the new fashion . . . "Nina Style"

Greetings all,

I was discussing fashion & how my children dress, with a client.  I've never had an issue with dressing my 'tweens', all that awful gear with vampire slasher, studs, sequins, rips or slogans - don't get me started on black, well my guys don't like it (yay).  I explained how my children love layers, colours, accessories & their own twist on style, my client said "oh, Nina Style".  I knew exactly what she meant - Dr Nina Proudman from Offspring, that quirky obstetrician on television, she knows her whimsical style & wears it well.  Also helps that actor Asher Keddie is rather pretty, slim & has a complexion which suits any colour, texture & style!!   

When i was a young girl, i would wear jeans, Tshirt, Converse then hope & pray no one noticed me.  I wasn't shy, just not fashion confident, accessory-less & my mummy, she wore 'house dresses'. . . say no more!!  I loved fashion & lived in the pages of Vogue & Cosmo, but it wasn't until i was an adult i actually got into it.  

I might not have a great figure anymore, but i do like good quality & classic styling.  I don't mind investing in good clothes for my 4 children either, especially the 3 girls who can share (of course they will continue to love sharing clothes when they are teenagers) & so much can be handed down to their little brother (jeans, Tshirts, the odd jacket & shoes).

I rarely buy anything full price, case in point: Seed beanie $22.50; Country Road Jeans $20; Seed scarf $15; Esprit denim vest $15; Country Road top $12.50; Country Road boots $55 - see, all seriously reduced from RRP, as you know, "another 25% off reduced prices" is my bat signal to go shopping.

 On Sunday afternoon i had to duck out to get milk & this is what girl child number 3 just threw together.  Nina likes a bit of cropped denim & vests, always layer, it's the rules!!

 I picked up these denim pieces from Esprit on the weekend - went in to get middle daughter a new puffy Winter coat & . . . i came out with a new Winter puffy coat . . . + denim vest, denim jacket & 4 Tshirts, anyway, this super cute denim jacket with capped sleeves was $22.50, are you kidding me??  That's 25% of the original price!!

 While google'ing images of Nina's style, i was so sad to read Don Hany (mmmm Dr Chris Havel) is listed as "past cast member" noooo, does that mean he's never coming back??  Also, that episode where her sister was getting rid of all her owls because they were unsexy, whhhhhaaattt??

 Ooppss, accidentally found an image of Dr Chris.

 Nina's family style.

Lots more images of Nina here - what is with a television character having it's own FaceBook page??  Anyway, i don't understand FB, this just confirms it.
We're still at school this week in Canberra, Friday is Snow Day - a plain clothes day where you come in your snow gear (hello, that is normal plain clothes in Winter!!)  I'll be sure to post what my guys wear to school to rock their style on Friday!!  Love Posie

accepting the Stylish Blogger award & happy 400 followers . . .

Greetings all,
I've seen lots of blogs accepting their Stylish Blogger awards, it's really fun to read their '7 things'.  I have been nominated half a dozen times (that is not meant as 'good GOD i'm stylish') but i wasn't speedy enough to accept the first couple a month ago.  In the past week Tammi Little Poppa & Me, Brenda Hoo Are You Lookin' At, Bianca Bigwords & Heidi Bord & Butik have nominated my blog . . . thanks ladies, i wonder if they were just being kind, like i'd been left out??  It's also great timing as a 'next 100 follower' hello like i did when i reached 200 followers, then 300 followers.  Welcome new folk, i'll bring you up to speed with what i'm about . . .   

So here goes my 7 things, i'm going to make them all about style . . .

1. i love style, classic fashion, accessories & try to keep my look interesting not trendy

2. i dress my husband like a catalogue model for fun, nice change from his uniform

3. i am really fussy with the clothes i buy my children & let them decide how to wear them

4. i love sets of things, matching Nigella Lawson mixing bowls, KitchenAid red appliances & endless Tupperware

5. my dream car is a cute Audi A3 in yellow (middle aged lady car which screams no-more-school-runs, i'll be 46 when my last child finishes high school & be at the Audi dealership that afternoon) & i can retire my 8 seater 4WD which screams 'large family + extras'

6. we are planning to build a homestead on a farm near Canberra in a couple of years, we're designing a simple spacious home in blues & neutrals, with verandah around the whole house, pool, green house, barn/ garage & grow all our own vegetables in high garden beds - i'm practising now, my lastest addition . . . pumpkins, onions & carrots

