Fashion Friday: Reverie

It was a very hot day (37ºC/~99ºF) when Nick helped me take these photos – and the rain was starting to come down. I wish we had chosen a better time and I wish I could have worn this outfit on a less hot day because I was starting to sweat. The photos could have been better but I’m sure they will be next time. ✌️

Me standing on the landing of a set of stairs
Me standing on the landing of a set of stairs

We took these photos at Sydney Hospital in the afternoon. It was very quiet there, not many people around. The buildings have an interesting historical feel to them. I wouldn’t mind doing a shoot here again.

The fountain was really lovely as well. Ignore the funny angle – it’s art. ;) And I did say we did this a little rushed, haha. But here’s the obligatory full body shot that also shows my peep-toe shoes. They’ve made quite a few appearances in my posts. I need to get the heels and soles fixed up, though, as they’re getting worn out from being worn so much. 😅

Full body shot with a fountain backdrop
Full body shot
Close up of me
Shielding my hair from the wind!

I was a bit wary of the off-shoulder top when I bought it online but I thought I’d give it a go. I wasn’t sure if it would look good on me but there’s no harm experimenting with different styles. I always tell Nick when I am unsure if a certain type of clothing will look good on me but he encouraged me to give more styles a try. I do feel like the top swamps me a little bit, but I’ve seen it look good on other slim girls, haha. I like the bell sleeve as it gives quite a relaxed look.

One thing I can criticise about the style of top is when you reach up or stretch, the top goes up to your neck and you have to, well, place it back at the sides of your shoulders. 😆 I wore it in Perth, and got sunburned, and I was a little glad I had burned/tanned over my whole shoulder and not where you could see visible strap lines or anything! 😂

I think that the top goes best with these jeans, though I only tried it with one skirt and it was a bit too baggy. I’d wear it with a tight-fitting skirt to balance it out.

Me sitting on a wooden bench
The wind is breezing my hair.

Ah, and also my hair! It’s sadly not very purple anymore. :( Purple fades really fast, I’ve learned… and I think that next time I choose to do purple I might go for my tried-and-true purple dye that I did many years ago. It all looks more pinkish-mahogany, and only the parts that were pre-lightened remain purple, but you can’t quite see it unless you look up close.

A view of my hair from the back
Flipping my hair

The earrings are super pretty! I was looking for more longer earrings because I don’t have a lot of long ones. I’m going through an earring cleanout because I have almost 40 different pairs. I definitely don’t need that many, but I did want another long pair to add to my collection. I shopped on By Invite Only for a pair during the Black Friday sales (this was literally the only thing I bought during that time period!), and my friend Daniel helped me choose between a few. I’m glad this was his favourite because I just went with it. I didn’t really want to buy more than one pair.

I really love the colour of amethyst stone in general. And it goes beautifully with the gold on these earrings. The bar and the hoop add interest. The earrings make a little clinky noise when I walk, but it’s good to know they’re still there! ;)

Close up of purple amethyst earrings
The style of these earrings is unique and gorgeous!

I wore the necklace to add more of the earthy stones to my outfit. They actually sent me the wrong length chain and I was expecting it to be much shorter, but it works. They’re sending me one with the correct length though, and it’s on its way. I’ll have two, but maybe that’s not such a bad thing? ☺️

(Fun fact: I brightened this photo with CSS, so the original photo is much darker. I wrote this post on-the-go after I already uploaded the images, so I couldn’t upload a new version. Yay for using CSS like Photoshop! 👊)

Close up of rose quartz halo necklace
Close up of rose quartz halo necklace – also very pretty!

I think that I’ve found a real love in this kind of jewellery – I had been a stone/rock collector when I was young, but it never really occurred to me that I would like that kind of jewellery as much. But I think it suits me perfectly, what with me having quite an obsession with rocks for collecting, decorating, or just staring at in general. 💎✨

The nails are the Gemini style nail wraps from Scratch. They cost a bit more than the other nail wraps but they are so pretty! They are supposed to look like a butterfly print. The contrast is amazing and they look very cool. I always get compliments when I use Scratch’s wraps. I didn’t really think this style went with the outfit but it was nice contrast anyway.

