I’m a little excited to share the brightly coloured top in this outfit. It’s definitely the star of the show, but I found that it worked very well in my wardrobe and I could actually make cohesive outfits with it, despite the bright colours. I only bought it this year but it very quickly became one of my favourites. Although these photos are from some time ago, I brought the top for our recent (as in, two weeks ago!) trip to Melbourne where it is a bit cold on some days, so even though it’s summer, a long-sleeved top comes in handy.

One thing that caught my eye about the top when I saw it online was the bright colours, but I did think about the potential of the colours not suiting me. I can wear a lot of different colours at once, but colours that are too bright can wash me out. I think that the different colours in small amounts in one top make the effect less dramatic, so it ends up working really well. Another thing that drew me to the top was the cropped length. I know cropped tees are sort of making a comeback, and I don’t follow trends, but when something I normally wear is trending… don’t mind if I do. ✨

I was actually so thrilled with the top when I tried it on because the fit was great. I was unsure about the colour but after trying it on with some clothes I already owned, I realised that regardless of the colours suiting me, I would absolutely enjoy wearing this top, and that’s the important thing. My pink shorts were my first thought, but this top would work with every colour that’s in the stripes, of course. 🤩

I really played with “pulling colours” from the top, such as using my bright blue bag to bring out the blue, and white boots to bring out the white. I felt really clever with this technique, even though I’m generally a rule-breaker when it comes to style. 🤣

I bought the boots a couple of months ago. I was looking at some boots on sale, and decided to look in the outlet/last chance section of the outlet store, and didn’t expect to find these boots. They cost me $80 – not bad for a good quality shoe. I know I have a pair of white boots already (shared in Seven shades of blue), but I found these slightly more wearable. 🫣 The funny thing is, they are actually one size up from what I usually wear, but I think they were in the wrong section of the store and with my usual size of EU 36. But I was trying them on with very thin “sockettes” or no-show socks, and realised that they were quite loose, but would fit better with a regular sock, and still not be too big. It made me re-think my shoe sizing and to consider sizing up in the future from an EU 36 to an EU 37 if the shoe style calls for it.

I have to admit that even though I got a good deal on these shoes, it’s likely that they are still “old” and worn from just being on the shelves and from people trying them on. I actually kind of liked that they were somewhat worn in, and I didn’t need to break them in, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the sole has experienced some collapse or general wear and tear that I can’t see, and is affecting how supportive the shoe is. I do find that I get just a bit of foot pain on one side after wearing them for a long period of time.

My earrings are also a recent purchase from Olivia Raymond, a local seller, when I was at a market. I only really change my first lobe earrings and like to wear funky styles, but I know that I can only wear one pair at a time so I try not to buy too many. This pair were just the most gorgeous blue colour though, and the modern style really fit with my affinity for geometric shapes. Although she had the same earrings in other colours, this one was the one with a more blended colour and a pattern, which I preferred over the solid colours.

I’ve actually been wearing the earrings almost every day because I love the colour so much. Since I bought them I’ve actually spotted Olivia Raymond’s jewellery in other small boutiques and shops.

If you have been following my blog for some time and have seen my outfits, you know that I don’t often “match” my chosen nail wraps to my outfits necessarily, but I tend to go for the same sort of neutral styles, or patterns that are in colours I like. We have more of a subtle contrast with these nail wraps that have blue swirls and gold flecks.

Overall I would definitely wear this outfit again, but it does stand out a lot, and the top gives me a lot of room to experiment and have fun. So I think it will end up going a long way. 🌈

Outfit details

• Top: Charlie Holiday (Martina top)
• Shorts: Sezane (Rome shorts in plum)
• Shoes: Wittner (style no longer available)
• Handbag: Mansur Gavriel (Mini Tulipano bag in Ocean – no longer available)
• Earrings: Olivia Raymond (Empire Marine earrings
• Sunglasses: Gentle Monster (Bling 06)

Footnotes

📸 All photography by Nicholas Cooke. (on his iPhone 14 Pro)

Apparently I’d already named an old Fashion Friday post In Rainbows – and it was the surroundings that were colourful, not my outfit! – so I couldn’t name this one after the Radiohead album as well. 🙈 I settled with a creative play on the word “rainbow” instead.