The real cost of a black tie event

0:00This episode of Stylish is brought to you by Mecca. Mecca's breaking beauty news is your daily briefing on all things beauty. Hello guys, welcome to Stylish. You know what it's all about. It's the podcast for all things fashion, lifestyle, brand and beauty. My name is Ren and Joyce and I'm joined by the wonderful Nima Fatima. Hi, Nima. Hi, Rie. How are you? I'm good. I'm good. Guys, welcome back to our new Friday format. First episode, do pretty well. I'm not going to lie on chapter number. The girl is really nice to the new format, which is all about how can we help? It says what it does on the tin. Is that how we say it? It does what it says on the tin. That's it. It's all about helping you guys. So we're answering your burning questions, dilemmas and we've got a really good one this week. And we got lots through. So thanks for sending those through. Keep them coming. Keep them coming. I want to get into the swap. Do you want to go first? Yeah, sure. Mine is a Instagram and T-Truck account I've been loving. It's actually someone I've followed

1:04for a little while. It's a stylist called Monika Morales and her style is just it's sick. There's so much color and texture and jewelry and it's just fun. You go on to it and you're like, I really like it has such a specific point of view and I don't think that I would necessarily wear like exactly the outfits that she wears. But for me, her play with texture, her play with the way she stacks jewelry, the way she plays with color is so inspiring because I can do like 50% of that. You know, I can take some of it and put it into my own wardrobe. I had a little look at her Instagram before we jumped into the recording because I saw in your notes. So fun. She's also very creative with her visuals and how she like shows up with her content. Also, no, but every single time you recommend a creator, I'm always like by extension, there's somewhat like you. I can see the vent, like we had a vent diagram. I can see you in it. So it's funny you're leading with, oh, I don't know if I could pull some of these looks up. I feel like you could pull a lot of these looks up. What we're saying here is I'm just mostly a fraud. I'm just a vent diagram of everyone around me. You're

2:07an animation of all these people that you fall in. And I would say, literally, we actually did talk about this on our NIS press app that we did. The one I series. What else series? IG is probably like a bit more curated, but her TikTok is sick because she just like shows her collection of things. And she has the best heels collection I have ever seen. A really fun lots of like textured heels. And it makes me want to wear heels in a more casual basis. Side question, if you had to be known for the best collection of something, what would it be? Ooh, I think I've known for the best collection of puffy sleeve tops. That's my thing. Keeping love on a float. Yeah, keeping love on a float. I would want to be known for my best collection of I reckon glasses. Yeah, I was going to say glasses. Also, it was going to say Jory looking very blinged out right now. I'm very gold. What would I be? I would want to be known best collection of probably like very niche like costume Jory. Yes. I really care about that. And that's something I feel like I'd want people to be like, Oh,

3:07Rees got a really good collection of costume Jory. I also would say that you have a really good collection of going out tops. Yeah. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Sexy tops. I want to try my can't try my love sexy tops. I've literally got a video sitting in my dress for Round 2 because the first one I did on TikTok a few weeks ago did quite well. So I'm just going to rinse and repeat that. I really like it. The deal is really like sexy tops as well. Love. What's yours? Oh, okay. Mine is a product I've been using for a really long time. And I'm not going to lie. I came into the swap this week and was like, bracking my brain. Sometimes I go to the thing that I bought recently. And I'm like, why am I not talking about the thing that I've been using for years? Yeah. Exactly. It's not the sexiest, but I think it's quite good. And if you wanted to level up your bathroom, this is what I would buy. The Morris Motley hand wash. Have you used this? No, I haven't. Okay. So I know they stuck it at a few restaurants in Melbourne when I say stock. I mean, they actually have it in the bathroom. Yeah. You can use it. But I have never washed my hands in a hand wash. And like felt so fucking good after like the lathering of it. The way it lathers.

