OFFICE CATWALK: May 2017

6 must-haves in your work wardrobe

FASHION Monday, May 01, 2017

I have two unbreakable rules in life - never wake up before 9am on a Saturday and never repeat an outfit. The first one I think should be in the bible really; the second one I agree may seem a little excessive. But when I say outfit, I actually mean a whole exact look and not, by all means, a piece of clothing. A few years ago, I used to spend my last penny on that statement piece that would just make an outfit. And then I realised after wearing it once, it was never the same - never felt as good in it as when I bought it. This actually makes me a freak because I barely wear any dresses - as I can't repeat them - but it also made me see that a good wardrobe should have a few statement pieces, yes, but ultimately should be made of must-haves that you can coordinate in a million different ways. This doesn't make me shop any less but it does make me a lot happier.

So here are the key must-have things you need in your work wardrobe:

THE BLAZER

It can be black, white, navy, long, short, loose or waist-fitted. But you've got to have one. Or 3. I personally am a fan of long oversized blazers, a bit tomboy like - they're still chic, office-like but a bit more stylish. I have a white, a black and a grey one. All from Zara, mainly on sales. Run.

ZARA here and here

THE BLACK SKIRT

Cliché, right? Yeah I know but it has to be said. When you don't know what else in the world to wear to work, this babe will save you big time. And no, these two items don't have to be the ugly suit type thing our mums used to wear 15 years ago. There are skirts and there are blazers - they do not and should not match.

TOPSHOP here and ASOS here

THE CIGARETTE TROUSERS

Ok I agree this one doesn't necessarily fit everyone. If god blessed you with generous thighs as opposed to my jelly belly, then I would stick with the skinny black jeans - they can be just as elegant and appropriate and you won't look like you have a potato sack on your bum. But if you're into the cigarette trousers, then go nuts on the colours.

ZARA here and here

THE COOL FLATS

I'm not huge on heels but I do love all kinds of ankle boots (velvet, suede, silver, anything goes). And these are my best friends in London because I refuse to walk 35 miles in painful heels. Or 5 really. But from spring to autumn, a cool pair of flats can make the perfect look. My favourites are my black pointy flats with a gold tiger on top. Not as weird it sounds.

TOPSHOP here and ZARA here

THE FUNKY EARRINGS

All accessories strengthen the look but earrings are my favourites. Gold, silver, coloured, long, short, crazy. That day when you'll be in a black jumper and jeans because everything else was just blhec, they'll make your day.

PEDRA DURA here and here

THE WHITE SHIRT

Last but not least. Get the boyfriend, the sleeveless, the plain, the embroidered, the stripy, the one with the flared sleeves - get them all as you'll need as many as you can get.

ZARA here and here

M x

Just another Hello! post

LIFESTYLE Monday, May 01, 2017

[scroll down for portuguese version]
 
Oh hello there, long time no speak! I think my last blog post was in 2015. 2016 is now gone and we're halfway through 2017 already. Madness. So, back in January I started to think about writing again and have been rebranding this baby ever since.
 
For those who don't know me, I used to have a fashion & lifestyle blog at The Portuguese Pink Pie where I posted outfit ideas, travelling diaries and the occasional rant about the day to day world. I had it for 2 years and then stopped when I realised I just didn't have anything outstanding to say. Don't get me wrong, I'm still obsessed with shopping and still spend way too much money on clothes. But so do all the other bloggers with a lot more money, time and patience than me.
 
After a year and a half of blogging inactivity, I decided to turn that around and focus on something a little bit more specific. I realised all the bloggers I follow do that for a living and there is not a single one that has to worry about when to actually take outfit photos - 'in the morning with puffy eyes or between the sandwich and the juice at lunchtime?'. Plus, on the 5 months of the year they're not running around on my instagram feed in a bikini (super skinny as well, grrr!), they all wear ripped jeans and baggy jumpers which are awesome but I can only really wear at the weekend. And that's pretty annoying given I could actually do with some more inspiration for the other 5 days of the week!
 
When my sister asked me about what to wear to a meeting a while ago, it made me think. If us mortals end up spending the majority of our lives at work, why am I not writing about that?!
 
So this is it! New house, new brand, new theme, same me. You'll see a lot of clothes and outfit ideas, you'll see the occasional opinion post about this and that but you'll mostly see ways to adapt our cool & creative selves to our day to day work, combining affordable clothes with a drive to succeed and stand out in a business environment.
 