Close up of butterfly-style nail wraps applied to my nails
‘Gemini’ butterfly-inspired nail wraps

The title of this post isn’t anything intelligent, just something I thought went with the idea of being serene and thoughtful, like the white colour and earthly crystals in this outfit.

📷 All photography by Nicholas Cooke. ❤️

Outfit details

Side shot with fountain backdrop
Side shot with a peep of earring…

Do you like off-shoulder tops? What do you typically wear them with? And would it be cool if we photographed here again? 🙃

Comments on this post

off-should tops are pretty but i don’t think i can wear them. i’d probably be so concerned about showing off my shoulders like that and just all around uncomfortable because it feels like the top’s gonna slip off my body, y’know? hahaha i do hope to wear an off-shoulder kind of dress though. but you’re rocking it and i love it on you! :D

hm, if i were to wear off-shoulder top, i’d probably pair it with a skirt like this or this. jeans are nice — i’d wear skinny jeans though because that’s my kind of jeans but i prefer skirt when i’m out instead of on my casual days. i see off shoulder tops as the kind of wear that i’d go for when i’m out to the mall, for instance, instead of doing casual stuff, if that makes sense.

I can’t believe how different the weather is at this time of year for you! I probably say this every year but it’s so strange. Can’t imagine having a warm Christmas Day!

I love your outfit in this post! The earrings are definitely my fave. I’ve never worn any in that style before but I’ve definitely got to get some now.

I don’t own any intentionally off the shoulder tops, but I do own some that just fall like that, because they have a really wide neck. I think it looks lovely on you!

I love off the shoulder tops and I wish I had more of them. The only one I have is a Mickey Mouse one that I got from Disney World a few years back and I don’t really wear it as much as I’d like to. But when I do, I usually pair with skinny jeans and boots. I’d love to see more photographs at the Hospital location. The hospital looks visually more satisfying than most of the hospitals we have here in the U.S.

I LOVE those earrings. 😍 Purple is my favorite color and I am drawn to amethyst. I wear an amethyst pendant a lot and I love how it looks with some of shirts.

You look gorgeous in that outfit!

The photo location is really pretty! I love how you feature various places in Sydney aside from where you frequent most (and just those places), because it’s fun sightseeing all the way over here in Texas. Do people ever look at you weirdly? Like, how do you get the confidence to do FF photos without worrying about random passersby thinking you’re silly? I know here, people look at you like you’ve lost your mind. :/ Or: “Oh, one of those people.” And then they take a photo of them and trash them on Facebook, just because they feel they have a right to do so.

This is my favorite FF of yours so far. :) I love shoulder tops—the loose ones that fall to the side. I enjoy wearing them with shorts or pants, depending on the weather and what I feel like wearing that day. I always struggle to find them…hence why I only own one (which I didn’t even buy).

I never know what kind of bra to wear with them, though. 😳 It sounds so, so simple, but…yeah. I’ve done tank tops under, but then people get onto me because the tank tops show. I guess I just have to own it, but that doesn’t make it any less difficult. :/

It depends, I do feel a bit weird sometimes but I think I have gotten used to it. Most people will look at you, then just look away after a few seconds. Some give a look that seems more like a stare, but they usually just move on. I have previously gotten concerned that someone will assume I am conceited and want to laugh, but because whoever is photographing me usually looks like they are professional and know what they are doing, most people respect it. Not sure what it would be like in other countries… 😜

I wore a strapless one but they are very uncomfortable for me. You could find a tight tube top? I recently bought some nipple covers for dresses that are backless or reveal shoulders, because it’s probably easier than wearing a bra. I took a recommendation from a friend. :)

This blouse is really nice! It suits you well, and it gives off a very elegant and gentle vibe. I’d never wear off-the-shoulder tops myself, but on you, it looks great :) The top does go well with jeans. I can see it also being good with a tight skirt, as you said, because it would offset the bagginess :)

The earrings and the necklaces are a nice touch. Its elegance matches your top very well! I like the purple stones :D

Shame about your hair not keeping the purple colour! It’s a pain to go through the dyeing process only to lose the colour fast. I hope the next time you dye it purple, it will stay better!

