My first style

Salaam. Hi girls. So this is what I wore yesterday. It was such a wet and cold day that I couldnt afford to wear open toe heels without risking frostbites on my toes. So I opted for my trusty wedges instead. Sorry I coudnt get a full picture, I wasnt able to stand straight as my baby was playing on the bench and I had to hold her on one hand to prevent her from falling. You could probably tell that my left arm was reaching across something while I struggle to snap a picture with another hand. Ahh, the 'joy' of multitasking mother :)

Anyways, I'm wearing a coral maxi dress jersey from Warehouse, a black waterfall cardigan by ASOS, (both I recently bought, see my post here for a full picture) an unbranded sandy brown snood (which I wear almost everywhere to cover myself while breastfeeding in public), a lavender scarf from Timberland, a faded pink socks, a thin unbranded blue belt (not visible here) and wedges from Clarks.

So what do you think of my outfit?

Quick one

I wanted to show you how I style my new heels and skirts / maxis. But to be honest, I dont have the time to take a Pretty  decent picture. You might not know this but I have a 10 months old baby who still breastfeeds exclusively and a super hyper  active 4-year-old girl. So I don't really have the luxury to take pictures with them hanging  running around me. Anyways, I'll try my best to snap a picture when I go out tomorrow. Problem is, its freezin' here so I'll be in my winter coat and unless its indoors I wont be able to show off my outfit. :(

But I promise I will try my hardest!

And I hope it wont rain tomorrow!

ps: I realised later (after my excitement over the shoes had subsided) that the pink leather bangle was missing from the package and had to email Asos customer care for them to send me one. Duhh!

Passion and Responsibility

I envy people who have the opportunity to pursue the things they are passionate about. Like the hijabscarf girls and Hana . The fact that these girls are young and extremely talented at what they do is just so admirable! The world is indeed their oyster. :) I wish I have the balls to change my career. Don't get me wrong, I do love what I do, and I do see a future in the making, but some days I just wondered what if I had pursue what I love, os opposed to doing what I'm good at. Hmm..

The truth is, I dont have the luxury to jump careers as I am a government bonded servant. And I am to serve them for uhh.. at least for another 6 years? And if I were to quit, I need to pay my due which is ridiculously expensive (like few hundred thousands pounds expensive?) Forget about it right? After all, I have 2 little girls, a mortgage and bills to pay too you know.

But the desire is still there. Maybe one day. I just Hope I wont be too old by then. Or maybe I will. :P

But for now, there are a lot of passionate Muslim girls doing what they love and that thought alone keeps my desire burning. :)

Online Shopping Heaven

Dont you just love online shopping? They have the best sale and its so easy to compare the prices at different shops - they are just mouse clicks away from each other! I find myself so easily caught up in the excitement which always result to a hole in my wallet. Like yesterday when I spent close to £140 on Asos purchase alone. Oh no! Well, in my defense, it was a good purchase and i'm only investing on key pieces, right? :p

So what can a girl buy with that amount of money? Let see..

• 2 pair of Asos Hawaii leather wooden platforms - the tan one is priced at £38 and the black one at £26! (original price is £85)

They look super comfy for a 5.5inch heels right? I love the chunky-ness of this shoe esp when paired with feminine maxi skirts! Cant wait to try them out!

• 1 pair of Asos Alice denim pleats leather boots - only £33 Original price was £110, - thats gotta be 70% off right? 

Dont you just love this look? understated yet so trendy!

• 1 pair of Miss KG  Cleo Peep Toe from Kurt Geiger shoe - Original price is £55 (still sold at retail price in Debenhams), got it for £25 

I tried it on at debenhams yesterday and it feels so comfy!

• 2 pair of maxi skirts (in coral and nude) - each was £6 (original was £26)

Can u imagine them with the leather platform? They should look good together right?

• 1 pink leather bangle - priced at £4 (original was £12)



Its leather chic, I just cant help myself!

Good bargain right? Especially when you consider that I got 4 shoes, 3 of which are leather! I only wish that they have this colour in my size!

They are expected to arrive tomorrow! I'll let you guys know how they are. :)

ps: where do you usually shop online?

Style Inspiration - Hana Tajima Simpson

I came across Hana Tajima Simpson and her label Maysaa while browsing through maxi dresses and skirts. Masyaallah, she is so pretty! and her label features a lot of modest yet fashionable clothings for Hijabi girls. I love her sense of style - quirky, unique and chic at the same time. Her style kinda reminds me of one of my close friend in Malaysia, Bee.

