I wore: Chiffon tuxedo blazer by Nishe from www.asos.com; Dress by Paper Heart; Tights by Forever New; Boots by Dolce Vita, thrifited; Aztec print canvas drawstring bag from ElectroVintage on www.ebay.com

While I love the feeling of wearing beautifully made quality clothes, I’m totally not one to give myself rules about where to shop, what brands to buy and how much to spend. For example, when I was in Sydney on Friday, I came across the mother ship for all those Asian fashion boutiques like SES, ICE, KOOM and Ally –you know what I’m talking about!- and it was called, simply ‘Factory Outlet’ (ROFL), all for prices between $10 and $30! Walking past the store, the presentation was really not appealing at all, with a very stock looking shop sign and stock packed so tightly up to the ceiling that it looked more like a warehouse than a fashion boutique. I walked right passed it at first, as from experience I’ve noticed that about 80% of all the stuff most Asian fashion boutiques stock are low quality, reflecting the cheap prices. More importantly, the clothes will often have something so wrong with them that you just can’t justify buying them even for the price, like a weird (or tiny) fit, dodgy frayed stitching or cheap fabric that doesn’t fall right.
But trust me when I say, these are no reasons to dismiss these shops entirely. When I stepped into the store, I immediately started spotting treasures left and right, glimpses of great prints and textures buried well within the clutter. I ended up hauling about 10 things to the change rooms, which signage indicated only 3 were allowed, and took home 5 for $65. I would have bought them all but I’m being good…
This multi coloured floral on white print dress was my favourite piece, and reminded me immediately of the print on those highly coveted Zara floral pants, which I’m YET to get my hands on.And it’s not just the print that I fell in love with. It’s the really cool high waisted and narrow shoulder cut that I know does well with my shape.
Personally, when wearing floral explosion, I like to add a bit of salt with some grungy shoes. These Dolce Vita harness boots were the ones I picked up at the last Fash’n’Treasure. They are two sizes too big for me, but they are my absolute favourite pair at the moment.