2016 was an important year for me. I've travelled, spent lots of time with my crazy family, made sure to see all my friends pretty often, made some big life decisions and, mostly, I've grown a lot at work. I can finally say I have a job I love, an amazing team I built throughout the year and I actually really like what I do for a living!
 
Today I help brands deliver the right message, to the right customers, through the right channel - and I absolutely love it. Well, do I enjoy getting out of bed every morning? Of course not, because sleeping is still up there on my list of all-time favourites, right under shopping. But what I wear influences my mood and my mood influences how my day goes so why not talk about it?!

Enough talking from me for now, I'll be introducing some post tags soon and hopefully you'll leave some comments on the cool ones and totally ignore the lame ones so I'll get what's on.
 
Enjoy!
 M x
 
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Hello, Hello, long time no see! Acho que o meu último post foi em 2015. 2016 já lá vai e já estamos a meio de 2017! Me-do. Em Janeiro começou a apetecer-me voltar a escrever qualquer coisa por aqui e desde aí que estive a fazer um rebranding à casa.
 
Para quem não me conhece, eu tinha um blog de fashion & lifestyle no The Portuguese Pink Pie, onde escrevia uns posts com outfits, outros com fotografias e dicas sobre viagens e outros só a refilar com o que se passa no mundo em geral. Tive o blog durante 2 anos e parei quando percebi que era mais do mesmo, não acrescentava nada de novo. Bem, claro que não deixei de ser obcecada por compras e continuo claramente a gastar dinheiro a mais em roupa! Mas sou eu e todas as outras bloggers com bem mais dinheiro, tempo e paciência do que eu.
 
Depois de um ano e meio sem escrever uma linhazinha, decidi que era tempo de voltar a dedicar-me à coisa e entrar num meio um bocadinho mais específico. Apercebi-me que todas as bloggers giras-como-tudo que sigo no instagram fazem disso vida, e não há assim nenhuma que tenha que se preocupar com trivialidades como 'quando é que eu vou tirar fotografias - de manhã com olhos de sono ou ao almoço entre a sandes e o sumo?!'. Para além disso, nos 4 ou 5 meses em que as princesas não se passeiam pelo meu instagram feed de bikini (magríssimas, ainda por cima!), estão sempre de calças rasgadas ou camisolas estilo boyfriend, que são muito giras e me inspiram muito mas só mesmo para o fim-de-semana. Um bocadinho irritante, sendo que uma inspiraçãozinha para os 5 dias da semana vinha mais a calhar.
 
Quando a minha irmã me perguntou noutro dia o que vestir para uma reunião qualquer importante, fiquei a pensar - ok, o comum dos mortais passa a maior parte da semana no trabalho e eu estou aqui a dar ideias sobre o que vestir no fim-de-semana? Se calhar trocáva-se aqui a ordem, não?!
 
E pronto, assim foi. Casa nova, nome novo, look novo, same old me! Vão continuar a ver muita roupa por aqui, uma opinião ou outra sobre como dar a volta ao colega melga ou ao chefe machão mas mais que isso vão ver ideias de como adaptar o nosso lado criativo no dia-a-dia do escritório, a combinar o gosto por moda com a vontade de estar bem e sobressair no ambiente de trabalho.
 
2016 foi um ano importante para mim. Viajei com amigos, fui a Portugal montes de vezes, tomei umas decisões importantes na minha wannabe vida de adulta mas, mais que tudo, cresci imenso no trabalho. Posso finalmente dizer que tenho um trabalho que adoro, uma equipa mega que cresceu durante o ano e gosto mesmo do que faço - o que não é assim tããão comum de se ouvir por aí hoje em dia!
 
No meu dia-a-dia, eu ajudo grandes marcas a comunicar com os seus clientes, com a mensagem certa, na hora certa, pelo meio (digital) certo - e adoro! Bem, posso dizer que todos os dias me levanto cheia de vontade de ir trabalhar? Claramente não, que dormir ainda está lá em cima na lista dos passatempos preferidos a seguir a compras. Mas no meu caso, o que visto de manhã influencia o meu humor e estado de espírito; e o meu humor influencia SEMPRE como me corre o dia por isso why not talk about it?!
 
Chega de conversa que isto de escrever em português e inglês ainda fica mais longo! Vou começar a introduzir uns posts de vez em quando e se tudo correr bem vocês começam a comentar nos que gostam e a ignorar por completo os que são uma seca total - e eu vou percebendo a coisa.
 
Enjoy!
 
M x

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6 must-haves in your work wardrobe

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