Not a sponsored post... shopping at Sussan with someone else's money!

Last Thursday night I trundled along to an exclusive Sussan Adelaide Store Event hosted by InStyle magazine.  And no, this is not a sponsored post... I was in fact invited along by my boyfriend's mother, "S" (hello if you're reading!), as her plus one after her friend piked out.

The event was well organised.  There was food and drink along with 20% off store wide as well as a chance to win a $200 voucher... which I won!  Each guest was also given a 'goodie bag' upon leaving the store.

The highlight of the event was a Winter fashion wrap up by Instyle's Fashion Director, Katherine Green, who spoke very well about this Winter's style trends and how there are no rules.  She went on to provide some simple styling tips, such as aiming to wear three colours when putting together an outfit (so as not to look "flat") and when wearing patterns and prints - to pick one colour from the print as the accent colour.  Further statement jewels were touted as THE accessory to inject life into one's existing wardrobe. Most of the shop girls and Instyle crew were wearing said statement necklaces over their silk shirts buttoned all the way up to the collar with the necklace sitting tightly underneath the collar. It looked quite cool. 

The navy and black clad Katherine Green issued a plea to her audience not to be afraid of colour, pointing out that one could wear the latest coloured jeggings, if not keen on wearing colour around the face.  I'm not sure where you all stand on this issue, but I definitely will not be seen wearing the true 'jeggings' as pants, opting instead for coloured jeans and trousers.

I spied that Sussan took some inspiration from last season's J.Crew collection in designing their 2013 Winter ensemble... The most telling piece was this sequin chevron dress:

Images from www.jcrew.com and www.sussan.com.au

This sequin fabric has also been cut into a very flattering tube skirt, which according to Katherine Green, sequin skirts are suitable for day!  Maybe if you work in a creative field, but not me... I opted for a skirt a little more neutral (yet still edgy for a corporate office) and some statement jewels:

The grand total of my loot was $3.85 after using $100 of my winnings - the other $100 I shared with "S". 

Thanks Sussan and Instyle magazine!

March... Bumper eBay sales but only one wardrobe addition!

In the month of March I sold in excess of $2000 worth of old stuff... 67 items to be exact.  When I say old, I mean clothing sporting the old Country Road label and pieces by brands long forgotten.  I also sold some coveted pieces from years gone by, such as the Chrissie coat by Lover the Label and the "Twiggy" dress by Sretsis.  Gone are also a number of items I had been hoarding in my so called 'twilight zone' - I decided it was time to let go. It feels so good to be free of this stuff!

After paying off our enormous credit card bill for March which included things for the home and a number of indulgent nights on the town in February, I only had enough spending money left to buy one item... the following dress from Country Road:

If you are like me (a little fat from eating too much cheese) and enjoy filling your wardrobe with lots of boring pieces, I implore you to go and try this dress on. It is so amazingly flattering on!  In it, I look two sizes smaller than I really am... the size label on the dress is two sizes larger than all the stuff I sold.  It really is a great dress.

February... Wardrobe additions and finally putting a dent in my cull pile

I'm still here... still culling... still eBaying... still shopping!

For the last couple of weeks I have really focused my energy into finally photographing and listing all my culled items.  It's a massive task, but seeing racks and tubs of stuff which could crystalise into cash was really starting to grate on me.  So just the other day I spent 5 hours washing, ironing, and photographing, before finally sitting down to list the items on eBay.  I presently have 41 items on there - the most ever!  This after already having sold a fair few items over the past couple of weeks.  I'm actually getting rid of more stuff than I'm bringing into the house lately, which feels awesome!

Some items are surprisingly popular, while others are just sitting there looking like they might not sell.  6 years ago, had I listed a bulk lot of Country Road and Witchery tops, bidders would be falling over themselves to try to secure a bargain. Today, my listing has 1 watcher. That's right, 1 watcher!  I smell a recession...

Anyway, part of the reason for my furious eBaying is that in February I completely exhausted my eBay kitty which I had diligently saved since last October.  I also spent all the Myer One vouchers which were burning a hole in my wallet (so much for saving them for a new laptop).  Although I've done my bit to keep the economy spinning, it makes me officially poor. Well, poor in the sense that I can't buy what I want anymore (a first world problem, I know. It's not like I actually need anything).

