Tiara King's Blog: Jewel Divas Style, page 71

FASHION STYLE: Hey Matilda Kahl, we all have work uniforms

The story about Matilda Kahl and how she wears the exact same thing to work every day got the go around on social media last week.

I found myself shaking my head at the poor uneducated novices that are Gen Ys. The story is about how she got so tired of trying to figure out what to wear to work every day that she came up with a work uniform.

Like that’s a new idea!

Things irritate me in articles and certain things will always come through in particular.

1 – That she’s still young so she hasn’t yet learned that a uniform for work is an idea that’s been around for centuries and is a damn good one.

2 – That she is still immature enough to worry about what other people are thinking of her.

3 – She has to abide by “their” standards.

And I could so pick this story apart on how unprepared she was in general, let alone for work. Is it really just a female thing or do women still just not know how to get themselves organised?

1 – Why didn’t she get her outfits planned and laid out the night before? Or even planned her whole week of outfits on Sunday?

2 – She was not only late but unprepared PURELY due to not being prepared with her outfits. Lazy and unprofessional.

3 – She has no idea how the idea of a work outfit came to her.

Well, the fact there’s been one for centuries might have helped.

She even mentioned her co-workers asking if she was in a sect. Her simple answer could have been, “nope, it’s my new easy go-to work uniform”, and left it at that.

She said this - “let’s add to the mix the extensive pressure on women to uphold a flawless appearance. We ultimately end up with an unscalable mountain of high expectations. No wonder many people walk around feeling that the world owns them, when it really should be the other way around.”

Ugh, no. I have the maturity to not buy into other people’s belief systems when it comes to the way I dress. The world does not own me. I own my clothes and I own how I wear them.

And then there was this - “The thought of reclaiming the driver’s seat can feel overwhelming, but even small changes can make a huge difference. The simple choice of wearing a work uniform has saved me countless wasted hours thinking, “what the hell am I going to wear today?” And in fact, these black trousers and white blouses have become an important daily reminder that frankly, I’m in control”.

No kidding!

How hard do women think it is to separate work clothes from exercise clothes from play clothes etc, when you know what sort of clothing your job will require you plan out your work wardrobe.

I agree wholeheartedly with having a work uniform, regardless of where you work. And while I’ve never had an office job I’ve always have “business suits” for the occasion if it arose. I managed to match up a three piece black suit and then a blue suit, then a grey suit. I bought blazers that matched to skirts. None of these were bought together, they were always picked up when I found them but miraculously went together. And I still have them in case I need a suit.

I also have clothes for around the house, going out, casual, running to the doctors etc. They are all in their own places in my wardrobe and cupboards and I know what they’re for. It’s not hard to figure this stuff out you know girls.

She didn’t need to stick to black and white. She could have had a different coloured top or shirt every day and still made the same savings. As an art director she could have added colour and flair to it.

Women stress themselves out by not being organised. Seriously, after a few weeks of working somewhere you’d know what you need to wear. And to blame your male colleagues or boss, or the cleaner, or security guy is a pathetic excuse at deflecting the real issue onto someone else.

The problem is her and the many millions of other women who CHOOSE to be unprepared and leave outfit choices until the last minute. Just as many leave their kid’s lunches until the morning of instead of preparing the night before. Or the school kids who don’t get their bags and uniforms sorted ready to go the next day.

It’s laziness, unpreparedness and a choice. So make the choice to change how you do things and get yourselves prepared!

Girls, it’s not so hard to get your outfits sorted for the week you know.

MY STYLE: Floral and Mint

OUTFIT #1

TOP: Kmart, $5, from 2012
PANTS: Millers, $18, from 2014
SHOES: Kmart, $19, from 2014
JEWELLERY: Jewel Divas Neon Skull bracelet stack, op shop necklace, lovisa rings and earrings

OUTFIT #2

TOP: Millers, $18, from 2014 (first time wear)
PANTS: Millers, $18, from 2014
SHOES: Spendless Shoes Silver glitter high top sneakers from 2013
JEWELLERY: Lovisa earrings and peacock bangle, Equip ring (right forefinger), bangle on left hand ebay, all others ebay bought Samantha Wills.

