Item of the Week 027

Today I am featuring my 'Shower Me in Alannah' cardigan from Alannah Hill which was one of the last items I purchased before going on a spending ban. It still feels like a brand new cardigan; due to the summer weather I haven't had much of an opportunity to wear it but I already have so many outfits in mind. I am always attracted to flowers, red, beads, sequins and sparkle so it combines many of the best aspects.I love it how the cardigan is entirely covered in the floral design; it's a nice change from most of my other AH cardigans which are a solid block colour (although obviously much less versatile). I love how this is such a statement piece. I adore how the different types of sequins form a beautiful arrangement. The buttons are equally lovely. I cannot wait to wear this cardigan. Unfortunately I don't have any upcoming events in the forseeable future but hopefully I can make an opportunity arise. It is a very special piece for me.









Alannah Hill 'Shower Me in Alannah' cardigan

Outfit

My life is extremely boring at the moment; I have too much free time because I am unemployed and I haven't worked out what I'm doing with my life and as a result I have no money to entertain myself (especially missing the buying clothes as a form of entertainment).  I miss the social life I had before moving out and the dressing up that came with it. So yesterday I thought I'd dress up anyway, even though I had absolutely no where to go. It certainly made a difference, I felt a little happier and again I will never underestimate the power of dressing up. I simply love clothes and shoes! I know a lot of my outfits involve floral dresses; maybe one day I will implement some variety! As far as my floral dresses go, this is one of my favourites. I love the vintage element, the colours and prints, the matching belt and the structure. I received it as a Christmas present in 2011, it will always be one of the best gifts I've ever received, and I wore it here. It's great as a summer dress but also goes with a variety of cardigans. Speaking of versatile items, this cardigan is one of the most versatile items I own. I wore it with my peacock dress here.  I don't know what I did before I bought it, I must have been lost without it. I like the sparkle which can glam up any outfit. I finally had the chance to photograph my Charlotte Olympia kitty heels. I also have a pair of Charlotte Olympia kitty flats. I did an extensive amount of research before I bought them last year. I wanted to make sure they were proper quality shoes but I didn't have the money to pay a fortune. (Well given the fact that I have no money now, I probably shouldn't have bought them at all! but who could resist kitty shoes?). I was really happy with the website I bought them from, it was a great deal, they fit perfectly and are everything I wanted. They are adorable and provide me with a constant reminder of my kitty Juliette Miracle whenever I wear them. I will post close up shots of them soon.















Johnston& Bell Dress
Alannah Hill I'm a Little Fusspot Cardigan
Chalotte Olympia Kitty Heels 
Lovisa Hair Flower
Lovisa Earrings

Outfit

I love this dress at the moment because the print is so unique and vintage inspired; it reminds me of the 1960s and is even similar to a dress that I remember seeing on the Brady Bunch. It's great how many ways this dress can be styled. For an every day look I like to wear my black daisy flats; I think it's so cool how well the flowers on my shoes and dress match. But I also enjoy styling this dress with a myriad of red accessories and there are other options too like my pink or yellow heels. These are my new vintage style cat eye sunglasess which my mother in law bought me a few weeks ago. They are amazing. I'd be wearing them much more if it wasn't raining so much lately. I always struggle to find sunglasses whivh are unique and small so these are perfect. I actually received this dress for free from the Leona Edmiston Ruby Collection after I applied for a job at Leona and did a trial day. This was the uniform; it's not something I would have noticed myself but as soon as I wore it I feel in love. In the end I didn't go for the job. I decided that I really hated the pushy and forceful atmosphere of working in a small retail boutique. I felt it was really wrong the lengths I was required to go to in order to make a sale and get money out of people; it all seemed so fake and just wasn't right for me. I also thought I'd be better off  using my university degrees to get a better job (even though that will take a lot longer and I could really do with some short term cash). At least I walked away from the experience with this dress. I need to decide what I am doing with my life...more study? work? what type of job? anything that pays would be good right now; more about that later.  

Valentines Day tomorrow...I'm all alone LOL. My husband is in New Zealand for a couple of days on a work trip. I am happy for him. He's wanted to go to New Zealand for a long time and we won't have the money for probably years. It's not exactly a luxurious long holiday but it's better than not going to New Zealand at all! 

















Leona Ruby Collection Dress
Wittner Daisy Flats
Vintage Style Cat Eye Sunglasses 
Lovisa Hair Flower

Alannah Hill Collection

I'm not too sure how the last few weeks have passed without me posting anything on my blog. I had really good intentions and a lot of ideas for posts but that never really happened. I can't even use the excuse of being busy because I am still unemployed and have way too much free time; more about that later. I am back now and until I have the chance to take some outfit pictures, I will leave you with this collection I found on the Alannah Hill website. It is so hard being on a spending ban at the moment. This is probably my first ever successful spending ban because I have no choice this time, we literally have no money and paying rent has changed the way I look at spending. It's been hard to adjust because I was so used to buying clothes regularly last year; my spending actually got pretty out of control and I am seriously paying for that now, and now I live only a five minute walk away from a major shopping centre (and there is usually nothing else to do during the day) so there is temptation everywhere. Now I am in the real word; the realities of life! So when I make these sorts of posts they are only ever wishlists!

















Photos from Alannah Hill