Pretty in Pleated Pink

This outfit gives an example of what I like to call – feminine vintage style.  It’s pink, yes, but the dusky tones coupled with the use of lace, tulle and pleats lend themselves to the vintage feel of the look that I’m talking about.  This skirt – amazing!  My sister, Lydia, went to Australia with my Mum at the beginning of this year for a short holiday.  They had limited spending money, but Lydia, being one to shop, found some great deals.  This skirt, only $13 AUD, was an amazing find.  Lydia chose not to wear a necklace but some statement earings instead.  The long maxi skirt really suits the tucked-in/belted look shown and is something I also do often .

For the last few days I’ve been going to an event related to my home schooling.  I tried to wear a new and interesting outfit every day – a bit of a challenge (esp. when you’re leaving early each morning and arriving home late).  However, I was rather happy with the results.  I used a tunic/blouse with a skirt by tucking it in and adding a belt.  I wore my LBD in a more casual style by throwing over a white tie-up blouse.  And I sported lace and aqua with jeans.  Sometimes I need to remind myself that instead of buying new pieces of clothing, I should look in my wardrobe and use my creative bent to put together some new and interesting outfits.  After trial and error, it usually works out.  I’d encourage you to do the same!

Enjoy the lovely photography.

There will be more outfits coming your way in the next week or so, so stay tuned.

Oh and go and watch Iron Man 3, I’ve heard it’s good…

Esther

Photograher – Rhesa

Model & Stylist – Lydia

Blogger – Esther (kinda sad when I have to state the obvious to even get on this list…)

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My Favourite Shops to Shop – Glassons

The second of my favourite shops to shop is Glassons.  As one of the more popular clothing stores, Glassons is always up with the fashion trends and has frequent discounts.  The quality of their clothes is not as high as Ezibuy, but definitely satisfying.  They should last you for several years, depending on how well you keep your clothes.   I particularly like their selection of cardigans and blouses.  One of my favourite tie-up blouses has come from there.  In love!  They sport bright colours and their prices aren’t that unreasonable for the clothes that they sell.  The only two problems that I have with Glassons are these.  Firstly, every girl and her mother wears their clothes, so I wouldn’t advise buying a whole outfit from that shop.  Instead, just a few pieces that you can mix and match with other items of clothing from places like JeansWest or Jay Jays (two other shops that I quite like).  The second problem that I have with them is in regards to their dresses.  They always seem to be at an awkward in between length where you kinda have to wear leggings to keep them modest but know that they really weren’t made to wear with leggings (also applies to some of their skirts).  Just a tad too short for me I’m afraid, which is a real pity as I do like some of the dresses that they sell.  Apart from that, I do really like the clothes that they offer and would reccomend them to anybody.

I have never bought online from Glassons, as we have a store just fifteen minutes away from us.  They have shops in just about, if not all, the malls across the country and are generally very well stocked in sizes and colours.

Below are just a few of their clothes that I wouldn’t mind acquiring 🙂

(Still not quite sure of the short at the front long at the back thing… what do you think?)

I’m still keeping my eyes out for a soft denim blouse and a nice white one.  Anyway, go check out Glasson’s website.  I reccomend their clothes and love how they add a pop of bright colour to any outfit. 🙂

I hope you’ve been enjoying these reviews on my favourite clothing stores and as always I’d love to hear your comments 🙂

Bless you over these Christmas and summer holidays!

Esther

P.S.  Another fashion photo shoot coming your way very soon!

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Tie-up Blouses Rock!

Righty ho, some exciting news!  My friend and I wrote a song recently for a songwriting competition.  It was rather last minute and super super hard, but we did it and had a load of fun recording in a friend’s home studio.  Ok, so, long story short, we got into the finals!  We’ll be performing live on Saturday, so, if you ever think of us at that time, we’d appreciate it.  And, of course I’ll let you know how we go 🙂

Right, so if you don’t already know that I love tie-up blouses, you know now!  I own a couple and I just love them!  There really is not much more to say except that they are perfect.  Not everyone likes blouses, but if I had one mission on earth, it would be to convert every girl to wearing blouses.  No, not really… that would be silly.  But hey, one person at a time, right?!  I converted my friend just the other day actually 😉  Yeah, no pressure…
Ok, so this outfit is rather simple.  But I didn’t feel that it needed much else.  Sometimes I love piling on the knits and scarves, jewellery and accessories, but this time the outfit didn’t need it.  It’s shouts business, however I’ve worn this outfit to church and even as an outfit for a drama play.  It’s multipurpose, huh?  This top can be worn more casually with jeans and the skirt can be paired with many different blouses due to the versatility of black.  I completed my look with a couple of vintage pieces of jewellery.  An old brooch and bracelet that belongs to my Mum.  Nothing like mixing the old with the new. 🙂

