Denim Jacket Perfection

It has probably been too early to start hunting down a denim jacket, but with Autumn upon us and new season styles hitting stores, I have been on the lookout for a functional yet fashionable jacket. One that can go from brunch to school pick ups to date night- without being too stiff, short or baggy.

I finally found a perfect Denim Jacket that was fitted, a very good price, and also not frumpy.

I have shared some ways of styling this jacket, that would look great with any denim jacket this season!

The first way is simplistic, with black jeans and a touch of leopard. The high boots and textured t-shirt add some elements of interest as well.

Demin Jacket- Leopard by laurenmoore-ii featuring skinny fit jeans

Midi skirts are in this season, and a plain black midi skirt paired with check, denim and gold accesories is a sure way to turn heads. Monochrome keeps things classic, while the shoes add a fun touch.

Denim Jacket- Midi by laurenmoore-ii featuring a gold multi chain necklace

This dress is such a gorgeous colour for the cooler months, and I love it paired with tan accessories. This would be great for a trip out during the weekend, or even to a casual party.

Denim Jacket- Weekend Wine by laurenmoore-ii featuring a chiffon dress

I never used to wear pink, but now I am experimenting with shades of pink including hot pink and pastels. Vamp things up with these heels and you have a great date night outfit.

Denim Jacket- Pretty in Pink by laurenmoore-ii featuring a teardrop pendant necklace

This dress from the new Boohoo Petite range is perfect for thse of us who are vertically challenged! The stripes elongate your lower half, and the dress is proportioned for those of us 160cm and under. I love the orange pops in the necklace and clutch, and these boots are great with or without tights.

Denim Jacket- Striped by laurenmoore-ii featuring a black dress

I hope you have been inspired by some ways to wear a denim jacket this Autumn- I would love to know your favourite look!

Sweater Weather

One of my hobbies is online clothes browsing, and I recently discovered that a website my American friends rave about ships to New Zealand! Modcloth has unique and cute clothes, and their website got me thinking about winter and autumn layering.

One of my colours is deep teal, so when I was browsing through sweaters and saw this, I immediately knew it would fit perfectly in my wardrobe. The Couldn't Task For More Sweater looks like it was made for me! (Another thing I like about Modcloth; all their clothes have such fun names!)The loose fit will lend itself well to layering, and it has a slight sheen to it. It even has a hood on the back, great for those days when I need to pop to the shops and the wind gets a bit chilly.

Modcloth Feature Sweater by laurenmoore-ii featuring a bohemian necklace

Being sheer, this sweater would look great with different pops of colour showing through. However, I have gone with a monochromatic look since this colour is one of my favourites and I want the sweater to be the hero of this outfit. A simple teal camisole will provide some warmth, and this button down top won't add too much extra bulk but is detailed enough to stand on its own if you need to take off your sweater. A slightly higher collar on the top will make the layering of this outfit look polished, without being too sombre and boring.

Usually I would pair teal with grey, but when I saw the beautiful bird weekender bag I knew I had to complement it with brown booties and some light brown pants. I also added a bird inspired necklace as a longline necklace is always flattering!

Modcloth now ship to over 50 countries, and with detailed descriptions and customer reviews on the website I am highly confident about ordering my dream outfit.  I would love to know which item you would order- or if there is anything else on the Modcloth website that takes your fancy!

Ezibuy under $50

When I was growing up, my mum always had an Ezibuy catalogue by the phone. Lately, these catalogues have been appearing in my mailbpox since I did an online order with them.

I tended to think of Ezibuy as being a bit outdated, but I was quite surprised when I flicked through their latest catalogue, The company seems to be on trend with some of the picks for this season, and their range has expanded dramatically from when I would flick through the pages as a teenager.

My fashion budget is very tight, and so I have picked out a few items that are all $50 and under.

Ezibuy Tops and Dresses by laurenmoore-ii on Polyvore

This Aztec tee is such a fun print, and available in a yellow or pink colour. At $29.99, you could even get all of them!