These are some of her looks that I dig:













I love the fact that she rocks wide bottoms pants/skirts style, which is perfect for me (remember my strawberry shaped body?) I just wished I'd look half as good as she does. Then maybe I could post up my pictures here? Hmm.. someday perhaps.. One could only dream! Tsk..

Her label Maysaa also carries losta wide bottom looks, which I am freakin' loving! That maxi jersey skirt n kimono wrap are my faves! and oh, the scarf is also gorgeous! Gasp.. I need to stop now and go purchase them. See you guys some other day :)

ps: Hana, if you ever read this, I absolutely love your label!

Maxi dresses simple chic



Maxi dress jersey from Warehouse
Discounted price for £7


As I was browsing for my new key investment pieces, I fell in love with plain maxi dresses and skirts. They are simple, comfortable and would work well with layerings. I wonder why I haven't thought of them before! Maybe because I always thought that maxis would not suit petite girls like me. But I guess with the right cut, the right accessories and shoes, one could look taller. The maxis dresses and skirts were of course from last season summer look, but good news is they are on SALE now. :)

This time around I try to use my brains to work out what would look nice on me instead of just looking nice. So these are the outfits I chose.




Maxi Vest Dress Jersey from Warehouse
Discounted Price for £5



 

Tubedress in petite size from Asos
Discounted price for £8

I would then pair them with belts (i am still looking for a tan leather boyfriend belt) like this look below

and cover with waterfall cardi or a one buttoned jacket/ blazer like these:

Reiss Angelo Stripe To Button Blazer

Mango Ticking Stripe Jacket

ASOS Belted Longline Waterfall Cardi

 

Some key things I remind myself :

• to be more adventurous with volume bottoms 
• cardigan / jackets that slims the waist - eg would be the one buttoned jacket/blazer which will draw the eyes away from chuncky arms and shoulders
• Wear bold bangles (i love this one!) to again draw the eyes towards bottom half
• Wear long strapped bags which rests on my hips (not under the shoulders!)

I'm still unsure about wide leg jumpsuits as I am not certain jumpsuit is a good idea for petite girls to begin with, but I'll probably have a go in the fitting room one day if I do find them. I love palazos and wide leg trousers too but its risky to buy trousers online in case it doesnt fit me properly. I have to reserve that for offline shopping :)

Investing in your clothings

They say your wardrobe is an investment. I concur. A pair of jeans for example, could last you years, and styled in hundreds of different looks. But which kind of jeans would you buy? Skinny? Flare? Straight? Bell bottoms? Strech? Acid washed? With so many choices out there, how would you know that you've made the right investment? Maybe we should just buy a pair for each cut then. But how much would that cost, I wonder? I suspect its not cheap. Especially if they are designer labels. So the real question is, how much investment is a good investment? 

I am the type of girl who shop on impulse. I like to buy things that are in trend or things that are on sale-thinking its lucky that I was able to grab them at such low prices. I am starting to realise that its a bad habit because those clothes usually don't fit or look nice on me and would end up in the garage or donation bins. I, on the other hand, stuck with the same clothes and consistently complaining that i have nothing to wear! I dont think i have made many good investments overall. Slowly, I came to realise that i dont really need the latest trend just to look fashion forward. After all, who defines what looks are 'in' and what's not? What matters is that I look good, because lets face it... not everybody can rock a potato sack dress!

So how do one spot a good investmet piece? I began researching on the Net (thank god for mr Google!). Apparently, I should learn about the clothes that would look good on me and what doesn't. This is scientifically determined by body shape and porpotions. There are several body types and I learned that I am a strawberry. That means that I have a wider top body and slimmer bottom.

Therefore, I should avoid volume tops and explore fuller pants/skirts. Thats my biggest investment mistake spotted! ~I own too many Leggings!! Oh no! And I used to think that I look good in them because they accentuate my slimmer part, but turns out they actually shift eye focus towards my round body! Agghh! I can't believe I was so wrong! Infact, I had a scan of my wardrobe and realised that most of the clothes I own are bad for my body shape!! Oh dear me! Oh well, I decided to give my wardrobe a revamp. From now, I'm going to shop using my 'head' not my 'heart', and hopefully I become a better investor. So these are some of the things I learned about my body and how to style it. Here are some advices on what would be your best investment piece here

Ok peeps, gtg and list down my key investment pieces now. Maybe I'll put them up in my next entry and ask your opinion on them. :)