MY OBSESSIONS: My latest Nancy Drew Goodies

Come November/December last year I ventured into my yearly cleaning and auditing phase and knew it was time to up date my Nancy Drew collection file and collection itself.

Not only did I pull out all of the books and collectibles from boxes and go through them (to make sure I had either finished a print collection or needed to complete it), and then repack into new containers and boxes.

Below is a pic from when I had removed all of my junk from this pile and just had all the Nancy boxes left. It looks much the same now sadly as I cannot set it up anywhere as a collection to view, but with less mess and less boxes.

I also had to overhaul all of my paperwork that went with it. Paper work that had sadly disappeared with the death of my Acer pc and hard drive which I was told last year after having a technician from Geeks 2U over that it would cost $1500 and up to recover everything on the drive.

So I started again. And took pictures of last years newest additions to the collection.

Every year Her Interactive puts our two new pc games and these were last years. The artwork for the first of this years has already been revealed but I’ll wait until the end of the year to buy both as it’s easier and cheaper to buy both together. The colours, designs and graphic are amazing as always. Just a pity they don’t do the open flap embossed boxes like they used to, they were real collectibles.

Then came the new Nancy Drew 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. I haven’t opened it, I can’t really stand jigsaws so this is staying fresh and sealed as a collectible.

I also got some of the latest Nancy clothes (not that there’s many). On the left is a licensed jumper/sweater from Out of Print Clothing. On the right is a tshirt I found at Redbubble.

The Nancy Drew Clue Crew series has come to an end after 40 editions. This is something that Simon & Schuster seem to like doing, making a series for so many books and then stopping them, overhauling them, renaming them and then bringing them back as something else. This series will be remade into the Nancy Drew Clue Book. This will be the third incarnation of this type of story, the original being the Nancy Drew Notebooks. I finally managed to track down the first four in their box set to complete my Clue Crew book collection.

Of course I also got the Hardy Boys season 3 dvd set but I’ll do another post on that.

So, what have you guys obsessed about lately?

FASHION STYLE: Shopping at Boohoo for seasonal bargains.

Last year I decided to have a look at UK website Boohoo. I had seen ads on tv and in magazines for ages and had a quick look once or twice, but this time I decided to really scour the website and check out their rules and regulations about shipping and sizes. And then I found the sale.

Not only were their winter bargains on sale, due to their winter being our summer the prices were being slashed as they tried getting rid of old stock, but they also had an extra percentage off.

I loaded up the shopping trolley with bargains and then tried the sale code. Did it work. No. I left a comment on their Facebook page and was given a code to use across all products. As it turned out, the original code was only for sale items but that was not made clear on their website, and many things were on sale but not under the code.

Confused? I was.

So I was able to get three pieces for myself and two for mum. She got two wrap around cardi blankets and I got these three pieces.

Two gorgeous coloured aztec blanket wraps and a hooded faux fur coat.

The fur coat came in a UK size 16 and while they claim their sizes are the same as Aus it was a touch smaller than I wanted. I got this for $56 AUD.

Aztec is a print that comes and goes in fashion like everything else, but since I don’t follow trends, I set them, I bought what I wanted. The pinky purple one (named Lexie) has a hood and toggle tie and is quite long. I scored this for $36 AUD.

The red and green (named Ramona, well, at least that’s what it was called on the website) has buttons and a hood and if the tag is removed I believe it can be worn both ways. A reversible wrap, how handy! All for $20 AUD.

As it was our summer, to catch up on winter bargains was a bonus as it means I am prepared for our winter, coming in June. At this stage I don’t need to buy anything else for winter, I have all my older coats that I love and now these three new editions. If anything it will be more long sleeve tops that I need.

As for shopping online, there are issues to be had. For my first time shopping it was not smooth sailing. First, I knew it would take a while coming from the UK. I ordered around xmas time and with everyone’s holidays it was going to be slow going. Second, they sent the wrong cape wrap that mum had ordered so it was back on their Facebook page again. 

Turns out, the factory had tagged the cape wrong, and the one they sent was not the one I bought. After complaining I received the right one and then shipped the wrong one off to their Aussie warehouse and would receive a refund within 4-6 weeks. After about five weeks I FBd again and after giving details was given a refund to my credit card (even though I had paid cash for the return shipping).