The purple fit and flare dress is very flattering- I have tried this on in person and I could wear this all day, every day! The colour is also a little bit different and does stand out. You could easily dress this down for a day at the beach, or add some heels and a statement necklace for a night out, which means that at $35 this dress is a real bargain!

The shift dress is at the top end of the budget at $49.99, but I do love my navy dresses and this one would be another great dress for a variety of occasions.


Now we move onto bottoms- I have realised that I am in desperate need of shorts to see me through the rest of this season.

Ezibuy Shorts and pants by laurenmoore-ii on Polyvore

The white shorts are an easy wear roll-up cargo style, but once again they are at the top end of the $50 budget at $49.99, although other colours are on sale. However, white is extremely versatile and goes with everything, so these shorts would get more than enough wear!

The pink denim shorts look so comfortable, and they are a great hue for summer. The waistband looks like it can handle the post Christmas bulge, and I like the length of them. Down to $29.99, they are also available in white, black and yellow.

I can't resist a good pair of patterned pants, and reading the reviews for these Charcoal print pants has me convinced that these could be the most comfortable pants in my wardrobe. At $44.99 these aren't the cheapest patterned pants I have come across, but the length and fit seem to be spot on, with lots of happy customers.

Help me expand my wardrobe- which two items would you pick to add to your summer clothing collection?

Outfit under $100- on the Case!

At the beginning of this month, Ms Mystery Case put forward the following challenge.

The idea is to put together an outfit under $100. I have chosen to work with New Zealand dollars for this challenge, which I hope is OK!

I was very excited to take part, since most of my outfits are under $100 anyway due to thrift shops, secondhand online retailers and swapping clothes with friends. To challenge myself more, I am going to put together an outfit using items that can currently be found online or instore, featuring the latest Spring trends. This way, the outfit will be more relevant to other people looking for ideas on how to put together an outfit for under $100.

Two two trends I have focused on are monochrome and floral- two of my go-to looks for Spring anyway, so I am glad they are trending again.

Outfit under $100 Spring challenge by laurenmoore-ii featuring a black sleeveless blouse

Sunglasses
ezibuy.co.nz

Enamel Hinge Bangle in BLACK #19155 - colette by colette hayman
8.98 NZD - colettehayman.com.au

Black sleeveless blouse
sammydress.com

Casual Style Straight Leg Drawstring Floral Print All-Match Shorts For...
sammydress.com

Sandals Kelly Thong Sandals Number One Shoes - Number One Shoes
numberoneshoes.co.nz

The top is so cute, and black and white together are always easy to wear with any other clothing item. This particular top is from one of my favourite online stores, Sammydress, and is a bargain at only $14.94.

The shorts are also from Sammydress, and come in at a cheap as chips $11.03. These will be great for spring and summer to be on trend, yet not spend a lot of money keeping up to date with what is popular.

 I always try to spend less on "trend" items, and splurge a bit more on the staples and accessories to go with each piece. This is why the shoes and sunglasses are my two most expensive items, as they will be staples with most outfits throughout the season. Number One Shoes and Ezibuy are well known in Australia and New Zealand for great basics at affordable prices.

Lastly, a fun bracelet works with bare arms to add interest, and once again this piece can be worn with a number of other items in my closet. Colette Hayman is a relatively new store to Christchurch, and it has come across from Australian shores, so I am sure a lot of you will be familiar with their on-trend accessories and bags! I could spend all day in that shop- but here I have shown restraint and just gone with the bangle.

Here is a full breakdown of the items and cost:
Black sleeveless blouse: $14.94
Floral shorts: $11.03
Sandals: $34.99
Sunglasses: $29.99
Bangle: $8.98
Total cost: $99.93

This outfit just scrapes under budget, but is full of versatile pieces that can be worn in different ways. the shorts would be great with a plain white t-shirt, the top would be very cute with black pants and heels for an evening get together, and all of the accessories have been chosen with multi-tasking in mind.

If you think you are up for the challenge, join in with us!

