Reflect: April

For me the month of April was about shifting my mindset to cooler weather and figuring out what on earth to wear! I really need to fill a few gaps in my wardrobe, but in the meantime I’m trying my best to get creative with layering. So far I’ve had varying success, but I can at least report that the good outnumbered the bad this month.

Favourite Outfits

Such a simple outfit, but made me feel a bit young and trendy which is always nice.

This outfit completely took me by surprise; I would not have expected these colours to work together. But they really do, and every time I see this photo it reminds me to keep on experimenting!

I love the fresh, vibrant feel of this outfit.

One of my lovely friends suggested this is a Parisian look – that’s probably why I liked it so much at the time. Simple, elegant, chic.

A super easy and comfy casual outfit, but with great balance.

Least Favourite Outfits

Unfortunately I don’t think this scarf is going to work out for me. I love its bright cheerful spots, but so far every outfit featuring it has disappointed me. I think the background colour of the scarf washes out my face – the last thing a sleep-deprived Mum needs!

It’s not terrible, but I think the layering is a little clumsy. And the bad hair day doesn’t help.

It’s no surprise this outfit didn’t turn out as I’d hoped – I tried to recreate an outfit from an inspiration photo using all the wrong pieces. In the end I also realised I have to get rid of these pants as they just don’t fit well.

Honourable Mentions

Reflect: March

My outfit from today looked boring-but-fine in my mirror, but when I looked at the photos it looked terrible! I couldn’t bring myself to post it online, so instead I’m having a look back over the month of March.

And what a fantastic month it was too! Definitely my most successful month outfit-wise so far. There were loads of outfits I loved and it was really difficult to narrow it down to a select few. And also difficult to find any I didn’t like which is great.

Favourite Outfits

This was a totally different style for me, and I loved wearing it. I was finally able to feel at home in my maxi dress, hooray! I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve tried belting a scarf, but it certainly won’t be the last.

One of those perfect outfits that made me feel slim without having to suck in my tummy. Amazing. Thank you skinny jeans and wide waist belt.

What an awesome colour combo! Plus I love the juxtaposition of blazer and trainers.

A lovely breezy summer outfit, I think these shorts and shirt were meant to be together!

I always get so many compliments wearing this blue dress, and this is probably my favourite version so far.

Least Favourite Outfits

I don’t think this is a particularly bad outfit, I just personally found it a little uninspiring.

Honourable Mentions

Reflect: February

Today it is six months since I set out on my quest for a functional wardrobe! I can honestly say it has turned out better than I had hoped – I definitely find it SO much easier to put together outfits these days. I no longer feel like I have nothing to wear, but I’m not going to stop just yet as I think there’s still plenty more for me to learn and try.

Looking over February, or FABruary, there were a lot of outfits I really enjoyed wearing. As always with style dares, I was pushed to try a few new things and there were definitely some risks that paid off for me!

Favourite Outfits

I do try to judge outfits based on outfit merit rather things like nice lighting, a flattering angle or a good hair day. But honestly, sometimes these other things do play a part in my decisions. For example this outfit was my favourite for the month, and while I do like it a lot I doubt it would have landed right at the top if I hadn’t spent all that time straightening my hair ;)

This is one of those outfits I can’t quite settle on – do I completely love it, or did I go a little too far this time? Even so, I think it’s worthy of celebration for the beautiful colours and the utter bravery required from me to wear it to church on a Sunday where I would be seen by so many people!

This is the other end of the scale for me in terms of bravery – it is exactly an outfit I have worn many times before. But I still love it. It’s not one that I get compliments on, so possibly it’s not to the taste of many other people, but I feel just a little bit fabulous in this dress.

It really took me by surprise that this outfit ended up near the top of my “yes” pile, but I love how I’ve finally found a place for shorts in my repertoire. They are, after all, highly practical for running around after little kids.

This is essentially an outfit I’ve worn previously, but I wasn’t completely happy with it last time. It really needed a belt, and this time around I love how it turned out.