4:09And even in the sink, when I leave the sink, I'm like, it's so satisfying because it's all like bubbly and luscious and lathered delicious. We're not saying lathering enough. I feel in a day language. Such a good word. What's the scent? Oh, gosh. I have a Yuzu scent one at home. And it's got quite a cool pattern on the bottle. But you can just buy the traditional one. So good, guys. It is a little bit more expensive. But I have been using it for so long and it lasts for ages. You little goes a long way. Yeah. I actually have the bougie-est hand wash in my bathroom. I got it as a birthday present. But every time someone comes into my bathroom, they're like, I have the L'Ove. That is bougie. I was a question going with it. So we're shopping L'Ove. No, no. I got it. I got it for my 30th birthday. It's actually lasted a really long time. Great gift, though. Yeah, great gift. It's the tomato scented one. Yeah. And I opened it and I was like, I would never buy this for myself, but it is so nice. It is exorbitantly priced, but a perfect present. Yeah. The Morris Motley one definitely isn't as expensive. It's up there, but also

5:10a great gift option. I also, guys, I'm not afraid to spend the money on it because my hands feel so good. They smell great. Like I'm walking out of the bathroom smelling my hands. It's who's doing that. Yeah. Okay, I'm very excited because we have a very good DM today. It's all about formal wear event dressing. But before we get into that, let's hear a word from today's sponsor. Don't you wish there was an easier way to keep up with the latest beauty news? Well, consider this your PSA. Mecha's breaking beauty news is the daily briefing for the beauty obsessed. Let's start with the latest in fragrance. We love a new scent for a new season and this spring florals are stepping aside to make space for spice scents paired with bare skin, flowy layers, spice scents at a touch of heat and intrigue, perfectly complementing the warm of weather. We can't forget makeup either. The eyes have it this season with bold eye looks taking center stage and subtlety taking a back seat. We're talking dramatic eyeshadow glitter, playful liquid liner and long lashes. And in the world of skincare, PDRN is the latest it-go ingredient to add to your beauty dictionary. It boosts hydration and supports collagen production for

6:14fresh off firmer skin. Beauty moves fast. Good thing mecha is keeping tabs. They've got the brands to know trends to try and the busiest ingredients. Shopsef Tembers latest arrivals like a lifting and lengthening mascara from NARS. Fresh body mirrors from summer Fridays and drunk elephants first ever foundation. Thank you so much to mecha for making this episode of stylish possible. Let's get into today's segment. We have a lovely DM from a listener named Ellie. Thank you Ellie for writing in. I really enjoyed reading this. I love going into the socials and having a sneak look. Have you clocked me doing that? Yeah, I have. I always guys breaking the fourth wall here, but I always go into the socials read the DMs. You can't like unread them. Sometimes I can go and I'm like someone's been in here. Yeah, it was me. It was me and I'm just admitting that. So I went in Ellie and read your DM and it said girls need your help. We know how it was written girls. With a nose. So what is girls like with a nose? Goals. Yeah, that's it. Okay. I've been trying to find a formal dress that is unique to suit a work function, but it currently everything

7:18looks the same. Same silverware, same color and there's a lack of individuality. I'm also struggling to find those one off pieces for these formal occasions because although fashion is branching out and going a little bit more fun, it hasn't translated to the evening formal functions where you can still embrace your style without slipping a nip in front of your bosses. Okay, I want to know if this actually has happened and she's triggered, but that is also something we all want to avoid. I feel I want to focus on two parts of this, the work element and it being like a work event and it being black tie formal. Yeah. But then also in this episode, I want to get into formal wear as a category and how it is a bit same, same and what we're bringing to the conversation is going to be recommendations on what brands you can shop that do look a little different, but also various price points. So we did ask Ellie a few more details. We know it's an award tonight for women in construction, very niche, I love her. Ellie used to work in retail and this is her first more professional environment and it's a bit scary. So she did say the dress code is quite rigid in a more

8:18traditional industry and I feel like this is a bit of a like not a star bit shameless media, but I think it's to signalling out for the bridge of being able to wear whatever we want to work. She said, I know I quote, I can't wear fun jackets and tavi's to work. So she's having to build a whole new world room. I mean, it is so nice that we do get to just wear whatever we want. But I have worked a corporate job before. I was going to say same here, I really relate to this because my first job out of uni, well actually in uni, was in Big Pharma, I know. Yes. Law drop and that was I went from like working in retail like a very casual retail job to this like quite a corporate environment and I found that quite like jarring because it was very hard to like mix my two war droops together. I think as well sometimes what happens is you go to work and you have to part ways with your weekend looking for your personality and it's like who I am at work and how I show up in a dress sense is very different at home. We have that luxury at shameless media, but I feel a lot of people who work traditional corporate jobs, like what you've described working in Big Pharma, people who are lawyers,

