Law School Photos Round 2

The other week I tried to grab some more photos at the law school! It was quite a cold day, so I admit I pulled out a (thin) version of a puffer jacket to brave the Wellington Wind! I asked my friend to take photos for me, but as always, you have to take multiple photos to get a good shot! And then its gets awkward as I try not to:
a) Get in people's way as they try to walk up the stairs
c) Show my newbie-ness at law school by posing for photos
Meanwhile, my friend is trying to snap photos in between people coming and going and then we have to rush to a room to get a study room seat!!

A bigger view of the law school - Isn't it beautiful??

Sorry for poor quality photos - Iphone isn't the best!

Even though it was a cold day, I didn't mind so much because the law school is warm, and also it meant  I got to wear my new clothes (despite having bought them for use in winter).

Top: Portmans, size XS. This top is really a bit big for me, and I really need to slim the sleeves, but haven't got around to it. Ideally the torso could be slimmer too, but my mother always thinks its ridiculous how small I want my clothes to fit, so alas this has been left undone also. 

Scarf: Farmers. I love the colour of this scarf, and the texture is lovely and doesn't irritate my neck like a lot of other materials (for reference - 100% rayon). I have the same one in black, and I knew how nice it felt so I bought this one in this versatile camel colour. I admit it is a little large overall as scarf (width/length), but it keeps me warm in the winter!

Belt: Old - found in Mum's room!

Skirt (size 6) /tights (avg): These were my new purchases, both from Glassons. I wasn't initally too keen on the colour of the skirt, but they didn't have the colour I wanted in my size. So, I tried on the khaki, and made a decision that it would be versatile and I don't have anything like it. Last year my mum convinced me that corduroy jeans would keep me warmer than denim (I was horrified at first - the images that came to mind were NOT flattering AT ALL), but I found a really nice, slim fit pair that convinced me. The reason for that aside and also my rationale for buying was that because this skirt is also corduroy, it was worth buying as a winter purchase! 

The tights were a bit of an impulse buy - although I had been planning to buy some coloured tights later on in the season. But, I was so so pleased with them! They were a really nice quality, and very thick (which is what I wanted so they don't run as easily), and lovely and soft. Another bonus is that they aren't ridiculously long and leave bunches whenever I put them on. For $9.99 I think these are really worth it. 

Shoes: Black leather Chuck Taylors (size 5). I have so many of these sneakers. They are the 'slim' chucks I think, as the original ones just look stupid on me as the sole is too chunky. But... once you have enough pairs, there's one for every occasion! (As heels are really not appropriate for a uni student)

On that note, I had a huge splurge (actually encouraged by my mother!), on a pair of nude heels, from Ann Taylor. I shall post pics when they arrive!

Flatwarming Attire

The other week I was invited to a flat warming - a friend of a friend, so naturally I was dubious about what I was going to wear to a flat full of people I didn't really know. Heels or no heels? Dressy or super casual?? It's always so hard to know. So... I settled on a slightly dressier version of jeans and a tshirt! Earlier on in the day, I had been in town and was going through Farmers looking for a bath towel, only to discover that particular Farmers only sold beauty and fashion products! However, it was the day of their 'Beauty Event'! I got my nails done by OPI, and my makeup done by Revlon. Buuuut.... The Revlon lady didn't really seem to have much experience in dealing with Asian faces. For a start, she chose a foundation which was waaaay to pale for me (the entire time she was doing the makeup I couldn't see what she was doing), which didn't look too bad at first but really showed up in photos. She also added VERY thick black eyeliner along the bottom eyelid, which she assured me 'looked great from further back'. When I got back home my flatmate wondered what had happened to me. It looked a lot better when I removed just the liner from underneath. This woman told me she had been working for Revlon for 12 years. In all this time, she didn't really seem to have learnt how to deal with people who do not have the easy-to-work-with eye shape and skin tone! Oh well, it was an experience.

Here is the flatwarming attire that I eventually settled on (and edited a little to disguise paleness of face)

The tshirt was another little DIY project. I bought the little beaded things individually and sewed them onto the tshirt by hand. The hardest part was deciding where to put them! (I must admit, I have a bit of a phobia of pins sticking me, so I was awkwardly trying to wear the tshirt and simultaneously decide where I wanted to put them, and hold them down in some way without pricking myself. And then came the task of getting it off. Sigh.) The beaded appliques are from a little shop in Onehunga, Auckland, called 'Antique Fabrics'. It really is an amazing little boutique-y shop that sells a whole variety of fabrics. The reason I wanted to go there is because of their applique collections. The shop, although it's not huge, isn't minscule either, and every single wall is covered from head to toe in hundreds of different little beaded applique things. If you are ever looking for something to match, its almost a guarantee to find it there! Although its slightly harder to find things in multiples as pretty much everything is a one-off! This shop really is a hidden gem.

