CONFESSIONS OF AN OUTFIT-HOLIC
Dolls, addiction is a downhill spiral of dismay, dissapoitment and danger. Myself and many of my loyal Shopaholics have suffered from addiction's grip. Luckily, I have one addiction that brings me nothing but happiness, excitement and passion! I am 100% addicted to putting together outfits and I'm not even a tiny bit ashamed to say I'm an outfit-holic because it's my one addiction that is completely harmless (except for those jealous of my sexy talent) to myself and those around me. Many Dolls have been asking me to spill the following confessions on my outfits: What pieces I pick, why I choose them & where I shop them. And... When my pretty Shopaholic ask, they shall receive!
My first confession outlines the non-negotiable and fundamental foundation to being a successful outfit-holic who can build the perfect outfit every time. Dolls, imagine you go shopping at the makeup store to accentuate your beauty but you have no final makeup look in mind. You might buy a black eyebrow pencil when you have brown eyebrows, buy red lipstick when you wanted a natural look that would be achieved with a nude gloss or buy an eyelash curler when instead, you wanted straight lashes which would require mascara. Having a lack of direction, research and education is setting yourself up for failure, Shopaholics. To correct this problem, you must initially identify what your style and colour preferences are. Doing so makes the process of searching for your dream outfits a much easier task. I treasure outfits that either make me look like a sweet princess or a sexy cat woman. And I know that this means the styles I have to search for are styles labelled as:
Dainty
Elegant
Sexy
Ballerina
Babydoll
My colour preferences within a sweet princess style are baby pink and white. But for you, it may also include neutral colours and pale blue if that matches your complexion. My colour preferences within a sexy cat woman style are black and red. But for you, it may involve dark grey and gold for the look you have in mind!
To show you how I put my preferences into practice, I present you with five outfits I've worn that you, Dolls have adored. I'm going to confess everything that makes these outfits outfit-holic approved!
Out of all of the clothes I own, my most pride, my most exquisite and my favourite investment is a dress that I had designed and tailored by @ivybyindira. The experience of buying clothes directly from a fashion designer is a completely different experience from buying clothes manufactured by large companies that receive millions of dollars of revenue per annum. This is due to two reasons. The first reason is that owning a unique item that I know hasn't been mass-produced in a size or colour range or is owned by multiple people allows me to connect with my closet, find individuality in my style and feel uniquely beautiful. Secondly, I feel like I spent my money ethically because supporting a one-woman/man show that has little to zero suppliers, sewers or advertisement to its name is going to have a directly significant impact on their success. The reason I love this particular dress so much is that it fulfils the ultimate fantasy of all Audrey Hepburn lovers... Owning the little black dress.
In my experience, Shopaholics, no item of clothing makes me feel more sexy, confident or pretty than a to-die-for lingerie set does. It's become a popular trend to mix and match swimwear tops and bottoms, but I believe lingerie is most exquisite when the bra and panties are coordinated in style, fabric and colour. It's difficult for me to choose my favourite lingerie set that I own but the following has to be in my top three. I found this darling number by typing in 'dainty babydoll lingerie' into my Depop search engine. Depop is my favourite place to buy lingerie sets, firstly because sets are incredibly expensive, and secondly, because vintage lingerie is suited to my style with its heavy lace detailing and themes of white, red and pink. Additionally, I've found the quality to be much better than in popular and overpriced online lingerie stores.
One of the cutest and sweetest outfits I've worn is this pink-on-pink duo! I bought the bottoms on Depop for no more than $20 but the sizing was completely wrong which is a common disadvantage to online shopping. But luckily for me, it worked in my favour because I decided to get creative as I didn't want the silky material that I so dearly loved to go to landfill. I did an at-home job, cutting out the crotches stitching and securing the loose flaps with a pin to the hem for an even finish. I paired it with my favourite pink top that I also bought off Depop. I was nervous that the cotton top would negatively contrast the silky skirt but the pink Gods were on my side and the match was as sweet as milk and honey. For the finale, my ruby slippers for the night had to be equally sweet. Black shoes were a no-go and pink shoes would've, dare I say, been a pink overkill. The solution? My low white heels stood out to me because they're plain, they're elegant and most importantly when it comes to clubbing events... They're comfy! I bought these shoes from a boutique shop in Bondi Beach, however, similar shoes can be found at NOVO Shoes.
Queen B said that girls run the world and Queen B is always right. Business women aren't just wealthy, confident and smart... True business women are also outfit-holics. They know how to assemble an outfit that combines sophistication with elegance.
I've found that the most foolproof way to achieve this perfect combination is by pairing a contrasting top and bottom. Whether you chose the top or the bottom to be a thin fabric, sheer or risqué you must make the other (top or bottom) be an item with thicker fabric, a block colour or that has full coverage. As an example, I chose a dainty, thin, plain white singlet with to-die-for lace detailing from a lingerie shop and paired it confidently with a lined suit pain from Satch Clothing Australiain the block colour of dark grey. I believe that the reason diamonds are a girl's best friend is because they make a girl look expensive. Do you want to know a secret, Shopaholics? I used to associate jewellery with only the richest of the rich. But here's another secret... Upon learning that jewellery can be bought second-hand, I learnt that the richest women are the richest because they are the women who are the smartest. They say it's a man's world so to make it as a woman, I believe you have to create the future you desire for yourself, even if it means playing dirty. Do I ever wear jewellery that costs me thousands of my hard-earned dollars? No, never. The only jewellery you'll see me wearing is jewellery that one of my many admirers bought me or jewellery that I fished for at a second-hand price. In turn?
I always look expensive, Dolls.
I completed this Rachel Zane from Suits look with pearls that were gifted to me by my grandmother and a bracelet worn on my upper arm that was gifted to me by my mother.
The final outfit I'll leave you with, Shopaholics, is one of my online masterpieces... A difficult type of piece to master! Corsets have to be my favourite piece of clothing because they embody everything that is feminine about a woman, when done correctly, they fit your body in all of the right places and have a timeless finish. I also love that corsets can be worn for most dress codes whether they be worn up with heels or worn down with jeans. The price range of corsets is rather extreme but I confess to you, Dolls, it's difficult to find any noticeable difference in their beautiful appearance at either end of the vast price range. This is why I always recommend buying corsets second-hand or from a generic seller like Amazon (Which is what I did!) I wanted to combine my love for the sweet princess style with my love for the sexy cat woman style. Hence why, I accompanied the sweet princess components of a colour coordinated corset and white ribboned shoes with sheer, shimmering, tight black tights. This also added a layer of warmth which was perfect for the time of year that this event was held.
Dolls, being an outfit-holic is an honour. I love being addicted to such a rewarding activity that accentuates my creativity and eye for design. What is your favourite outfit this outfit-holic has put together? What one will you try to model? As always, I'd love to hear your confessions, sweet Dolls.
Kisses,
COS x
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