9:18bankers, you know, or you're having to just go to an office nine to five and there's a pretty strict dress code kind of got to leave. Yeah. Leave your tavi's at the door. Yeah, well I think I was like 20 or something and it's like I definitely got dress code at multiple times. Oh yeah, yeah. It was just for like simple things like singlet tops and stuff, which like you just don't know about when you first start. No, but let's put a pin in this because I want to focus on the awards night element and then you and I can talk about our own format because I have some trauma to drop later. Yeah, perfect. So what is I guess your strategy to go into a work function like this? Okay, so when awards night, the added layer of it being an awards night, I really appreciate. Yes. It's very helpful because it is a bit boozy, it's a bit more dressy, but there's probably people from other industries as well. So not only do you have to dress appropriately based on who you work in your four walls with, but it's also like you're sending a message externally and you're having to show up, you're probably having a network. So there is an added layer of pressure that comes with that. Now, if it was me and I have attended a few industry awards nights, I would always play it safe with the color. Now, this kind of goes against everything I'm like trying

10:22to really embrace my own wardrobe at the moment, but I feel with the awards nights, if you're up for a nomination as well, you can get quite sweaty. And it could be like stressful. Oh, yes, or true. Yeah. And I think the worst thing is when you wear a color that isn't sweatproof, you're just adding another layer of anxiety to that. So when I say avoid color, maybe just avoid the ones you're going to sweat through. So for example, like pastel colors, is it pastel? Pastel colors, light blue is the one that's coming to me in my head. Even red, red can be one and I love red, brunettes in red, famously, bad tonight obsessed. Yeah. But it's one of those things where I'm like, oh, it can be a bit risky. See, I went the okay, I've got like two directions. If there was a little flow chart, mine was either go really classic silhouette, like a trusty, more like classic professional silhouette inner fun color or go a fun silhouette in a classic color. So at least with either of those options, you've got something that feels a bit more like grounded. Okay, what would you describe as a classic

11:23silhouette? A long address. We'd probably a higher neckline. Yes, that's what I would think. I think the layer of professionalism and being a little bit more conservative goes a long way in these scenarios for you to feel comfortable and confident. That's really important because what you don't want again is adding another layer of anxiety. Being like, is my nipple going to pop out? Like Ellie said in the DM is my brush showing is my brush showing is my right out. You know what? Dresses. No, guys. Strapless dresses when you have to keep pulling them up. That is a I'll see. I like keep my dress up. See mine. No. Yeah, I had this. There's nothing in this department. Which you had this conversation with a few friends the other day because I was recommending them to wear strapless dresses and respectfully. My friend turned around and goes, Ray. Uh-uh. Yeah. Like you are privileged. Yeah. You have boobs. They're holding them up. Well, maybe the point is to dress for what feels comfortable in your body. I would say I'm not a big sweater. So like color has that hasn't been a huge issue for me. But I know that if I wear a strapless dress the whole night, I'm like having this professional conversation. I'm pulling my dress up. I really like this direction. No, I'm Ellie. What you can do is right out. What are your strengths in the sense of

12:26like where you feel the most comfortable with what you're wearing? So if you're like me and you prefer to lean strapless or you're like, no, I'm not really a sweaty cow. I wish. Then you can you could explore color. Yeah. But I think riding out and being really honest with yourself around what things you wear that make you feel your best and the cuts and the styles to your point that are classic. But you feel most confident in because depending on who's listening right now, you can apply that to your own wardrobe and that own. You have your own almost like like go through your Instagram. Look or like your camera and look at the dresses where you've been like, oh, I feel really good in that. There's normally like a through line either shape or material. Yeah. In my opinion. It's like your go to what makes you feel good. Do you have one of those strapless? Yeah. So I'm the I'm the opposite to you. I really feel confident strapless. So much so that my wedding dress was strapless. Yeah. I love a column style dress as well. I think it's really chic and timeless. And I also feel like it doesn't date. What else do I really like? I do love a mini moment. But I will say in this instance, I don't think a mini is appropriate, particularly if it is a formal occasion. And again, if you're having to get up stage like Ellie, I don't know if you're