The rest of the outfit:
Jeans from Glassons
Belt from Espirit
Boots from... Wild Pair? I bought these a couple of years ago and really haven't had much wear out of them, so I'm avidly trying now to justify their purchase. I thought they would go with a lot of things, but it turns out they don't look great when jeans are scrunched into them (which happens a lot with me because my jeans are all too long), and then, practically all my tights are black, with not a lot of other brown clothing. Hmmm. Someday I'll make the perfect outfit for them!

A new year, a new campus

So.... If any of you have ever been to the Victoria University of Wellington Law School, you'll know how amazingly beautiful it is! It was built in the 1800's and is still kept in prime condition! It really makes studying there feel very special. As an official law student this is where I have all of my law classes, and there is also a law library as part of the main building that you can study in. Although the photo quality here is pretty bad (photos taken on Iphone in bad lighting are not really ideal), I hope it shows at least a little of the beauty in this style of building. Hopefully someday I'll be able to take some proper photos in it!

 Outfit wise, ideally I would have loved to wear this outfit with black patent pumps, but it just really isn't feasible for a student in Wellington who has to traipse the hills back and forth to get home!
I am wearing....
Black high-neck tshirt, and red skirt from supre (they were having a 30% off everything sale and I had been looking for both items!)
Sunglasses by Oroton (bought from an outlet store - have no idea of the original retail price but I imagine they were worth a lot more than the $50 I paid for them!)
Old brown belt from around the house
Necklace, originally bought by Mum for herself, then stolen by me....
Bracelet is from Tiffany's (a gift from Mum)
And black leather Chuck Taylors (these are practially the only sneakers I have, I have 4 pairs of these in many different colours!)

If any of you are in Wellington, you really should check out this lovely building. Parts of it are open to the public and you can have a look around! (It's free too!) So, no excuses!

Shopping Sunday

Unfortunately for me, this was not a SHOPPING shopping day, but just merely a flat outing to the Sunday fresh produce market and the grocery store... However, I was still going to be out on display to the public, so I couldn't really stay in my pyjamas all day! It was a little colder today (writing this now wearing a fluffy hoodie and lap covered in a blanket!) but I was determined that I would not pull out the winter jackets yet! As it turns out, a light cardigan was enough for today.

And here is an indepth picture of the cardigan!

- Tshirt from Supre

- Floral jeans from Just Jeans, shortened and hemmed, in this picture they are cuffed also

- Bag/Cardigan both secondhand from a cousin. The cardigan is a little big for me, but I love the design so much I wear it anyway. The sleeves are a little wide, but I've been too lazy to take them in, and instead just wear them rolled up.

- Shoes from Novo

- Necklace from Max

- And of course - the all important accessory - A hairtie!

It took me aaaaages to find a highnecked tshirt! I looked in basically every chain store I could find, but they were not to be found! Eventually, I found one, in Supre of all places, which is not known for its... Conservatism, but alas! There was one there, and in my size, and everything in store was 30% off, just as an added bonus!

I hope you all had a magnificent weekend... For me tomorrow means the start of a new year at university, and lots and lots of work! What does it mean for you??

Casual Summer: Florals and chiffon

After the initial shock of moving to Welllington and thinking how unbelievably cold it was, turns out it was only for the day that I arrived! Since then it has been pretty sunny and not too much wind! (Always a bonus here!) 

Even though the lighting isn't great here, it was actually VERY sunny and hot (when you are not under another balcony anyway).

Chiffon tops always look lovely and feminine. However, I don't often find ones that I like that also fit! When I found this one I snapped it up! Mine is Abercrombie & Fitch. Shorts are from Glassons, and the belt is  came with a dress. Shoes are Ipanema from Novo. 

Jewellery: 

- Acorn and leaf pendant by Karen Walker (A birthday gift!)

- Watch by Citizen. Its solar powered too, which I always find exciting, as I seem to stop watches that have normal batteries. So far this one is still going strong after 3 years!

I always feel as though I am one of the only people who choose to wear glasses over contacts. Mainly its because I'm too lazy to wear contacts all the time (who can be bothered to clean them thoroughly every night when you can just take your glasses off your face!). The only time you see people wearing glasses in fashion is when they are trying to look intelligent, or they are only modelling glasses, but its always clear that they are just modelling them, and probably wouldn't choose to wear them all the time. People always ask me 'why don't you wear contacts?', but it's because I'm comfortable wearing my glasses and I think it is still easy to be fashionable and pretty and all the things girls want to be, while still wearing glasses. For all you glasses-wearers out there, feel comfortable wearing them! Mine are part of who I am :)

Windy Wellington - Not a real summer!

