of pillows and blankets and then have nothing planned in your day except for movies and sleeping. Since I'm very much not in bed at the moment, I decided to cheer myself up by cozying myself to pinterest & tumblr. Just some inspiration for winter, some florals to remind you of summer and some notes to always remember to travel. Oh, and some Ryan Gosling thrown in- just because. 

x karen

*don't forget that Google is closing down soon so don't forget to follow me on bloglovin


Wednesday 22 May 2013

perfection



One of life's many joys is being the owner of the smug smile when you're on the receiving end of a compliment that hits the right spot. You know what's even better than that? The exponential increase in the level of smugness that has a direct relationship with the rarity of the object. This was witnessed earlier this year when everyone was clamouring for a pair of the Chanel espadrilles or any time 7/11 has its crazy slushy deals. It's well known that the rarer the object, the more special yours is- why else have limited editions? It's a fallacy of human nature, but oh well, sometimes you just got to roll with the punches. 

Basically, that was my prelude into discussing this coat. Finding the right winter coat is like finding the right boyfriend. Except not really, it's much much harder. It will be your companion through the cold winter mornings and lonely winter nights. So it will need to stand the test of wear. It will need to be handy for when you are in a time of need, or frostbite. So it will need to be warm. It will be carefully placed for when the snow finally thaws but ready for duty the minute the temperature drops. So it will need to stand the test of time. 

Most of all, it will need to make a statement. Nobody wants to be lost in a sea of winter blacks.

Now, find me another coat that ticks all those boxes*. 

 x karen

p.s. I totally lost the plot. the whole prelude was meant to warn you that being Viktoria + Wood - these coats will sell out in a frosty Sydney minute. Remember when that happened last year? I have my order in now. Do you?**

*boxes aren't actually there, feel free to use your imagination and follow me on bloglovin

**this isn't a plug from Viktoria + Wood, I paid for it with my hard earned money. Although, if they wanted to buy my words with their clothes, they're more than welcome to.

Monday 20 May 2013

blue crushing


Bassike jumper | Zara skorts | Willow boots | Karen Walker sunglasses

I only recently realised, after looking at these pictures, how much I like to touch my hair/ear/face with my left hand. I think that even after all this time, I'm still extremely nervous in front of the camera. To this day, I still find it awkward standing there, posing away. But, I wouldn't give it up for anything. It's such a fun outlet for me to really share my love of fashion (and shopping). 

Anyways, back on topic. This Zara handkerchief has re-emerged on my blog in its white counterpart. It really is such a great item to wear casually with your favourite Bassike sweater on an easy Saturday after a night out. As you can probably tell, this is really another outfit of some of my recent favourites; skorts, jumper and boots - check, check and check! 

 x karen

Wednesday 15 May 2013

those skorts

Zara denim shirt | Zara skorts | Chloe boots | Comme des garcons clutch

No doubt, you're probably sick of seeing these skorts on every other blogger. And I myself never thought I'd even be wearing skorts, now that I no longer need to run around the playground and hang upside down on the monkey bars; not that I ever could, I'm really not the most athletic person around...ever. But these Zara variation of the childhood skort, which only ever brings back memories of ugly school sport's uniforms that consisted of large royal blue skorts, have a certain panache that is hard to turn your back to.

At first instance of trying these on, you're left with an overwhelming love for the fun structural element but its dampened by the feeling of wearing a skirt that's just a little bit too short. A friend assured me that it was alright because I was really wearing shorts. Except no one will know until you turn around. So I sized up to avoid any Britney Spears connotations from floating around in people's minds, or leaving chauffeured cars ... in people's minds. Although, really, surely wearing a pair of shorts that look like a too-short skirt isn't nearly as bad as girls who prance around two sizes too small One Teaspoon shorts from are cut up so high on the sides that I can see their kidneys?

Or maybe I'm just getting old and this is what happens. A slow descend into what will evidently be eloquent madness and longer hemlines. 

Except that sizing up didn't really make these skorts any longer, it only meant that there was more room for my to eat. But that I blame on the upcoming winter.

And the nonsense that was my post? I blame on humpday wednesdays. The last time you enjoyed a weekend was a whole 2 days ago and the next time you will enjoy you in a whole 2 days ahead. You're essentially in no man's land. Except not really, you're surrounded by the enemy that I like to call weekdays and you're weekend comrades are equally as far away. 

So essentially, weekdays suck but at least it means more blog posts flying around the internet. Enjoy!

 x karen



Monday 13 May 2013

equipped for autumn


Equipment silk shirt | J Brand shorts (here| Willow boots | Celine sunglasses

This is definitely the most easy-peasy outfit in my wardrobe, especially for the mild autumn weather that we've been experiencing in Sydney lately. Also, I apologise for the awful pun that is my post title, but it had to be done- especially since the act of dragging myself from my warm bed and into the city for work has already completely drained all my mental capacity. I'm wouldn't be surprised if what I'm typing, which makes sense in my head, was just all random letters. Can word salad take a written form? Perhaps its the boggart of brain anomalies? 

Mondays are always the day that I miss my weekend wardrobe the most. Working in a law firm means that I have to dress very corporate to work, its not a simple dress code of just looking half-decent as like my other jobs. Although, I'm not going to lie, there are days where I've passed off black skinny jeans with an office appropriate silk blouse. But those are for truly special days of laziness. Otherwise, I try to channel the Donna from Suits look- in my head at least. In a perfect world, I could go to work wearing this above outfit, down to the comfy Willow boots. The loose silk blouse means that I can snack all day without any worries and the black jeans have enough stretch (and lift) to make even the dreariest days feel good. 

One can always dream.

 x karen

Wednesday 8 May 2013

you're a rockstud

The newest addition to my wardrobe - an amazing present from an even more amazing birthday. I can already imagine a plethora of outfits to pair these with; anything from these boyfriend jeans or this Le Mont St Michel skirt. Unlike the rest of my shoe-drobe it has a much, much more realistic heel for days or rather bags that don't permit for a shoe change. I still can't decide if these are more lady or more punk, or rather just the perfect combination of both. 

I'm not going to lie, now that I've gotten the classic colour combination in the classic - I really want these in the higher heel with the black studs on the black straps on the black leather. 

Black on black on black!

 x karen

Tuesday 7 May 2013

lace & knit

L'america jumper | Lover the Label shorts (here| Thakoon boots (herehere & here| Celine sunglasses

There has been a definite cold snap in Sydney recently, and I've been dipping my toe in cold weather
dressing. So I paired some old favourites with my new-ish jumper from L'america, which I bought from
the recent Bondi Beach pop-up store. It's the perfect shade of maroon in the form of a jumper which 
truly embraced the trend of thigh-high splits - except higher up. Who doesn't enjoy some extra ventilation, 
especially all the more to show off your Lover lace shorts.

x karen