Chic Illumination: tops

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sale alert - bettina liano four days only

Listen up bargain hunters! For four days only Bettina Liano are taking 50% off almost everything. The sale starts today and continues in stores until the end of Sunday 2nd October. The discounts don't apply to new arrivals and denim items, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of fabulous buys to be found.
So, this weekend when your fella is glued to the "big game", take this cue to leave the house (and say "thanks, but no thanks" to that finals barbeque you've been invited to) and in stead head to your local shopping strip and take some joy in the crazy sale prices on offer at Bettina Liano.
There's a sale going on at their online store right now too, where there are some equally fabulous buys to be found. Here's a little teaser - my picks of the sale bunch. All images are linked directly to the sale pages, enjoy.

Trasher Dress in Tea Stain

Reduced from $185.00 to $125.00

This tasty cotton number has just the right mix of girly and grunge. Team with some wooden soled platforms and a knitted cardi for the ultimate vintage inspired look.

Ipanema Skirt in Green

Reduced from $295.00 to $195.00

It's so great to see a quality peplum style skirt at an affordable price! This gorgeous green is calling me from the screen, it's so bright and vibrant. I'd be getting some colour blocking action on with this baby and pairing it with an equally bright cobalt blue.

Ace Light Denim in Blue Ripple

Reduced from $239.00 to $99.00

The ultimate in super skinny jeans. Bettina Liano are renowned for their top quality denim, and if you haven't owned a pair before, crazy prices like this are the perfect opportunity to discover them for yourself.

Kinky Kitty Crop Cardi in Lemon

Reduced from $245.00 to $125.00

The animal print trend is still going strong and showing no signs of waning, but if you find a lot of the animal prints on offer a little too loud for your tastes, then perhaps this kinky lemon number is for you. Wear with a high waisted skirt for a super feminine look.

Neo Infusion Knit Dress

Reduced from $295.00 to $199.00

An ideal addition to your Summer work wardrobe, the body-con style is sure to get you noticed, while the high neck-line ensures you remain looking professional. The beautiful blend of cotton and viscose means it will breathe right through the hottest of working days.

Bandage Top

Reduced from $180.00 to $39.00

A tee with a twist. The super soft combination of viscose and polyester makes this fabulously simple design even more wearable.

Nail Polish - available in six colours

Reduced from $18.95 to $5.00

Colours include: Corvette (bright red), Jailbait (bright coral), Poolside (bright turquoise), Gold digger (sparkling gold, shock), Blue jeans (pictured) and Trashbag (deep metallic green).

festival fun - wishful thinking

Warning: The following may or may not be a thinly veiled whine at a certain blogger's boyfriend.
The national Parklife tour begins in Melbourne this Saturday, stopping by Perth this Sunday and travelling around the major cities in the weeks to come. Featuring a plethora of exciting seasoned and up-and-coming dance groups, such as Gossip, Duck Sauce, Katy B and The Ashton Shuffle, it's sure to be a party to remember. I've been banging on and on about how much I want to go for what seems like months now.
Sentences such as; "How good is the Parklife line up?!", "Don't you think Parklife is the perfect way to celebrate the start of Spring?!" and "Waaaaah!! I want to go to Parklife!!" have been coming fast and frequently from my mouth in recent weeks but alas, no nod of approval has been received and no tickets have been purchased.
In some perplexing combination of rebellion and spite, here I have for you a festival outfit inspiration. Sure, it's not even forecast to reach the high teens, but I don't care. This is what I would wear and I'd dance my little ass off all day long to keep warm if I had to.
Sure it's a hugely eclectic selection, but that's what festivals are all about; having fun, making unexpected choices and doing things you wouldn't do on a "normal day", like making new friends in the line to the port-a-loo. Oh, and how perfect are the pleated "skorts" below for a day like this?! Sitting on the grass cross legged without flashing any lady parts? Priceless.

festival fun - parklife wishful thinking by tessthomson featuring a black bib necklace

Cropped shirt
gifts.myer.com.au

Alice In The Eve pleated skirt
$70 - generalpants.com.au

Sandals
60 AUD - wantedshoes.com.au

Gathering Eye shoulder bag
$40 - generalpants.com.au

Metal ring
$28 - topshop.com

Peacock jewelry
£2 - peacocks.co.uk

Super sunglasses
$170 - generalpants.com.au

Update: Oh wow!! I was surprised last night with VIP tickets, I'm so super excited and I was so incredibly shocked and surprised. Squeeee!!!

sale alert - all about fashion

All About Fashion (formerly known as Sassi Parella) was started by fashion stylist, buyer and shop owner Catherine Clark.