7. my husband only had big sisters so when i met him, he had style beaten into him already, we rarely clash on choosing things for our home, we still have the original furniture from when we married in 1997 (we've updated lounges to King Furniture & obviously added 4 single beds) but we still have the same daggy-pine-young-newly-wed bedroom furniture . . . so we can start a fresh when we move into our OWN home & out of Army housing!!
Thanks for reading, following, giggling & sharing with my blog journey so far.  Love Posie
EDIT: we have collected KitchenAid since we got married, first the blender, then mixer, saucepans & mega stock pot, the toaster 3 years ago & most recently at Christmas, the food processor (which is like using a power tool, scary until you know how!!)  My kitchen ideas are accented with reds with a black & white tiled floor (i've had 4 Army houses with the same grey speckled lino on the kitchen floor, a girl has to dream) & we have cherry red Le Crueset cast iron saucepans, love & collect them too.  As for King Furniture, it's the best, we saved up 10 years for the Jasper, then got a Delta II.

all you need to know about fashion for next Summer, from Europe

Greetings all,
This will be my final big-time-bragging-post about my trip to Europe earlier this month.  Now i'm a long time fashion slave & i can't wait until my girls are tall enough to done a Pucci frock & rock some high fashion ensembles.  Of course my investment in their style will be economical as they'll ALWAYS love eacher other, share their clothes & never fight over fashion, right??!!
The most beautiful word in the Italian language is 'SALDI' which means sale.  I paid full price for my Miu Miu sunglasses as they were fresh from Paris Fashion Week (i haven't had expensive sunglasses since i was a teenager & my then boyfriend/ now husband accidentally broke them!!)  These i treasure like gold in the giant hard velour case.  Even with the weaker Australia dollar, when Europe is on sale, designer shopping is affordable. I went a tad nuts in Guess on blouses, but this time i didn't buy shoes. Benetton is a no brainer for children's fashion - there's one on every corner in Italy!!

So here goes, my eye witness street wise account of . . . Summer European fashion - the wearable version for we mortals!! If you're leggy & slim, you have an edge on any fashion trend, congratulations.

Shoes . . . gladiators are still in, so i hope you didn't throw away last Summer's strappy sandles, ditto for wedges & don't be afraid of patterns or colours; NEW are flat ankle boots which are open sandles on the foot with leather boot covering the ankle (follow??) 
Accessories . . . either go the huge, colourful, chunky, mixed gems/ beads/ metals on a long or multistrand necklace direction, or minimal to no accessories. These ladies don't often adorn their clothes with brooches or jewellery, they let the clothes do the talking.

Clothes . . . to put it simply DRESSES!! Patterned silk (Pucci) or plain cotton dresses - strapless or shirred (rows of elastic around the bust) are totally in, or strappy, with high belts or waist ties. Jersey dresses are also still in, not shirt or wrap style though, more the fitted bodice to A line simple style above the knee. All these dress styles can be teamed with leggings just below the knee, in monotone colours. The ONLY pants to wear are belted, white & tailored slim with a fitted patterned blouse tucked in. There are plenty of ruffles getting around - on blouses, tanks, skirts, in different fabrics (from chiffon to silk to cotton) & they are flirty fun. If you must wear a T - make it stripes, wide, narrow, red or navy on white, a bit of nautical chic.

Hair . . . neat & short or long hair slicked back to perfection & touseled - like you're at the beach & both at the same time, nothing inbetween. As it's Summer, everyone is wearing panama, fedora or trilby style hats, worn low with big sunglasses.

Bags . . . Louis Vuitton reigns supreme, especially the beige on brown logo style (i got one for my middle girl so she'll be hip for life).

Bras . . . the shops are selling neutrals & monotones, but stores aimed at young & fun, leopard print never seems to fade!! Alas, it's Europe & bras are optional (as pointed out by my husband over & over). I'm not taking the chance though, i've breastfed way too many children!!

Nail Polish . . . found the awesome Kiko Milano cosmetic shop, bought gazillions of nail varnish here in every colour (i can cheat by 'sharing' with my daughters) but i haven't noticed coloured nail polish on fingers or toes on the locals, but we like colour in Australia so i say go for it regardless!! Tourists are still into their dark nail polishes, but i say bright Summery colours instead, especially if you're young, or young at heart.

Now for the men, i'm afraid if you're built like my husband, 32" waist & 45" chest + he's over 6' tall - absolutely nothing in Europe fits this shape, no idea where their rowers or rugby players shop.