Ok, question: would anyone be interested in a post on my favourite clothing stores (online as well) and good places to buy clothes?  At the bottom of each post I write where I got each piece of clothing from, and you may have noticed the name of a few stores more than others… there’s a reason… would you like to know?

Enjoy our pink toon tree and these pretty location pics!

Love the lighting for these photos Rhesa!  Thanks girl 🙂

I’d love to know what kind of style or piece of clothing you are in love with or would wear all the time if you could.  Who cares if it’s just a simple jumper or a pair of jandals that have sentimental value!  Gosh, I don’t care, whatever!  But I’d love to know 🙂

Blessings as always,

Esther

Photographer & editor – Rhesa

Stylist, Model & Blogger – Esther

What I wore:

• Teal blouse – Dotti, $30 SALE
• Black skirt – Ezibuy (LOVE that store), $25
• Black blazer – Tradme, Gifted
• Black pumps – also Ezibuy, $25

 

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There’s Beauty All Around Us…

I was so, so excited to shoot the photos for this outfit, and also to see how they turned out.  I am in LOVE with them!  And I know that could sound terribly vain, girly, conceited and all of that other stuff… however, I am particularly in love with the location.  I look forward to the blossoming of these cascading purple flowers each year with great anticipation and hope to catch some lovely pics of them.  This year, we managed to take many photos, and I even did a bit of nature photography myself, which I might include in a separate post if you are interested.

Ok, enough drooling over those amazing, lovely, beautiful, gorgeous… um, yes right, ok.  This outfit is based around a chiffon, floral dress that I bought from a thrift store a while ago – $7!  For a while I was rather uninspired about styling this outfit, but with the help of Lydia, we managed to yet agian use our layering technique along with my awesome navy blazer to create this stylish and rather formal outfit.  We styled it long ago here… yes, I think it looks much better like this 😉

We have talked about that base black dress many times.  It truly is an LBD, and we have used it often to add a bit of length to an otherwise short tunic or dress.  Perfect, and I highly recommend the purchase of one of these.  An LBD can be anything from a navy, black or brown colour with sleeves or no sleeves.  It basically equals a dress with great versatility and value that can work as a staple piece of clothing to be used over and over again.

I was about to point you to some other outfits which used either the black dress or navy blazer, but I think it’ll make good material for a remix post, so… nevermind 😉

I like the look of the small print with the solid navy colour in this outfit.  And of course the buttons on the blazer really make it 😉

Righty ho, now, GO!  …to have a look at the photos of course 😀

Beautiful location, beautiful clothes…. aaah, yes, summer do come soon please!

Bless you all over the weekend, may you all enjoy revelling in God’s awesome creation!

Esther

Photography & editing – Rhesa!

Stylist – Lydia… and slightly Esther…

Model & Blogger – Esther

What I wore:

• Floral tunic – Savemart, $7 THRIFTING (I thought that deserved caps lock)
• Navy blazer – Ezibuy, $53.99 SALE
• Black base dress – Cotton On, $10 SALE
• Black belt – Pagani, $15.99
• Black pumps – Ezibuy (same trip) – $35

 

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Pastel Print Tee

Ooh yeah, this has gotta be my fav outfit out of them all I reckon.  I am definitely a skirt and dresses kind of gal, whenever I have an excuse really, but this combo just hits the mark for casual cuteness.  I love t-shirts that have pictues on them, however I’m picky and obviously dislike weird pictures or random captions.  But this tee has a series of vintage phot0s of olden days.  It really is gorgeous, and with that beautiful pastel pink/apricot cardigan, it fits into spring nicely.  The scarf is textured and has a nice neutral, floral pattern on it – perfect!  I rediscovered these jeans just recently, which is awesome, as buying jeans really is just the most horrible shopping nightmare ever!  Am I the only one who finds that?  They used to be too loose, but fit nicely now… what does this say about me???  Well actually, the last time I wore them was probably 6 months to a year ago, so, yeah…  I never used to know how I felt about wearing high-heels with trouses, but I have now decided that I love the look!  It adds a bit of style and class to the outfit while still keeping it casual.  Just what you need when going out shopping or visiting friends.