I have just moved back down to Wellington to start back at uni all over again. After living in Auckland all summer with lovely 25-26 degree heat, I got an unwelcome shock when stepping off the plane in shorts and a singlet into a Southerly 15 degree wind.... The next day I reluctantly agreed that I would have to dig out my non-summer clothes! I didn't even get a chance to wear my inbetween clothes that are summery but too hot for Auckland summer and too cold for Wellington! And now I'm in Wellington, the flat I'm in doesn't get much sun at all so its even colder!

Before I moved into the flat I stayed with my Mum at a hotel in the City. This was my Wellington (supposedly summer) outfit....

I actually had another cardigan on underneath the blazer as well!

This outfit has a mixture of nicer and cheaper things but I think it still comes off looking classier than its price tag. I am wearing...

• A plain cheap, $5 white tshirt which I picked because it ran it quite a small size and a stretchy fabric. But it still does the job. The only downfall is that it is a little see-through, so you have to wear a singlet underneath. However, I tend to do that with most clothes anyway so it doesn't really bother me.
• The scarf is 100% silk, and from a Hospice shop (op-shop) for $4! The design on the scarf is quite nautical and seems of a similar style/pattern some designer scarves I have seen around. It also has quite a few colours on it so it can be quite versatile, working with blues, white and black.
•  I found the blazer the other day while looking in Kmart for high neck/boat neck tshirts, after having exhausted every other shop in the mall. I decided to look in the children's section as I assumed that children's clothes would have higher necklines. However, they didn't have any either. The blazer is quite a cheap polyester/knit material, but the sizing in the children's was perfect. I ended up buying a size 10 girls as the sleeves on the 12 were too long. All in all, I got a good fitting blazer (which are quite hard to find!) for $17! Student prices! 
• The jeans are by Huffer. They were from an outlet store (Dressmart in Onehunga, Auckland, it really is an amazing place to get good deals) and were $80. However, I got them as a gift from Mummy for Christmas so that is even better!
• The shoes are by Australian brand Novo. They were $60, but are leather and have rubber soles. I like them because I like to have the front of the ballet flat come up a little higher on the foot, otherwise they are very hard to walk in and just plain uncomfortable. I wore these around the streets of Wellington and they were fine! For those of you who don't know Wellington, it is a seriously hilly place! Heels do not fare well here! (Although it doesn't stop me wishing I could wear them everywhere!)

On another note, I am looking for a more 'cost effective' version of the LK Bennett 'Sledge' shoe in nude. I would like them to have a low platform to add extra height and also lessen the impact of the heel. But not too chunk otherwise they loose some classiness I feel. However, I can't afford to pay $350 for shoes! I don't mind investing a little if they are a very versatile and comfortable shoe. I have also heard of the Ann Taylor Perfects - does anyone have a pair and want to give a review?

Summer Date: DIY dress

Now I saw the idea for a top like this whilst searching for embellishing ideas. (Here) I found some fabric just lying around in my house that I thought would do the job, and would make a nice dress. However, the original design used a knit fabric while the fabric I had was satiny and very slippery. This meant when I was trying to sew it (as a very amateur user of sewing machines/overlockers etc etc) I had a lot of trouble making it. The fabric was also prone to fraying very easily, which meant a lot of extra work neatening the edges/stopping them from fraying. So in the end, it was basically my mum that made it while I helped :) But overall I'm pleased with the results. The only thing was that I decided after I had made it that it would look quite nice with the front part high, but because the sides are the same length, and only connected through the sash part, when I did this the back hung really weirdly and was also then longer than the front. I also didn't allow enough fabric to do this so it also became really short. So it looks better with a lower neckline and belted.... And I know the sash is a little too long, but I haven't got around to redoing the end. I wore a variation of this outfit when I went out for a friends's party, and also on my Valentine's date!

Without the belt it looked a little pyjama-ish, I think due to the pattern. My tips to you are if you want to make this dress/top, and you are a beginner, make sure you know what you want to do with it before you start, and choose a non-fraying, easy-to work-with fabric. 

P.S whenever you are wearing any kind of top/dress that has straps (or no straps) that will not cover those of your bra, make the effort to wear a strapless! It makes your outfit so much cleaner and tidy looking. I also have a pet peeve about being able to see the back of a bra either through or above the backline of a top. I just think that it looks so tacky and trashy. Stay classy!