13:27up for an award, but it's just like not good when you're having to worry about if everyone can see everything. I feel like that's similar to if you're ever on like a panel or like on a stage and you have to sit down. There's also that rule. And it feels really dated, but I actually do think this really applies here. If you're going short, go long sleeves on the top. Have like one element where you're not feeling like you're having to pull down or be conscious of it. It's not. And again, it's just like a general award. It's not like you must do this. But I think if you're wanting to feel comfortable, that's really important. Before we get into recommendations of like where to shop for formal wear because it is tricky, I want to know what have you worn in the past to like an award tonight or like a work, let's say work Christmas party vibe. I'll give you one guess. Oh my god. Guys, she's going to say Levant. Yeah, it's Levant, sorry. So no, okay. I have found a brand that feels very aligned to me from a personal style point of view because I love their colors. I love their patterns and they love a puffy sleeve. So tick tick tick tick tick tick. I've got two outfits

14:28actually. One was the shameless media Christmas party last year. And I had a yellow patterned dress on with a tassel at the bottom. It actually wasn't mini. I've gone against everything. I was just said to be fair shameless media is a bit different. Yeah, we definitely a bit more, you know, casual. We can get bombs out. Yeah. But because I wore a mini, I knew that I would be more comfortable in the flat. So I had my tea bars on with a white sock. So it felt a little bit more me even though I was dressed up. I actually had to go on like such a hunt for this dress. I tried it on at a sample sale and then I didn't buy it at the time. And then when I was looking for an outfit for the Christmas party, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Like I really wanted to wear yellow and I only wanted to wear that yellow dress. So I just like DMed them and they were like, I was like, hello, I tried on this one yellow patterned. I didn't even have a photo. Dress at your warehouse sale a year ago. Would you have this somewhere? Yeah, like a sample or something to dig up. And they were like,

15:28oh, we have one in our warehouse in a six. No way. And I was like, perfect. Can I buy it? And I had to be like, I was meant to be. Yeah. And then I was like, perfect. But I couldn't even like buy it on the website because it was like not even in their like system anymore. No, I was gone into the archives for the shameless media Christmas. I was like, in their dancing like, hi, these aren't really weird. Yeah. Oh, okay. But when you've got it, I'm one of those people where it's like, when I've got an idea in my head, I don't want to buy anything else. Yeah, I can get a bit like that at home. Yeah. Okay. I'm trying to think back. I'm going to go back to my corporate days because you've touched on a shameless media one and I think it's only fair that I go back to when it was a little bit trickier. Somewhere I got it wrong. I loved in my early 20s, like a silky, slinky dress. Okay. I went to an awards night for an industry awards event and I wore this Camilla Mark silver slinky dress. And I have a photo on my Instagram of it. And like, don't get me wrong. It was like hot, but it was like low back, full split up the side. Oh, my like sexy, right? And I remember at the time, and do you know what? I only really look back and

16:33think what the hell rate now at the time I didn't give a shit. Yeah, either I looked good. And I think that's the art of being in your 20s and like having that lived experience of being like, yeah, this is maybe a little bit inappropriate. And yeah, maybe HR was going to email me and say, hey, you broke the like the office guide guard rail. But like, push the boundaries. Yeah, it's also like, that's the time you can do it. Yeah. And I was like, whatever I felt sexy, how do you find? If you're getting a little bit bruisey and you're getting a bit messy, then I feel like it could be a disaster where you potentially have a bit of nip slip. I did feel throughout the night. I was a little bit more like, oh, I'm very like very exposed. But I didn't, I didn't dwell on it too much. Yeah. I have one similar and it wasn't even at a corporate job. I reckon I was like similar age. I wore a with-jean dress that I'd bought for my birthday. And obviously when you're younger, you don't have that much money. So I was like, I am wearing this to every event from this point onwards. And it was this like strapless mini dress. Crazy for me, actually. That was like amazing for my birthday. And then I wore it to the Christmas party and

