Fashion Friday: Hip to be square

Medium shot of me with my hand at my sunglasses and looking over the top of them

I’m excited to share this outfit because I’ve put together a lot of new items to go in it. I donated a bag of clothing to H&M earlier this week, so the amount of clothes in my wardrobe is still somewhat in check. But being able to mix and match pieces that I bought is a sure sign that I am doing better at selecting clothes that are pretty versatile, I think!

We did this photoshoot in the backstreets of Sydney, a couple blocks away from the busy streets around Hyde Park. I like the bits of greenery in the area (including the small reserve that can be seen in the background of the photos), as well as the style of the buildings around this area.

I’m donning a chambray shirt over my top, and I have to admit that chambray is yet another trend I’ve fallen for. I used to never follow trends, and I still don’t – I am open to experiment, but if a trendy item doesn’t look good on me, then there is no way I am going to force myself to wear it. I spotted this chambray (or denim, if you like) shirt on Rut & Circle, a Swedish online clothing company. They seem to be owned by NA-KD, another store I have been buying some clothes from recently. I haven’t yet found any other stores under the NA-KD umbrella, but both NA-KD and Rut & Circle share a similar sort of edgy and “trendy” feel.

Side view of me starting to walk on a pedestrian crossing, with a yellow pedestrian crossing sign nearby
Set to cross the road
Medium shot of me with one arm up on the pillar
Sleeves rolled up was better than all the way down!

I’ve gotta admit that I was reluctant to go for a denim shirt as I was not sure what I would wear it with. I can try denim on denim – but this shirt is rather long. It works better worn over something like I have in this outfit. In time, I will experiment with it, but it’s a nice shirt and I think I can figure out a way to wear it as a dress because of the length.

I love tops with prints. You might recall my top printed with whales and my top with cats. I spotted this top on The Iconic for a discounted price, and since they have free returns, I bought it and decided I would inspect the quality when it arrived. I’m quite happy with it. It’s little squares, though the print might look like spots from a distance. I am trying to get my wardrobe refined so that I have few basic bottoms that any printed top will go with! I opt for smaller-scale prints because I’m quite small and any large-scale print will swamp my figure.

Me sitting on a short brick wall, leaning on a short pillar with one knee bent
Full body shot (except I’m sitting)

I could have worn this outfit with blue jeans but I chose to go with black leggings, because I wanted to wear my new blue shoes and wanted some contrast! My blue shoes are also from The Iconic. I have never bought shoes online because I am so unsure about sizing, but I was pretty confident that these shoes were great quality (real leather) and was so in love with the colour.

I think that bright blue goes with my skin tone pretty well, the same with other bright colours. I’ve tried to embrace that more lately, and have taken a liking to cobalt-blue-coloured items, which is why I was so drawn to the shoe. I got them a size up (37) from what I usually get (36), because my feet despise flat shoes and I could definitely anticipate some toe squish in such a pointed flat. I wanted to completely avoid toe squish, because I have a size 36 in another similar styled shoe, and my toes were not happy. After all, 37 was also the only size they had left. :P

Close up of my shoes from my view with a tattered white flower nearby
Love this blue so much!
Me mid-crossing, looking back and holding hair out of the way of my face
Shoes in action

I put gel soles in the shoe to get a better grip and support my feet better. That said, I can still sometimes feel the looseness in the shoe when I have been walking for a long period of time. But cosy, ever-so-slightly roomy shoes are far better than too-tight ones.

I picked out the gold jewellery because it contrasted with the blue in the outfit. The necklace was a piece I created myself when I purchased a crystal pendant from a shop in Fremantle (when I visited Perth), and put it on a gold chain that I already had at home. The gold bracelet and earrings matched with it too, and I chose the sky blue one to match the chambray.

Close shot of crystal necklace
I’m very into crystal necklaces!
Close shot of golden citrine bracelet
A gold bracelet with citrine crystals to contrast with the blue
Close up of my small rose gold ball stud and bar stud earrings and my triangular gold earring with coloured stone
A gold and yellow tone to the earrings too

I was going to buy a new wallet from Fossil to fit both my phone and all my cards and cash, but when I saw this coin purse I really wanted to give it a go. It fits all my cards and brings my wallet to a much lighter state, because instead of one card being in each slot in a wallet, I just stack the cards and put them in the one place. It might take an extra couple of seconds to pull out the card I want, but at least it’s a wallet/purse I can more comfortably put in my pocket. I love the chain too, so that I can attach it onto something if I want, and I can pop my keys on it too if I want. Also, the colour! 💙

Flatlay style of my sunglasses and blue wallet with my hand in view, with my painted nails
I usually don’t like flatlays, ha

My nails were already painted from a couple of days prior. I like the slight glittery feel of this polish. It looks a little blue in the bottle but is actually a bit like a shiny green.

Me sitting on a small pillar with my wallet and sunglasses in my lap
Sitting pretty

The name of this outfit, Hip to be square, most certainly comes from the song of the same name. 😄

📷 All photography (except shot of my shoes) by Nicholas Cooke. ❤️

Outfit details

  • Top: Atmos&Here via The Iconic (Eva Top)
  • Shirt: Rut & Circle (Josie Denim Shirt)
  • Leggings: Voodoo Hosiery
  • Shoes: Inuovo ‘Footlights’ flat in blue (available at The Iconic)
  • Wristwear: Wanderlust + Co (Ava Gold & Sky Cuff); By Invite Only (Gold Citrine Trio Bracelet – no longer available)
  • Necklace: pendant purchased at a market in Perth; chain my own
  • Earrings: My Jewellery Story (Trillion Brief Studs)
  • Sunglasses: Fossil
  • Wallet: Minskat coin purse (available at The Iconic)
  • Nails: Revlon “Chroma Chameleon”: Topaz
Me sitting on a short wall with my legs crossed and elbow up on the short pillar, with my hand to my head
Here is my parting shot. See ya!