Linking up with Wardrobe Wednesday and What Wives Wear.

Colour in the Cooler Weather

Brrr, winter is definitely settling upon us here in New Zealand. There is currently lots of rain, wind and sleet happening outside my window, so it is definitely time to cozy up in warm pants and snuggly jerseys.

I need to update my Winter Wardrobe, and doing the Style and Shenanigans Print Challenge last week made me realise that I have so much black in my wardrobe.  I need to inject some colour in my closet, so here are some of my top picks for Winter clothing.

My top wishlist keeps getting bigger, I have tried to narrow it down to these.

Winter Tops by laurenmoore-ii featuring a purple top

And my pick for bottoms.

Winter Bottoms by laurenmoore-ii featuring tapered skinny jeans

Time to go shopping- can you guess which tops and bottoms I picked for my Winter Wardrobe?

The top I picked was this stripy jersey from Sammydress. So comfortable, a great length and it has adorable puffed sleeves! I even got a compliment from my husband, so it must be a good pick. I love that I can wear it with a lot of different colours- brown, navy, stone and peacock green pants will all work well.



I do want a couple of the other tops as well, but I am waiting until next month due to my tiny budget. That fox top is next on my shopping list, and the polka dot fleece will be perfect for the preschool run.

Now on to the bottoms. I really struggled with this, as a lot of the pants looked like pajamas on me in real life, and a few of them were too long on me. The skirt fit really well but I did not suit the print in person. In the end, the Cotton On drapey pants won me over for their comfort factor.



These pants are also versatile due to their colour range- I have teamed it with purple but there was also red, black and blue in the pattern so I can play a lot with different looks.

Sorry for the awful tripod camera photos! When my husband gets home it is too dark to take photos, and my four year old is prone to cutting off my head in the photos if I let him take charge of the camera. Otherwise he photobombs me- but I can photobomb him back!



I am happy that I have added some colour to my wardrobe within my budget allowance, and I also have been drawn to patterns a lot more since I have seen other people's photos during the style challenge. It has been good to step out of my comfort zone and also walk past all the black in the shops! The pants do come in some fabulous black and white patterns as well, so if you do still want to stick with black and white then there are plenty of options out there.

I would love to know which top and bottom you would pick- let me know in the comments!

Linking up with Wardrobe Wednesday.

Note: I was not compensated for any of these reviews, these are my own picks from a selection of websites. 

LBD Good as Gold

Time for another LBD styling challenge!

This week the theme is "Good As Gold". I was browsing Polyvore to create this set when my four year old son sneaked out of bed, saw some gold shoes and told me I needed something with Batman. So this week's style showcase was created with the help of Lucas.

As a stay at home mum, some days I feel like I need superpowers! Batman is a favourite in our household, so starting the day off by putting on Batman underwear is sure to make a difference. Some Batman coffee and cheerful yellow shoes will keep me smiling, and the Batman necklace and purse get the thumbs up from my boys.

LBD Good as Gold by laurenmoore-ii featuring a comic book

Parisian Chic

This week's style challenge for the LBD 52 Ways is Parisian Chic.

 This automatically reminded me of Audrey Hepburn, so the Audrey dress was the perfect starting point. I matched this with some sunglasses and golden accessories. The love heart necklace reminded me of Paris, and so the gold accents developed from there. The look is finished off with lashing of mascara for when your sunglasses come off!

Parisian Chic by laurenmoore-ii featuring black glasses

What am I actually wearing today? It is dreary and wet here in Christchurch, so I am brightening up things with a hot pink jersey and my favourite black pants, as well as some cute ballet flats. I have no idea what shoes I am going to wear with these pants over winter- I need to go boot shopping!



I am still experimenting with hot pink now that I know it is one of my colours- I got asked for ID buying wine in this ensemble so at least I can think it makes me look younger! These shoes are a new purchase but all I had to pay was shipping for these lovelies. I will be sharing a bit more about how I managed that next week.

Linking up with Wardrobe Wednesday.

Thanks for stopping by today!