These daisies really are so lovely!  They go with this outfit so well and I’m glad we photographed with them as they all got mown yesterday afternoon 😦  But not to worry, they’ll be springing up again in the next few days.  Love that about those cute flowers.

Ok, so, I reckon an update on me is now in order.  At the moment I’m having a break over the weekend and psyching myself up for intense accounting study next week for my approaching exam.  First exam I’ve ever done (apart from music theory and ballet) as I’ve been home schooled all my life!  So, so looking forward to the summer as I’m sure all you southern hemisphere peeps are also.
Yesterday I went to the mall with my friend Ambley, who has featured on this blog once – here.  I bought the prettiest blue and cream tie-up blouse.  Chiffon + blouse (tie-ups esp.) = one very, very happy Esther!  You’ll be seeing it here soon no doubt.  I wore it to church today actually 🙂  I’m looking forward to posting some daily summer outfits in the coming months.  That’ll be fun I reckon.

So, please do enjoy these spring photos!  The weather’s looking up here at the moment, I was wearing a t-shirt when I wrote this!  Surely heralding in some beautiful weather.

Yeah!  There’s my other bro.  🙂  Havin’ fun crashin’ my photo shoot!  Actually, he and my other brother, Matthew (the one who designed my header) own an online toy shop and sell pretty awesome toys!  You’d all love them I’m absolutely sure of it – puzzles, outside toys, a whole range of putty and RC helicopters.  Here’s the link – www.simplyclevertoys.com

I’m loving the beautiful combination of colours and textures in this outfit while still remaining relatively simple.  When stying your outfits, it’s a good idea to use different colours that complement each other, different textures and an obvious theme.  I love seeing people dress in a way that reflects who they are and displays their unique and personal style.  That’s another aim of ours here on Creative Touch – helping young woman create your own unique style of dressing.  Self-confidence and self-worth is important, and I believe that by wearing something that fills you with confidence you’ll feel more secure in who you are – something we all need from time to time.  Well, let’s hope that this blog is doing just that 🙂

God bless you all over this lovely weekend!

Esther

Photographer – Rhesa

Stylist & Model – Esther (ok, admittedly Lydia wears this outfit often, so I was inspired by her)

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Mint Ruffles and White Lace

This outfit is again absolute eye candy for me!  The light mint and white colours are just divine, simply divine!  I love the look of lace and pastels mixed, and have therefore done that for this outfit.   The lovely ruffled top, shell necklace and beaded bracelets are all that lovely mint colour.  The lace scarf, knitted cardigan (which also have shell buttons by the by) and the skirt are all white.  I love the look of ivory and cream with vintage colours as you well know, however due to my skin tone and eye and hair colour, I look far better in clear colours such as white, or even mint.  I do try to make other colours work, but mostly I have to face the brutal truth. 😉  Warm colours do not altogether suit me.

I absolutely love the look of these periwinkle flowers with the outfit.  In fact, wearing that colour with mint would look lovely too!  You can’t really see the shoes that I’m wearing, but they are the same as in the last post – silver sandals.

Yellow would also look lovely with these colours, makes me think of the sky – yellow sun, blue sky, white clouds!  Aaah, bring on the summer!

Rhesa had a brilliant idea in regards to a photo setting.  The two photos of me sitting and lying in the buttercup filled strip of foliage reminded both of us of  the cover of a fashion mag. 😉  The lighting was perfect.  Anyway, take a look and see what you think 🙂  If you have any questions about colouring or dressing, comment and I’ll reply (after talking to my fashion pro sis of mine of course).

I wore a simpler version of this outfit a couple of years ago actually – minus the scarf and bracelets.  Lydia helped me style that one long ago…

Bless you all today and over this next week!

The next outfit will be coming soon… if you have any requests in regards to some posts, I’d be happy to seriously consider some ideas.  We’ll have an accessory post coming up soon.  We finally took some photos of our shoes and scarves which I’m sure that you’ll love looking at soon!  Another idea, having a remix post.  I’ve seen quite a few bloggers do this.  You dig up a few past photos that have been on the blog of you wearing the same item of clothing.  Also a bits and pieces post could be fun.  Rather like instagram.  I rather enjoy photography also, so you might see a bit of it up here.  Could be interesting 🙂

Let me know what you think!