Clothes . . . I've never seen so many slightly built & narrow chested men in my life, really slim cut fitted shirts & tiny boy jeans. I can't quite get past this uber tailoring. Those who have some bulk in their build still opt for cargoes or Ralph Lauren trousers. All shapes & sizes are wearing polo shirts, wide grey & white stripes are de rigeour.

Shoes . . . sneakers seem to be huge, trendy expensive types or outdoorsy style, something you'd find at Merrell.

Watches . . . my husband & father are classic Omega fans, have to say it's a once-in-a-lifetime super expensive purchase & the SeaMaster Professional is hard to beat (like it better than the George Clooney!!) Best prices in the world (outside Switzerland & the UAE - we did our research) are in Omega, Via Condotti Roma (on your way to the Spanish Steps). All the guys here are wearing big faced, flashy, expensive looking watches.

Swimming . . . speedos of course, it's Europe!! I had no idea it's a hygiene thing in countries like Spain, it's the law: speedos only (who'd complain if their world cup winning soccer team rocked up to the local pool in speedos??) I hope it's law in France & Portugal too. Personally i don't care, my husband has to wear speedos for water polo at work, but chooses board shorts for play.

Bags . . . again, a bit androgenous for me, lots of men carrying large Louis Vuitton satchels. If you're travelling, The North Face have an amazing selection of sporty luggage, buy on line from America, good luck finding a company who ship to Australia.

Hair . . . either short or slicked front & messy at the back, that overdue-for-a-hair-cut look but not too long & certainly not like a boy band (small mercy).

Hats . . . like the ladies, range of monotoned or natural coloured fedoras, some with striped bands, they look great on the right guy. Please no more boaters, we're not in Venice anymore!! The guys are also wearing large sunglasses, or thin rimmed Ray Bans, the big Aviator style, even mirrored ones (best left for actual pilots me thinks).

So good luck recycling your last Summer Seasonal fashion. I've ruined my white trousers by sitting on sticky resin THEN i dripped chocolate gelato down them, nice combination!! I have new jewellery, shoes, clothes, make up . . . just realised i've not mentioned yet that i had to dump about $200 worth of Clinique at Sydney airport!! Argh - even though i had less than 100ml of anything, if the capacity of the container is greater than 100ml, you have to toss it (Australian Customs rules are so tough)?? Cruel irony, the Duty Free Clinique counter was 10m away, so i restocked the essentials immediately (imagine 27 hours fly time without moisturiser??) THEN on the ship, make up & perfumes are 25% less than US RRP, which is like 65% off Australian retail prices. My husband actually said the words "you're losing money by not shopping" so while in a state of shock as that man loathes shopping, i armed myself with a swipey card that charges everything back to the cabin (read: husband's credit card) i stocked up on make up, moisturiser & facial products for the whole family. Even the birthday boy got the brand new Gucci Sport aftershave for his birthday!!
So now very much resettled into reality, children, school runs, children's parties, grocery shopping, P&C BBQ fundraisers, Shop Handmade & tomorrow a school Athletics Carnival . . . i've finally gotten over my jet lag & deep sadness of having to start missing my husband all over again.  A week in, i've replaced my driver's licence, Visa card & mobile phone, life is back in order.  Have lovely weekends, love Posie

step back in time . . . vintage finds (at the supermarket)

Greetings all,

Thought i might share this little beauty with you . . . i often see all these amazing vintage finds on blogs & well, can't ever find anything like it around where i'm living at the time (Sydney, Darwin, Canberra . . .)  So this is something for everyone - it's new, it's from Aldi & it's under $50!!  So it's retro styling with a current warranty, perfect.  Setting one is gale force, perfect for these ridiculously hot evenings.

Does anyone else have a child who 'dresses' for dinner.  I mean, a fascinator with her jammies (after swimming, bleary eyes) then pearls??  I know she's been watching Mad Men over my shoulder but this particular daughter has been accessorising like this since she was 2.  Anyone else have a child who teams a wonder suit with a skinny belt, long socks over the top & an evening bag, to sleep in a cot??  All i can remember as a child choosing clothes - i wouldn't have worn ANYTHING that made me stand out.  Her twin sister is more conservative, however, she did ask last year how to make her public school uniform look more 'French' & started wearing a beret to school, much to the delight of the principal & hello, next school information booklet, there was a big photo of our 'French' exchange student in her beret, scarf & Mary Janes with tights.

This child frequently wears a change of clothes under her school uniform - yikes, like she's going to get changed & wag school.  She is definitely one to watch.  Wish me luck, only 10 years until she's 18 with a license, she's counting it down!!  Gulp, love Posie