Flat shoes are having a moment...

I'm probably quite late on this one but flats are clearly having a moment. I've been stalking a pair on Net-a-Porter all season and when a sneaky 25% sale popped up, I swooped:

Black patent leather pointed toe flats are the absolute dream, no? I'm already fantasising about pairing these with skinny jeans and an ivory blouse, topped with a classic smart beige trench. Perfection!!

Red, navy and Hermes

I have meetings early this morning but after that I'm just clearing work and running some errands before my flight on Saturday - getting some scripts filled, getting some USD. I needed a bit of a boost so I went with this bright blouse that always makes me feel cheerful :) 

Top: LK Bennett
Jeans: Country Road
Heels: Bally
Bag: Chloe
Scarf: Hermes

Only two more days!! xo

5 things that make internet shopping awesome

Australians spend over $20 billion per year  shopping online.  As we're fast approaching Christmas, I thought I would do a quick recap on the top five reasons why this figure is so large and amazing :)

1. The range of products

I was about 14 years old when I started reading Vogue seriously, grabbing my copy every month, becoming familiar with sections of the publication, recognising recurring names of content contributors. It will sound hilarious (and some Gen Zs might have no idea what I'm talking about) but my favourite section was the 'stockists page', tucked away towards the end of the mag. This page had all the names and Australian contact numbers of the brands/designers of every item of clothing and accessory featured in the magazine's stories.  When I was reading Vogue and Bazaar, I would find dresses and shoes and the prices would usually be well out of my meagre school student range (natch). However, I started to get an idea of what these sorts of items cost and when I had saved enough money, I got out the stockists page and found the number for the store that apparently 'stocked' the particular Pierre Hardy black patent peeptoe pump I planned to buy as my very first pair of investment high heels (bless, look at me, the sophisticated 18 year old). I called the store and explained I was calling from Queensland and that I wished to buy an item over the phone that I had seen in Vogue using a credit card. The lady laughed so hard I was amazed she had the breath left to tell me that 'people don't buy things over the phone'. True story.

So Australian retail was a pretty woeful experience for fashion lovers in the late 90s/early millennium. It was a revelation when Net-a-Porter launched (sidebar: I was a Net-a-Porter subscriber so early on, it was when they still divided designers into the 'Salon' and the 'Boutique' - aw...). As internet retail expanded, the outraged squeals from local bricks-and-mortar retailers came in loud and clear: it's not fair, how can we possibly compete?!!

Answer: well, giving your customers what they want might be a novel idea. We don't want the bare minimum of any designer's collection. Oooooh, David Jones has finally stocked Christian Louboutin shoes? Wow, how exciting! Oh...so it's just two actual designs? And you got two in each size for, like, the entire country? That sounds intelligent. And they're um, $900 for why exactly, coz I can buy them online for about $450 with the exchange rate?

It may be impossible for people in Europe and the UK and US to understand but trust me ladies, this was the true retail picture in Australia for a very long time. Minimal range, snooty sales assistants who knew less about the product than most customers but thought we were lucky to be spending money in their stores and prices that were sometimes twice what we would pay overseas. And the worst part? The companies treated us, their customers, as though we should be grateful for it.

I'm now a firm internet buyer for anything high-end. Matches, Net-a-Porter and Browns are my poison as far as clothes are concerned. There's a clear UK-bias and I don't really know why, it's just that the edits just seems to speak to my personal aesthetic so well. Matches in particular seems to stock lots of really wearable classic investment pieces season after season, that enable me to step away from the reliable-but-boring world of black pants/pencil skirt plus two-button jacket *bleurrgh*.

Now, it's not all about giving Australian retail a toe up the clacker ;) I also prefer whenever possible to buy from local or domestic stores online as well, because...

2. Convenience!

I don't have to go into detail about this one. Shopping is a time-consuming activity. I'm an economist, time is my number-one valued commodity. I'm also a lawyer, and time is pretty damn expensive for those people too, ESPECIALLY if you're paying for it. I don't want to go out when it suits the shops to be open to me. I finish work usually around 6pm and then I'm off to walk my dog, exercise, cook, clean and heaven help me, spend some time with my soon-to-be husband.  Shopping is something I'm very happy to do when I'm sitting on my couch or in bed, with a glass of wine or cup of tea, on a lazy Sunday evening while dinner is cooking...you get the picture.