Esther
Photographer – Rhesa

Stylist – Me & Lydia, to be accurate

Model – Esther

What I wore:

• Mint top – Valley Girl or Tempt, $15
• White knit cardigan – Jeans West or Just Jeans (gosh, I never remember…), $30
• White skirt – from long ago…. gifted I think
• White lace scarf – David Tasker Designer Jewellery, $16
• Silver sandals – Number One Shoe Warehouse, $19.99 SALE

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Holding out for Those Summer Beach Days

Yes I am. Cause I know they’ll come, and soon. The day that we did this fashion photo shoot was beautifully sunny and I didn’t feel cold standing in this when being photographed, as opposed to most days in the winter when I stand freezing, trying to look relaxed and unconcerned.  However, the truth is that I soon rush back into the house or chuck my dressing gown over me, thus effectively ruining my previously stylish look 😉

Ok, about this outfit.  This beautiful, floral, halter-neck dress is from the Philippines, and when paired with a nice white or coloured shrug to hide the lack of sleeves, it looks fabulous! I love it, the epitomy of summer for me. Oh yes, and this cool floppy, beach hat!  Makes me think of those sunny days goin’ to the beach.  Yeah!  The sun, the waves, the seagulls souring overhead, picnic basket in hand, swimming, good friends with good conversation.  God’s creation never ceases to amaze me, and in all seasons I see something which makes me marvel afresh at God’s creativity.  It inspires me!

I’m also wearing some awesome silver sandals to go with this summery look!  Enjoy, and please do let me know what your favourite part of summer is.  I’m really looking forward to painting my nails with bright colours!  Let’s get into the mood early peeps. 🙂

I’m really excited to reveal these next outfits to you over the course of a few weeks.  They are so cute and summery.  Rhesa’s new camera is a dream, let me tell you!  And our outdoor settings are beautiful.  Pink and purple, what can go wrong?!

Blessings on you all today!

Esther

Photographer & Editor – Rhesa (Girl, you’ve done an awesome job here!)

Stylist – Oh my, I get to write my name here!!!  – Esther!

Model – Esther

What I wore:

• Blue floral dress – Philippines, GIFTED
• White shrug – Valley Girl, $15
• White hat – from long ago…
• Necklace – from here and there… the pendant was from Spotlight
• Silver sandals – Number One Shoe Warehouse, $19.99 SALE

Do you see this people??!  This whole outfit was practically only $15 if you substitute the shoes for a pair of jandals or just go barefoot on the beach.  Give or take a few dollars…   See what you can do with clothes cheaply?  I hope this inspires you 🙂

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Back in the Good Ol’ Days

Hi there everyone!
This is the last outfit that we have stored up to write about.  But never fear, ’cause I am here, as is my awesome photographer Rhesa.  We will be getting together next week for a fashion photo shoot!  Oh yes, and she has a new camera, so you’re in for a real treat, as I have no doubt that our pics are going to get even better.

When I first put this outfit on and saw the photo, I LOVED it!  Absolutely!  As you all know, I love those gathered skirts tucked in and brought together with a belt.  And long strands of pearls and pretty pumps? Yep, just my style.

I often wish that we dressed like this these days.  Mmmm, I would love to go back to the 50’s for the single purpose of being able to buy all these beautiful clothes and wear them any and everyday.

Ok, so that’s not gonna happen, but I will never turn down an opportunity to wear it in this era, even if it’s not particularly “in” at the moment.  Join me!  You never know, we might just start to change fashion.  After all, it all comes back eventually doesn’t it?  I’ll just keep hoping.

Haha, ah well, let’s just enjoy the photos shall we?

Please forgive me for the lack of photos.  Somehow, the rest were deleted…  Thus the fancy drop shadow and polaroid effect.  For most of the last few outfits, it was raining outside, and so Rhesa and I had to become creative with our inside locations.

