New Buys : August 2025
Just before the summer break and while I was recently away in Melbourne, I did a little shopping. My wardrobe has been languishing and needed an injection of a couple of pieces to round things out. I was looking for classic pieces that would serve me well over a few different scenarios - a meeting, lunch out and a casual dinner.
Recent Shopping Edit
Vintage Trench Coat
While I was in Melbourne I had a really lovely day shopping with my kids. We went down Chapel Street and wandered along until we got to Greville St. All of us came away with some gems (for my son, a cool pair of jeans that actually fit his slim 6’4” frame - an absolute win for him to be able to shop in a country that can accommodate his tall stature). And all of us had a fab time vintage shopping in Vintage Sole. I came away with the most amazing vintage London Fog trench coat that was a fraction of the cost of buying a new one. I have had one trench coat in my life and it lasted about 20 years before the lining started to separate from the exterior shell and the whole thing bubbled up and was unwearable. I looked at buying a new one last year and just couldn’t bring myself to part with the cost so I was so thrilled to find a vintage one. This London Fog trench coat is new (and the same style as the one I bought vintage) but have a look for a vintage one online if you can.
Barner ‘Brad Glossy’ Readers
I have been on the hunt for aviator style reader glasses and came across Barner. I absolutely love these glasses - lightweight with a glossy tortoiseshell frame. They also arrived really quickly and came in a soft pouch with a glass cleaner cloth - which beats my old one (having never worn glasses until recently I didn’t realise how dirty glasses become - especially readers which you are taking on and off your face all day long). If I had a slight negative on these glasses it would be that this style is designed for men so the width of the arms is a tiny bit wide for my narrow head - but not by much so I’m ok with it. They are lovely to wear.
Cos Cotton Peplum Top
Just before I went away for the summer, I popped into Cos and had one of those ‘everything just works’ shopping days (these moments seem to be so few and far between these days). I bought a couple of different basic pieces and this peplum top was one of them. With my ever expanding waistline I have decided the answer is to hide it without looking like I’m in some big oversized baggy top. The peplum shape is great for this as the top part is fitted and then it flares out slightly from the waist down. Perfect. Cos is great for pieces like this and I always love their crisp cotton. I wore it to a meeting with a short cream wrap skirt and I felt confident and good in it - so huge ticks for that. Fashion should always make us feel good when we wear it, don’t you think?
Cos Pleated A-Line Midi Skirt
Another Cos buy from the same successful shopping expedition. I LOVE this skirt. It feels like silk (is very likely a synthetic silk wannabe). The pleats are really flattering and it has a lovely soft feel and weight to the fabric that makes it feel luxurious to wear. I am a big fan of cream with white - but it also looks very chic with black - so I would pair this with a simple white or black t-shirt and a pair of bone coloured sandals with the white t-shirt combo / and black leather flip flops with the black t-shirt.
Rubi Blake Jelly Flip
Jelly shoes have been having a moment and while shopping with my daughter in Cotton On I discovered these jelly flip flops. I am a big fan of how simple these flip flops are and love the jelly material. Are they the most comfortable shoe I’ve ever worn? Nope. Do they look like a slightly more upmarket flip flop? Yes. I’m wearing them with shorts and blouse-y tops for days when I’m popping to the shops or running errands but not walking miles. (I also bought them in see-through red - my daughter was not on board with this colour choice. I think they’re good).
Aesop Brass Oil Burner
I was very lucky to be gifted this utterly beautiful Aesop Brass oil burner from a friend. Buying gifts for others can sometimes be hard so I always appreciate and take note of gifts that I receive that absolutely hit the mark. I will put this one away as a great piece to gift to others as I loved receiving it so much myself. It’s the kind of thing that I would lust over but never actually buy for myself - always a good sign that it’s a great fit to give. The sculptural beauty of it ensures it is a lovely addition to any styling tableau and the scent from the oil when it is burning is subtle in all the right ways.
Aesop Simone Oil Burner Blend
And what is an oil burner without a beautiful essential oil? Gifting fragrance is actually tricky so I went and picked out my own oil blend from Aesop. One persons ‘smells like a beautiful rose garden’ is another one’s ‘that floral scent gives me the worst headache’. So think twice before gifting anything scented. That being said, I do think some scents are generally liked by everyone (citrusey ones are kind of ubiquitous). For me, I love a woody, incense burning in a musty chapel, slightly masculine, expensive retreat type fragrance. And of the five scents you can pick from Aesop, this one fit that bill. It is gorgeous and is not too overpowering. Scent in your home should be subtle - unlike those Singapore stores that bombard you with an intense fragrance hit as soon as you are within metres of the entrance. Nothing makes me want to shop less than an overpoweringly scented environment. It clutters my brain.
Apple Powerbeats Pro 2 Earbuds
These are the GOAT of earbud headphones for me. I have been using them for so many years and my first pair lasted me forever until just recently when they started to have problems charging (given I got them eons ago it was fair enough). So I put in a request for my birthday to get a new set. I love that they sit snug around your ear and I never have the feeling that they’re about to fall out. I don’t know how other people’s ears are designed, but mine literally can not accommodate any of those other earbuds that are supposedly meant to sit snug in your ear - for me, they always feel like they’re on the edge of falling out and it is beyond frustrating. Not so with these. Pop them in and leave them be.
Dua Lipa Live from the Albert Hall
An absolutely great album if you like Dua Lipa. While the kids and I were on our fun shopping day we took the opportunity to go into a cool record store on Greville Street and came away with some good additions to our record library - and this was one of our pics. We had stumbled across Dua Lipa’s performance at the Albert Hall one night on You Tube and we all sat mesmerised at the time, so when we saw the record of the performance we snapped it up. It’s also on Spotify if you are not an analogue record buyer. Fantastic orchestral arrangements of all of her biggest hits - her voice is so good live and the audience look like they’re having so much fun. For those that want to watch the performance here is a link.