3. Customer service

Point 1 above doesn't exactly paint the world of retail sales assistants in a great light.  However, it seems to me that when you make your purchase through the framework of the internet, customer service can be brought to the fore.  It makes sense in a lot of ways: retail SAs standing around in shops are usually bored, tired and couldn't be bothered even trying to gloss over the fact that they are only turning up to work so they can still get paid.  Nothing about their work inspires them and you, their customer, are nothing more or less than an annoyance. However, email enquiries to customer service in my experience are invariably answered promptly. The best e-tailers include individuals' names and contact phone numbers so that you can go the old-fashioned route and speak to a person if you prefer to take your interaction out of the email arena. I've even had a customer service representative from the UK work with me to arrange a time to speak with her about a particular bespoke item, to make sure she (and I) understood completely what I was trying to purchase and there could be no disappointment.

Now I know that there are larger online traders that don't provide a great level of customer service, but then they probably wouldn't be great at customer service if they were in a bricks-and-mortar store either.  My experience has been that the entire framework of online retail is more readily geared towards providing a great customer service experience simply because there are written records of customer interactions and staff performance. There is no quibbling about how long it took for someone to get back to you about your enquiry - the times and dates are right there on the email for all to see.  There is no confusion about what the customer service rep did or didn't advise the customer. The entire process naturally provides far greater accountability for retail assistants. And the good companies (and good sales assistants) know it.

4. Getting parcels and packages delivered makes any random day like a birthday or Christmas

Call me sentimental, but parcels delivered by post are right up there with raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens in my incredibly busy digital-heavy world of high-speed communication and instant decision-making. Frankly, it's just fun to receive something by post, open the boring cardboard box and find all the pretty wrapping inside. In fact, packaging has become something a lot of e-tailers are focusing more on, because the best ones recognise that there is still an 'experience' to be attached to shopping in the virtual world, if THEY choose to create it. I've received parcels with handwritten notes with nothing more than good wishes by the person who packed it and you know what? I like that. I would never get that shopping at a physical store, would I?

Happy Tuesday to me, happy Tuesday to me!

5. Participation

The modern world and particularly social media move at an incredibly fast pace. I obviously don't maintain an even vaguely-current social media presence (I'm working on it, I do have Twitter and Instagram accounts - yay me!). There is quite a disconnect between those of us who work in 'old' economies/industries and those who are moving almost exclusively into the 'new' industries where social media content and activity is either an essential support component of a product or service, or it is the product itself. I'm an old industry participant - I run a company that employs real human beings in real time and that sells services to real human beings in real time.  My real presence is non-negotiable and consequently, given there are only so many hours in the day, it would be possible for me to feel quite excluded from the virtual world where information moves so quickly.  Internet shopping however, allows me to maintain an (albeit) small level of interaction with the online industry. I might begin by browsing dresses somewhere but then be taken to an online publication such as The Style Report by Matches (one of my favourites). I might want some information about a product and go to my hands-down recommended source of genuine feedback on clothes and jewellery and accessories on the net - The Purse Forum - where I'll find reviews and be able to ask questions from other fashionably-minded individuals. I will also have the opportunity to find blogs, some of which have become firm favourites with posts from lovely women all over the world, all managing lives while keeping their fashion-fantasies alive. It makes me feel connected and I'd take that over Facebook's algorithm-generated, ad-heavy 'news' feed any day.

Maxmara navy perfection

So after blathering on about how much I love slim trousers for work, yesterday a cheeky Matches order arrived and hurrah for navy Maxmara crepe dresses:

Dress: Maxmara
Heels: Bally
Bag: Chloe

M left on a two-week trip for work yesterday and I head off to Chicago for a week on Saturday.  The house has that slightly frantic 'just washed and packed' feel and there are piles of clothes sitting out ready for packing. Fat dog is wandering around the house looking a bit skittish and uncertain because M's not here madly chasing him around the house after dinner. I've got so much work to clear before I go for the week, I'm just hoping I get to Saturday in reasonable shape because at the moment my head is running in a million different directions.

I hope you guys are having slightly less mad weeks all round :) xo

Work to weekend: navy skinny zip jeans

One of the (many) great things about my job is the freedom I have in respect of my working wardrobe.  I moved out of corporate law nearly 7 years ago and left the strict world of black and navy trouser and skirt suits behind.  It sounds somewhat superficial, but one of the things I found trickiest in the transition was how to dress for my new role.  Given my interest in fashion and clothes generally, I felt a bit adrift.