Hmm. The shirt is a little… off. Maybe it’s too baggy, like you suggested. Or the sleeves are too long maybe? I think if it had short sleeves I might like it? I really can’t tell. I have one off the shoulder top and it’s also a crop top, lol. It’s far too fashionable for me and I’ve worn it like… twice in my life. But I think the off the shoulder works for the one I have because it has tiny short sleeves. Like this style: https://www.lulus.com/products/road-traveler-white-crop-top/152858.html

But, I love the earrings!!

I love the match of that off-shoulder top and the skinny bright blue jeans! I recently bought two off-shoulder tops so it will be my first time trying and I’m wondering how do they stay on? :P I do like the location of your photoshoot, it’s very quaint! Kudos to you for making it through the shoot in that weather and you look amazing!

AHHH I really loved your purple! I remember squealing when I saw it because it was similar to mine – I had the bottom of my hair colored purple because I told my friends I’d do it if we can get 45 people to go to our camping trip – anyways I got it done a bright purple two weeks before the trip. One week before the trip it turned lavender and some of the hair turned grey. At the trip when my friends from out of the city saw me, they saw a strawberry color. And now it’s just blonde. Everyone keeps asking me if I dyed my hair again and I have to explain it just faded to the bleach color. You didn’t bleach your hair though did you?

Also I love the matching purple earrings and necklace! So adorable!

It depends if they are elasticated or not – if they are elasticated, you’re going to have a harder time keeping them down rather than up. :P

Oh boo… it sounds like your hair went through the same thing mine is about to go through. I did get small sections pre-lightened (like balayage). So I suspect if the purple ever washes out of those parts, it will start to go a bit blonde. But the parts that are starting to fade very badly now is my previously faded red hair. The purple is washing out of those. If you look really closely, the parts that are still purple are the parts that were pre-lightened. The whole thing looks more strawberry right now! D: I suspect it is because I used vegan dye that it has faded so quickly, I have used Schwarzkopf box dye before and it’s stayed purple for a long time.

Cool looking scenery! Also that top looks lovely on you!

I sadly can’t really wear those kind of tops. Well, I probably COULD I just don’t. XD And gem stone jewelry is awesome! I got a jewelry box full of it! ^^;;

I love the dedication you have with taking these Fashion Friday shoots! Rain or shine, you’re still out there ;) (Ok, maybe less so during the rain but you get my point!)

Haha, I can agree that the odd angle can be twisted into art ;). My boyfriend does this all the time ;~;. I love your opened toed pumps!!! I’m not a fan of pointy toed shoes D:. I think you look great with the top! I don’t see people wearing it as much these days but I still have an appreciation for them. I love how your necklace matches your earrings XD.

I haven’t worn off-shoulder tops in forever. I would probably wear it with dark jeans :’). I love the background scenery! It’s definitely a cool spot :D

Hahaha thank you Nancy! I have to post every two weeks! I have to! I have to!

I guess it takes some practice, I know that Nick is really tall and taking full-body shots can be a challenge because he has to get down on his knees.

I used to like pointy-toed shoes but the toe-squish is just horrid, and I’ve had enough of that. I want to give my feet a break. Sadly, pointy-toed shoes look great on short people like me, so I can’t win!

I looooove this outfit! I’m actually going to Lisbon/Nice in March next year and have been looking for Spring/Summer outfits to wear there and this has inspired me to do a casual off the shoulder/jean look! I think I own too many off the shoulder tops though – I have a winter (thicker) version, boho ones (with flare sleeves), shorter sleeve etc all in different colours and patterns! I even have the dress version! xD

I usually pair them with a skirt or fashionable joggers (like I did in Barcelona) :P