So what did I buy, I hear you ask:

1. T.L. Wood dresses x 3 - the sleeveless ones are so comfy like you would not believe and machine washable too. I also think the black spotty one will look good layered in Winter.
2. SABA white t-shirt - I actually don't really need this, but I bought it to make up the amount to be able to use a $50 voucher SABA sent me. It's loose and comfy.
3. Country Road embellished shoulder 3/4 sleeve top - I was tossing up between the navy and the khaki stripe and ended up going for the khaki to wear with my taupe IM Dickers as the matchy-matchy element of my outfit.
4. SABA breton tops x 3 - I love these.
5. Country Road black ballet flats - the jury is still out on these.
6. Rag & Bone "Newbury" knee high boots - I stalked these online all season. 

I will sign off on this blog post as I always do and say that my pant and skirt wardrobe is severely lacking.  Although I am moving forward in that I did have a bit of an Oprah light bulb moment today whilst trying on all the skirts in Country Road. I realised that I shouldn't even go there until I lose some weight. It's pants for me for now...

January purchases and contemplating some future wardrobe additions

January shopping highlights

A few marginally successful eBay sessions resulted in some spending money for me, so in January I purchased the following items:

• Veronika Maine vibrant blue silk blend tank
• Etoile Isabel Marant faded khaki linen blazer
• Etoile Isabel Marant Ariana knit jacket (pictured above)
• A.P.C. striped boat neck knit (pictured above)
• SABA silk front white tee (this has proven to be an awesome staple!)
• Missoni grey toned zig-zag infinity scarf
• Witchery sleeveless gather dress
• J.Crew black and white silk boy shirt in heart throb (pictured above)
• J.Crew red mini skirt 

Hopefully the J.Crew pieces fit.  They are sitting at my US parcel forwarding address while I wait for one more parcel to arrive.  I have loved the black and white heart print blouse from day dot and the red skirt appeared long enough for work, but we'll see.  Fingers crossed.

I'm sort of at the point now where I justifiably cannot buy any more discretionary clothing items without afterwards checking myself into a rehab clinic. Slap me if I tell you I have no tops to wear to work, as I have worked hard to fill this particular gap this Summer.  I just need to get into the habit of regularly steaming and ironing.

The gaps in my wardrobe are now blatantly obvious and I will focus my energy now into filling these. My major wardrobe gap is work suitable bottoms (skirts and trousers).  I seem to have a lot of average fitting pants and skirts.  Come Winter, I will need some new work dresses.  Some of my favourites that I have been wearing for the past two years are looking tired.

I would also like new pair of knee high boots this Winter (incidentally a pair I have been stalking just went on sale), and I would not say no to a new pair of leather ankle boots (maybe tan?).

My black J.Crew ballet flats are looking a little battered too as I have started walking to and from work a little more, but I do not change into sneakers.  No longer do I look down at my feet and feel polished. This must be fixed ASAP. 

I also have a wedding to attend in mid-March, if I can I would like to avoid buying something new, but we'll see.

On ALWAYS loving what you buy yet hating two-thirds of what you already own

"Women usually love what they buy, yet hate two-thirds of what is in their closets." - Mignon McLaughlin

Does the above statement apply to you?  

Photographed below is how much I have managed to cull since moving into our new place.  Granted the contents of one of the tubs are the items that I was not quite ready to cull the last time, but I am now.

 

I'm doing my best to eBay the Summer appropriate items now and as soon as it's March I will try listing the coats, wool jackets and boots (not pictured).

Back to the quote. Did I love everything at the time I bought it?  Yes and no, but each piece certainly spoke to me at the time of buying it.  Do I hate it all now?  Well "hate" is a strong word, so let's just say that each piece does not fit in with my lifestyle and now given limited wardrobe space I am ready to let it go.

For example, although I adore the look of the Lover Chrissy coat, the three-quarter turn up sleeves drive me crazy.

Lover coat

For me the coat is only appropriate on a certain type of Winter's day - one which is mild and not windy, otherwise my wrists and forearms get cold.  I also find that sleeves poking from underneath look a little odd unless very fitted.  And full length sleeves of corporate jackets just look plain wrong!  Therefore in my life this coat is only appropriate to wear on weekends - those which are mild and not windy. In other words the Lover Chrissy Coat planets are aligned maybe once each year. It must go.

The same can be said of an amazing Thurley belted cape that I own. It looks fabulous, but it's not a piece that I gravitate towards, so gets it worn maybe once or twice a year. Does it deserve a spot in my ideal wardrobe? I think not.

Also given that I have vowed to myself to only spend eBay proceeds this year, and my determination to achieve this mystical ideal wardrobe of mine... suddenly two-thirds of the contents of my wardrobe looks eBay-able! I don't hate two-thirds of my clothes, but I just don't love all the pieces enough or wear everything enough to justify keeping it.