Obviously, I've been in the role for long enough now to feel I have well and truly cracked how 'my' working wardrobe needs to be put together.  I dress according to the occasion, rather than taking my cue from a formal office dress code. This enables me to draw in elements of my personal/individual sartorial taste, while still respecting the reality that how I dress while I'm at work affects how I am perceived by others: clients, commercial partners, subordinates. 

Looking over my blog, it's clear (I think) that, while I adore a well-cut dress, I tend to rely more heavily on trousers at work.  I favour a slender silhouette with slim-cut pants, paired with a more loosely-cut top and a jacket to pull it all together, temperature permitting of course :) 

Following my wardrobe edit and review (a full post is coming, I promise) I am finding it incredibly easy to dress in the mornings because I can see everything.  On Friday, I pulled out navy skinny zip jeans from Country Road. I haven't worn them in a while, probably because I've been enjoying my JBrand 811s, but with the weather being so hot lately, I thought a light thin cotton jean would be more comfortable:

Top: LK Bennett
Jeans: Country Road
Jacket: L'Agence
Heels: Bally
Bag: Chloe

This is a new top by LK Bennett, which I am kind of obsessed with. The UK brand just seems to make chic separates that work seamlessly with a lot of what I already own, sadly not something I can say about Australian contemporary brands. I chose the gorgeous cornflower blue jacket to add a formal element, given that I had a number of meetings to get through during the day.

I decided I loved wearing these jeans again so much that I put them together with a classic white halter top by Saba for Saturday lunch:

Top: Saba
Jeans: Country Road
Flats: Nine West
Bag: Prada

The bight blue leather on this bag makes it perfect for summer weekends. Plus, it's a hobo and we all know how much I like those for weekends and throwing lots of stuff in :) xo

Hot summer weekends

The G20 came and went over the weekend. M was working of course round the clock effectively, so I was pretty much on my own. I did some chores (including a MAJOR wardrobe edit and reorganise, the fruits of which will get their very own blog post) but mostly I stayed indoors. When I did venture out for groceries or to walk the fat dog, I opted for a blue and yellow palette with comfort being the main focus:

Top: Target
Pants: David Lawrence
Flats: Nine West
Bag: Prada

I can't believe I'm off to Chicago in two weeks - it is so hard to think about packing for snow when you're sweating in air-con...

I'm planning a dinner party and I'm so excited...

Surely one of the best things about being an adult is inviting people over, getting dressed up, cooking up a storm and generally creating a small social slice of heaven in your very own home.

M and I don't entertain or socialise often.  We work long hours in demanding jobs - I know, wah wah, poor us - but the fact remains, despite living in a beautiful apartment less than 2 minutes from the centre of the city and with ready access to bars and eateries for something out and great local produce for something at home, we are actually quite reclusive.  As a life-strategy, it has its benefits: without the guilty joys of Friday night take away and couch time, we might never have made our coffee table:

That's right children, stay home a lot and you too could one day make magnificence like this happen...

Just occasionally, however, I get a real hankering to cook up a storm and have someone other than M (or my mum) say "Mmmmm, that was delicious!" **

So in a fit of pre-Christmas joie de vivre, I wrote out invites, addressed, stamped and sent them. So guests will definitely be coming and now I simply have to make it work. Feeling the fear and doing it anyway, no?

I really love to cook. There are so many things in my life I can't control, yet cooking always seems to work out exactly the way it's supposed to. It's very therapeutic - I know some senior execs who run marathons to relax after a busy week. Me, I take pictures like this:

French-style classic tarragon roast chicken 

And make this happen:

Mmmmmmm....

I don't have a full menu planned for our dinner party yet. It's set for the weekend after I come back from Chicago, so that's going to be a fun week to prepare for including jet lag and catching up on work *sigh* It will absolutely be worth it though: dressing up, catching up with our beautiful beautiful friends, sharing great food and great wine and celebrating the end of another year.

Happy Monday everyone :) xo

**Having your partner say your cooking is great is really nice, no question, but it's also a bit like your mum telling you you're great at singing and going to audition on X factor - your mum's opinion just might not be totally objective, know what I'm saying?