A Pop of Colour

These are my favourite printed pants! They're comfortable, stylish and oh so chic.

I kept my accessories simple with a gold watch and necklace, plus a blue bracelet to tie in with my shoes. The outfit is a statement in it's own right, so there's no need to overdo things. I love this look because it's dramatic and confident. 

Aje jacket | Wayne Cooper top | Zara pants | Zu heels | Sportsgirl necklace | Sabo Skirt watch

Hair and Makeup

Sorry I haven't posted much in the last week. It's been kinda hectic lately as it's the end of the year and everything. My weekend was especially busy because my mum and two of my sisters came down to visit me from Brisbane. It was so much fun and I miss our girly times together so much! 

The weekend involved a whole lot of shopping, makeup and dress ups (that's what we girls do best)! My older sister is amazing at hair and makeup, so she gave me the usual tutorials. She did my hair in these pictures and I'm in love with it! I've been trying to do something similar myself for ages (except twisting instead of braiding). I really want to learn how to do it because wearing my hair up like this will be a life saver on bad hair days. I also get bored of wearing my hair down all the time, so I'm trying to find other cool ways to style it. 

We also bought some new Dior makeup to play around with on the weekend and it's definitely my new favourite. We used the Dior Expert Eye Palette (Limited Edition) and Emily did one eye, while I tried to recreate it on the other eye. It wasn't a complete fail on my behalf, but I'm not even close to being able to do what my sister can. One day I'll get there (hopefully!)...

Dior Expert Eye Palette (Limited Edition)

Here's my new Dior makeup palette. My mum bought it for me - she spoils me way too much. You should see the number of presents she's bought all of us for Christmas! We're so lucky to have her. 

This all-in-one compact features everything you need for a sophisticated eye look: shadows in shades of brown, taupe, and champagne, brow liner, eyeliner, a mini mascara and two double-sided applicators. I'll be using this every day from now on!

Dior 5-Couleurs Eyeshadow (Limited Edition) in Night Golds #524

I've also ordered this eyeshadow palette for Christmas because they're all sold out everywhere. It's so pretty and obviously very popular too. I love these colours and think they really suit me. These shadows can be mixed to create day or night time look and I'll probably be able to mix the colours with the palette I've already bought too.

I've got a long way to go in hair and makeup but I'm such a typical girly girl, so I love learning all about it and getting lessons from my big sis. Can't wait to play with my new makeup and hopefully sort out my hair too. Fun times ahead...

Blues

Supre playsuit | Tony Bianco heels | Sabo Skirt necklace

What a lovely day for a cute playsuit. I'm loving blue at the moment, so the playsuit was the first part of the outfit that I chose. I normally wouldn't wear blue shoes with an entirely blue outfit, but I couldn't find a pair of heels that looked better than these. I tried on a few different heels (white wedges, white and yellow strappy heels and nude shoes to name a few), but none of them felt right. Feeling frustrated, I reached for these as a last resort and voilà! - a match made in heaven. 

So today I'm in all blue and spicing it up with some colourful and funky jewellery too. Perfecto! 

Designer Love - Shakuhachi SS12/13

Neon Nights Lace Mini Dress

Neon Nights Lace Mini Skirt

New Romantics Playsuit

Lace Block Cutout Mini Dress

Psychedelic Het Mini Rainbow Shorts

Psychedelic Het Rainbow Bustier Dress

Apollo Leather Panel Mini Skirt

Brocade Leather Shorts & Top

Cosmosis Embroidered Short                           

I don't think I've ever come across a collection where I've loved every single piece. For this reason, I thought it absolutely necessary to dedicate a post to Australian label Shakuhachi's Spring Summer 2012/13 collections (Summer 2012 and Cruise 2012), which I LOVE! I've always loved Shakuhachi, but this Summer they have gone above and beyond. They always seem to be able to design on trend pieces with their own twist. My favourite thing about the label is their "girlish charm" (as they call it). 

Above are a few of my favourite pieces from their two summer collections (so hard to narrow down my favs). I really want to buy the New Romantics Playsuit because it's so gorgeous, now I just need the moolah! I also mentioned in an older post that I would love to try a metallic skirt. It seems I've found a perfect match in Shakuhachi's Apollo Mini Skirt. Shakuhachi's collections include all the current trends I'm loving at the moment, such as the white minimalist trend (with lace floral detail), metallics and colour blocking (with a bright, summery feel - perfect for spring racing). 

Looking through Shakuhachi's lookbook, I can't help but notice how amazingly all their designs can be paired together or mixed and matched. Many other collections have pieces that must be paired together or with particular styles. Shakuhachi's collections can be worn with anything - from any of their other styles to a basic tee or singlet. Their designs can be worn as statements on their own or with equally striking pieces.

There's no doubt I'll be continuing to drool over Shakuhachi's brilliance this Summer. I just hope I can snap up that playsuit before they all sell out! 

Feeling Floral

Warm weather calls for serious colour and today I think I nailed it on the head. The standout piece would definitely be this amazing floral blazer. This is surprisingly the only blazer I own, so I've been wearing it quite frequently (especially when I need to look "fashionably casual").