"My aim was to create convenient online shopping and educate women about their body shape and problem areas. I want women to feel beautiful and confident in their own skin and make them look their best everyday by providing the necessary resources."

That, I must say, is something she has achieved in spades. All About Fashion have revolutionised online shopping by allowing you to shop by your body shape, personality and problem areas and cater for sizes 6 - 18. Stocking a great range of Australian labels including: Wish, Bless'ed Are The Meek, Cooper St and Ladakh to name just a few, the site is full of so much useful information including fashion tips, information on fabrics, face shapes and styles all to help you make the best choices for your daily needs.
All About Fashion are currently having a massive Winter clearance to make room for all the new Spring and Summer arrivals. All Winter stock is reduced by at least 50% and some items have been discounted up to 70% with prices starting at $25.00. They are also offering free shipping with no minimum spend until the end of September, using the code "september" in the coupon box at the check-out.
Even though this is a Winter clearance, there are plenty of goodies that will set you right during this trans-seasonal time of year and all the way through to the end of Spring.
As usual, I've picked out a few of my favourite selections from the sale pages, just in case you weren't tempted enough already! I tell ya, it was difficult to pick just a few, there are so many great pieces on offer. All pictures are linked directly to the sale pages, enjoy!

Anise Nightingale Dress

Reduced from $109.95 to $54.98

This stunning cotton dress is ideal for those who are self-conscience about their arms and is perfect for a girls night out. Pair with some killer heels and statement accessories for a chic and sultry look.

Ladakh Hutton Jacket

Reduced from $64.95 to $32.47

This light-weight rayon jacket is ticking all the trans-seasonal and style boxes. It's adjustable sleeve lengths will take you from day to night with ease and it's desert orange colour is perfect for a bit of colour blocking.

Honey & Beau Seeking Serena Top

Reduced from $89.95 to $44.98

This gorgeous top is slightly sheer and is on trend with it's softly tailored, neutral look. Tuck into a high waisted skirt to help maintain shape.

Anise Motorcross Skirt

Reduced from $89.95 to $44.98

Speaking of high-waisted skirts, and hot off yesterday's post about pencil skirts, this wrap style is a must have. It comes included with a black belt to further highlight your waist and will take you from the boardroom to the bar without missing a beat.

Bless'ed Are The Meek Battlestar Maxi Dress

Reduced from $229.95 to $114.97

The 70's are officially a huge style inspiration for the Spring and Summer trends and this maxi dress is a fabulous example of the glamorous styling that comes with this look. The incredible and exclusive print is sure to turn heads and will work best with towering wood sole platforms.

Ladakh Escaper Dress

Reduced from $79.95 to $39.98

Who doesn't love a bit of floral in the Springtime? This rayon day dress is great for many body shapes and concerns. It can be unbuttoned to be worn over a singlet and jeans, belted to enhance your waist or simply lusciously loose as it is. I'm loving the flowing bells sleeves, divine.

Ladakh Demure Top

Reduced from $49.95 to $24.97

This wonderfully vintage inspired top, complete with peter pan collar has just stolen my heart. It's perfect for a unique work look matched with some wide leg trousers, go mod on the weekends with some cute capris or simply sweet with a little skirt like below for drinks with the girls.

Excuse me while I go slay my bank balance...

9 to 5 inspiration - ships ahoy

The mighty pencil skirt is one item which I believe needs to appear at least once in every woman's wardrobe. As my 9 to 5 outfit below shows, the pencil skirt is a fabulous choice for the modern working woman, but it's options do not, and should not end there.
You can pair a pencil skirt with just about anything for any occasion. Last minute girls night out? Dinner with the lovah? Wedding? A perfect pencil skirt will tick all those boxes, and more. So you may be thinking, what makes the perfect pencil skirt?
It's quite simple really, it's all about the fit. You want your pencil skirt to fit comfortably at the mid-waist, firm enough to help create the streamlined silhouette synonymous with the pencil skirt, yet comfortable enough to tuck blouses in. Length is also key. The perfect pencil skirt should fall to your knees. A little above your knees is fine but unless you've got Megan Gale proportions stay away from anything longer than knee length, trust me this just leads to massive amounts of frump.
Once you've got your waist and length fits sorted then you all there's left to decide upon is colour, split and detail options. Colour; definitely go for black if you haven't got one yet, otherwise there are lots of fun bright options out at the moment to colour block with. Splits; side, front or the traditional back split are all options, they also range from modest to risqué in length. And finally detail; once again if it's your first pencil skirt go for minimal to no detail to ensure your skirt will stand the test of satirical time, or if you're adding to your collection something like the leather band featured on my pick below is a fun edgy detail.