17:36like the whole time I was like, yeah, but it's like I couldn't pull it up from either direction. Yeah, I have to be really honest. I did dress quite inappropriately in my previous job. Like anyone who worked with me at JC DeCo to this day, like laughs at some of the shit I would rock up to work. Like, like lots of mini skirts, lots of like cropped shirts. So you know, I would wear like a shirt, a blouse, a beautiful blouse. Like what you have on right now, Nibbah. But it would be cropped. And I would never do like the high low thing of like, oh, no, it's not high low. But I'm like, I'm like, dishing out advice before where it's like, oh, wear long sleeves on the top. And like shorts. No, I will wear short, short, short. And then like the highest heels ever. The heels, heels. And I think you underestimate how much your shoes really play a factor into how you feel on the night as well. So you know, it's not even just the dress. It's also the shoes. I feel like I just go with a classic closed toe pump. Really good for support on a night out like this, particularly if you're standing on your feet a lot of the time at these formal events, whether it be an awards night or a Christmas party, you're on your feet quite a bit. So that's my go to avoid the strappy heels. Yeah. Get to uncomfortable. Also blisters,

18:40just an absolute more. Also, I think the best thing that's happened, come back in styled, is the kitten heels. Oh, yeah. At least we can be comfy now. I feel like when I was going when I was younger, the style was a still- Do you remember the brand Pipe toe? Yeah. Yeah, I mean, anyone who grew up on the Gold Coast as well will know what I'm talking about. But I would cannot believe I walked around in those heels. I found my formal heels recently. And I was like, how do you like not break your ankle? They were like 10 centimeters and like a thick flat form. And I was like, I like struggle in a little little kitten heel. I'm pointing the other day about having a walk from the train station to the office, which is literally like 300 years in my tiny kitten heel. I was like, oh, my feet hurt, but I'm not heel fit. No, I mean neither. Okay, I think that's enough on the specific awards night. And like what we would do, I do want to get into a few more recommendations, but also birds eye general wrecks for formal wear and black tie occasions. You know, it's coming into wedding season. We've got engagement parties, all of those things, but we will do that right after a word from today's sponsor.

19:46Spring has officially sprung and if you're wanting to add more color to your life and your outfits and wondering where to start, jewelry is one of the easiest ways to experiment. A gemstone pendant laid with your everyday chain or a bold signet ring can be the perfect addition to your outfit without feeling like a total wardrobe overhaul. Michael Hill's expanding collection of colorful jewelry is made for getting ready, going out and everything in between. Embrace color your way and explore the collection in store and online. Thank you so much to Michael Hill for making this episode of stylish possible. Three. Yes. I would say that you are pretty known to go to a few weddings in my head. I associate you with going to weddings. She's a wedding girl. But you know, we've just talked about work events. I want to talk a bit more broadly about event wear. Event wear in general, so like if it's not weddings, it's probably engagement parties. You've got coming up 30th. Christmas parties. Christmas parties. Those kind of things. But I want to talk about looking a little bit like yourself,

20:48feeling unique. What are some unique things? Something a bit different. Something a bit different. Yes. Okay. It's tricky, guys, because there are two things I want to say up top. The first is, generally, when you are getting dressed for a formal occasion and you are required to wear black tie or formal wear, you have to spend a little bit more money than what I think most people would expect. So we actually pulled our listeners in our recent survey on what they would on average be happy to spend. I think it was between three to five hundred dollars on like a formal dress. I think that's truthfully for me. I think that's on the lower end of what I spend on formal wear. But that is because I'm wanting to find something that is a little bit more unique. So if I'm looking at something that's like, okay, I really want a point of difference. I want to guarantee that no one else is going to be wearing this. I'm generally pushing it up towards the eight hundred two thousand dollars. And I know that's not accessible for everyone. But that is what I'm willing to pay to feel good and know that I'm going to wear something that's a little bit different. But you're saying one of your best investments. You've worn that to like five or six weddings, right? Yes. And I think that's a really good shout out. No, I'm, I thank you for that. I was like, wow, that was really, really good. Thank you.

