MBFWA Day 3

Zimmermann silk tank, Willow skirt & 'Work' boots, Camilla & Marc coat, Chanel 'Boy' Bag

Fashion Week is always great for people watching, to see the mass of extremely well-dressed personalities in person rather than from a computer screen always gives me a buzz. To see either Margaret Zhang's layering prowess in live action or Christine Centenera's endless supply of perfectly tailored black blazers gives me such levels of excitement that only someone from #farshun can understand. 

Or to see the exquisite Camilla Freeman-Topper the day I wore my favourite knit coat from Camilla & Marc, I had to visibly stop myself from hurdling my way through the crowds towards her just to y'know, casually walk pass and share a glance of appreciation with her. I really dream big, don't I?

After all the anecdotes that I've recounted to my boyfriend, stories that were suitably interjected with squeals of excitement, he has come to the conclusion that I've been brainwashed by Celine and now repeatedly says "Hail Celine!" (Captain America style - Hail Hydra) whenever I prattle on. I'm just surprised he understands the goddess that is Phoebe and the importance of Celine. 

x karen

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Work.

Zimmermann silk top, Willow silk shorts, Willow 'Work' boots, Chanel Boy Bag, Celine sunglasses, Jennifer Zeuner necklaces

To be afforded the opportunity to travel is always a blessing and I still can't wrap my mind around the places that I've been able to travel to this past month. However, if there's one thing (besides a home cooked meal for once) that I've missed during my tenure of living-out-of-my-suitcase is my wardrobe, or namely my shoes. I've always had an unhealthy obsession with shoes and there's nothing more that I love splurging on - except bags, or maybe clothing - maybe I just have a shopping problem?

After landing in Sydney from Bali on Wednesday, it was straight into work the next two days which meant the wardrobe that I've missed was still eluding me. So when Saturday rolled in, I was not going to let it go by without decking out in some of my favourite Australian designers to go with my recent Paris splurge. These Willow boots have barely left my feet ever since I bought them almost a year ago. 

Best Investment Ever.

x karen

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colour pops

Kahlo shirt (seen here), ASOS shorts, Celine clutch, Willow boots (seen here, here & here), Mimco bracelet

Black and white is always a safe outfit choice. It's the fail-safe combination that I rely on when I just want a simple, chic outfit. But, seeing that it is actually summer (and Australian summer always means an influx of colours into my wardrobe), I decided to add some pops of colour into my otherwise monochrome outfit. 

x karen

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snake print

Equipment sweater | Alice & Olivia shorts (see here & here) | Willow 'work' boots (see here, here & here)| Celine two tone clutch (here, here & here)

Since turning the ripe of age of 21 a few years back, I've been lamenting my old age. All maladies, real or imagined, have been laid in front of old age's door. The most noticeable of which is the fact that I don't really know how to wear colour and/or patterns anymore, especially in winter. All bursts of colour have been subdued to lipsticks, accessories and the occasional printed denim. When I'm feeling really crazy, I wear navy like its nobody's business.

For the past season or two, the one print that's really gotten past my new-found, age-induced barrier against colours and prints, is the Proenza Schouler snake print and the Josh Goot snake print. So, when I saw this bright yellow snakeprint cashmere sweater from Equipment, there was minimal hesitation before my credit card was out and ready for action. 

Perhaps old age merely meant no prints except for those found on animals? Because I don't think I'll ever stop loving leopard. 

 x karen

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trenchcoat dilemma

Sportsgirl tee (seen here & here) | J Brand jeans | Current/Elliot jacket | Willow 'work' boots (seen here, here & here) | Celine clutch

This jacket has single-handedly solved a trench coat dilemma that I've had for the past two years. I've been back and forth on whether to invest in a Burberry trench coat in the classic camel colour. I have a gorgeous Burberry trench in this deep purple that I wear on special occasions but I've been craving a casual one for autumn/spring weather, so that I can wear outfits like this a la Mrs Bloom. And then I came across this Current/Elliot jacket which was essentially the love child of the trench of my dreams and my essential military jackets. Sometimes when it's right, you know it straight away.

p.s. I am really get my worth out of these boots, aren't I? It's all about cost per wear people!

 x karen

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preppy flashback

 Ralph Lauren jumper | Dion Lee skirt | Willow work shoes | Celine trio pouchette

Let me tell you a secret. In my younger and more carefree days, I embraced preppy* like I was born with a cable knit in one hand and a lacrosse stick in the other. I liked nothing better than to galavant around in an seemingly endless collection of cable knits (there was occasional dipping into my mum's supply), blazers and my beloved pair of knee-high Bally boots. In retrospect, it was highly reflective of both my parent's style; very classic, very Ralph Lauren and very much about investing in classics. Preppy definitely isn't something I would wear now (even this orangutang can evolve and learn to spearfish) but it's something that defined a large portion of my teenage years. 

It was an obsession sparked by my parents and later fuelled by The OC, Charlotte from Sex & the City and later, Gossip Girls.  Looking back, there's so many outfits that make me cringe (pastel argyle patterned knit layered over white shirt on a 14 year old?) but I'm glad for what it's taught me about investing in classics and that's probably why 10 years down that track I can still wear the same jumper that I wore when I was in high school. Except now I can wear it with much cooler shoes. Although, my instincts are still to reach for the nearest pleated skirt. I guess we're just all trained monkeys after all?

 x karen

* that being said, I definitely wasn't 100% preppy (especially since we live in Australia) but it did take up a lot of my wardrobe. And what wasn't taken up by that, was consumed by Juicy Couture (eek!), Sportsgirl and a splattering of Supre. Which just goes to prove that you can never just be one style but I do remember my style crushes back then revolving almost exclusively around Summer Roberts and Lauren Conrad. I was a (fake) Cali girl at heart. 

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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

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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

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