9 to 5 inspiration - ships ahoy by tessthomson featuring a leather frame bag

Miss Selfridge polyester shirt
£39 - missselfridge.com

H M knee length pencil skirt
£20 - hm.com

Giuseppe Zanotti peep toe heels
$277 - farfetch.com

Leather frame bag
£28 - josephm.com

Drop earrings
$50 - witchery.com.au

baby bump - mighty mustard

I've never been pregnant and so have never experienced all that goes with it, including morning sickness. If my history of melodramatic reactions to a case of PMS is anything to go by, I'm guessing that I'd get pretty darn cranky at my body during this time.
What I do know is how wonderfully cheery this mustard yellow blouse is! There can't possibly be a better way to turn the baby-brewing-blues around than by slipping this on, perfecting the pussy bow knot and proceeding to spend the afternoon giving in to every sweet craving as they come.

baby bump - mighty mustard by tessthomson featuring shoulder handbags

Red Herring Maternity maternity
£22 - debenhams.com

Red Herring Maternity maternity
£24 - debenhams.com

Ballet flat
$50 - witchery.com.au

Shoulder handbag
80 AUD - forevernew.com.au

Samantha Wills turquoise earrings
$75 - frockaholics.com

breakfast in broome

One of the things I love to do while on holidays is to take advantage of hotel's and resort's complimentary buffet breakfasts. Sure, they've got a hit and miss reputation, but when they're good, they're real good!
I've never been to today's fantasy destination, Broome, and I'd love to go, but not quite as much as I love this little holiday outfit. The braided sandals would be perfect for walking from beach to beach and the printed singlet has just the right amount of kitschy cool.

breakfast in broome by tessthomson featuring cross body bags

Top
40 AUD - birdsnest.com.au

Red Herring white knee length skirt
£7.50 - debenhams.com

BC Footwear buckle shoes
$45 - pacsun.com

Jane Norman cross body bag
£20 - janenorman.co.uk

BCBGeneration bangles jewelry
$34 - zappos.com

9 to 5 inspiration - memo to monochrome

Nothing says "timeless chic" quite like a structured black and white outfit. It's also the perfect choice for a no-fuss, take-no-prisoners professional work look.
Keep yours on-trend with the new rage in pant shapes - the tapered leg, also known as the peg leg. This pant shape may take some getting used to if all your business pants are of the low-rise, boot-cut variety but trust me when I say that this is in fact a far more universally flattering style.
Highlighting your waist becomes a breeze with the higher rise, hips are no longer hugged but rather skimmed over and your heel options become endless with your ankle being beautifully highlighted by this cut.
I'm also swooning over the blazer below, it's just such a fabulous cut and being the super versatile design that it is, would look great dressed down as well. For a chic yet casual look I'd pair it with some denim cut-offs, a bright cami peeking from underneath and some layered necklaces.
P.S. romwe.com, where the jacket is now available, are a particularly awesome online store who offer free international delivery with no minimum spend required. Can I hear a hell yeah?!

9 to 5 inspiration - memo to monochrome by tessthomson featuring white bags

Red Valentino short sleeve t shirt
$94 - farfetch.com

White fitted blazer
$50 - romwe.com

Dorothy Perkins tapered pants
£30 - dorothyperkins.com

Funtasma high heel shoes
$60 - babygirlboutique.com

Star by Julien Macdonald white bag
£24 - debenhams.com

Gunmetal ring
$9.95 - witchery.com.au

weekend warrior - brown town

I'm not normally one for going all colour colour matchy matchy on you, certainly not lately with so many collections featuring lots of bright colour being placed seemingly haphazardly next to one another. One thing I have noticed though, is that while a lot of this colour we're seeing everywhere is an antidote to the neutral tones that took over for what seemed like years, this doesn't necessarily mean neutrals are gone for good.

There were plenty of RAFW 11/12 designs featuring soft pinks, pale greys, muted caramels and off whites. LIFEwithBIRD's collection below is a perfect example.

Celebrities also are also finding it difficult to let go, as you can see here with the gorgeous Dianne Kruger wearing a simply divine Ellie Saab creation from their Fall 2011 collection.

So, this weekend, you can rest assured that your beloved neutral favourites are indeed still on-trend. For a bit of fun, why not throw in some unexpected colour via a set of drop earrings or other accessory.