Anyway, have a lovely week!  It’s holidays over here in NZ, so I’ll be having a bit of free time… might do a few more posts in that time.  Stay tuned…

Esther

Stylist – Lydia

Model – Esther
What I wore:

• Gathered skirt – JacquiE, Thrifted
• Cream long-sleeve – Principals, $49
• Black belt – Pagani, $19.99
• Nude pumps – Rubi Shoes, $30
• String of pearls – Gifted

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Lace, Floral, Pastels = Heaven

This outfit, in my mind, is amazing!!! Just cause it combines three of my favourite things – lace, floral patterns, and pastel colours!  Very feminine, and lovely.  Bad news though… everything, and I mean, abosolutely every item of clothing in this outfit, is Lydia’s… 😦  So, she now has an aboslutely awesome outfit, while I have to be content to look at it.  No, I’m not jealous at all… jokes, I was happy to at least wear it for this photo shoot.

In this outfit, we’ve layered two dresses on top of one another.  Both are sleeve-less, so that’s why I’m wearing a long-sleeve underneath, which happens to be a very similar colour to the bottom dress.  By layering two dresses, we’ve added a bit of length so that I don’t have to wear leggings with this oufit.  I also love the look it creates.  And that scarf… well, my goodness, it’s so beautiful!  Lydia has been wearing this over a cream top with a lovely light pink/apricot coloured cardigan with jeans.  It looks very nice.  I also think that long necklaces go very nicely with dresses, especially ones with minimal detail on the front.

These nude pumps are also very useful.  I reccomend getting a pair, because they go with almost everything, and it’s very useful to have a pair of these kinds of versatile shoes.

Alright, enjoy looking at the following photos of this dreamy outfit!

I apologize for being away for a long while, we’ve been super busy with so much, but now that the hols are coming up, I should have some more time to blog and take some more photos.  Our purple flowers are out again, so I anticipate some lovely photos – look here to see what I’m talking about.

Have a lovely rest oof your week!  I’ll be back soon 🙂

Esther

Photographer & Editor – Rhesa

Stylist – Lydia

Model & Blogger – Esther

What I wore:

• Light pink dress – Glasson, $30 (see this dress here)
• Lace dress – Glassons, $20 SALE
• Peach/pink long-sleeve – Dotti, $20?
• Floral Scarf – David Tasker Designer Jewellery, $19
• Heart necklace – David Tasker Designer Jewellery
• Nude pumps – Rubi Shoes, $30 (which in my mind is a pretty good price!)

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Dress Transformation Part 2 – Bright & Bold

Part 2!

It’s been a while, but don’t worry, I’m on a role again.  This dress is definitely a summer dress as you can see from the bright colours and print, however, by layering over a bright long sleeve and long leggings, I’ve again transformed this summer dress into a winter dress.  One awesome plus about transforming your summer dress into winter wear, is the bright colour that you’ll be sporting all day long.  Instead of black, grey, or beige, you’ll be a pop of colour on a dismal day.  And believe me, that’s a pretty sight!  It’ll brighten and lighten your mood too.

Oh yes, in this outfit, I used a scarf to add a bit of warmth and style.  I’ve been living in scarves all throughout winter – not quite literally, but just about every outfit I wear sports a scarf.  A guy I know was trying to sum up my style and said, “Oh yeah, you always wear scarves.”  Which is true of the winter but not of summer.  But that revelation is rather sad, as I don’t own a great variety of scarves… Lydia does, but not me.

Of course, where would I be without my old faithful – my awesome navy blazer from Ezibuy!  Seriously girls, I’ve been wearing this a lot, and it’s been perfect for many of outfits.  Navy was a great colour to choose, as it’s not the usual black that I often wear… yet it’s still a rather neutral/universal colour and matches with many of my clothes.  If you can find a great staple piece of clothing like this, you’ll be right. 🙂

Enjoy and I hope that these last two post have been helpful and given you some new ideas for economic and stylish dressing.

Thanks Rhesa for taking and editing these photos!  The day that we took these was dismal and grey, so our previous ideas of outside photography went out the window.  Rhesa proved to be the creative one in finding inside locations.  There was a short dry spot in which we took these photos (above)… but it started spitting, so I ended that outside shoot by throwing the petals of my poor rose into the air.  (Just cause I thought you’d all want to know that) 😉

Blessings, have an awesome week!

Esther

Photography & editing – Rhesa

Stylist – Esther (Lydia helped choose the outfits)

Model – Esther

What I wore:

• Patterned dress – Farmers, GIFT
• Teal long-sleeve – Valley Girl, $10
• Black tights – Postie Plus, $20?
• Navy blazer – Ezibuy, $53.99
• White lace scarf – David Tasker Designer Jewellery, $15.99 GIFT
• Black shoes – Hannah’s, $24.99 SALE

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