That was my first time buying on Boohoo and while it wasn’t the best time I’ve had, it wasn’t the worst. The problem is when things go wrong it takes so much time to sort things out and that’s what’s wrong with online shopping.

Above all of this I will more than likely buy from them again but this time I’ll be aware of sizing (their 16 is a touch too small) and shipping (free to Aus over $40). And I’ll definitely be using every sale code I can.

Have you guys tried out Boohoo and what do you think?

MY STYLE: Studs and Flowers

OUTFIT #1

TOP: Millers, $18 from 2014
PANTS: Millers, $18 from 2014
SHOES: Kmart sandals, $19 from 2014
JEWELLERY: Lovisa from years ago

OUTFIT #2 (worn for Easter)

TOP: Millers, $10, from 2014
PANTS: Millers, $18 from 2014
SHOES: Kmart sandals, $18 from 2014
JEWELLERY: eBay necklace and sunflower ring, Lovisa earrings and yellow bracelet, Colette ring.

OUTFIT #3

TOP: From an op shop but originally from Target.
PANTS: Millers, $18
SHOES: Rivers sandals, $29.95 from a few years ago
JEWELLERY: Jewel Divas Flower Power set, ebay bracelet (left hand), Lovisa green rings, Diva bangle.

HOME & DECOR STYLE: Spotlight Mirror Trays

I had my eye on these trays in Spotlight (a huge craft store) late last year. At $29.95 each I knew I wanted them for xmas and just before I found them on sale. At $21.95 each I bought two and knew exactly where I wanted them. On my jewellery cabinets.

These are my cabinets before. Rather bare and boring really as they went through their own style metamorphosis.

And these are my cabinets now.

I changed the material cover and kept my glamour box of books on one tray with my pretty boxes and some sunglasses plus my ever growing perfume bottle collection. On the other tray, I put my glass jewel boxes full of my real gold and silver jewellery, some of my fantastic Betsey Johnson Gem stone purses along with a blue tray and three glass containers. My Dream wood letters also hang out here.

My five drawer roller cabinets contain the rest of my jewellery, 1800 plus pieces. I cleaned everything out over xmas and found the roller legs had broken so removed all of them. The small cabinet next to it contains some of my accessories. Belts, scarves, the rest of my sunglasses and cosmetic purses. Sadly, these are not enough for an ever growing collection but will have to do for now since I just don’t have the room.

Have you guys got mirrored trays and how do you style them?

TODAY’S LIFESTYLE: RSL Art Union Draw 325 is now open

The new RSL Art Union Draw is now open to get your tickets and it’s a special one. 

WIN AN ENTIRE WATERFRONT RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX AT EMERALD LAKES, CARRARA.

From the RSL Website - This stylish waterfront residential complex features 4 luxury homes including a prestige, stand-alone 5 bedroom home that’s a third larger in size than the average Australian house and boasts a private plunge pool and lift. Enjoy spectacular waterfront views from the master bedroom, living and dining areas of all 4 of these brand new RSL built homes. 

Located inland from Surfers Paradise, the Gold Coast suburb of Carrara provides residents with the perfect balance of quiet, waterfront suburban living without compromising on location.

Emerald Lakes offers a lifestyle the whole family can enjoy, exuding a village atmosphere and providing a hotel, shopping precinct, walking tracks and recreational facilities.

HOLIDAY STYLE: It’s Easter and that means lots of chocolate and hot cross buns!

I am off until next week to indulge in rabbits and buns. Enjoy easter.

Today is April Fools Day and The First Day of The Month. God, what a day it’s going to be!

Of course I could spin some story about zombies really existing because it was reported in some tiny backwater country that a virus had gotten out and was making people eat each other and then jump up and say, April Fool’s Day.

Or I could pinch and punch you because it’s the first day of the month but then I thought, that could be seen as assault.

Or I could just ask everyone for their best April Fools gags and how many people they can pinch and punch before noon. So go ahead, tell me.

MY STYLE: The Kaftan King on Display!

OUTFIT 

KAFTAN: eBay, from 2015, $80
PANTS: Op shop but originally from Millers.
SHOES: Rivers for $30 from a few years ago.
JEWELLERY: Jewel Divas bracelet stack and long neon necklace. Lovisa everything else.