Least Favourite Outfits

I decided that this dress doesn’t suit me very well as it’s just too big. I think it might do better in cooler weather with some layers involved, so I’m not going to completely write it off just yet.

I love the colour of this scarf against the dress, but texturally it’s a bit weird. That’s what happens when a style dare backfires! Also, this dress is a little too tight on me at the moment so it’s been packed away for now. Hopefully I will manage to shift a few more of those post-baby centimetres at some stage!

There are no excuses for this one – I just ran out of time and inspiration. I have noticed a pattern though – there haven’t been any outfits involving this top that I love. Perhaps it’s time to purge it from my wardrobe, after all I do have another floral sleeveless top that I like a whole lot more. (See above, worn with pink and white spotty skirt)

Honourable Mentions

And that was February 2013, I can’t believe that summer is over!

Reflect: January

Today was my little baby girl’s first birthday! I took the day off from posting outfits and from FABruary – I can catch up tomorrow, but today was just for family, friends and celebrating. So instead here is a little reflection on last month.

January was a little light-on for outfits as I was on a blogging break for the first two weeks, but I’m pleased to say it was one of those months that the “yes” pile was difficult to cut down and the “no” pile a struggle to create!

Favourite Outfits

I loved wearing this fun outfit, and it was also exciting for me to realise that this dress made my statement necklace seem less, well, “statement”. Not that there’s a problem with that, but it was just one of those little eye-openers.

I think this look, with matching dress and necklace, is quite classic. So simple and pretty.

What can I say, I love a little red and pink together! Makes me smile :)

It was my first time wearing this dress, and I’d definitely say it’s a keeper!

I was pleasantly surprised at how the red cardi brought extra life and vibrancy to my floral tank – another one of those unexpected finds, that I would NEVER have stumbled across if I didn’t have this blog.

Least Favourite Outfits

No surprise on this one, given that the post was all about my realisation that it was time to say goodbye to this cardi.

I don’t think this is particularly bad, it’s just a bit boring. I’ll have to have a play around with accessories or layering next time I wear this dress.

Honourable Mentions

I can’t believe my baby is one year old! The first year definitely seemed to disappear faster second time around, perhaps because my attention was split between the two of them. Happy birthday Tiny Miss P, you’re not so tiny now! :)

Reflect: 2012

So there goes 2012. The year I gave birth to my second baby and watched her grow into a beautiful contented little person. The year I watched my big girl grow out of toddler-hood, always learning and changing and full of surprises. The year I turned 30 and decided to do something purely for myself. The year I started up a blog (who would have seen that coming?) and started my quest for a functional wardrobe.

I’ve already published well over 100 blog posts, and managed to wear a different outfit pretty much every single day during the last four months. Some days this has been a challenge, others it has been a chore, but generally it has been fun and rewarding. I can’t lie – I certainly HAVE bought a lot of new clothes during this time! This was possible because I had saved up some money over a long period, knowing I needed new clothes but not sure where to start. I also requested shopping money for my birthday, which really helped me start to refresh my wardrobe. Alas, that head start has all gone and I am now back to my regular budget of $20 per week – to cover clothes, plus anything else “frivolous” I would like to buy for myself.

So far I have been really pleased with the variety of outfits I have been able to put together using pieces in my wardrobe, and below are my top five for 2012.

Favourite Outfits

This is definitely my favourite outfit of the year, it felt a little adventurous and trendy while still completely “me”. I’m looking forward to using this vest/scarf combo again when the weather cools down.

I really like the balance of this outfit, simple but with some interest from the stripes and pink shoes.

This is a bit of a winner, a slimming outfit that doesn’t require me to suck in my tummy all day!

This was from fairly early on, it was a bit of a revelation to feel stylish and comfortable at the same time.

At the time I wasn’t quite sure about this one, but every time I see the picture it just seems right somehow.

Honourable Mentions

And that was 2012, the start of my quest for a functional wardrobe. Thank you so much for reading, it has been very rewarding for me personally, and if anyone else finds this blog useful or interesting then that is the icing on the cake!

In case you’d like to look at summaries of the previous months, the links are below:
September 2012
October 2012
November 2012
December 2012