prepare for total colour domination....

Six months ago - if anyone had told me when I started here at my current Regional Victorian 'smart business casual' employer that I would soon enough wear a citrus blazer over a tomato red sleeveless shirt, with a navy and white striped skirt and beige and watermelon colour block espadrilles - I would have laughed in their face.
 

But no.  It’s not a joke.  I am totally serious – this is what I put on this morning.   Here I am six months into my stint in the (un-fashion) retail industry in Ballarat – and this is my daily work attire. Needless to say I am pretty happy with this.  I remember when I first received my contract, and it had specified under ‘work uniform’ three words which proceeded to send me into a total state of disarray: smart business casual.  Smart business? Business casual? Two entirely different things.  I became consumed with fear.  Coming from a work environment where a  dress over jeans with a leather jacket, platform heels and an enormous scarf was entirely appropriate work attire – this concept was completely unknown to me.   Help.   Immediately I proceeded to internet research – google can usually solve all my problems.  Turns out there are a few very helpful blogs which have the corporate work attire sorted.  Got plenty of tips, and realised my next problem was: nothing in my wardrobe is suitable for this.  Bummer.  A shopping trip as then called for (oh damn).   

 Armed with my annual leave payout (many perks on being a workaholic and having a bf who doesn’t get paid for holidays – I don’t take them. Hardly ever.  Which = giant payout upon leaving position.  Sound like a serial job switcher much?).  I headed to South Wharf DFO – thinking I would get more bang for my buck. $987 dollars later – I stumbled out with silk blazers and camis from Country Road, peg leg pants and shirts from Seed Femme, tailored shirts from Cue, fine knit tops and cardis from Witchery and a pair of natty brogues and pumps from Mimco. Sorted.

 Flash forward to my first day on the job – and I rocked up in the outfit I had agonised over for the past week.  Beige CR silk blazer, red tank tucked into Witchery black peg leg pants, a tan skinny belt and tan brogues.   I thought this was the epitome of smart business casual – and that I would fit right in.  Um, wrong.  Turns out most people wear the corporate polo, the males are the only others wearing a visible belt to work, and the brogues were way too fashion forward.  WAH.  I spent the next week dressing as plainly as possible in order to remain unnoticed – black wide leg pants with plain knit tops and ballet flats; and soon found that my self-esteem was as low as my outfits were on the fashion stakes.   I realised at that moment that my clothes defined me as a person.   Whether that is a positive aspect of my personality or not (I am tipping (and i can hearing BF saying) NOT) – it is most definitely the truth.    Having spent the last ten years in the fashion industry creating outfits and growing my style and parading around, suddenly not caring about what I wore every day was extremely difficult.

 

So I decided I would care.  Out came the prints, 50’s style midi skirts, pop colour silk blazers and leopard print.  Maybe I push the boundaries (and/or stand out like a sore thumb in a sea of navy polos and polarfleece) but I feel good. Great.  And ready to take on the world.

 

So here I am today in all my colourful glory:

So I just HAD to wear my new Zimmermann ‘limonata’ blazer that arrived yesterday.  Look at it.. it is just about the most beautiful thing I have seen.  So it is: Zimm blazer ($100 eBay – best buy ever), over Sportsgirl red poly sleeveless shirt ($79 in store Sportgirl – love the way the tomato red both complements and pops against the citrus), over Sportsgirl white and navy striped tube skirt ($69 in store Sportsgirl – this really is a fab layering basic, and ‘nautical’ goes with everything), finished with Country Road watermelon and beige colour block espadrilles ($50 eBay – so summery and fab – need a pastel blue pedi to match in with these babies - *reminder* book pedi).  Today is bright and fresh and fun and happy.  And makes me feel all of the above.

 

Love it. Be true to yourself.

 

FFIFY xxxx