I LOVE colour blocking and I also love that the colour in this outfit is soft (as opposed to neon) so it's still elegant and sophisticated. It's a great way to make colour look fashionable and chic at the same time. 

I love my blue handbag, but I think white would be gorgeous with this too. I've got my eyes peeled for a white handbag at the moment and I'm still looking for white wedges/strappy heels too. 

Zara blazer | Mika & Gala skirt | Dotti tee | Siren heels | Forever New bag | Sportsgirl necklace | Samantha Wills bracelet set | Links of London 2012 Olympics bracelet

Day 5 - Leather Shorts Challenge

Neon Hart shorts (via General Pants) | Valleygirl jumper | Zu hels | Aje bag | House of Harlow triangular ring | Blee Inara wrist wrap

Day 5 - Leopard Print

The fifth and final day of my leather shorts challenge has arrived and I've gone for leopard print today. I love this print and I'm beginning to wear it more and more this season.

Today was one of those horrendously bipolar weather days. Of course I wore a jumper because it was cold in the morning and then as midday hit, so did the sun. It got to 30 degrees and I was sweating like a pig! At least it looked good (I hope).

Prints are in fashion this season, so I'm having fun trying lots of different types. Leopard print is one of my favourites because, even though it's been around for ages, it never really gets old. You can wear leopard print in a variety of different ways - in your clothing, shoes, bags and anything else you can think of. Today I wore shoes with a hint of leopard print on them too. Not sure if it's a bit much or not, but I think it looks good because the print in my heels is only subtle.  

I'm also wearing gold jewellery for a change. I don't wear it that often but I really like it, so you'll be probably be seeing more of it. I hadn't noticed, but I've also worn Zu Shoes everyday these last 5 days of my leather shorts challenge! I love their shoes...their stores are practically shoe heaven. 

Day 4 - Leather Shorts Challenge

Neon Hart shorts (via General Pants) | Lauren Moshi top | Zu heels | Niclaire clutch 

Day 4 - Grunge

Today is all about the 'tude! I go through phases where I wear lots of grungy clothing, including an array of spikes in many different forms (jackets, bracelets, rings, shoes - you name it). I thought it would be fitting to include a grungy outfit in my leather shorts 5 ways / 5 days challenge. 

I'm donning spikes on my jacket, heels, wrist and finger. As I've said, I love a spike (and a skull!) and I think it's important to have days where I express myself in a different way to normal. I typically have a very glam and chic style, but I like to mix it up sometimes - usually when I'm in a particularly rebellious mood.

One more day of leather shorts to go. Visit my blog tomorrow for my final outfit! 

Day 3 - Leather Shorts Challenge

Neon Hart shorts (via General Pants) | T by Bettina Liano top | Zu heels | Niclaire clutch | Alexander McQueen ring

Day 3 - Metallics

Today I'm rocking the silver! I'm probably overdressed for this time of day, but that's how I roll. I love super glam when it comes to getting dressed (anytime and anywhere)! 

Metallics are, of course, another trend I'm trying out this summer. I'm a silver girl through and through and I wear it more than gold, so this outfit came quite naturally to me. Black and silver are prominent in my style and sometimes I have trouble steering away from these colours. The great thing about black and silver though, is that when paired together they always looks gorgeous and classy. 

Metallics are great at night and wearing them means you can wear a cute skirt or shorts instead of opting for a dress. You can also wear metallics on the bottom. I really want to try out a metallic skirt sometime! 

Day 2 - Leather Shorts Challenge

Neon Hart shorts (via General Pants) | Paper Heart top | Zu heels | Princess Polly bag | Pandora, Thomas Sabo, Forever 21, Low Luv x Erin Wasson bracelets

Day 2 - Brights

I thought I'd start off by saying that today was a classic example of Sydney's unpleasant weather extremities. The day started off beautifully - sun blazing, not a cloud to be seen. And then BAM...the rain started out of nowhere. It's honestly ridiculous, but at least the weather forecast predicts sunshine for the next few days (according to my iPhone anyway). 

I thought I'd match my outfit to this morning's weather, which was obviously bright and very summery. Given my growing colour obsession at the moment, I busted out a bright pink top. It basically speaks for itself and I've complimented it with my shoes (which, by the way, I bought on sale for only $30!). I like that they're colourful but not too over the top, so I can wear them literally anytime and anywhere. 

And like yesterday's outfit, I can also wear this during the day or at night. No wardrobe changes needed! 

Day 1 - Leather Shorts Challenge

Neon Hart shorts (via General Pants) | Princess Polly top | Zu heels | Coach bag | Dotti belt | Thomas Sabo, Pandora, Samantha Wills bracelets | Low Luv ring

Day 1 - Peplum

This one of my favourite ways to wear leather shorts! The peplum is huge this season and I own this top in about four different colours (not even joking)! White is probably my favourite because it's casual enough to wear during the day, but dressy enough to wear at night too.

The best thing about this outfit though, is the way I can brighten it up with some serious colour blocking. My shoes and bag are a perfect example of how I pair colours with blacks and whites. Colours always brighten my day and have a certain way of completing an outfit.