Do you like printed shirts? What about chambray shirts? What do you think of the whole outfit?

Comments on this post

i love this! it’s so chill, laid-back and chic! i love how you rock such a vibrant shade of blue. i like blue but definitely not as bright as your shoes. i feel like such blue fits you so much! i remember you used to do a fashion friday with the same shade of blue as blazer? correct me if my memory is playing tricks on me. i also love how you coordinate the top and bottom to work with a long denim shirt. i tend to avoid long tops because it’s kinda difficult to coordinate them. since i don’t like to wear leggings, sometimes i just wear black stockings to pair long shirts with. if i were to be in your situation, i’d probably use a sleeveless dress, pair it with stockings then wear the denim outerwear :P

i love printed shirts. it’s one of my basic necessities. i have a lot of printed graphic shirts in my wardrobe, most of them are from uniqlo (because i love uniqlo’s fabric; cotton and not thin, unlike those shirts from cotton on)

Thank you! Yeah, I have realised that I look better in bright colours because of my skin tone, but it’s still hard to experiment with clothes when certain colours just look terrible on me (like light pink). I don’t have a blue blazer but I did have one with a bright blue skirt two years ago.

I actually did try the denim shirt on with a sleeveless black dress when I first got it – it looked really good!

I used to buy shirts from Cotton On but they were so flimsy and got easily crumpled. The quality was really bad.

I love the cute and casual look of this outfit! I’ve never bought a denim shirt because I’m not sure how it’d look on me, but I like how you wear it over another shirt. I also like the color of your shoes! Nice choice on the leggings too, because I feel like it really brings out all the blue you’re wearing.

I’m trying to buy more printed shirts! I used to be a solids person, but prints can be so versatile and cute.

I love your outfit, the pops of bright blue with the wristlet and shoes are love. They compliment the denim well! I love patterned tops, but I find it difficult at times to find ones that are my style that also fit well.

I still have yet to go through my wardrobe and give stuff away to charity, and I’ve been saying I’ll do this FOR AGES. Sigh. Also, you have a Hyde Park too! Love it. Haha.

Your outfit goes so well, and I love the pieces of jewellery you chose! The only printed shirt I own is one with Bart Simpson’s head on it, lol. I have a couple of chambray shirts, and I think I’ll be busting up again because they’re great in Spring weather :D

I’m so obsessed with this outfit! This is definitely something I would wear. I love how casually chic it is with the denim and flats. I think this outfit would look cute with jeans, but the black leggings are the perfect contrast. Are they a shiny material? They look different than simple cloth leggings. I want my own pair! Ha.

I tend to avoid flats because they always squish my toes. Plus I worry they make my feet look large. I think I should start looking for some, though. They’re great with leggings and can both dress up and dress down an outfit. They’re so versatile in my opinion!

That wallet is adorable. Like you, I want something that carries all of my stuff in one place. Unless I’m going to school, I only ever need my cards, a little cash, my keys, and my phone. I want to find a good traveling purse either here or in Japan for that reason — I don’t want excessive bulk when navigating busy streets!

I think this is among some of my favorite outfits that you’ve done. :P I love it!

As usual, Georgie, you look gorgeous. I especially love the shoes. I don’t see blue shoes that often. I like them. It’s a nice pop of color.

It’s great that you’re having an easier time with mixing your clothing around. I’m trying to avoid buying clothes that are limited in compatibility but at the end of the day, it’s up to you to make it work. The denim shirt works well as an outer layer unbuttoned (or in days when you just want to throw on something quick to buy some milk).

I haven’t gotten into pointed shoes yet because of the whole toe-squishing issue. I should follow that tip and try a bigger size. It’s pretty cool that you made the necklace yourself!

Chambray shirts are pretty trendy these days. I like both types of shirts but haven’t tried wearing them myself. The outfit definitely works!

I don’t mind printed shirts, but it depends on design. I try to stay away from very busy prints, and stick with polka dots or stripes. I do love a good chambray shirt, though! I currently have two, but I always reach for the softer one. :) I actually like the outfit you put together here. It’s something I’d wear for work or even on weekends. :)

You look so pretty <3 I love the pop of the blue!

The outfits looks great, Georgie! I love that you’ve paired the denim shirt with black leggings – they look great together. And your top is beautiful!

I love printed shirts. I wish I owned more, but I haven’t been buying much lately because I want to get to my target weight first. It feels like it’s been forever since I went clothes shopping. I especially like fun animal prints as I think they look really unique. I have a shirt with tiny dogs on and I love it!

I love that your wallet matches your shoes. That blue is so gorgeous!

I’ve never owned a chambray shirt but have looked at them every time I’ve gone shopping, I have no idea how I’d style them. This post helps a lot! I’d like to see you try denim on denim with some dark wash jeans. I do like the shirt and like you, tend to opt for smaller prints as I’m short (5′ 3″).