21:54No, so I have this beautiful dress from Bernadette Twerp, which is an amazing overseas brand. I can't remember exactly where she's from. But she has a very specific style. It's kind of like this creepy textured fabric. And she explores a lot of different colors, a lot of different floral patterns. So if you're going to a wedding and engagement or a 30th and you're wanting something that's a bit more whimsical and it needs to be black tie, which guys, I'm sorry, it has to be touching the ground if it's a black tie wedding. Don't come at me. I'm imagining you at these weddings with a luxury dress measuring. You know how they used to at school? Like if you're knees or not, you're like out there. If they were woolen, I wouldn't be measuring people's dresses at weddings. No, no, I wouldn't do that to you. I would. I've never been to a black tie wedding. Okay, well when you go to a black tie wedding, your dress might touch the ground. Do you know what? That's not an issue for me. I'm five foot two. But Bernadette Twerp to bring it back is a brand that I'm very happy to invest in. I paid $1,400 for a dress. I actually wore one of their dresses to Zara's wedding. It was just gorgeous green dress with a big bow. Do you remember that? Yeah, I loved this dress.

22:55I didn't even know you were in this. I didn't know you there. But I was like, oh, good dress. Okay, and here's a little hack. If you do want something a bit different and you don't want to spend as much as I have buying it firsthand, you don't have to because you can go to D-pop. You can go to Vinted, which like has just come to Australia and thank God. But there are second-hand retailers that you can buy a lot of these dresses on. And I actually, the one I wore to Zara's wedding, I bought on D-pop. And then I repopped after. So I got a dry cleaned and then I repopped. So you made money, basically. I'm always asking for money. Yeah. I'm always hustling my mom. If I move away from a black tie, I would also say you don't have to get stuck on wearing a dress. We don't have to get stuck on wearing a dress. I love the idea of a pant and a really fun top for a wedding as well, or like a suit. You can do like a matching set if it's like more of a casual wedding, not to a black tie. No, but black tie, you technically can. Yeah. If you're a woman and you're wanting to wear a suit to a black tie, as long as, well, technically, it's both for talks. But my sister and law learned that this will form a wedding not a black tie. She looked on, yeah, like sexy in this suit. I

23:59loved it. I have this like vision at the moment. Let me talk you through it. You know, those like silk tough at a pants at the moment. They're like kind of straight legs in like a jewel tone. That we'd like a beautiful feathered or sequin top or like a shea top. I think that's sick for a wedding. Do you know what I want to do after this? And I'm giving us homework. Yeah. Let's create our like mood board. Yeah. Yeah. I love that. Because I can see what you're saying. No, I think that would work really well. Yeah. Sorry. To add to the point around you don't have to wear a dress. A column skirt and a beautiful top. Madison Sullivan thought wore a gorgeous Victoria Beckham top and a column skirt to my wedding. She was one of the best dress guests there. Yes. Scirt touched the ground still. Yeah. I measured. No, but she looked beautiful and then you can wear it more often. Yeah. And I'm actually looking at doing this for a wedding coming up. I'm actually going to gate key because there's only one size left. So I'm not going to tell you guys what the brand is. Tell us about it. But I'll tell you later and I'll show you the photo at some point and do a big reveal after I bought it. But it's a skirt top combo as well. Yeah. This wedding came up on my, it's an influencer who follow her name's Victoria. It was in Portugal and one of her guests had one of the

25:02best wedding outfits I've ever seen granted. It was dual. I understand that. I did a Victoria wear dual. Yeah. She also wore dual. She will vintage dual. I know. I'm sure off the runway dual. I was off the runway. Yeah. It's not even out yet. Oh my god. She looked amazing. I've never seen I I guess. Yeah. Her guest easy. Sorry. Her username is easy poopy. Well, I think most people will follow her on Instagram. She wore Dior. You could be able to recreate this with vintage pieces. But basically she wore this like big ruffle skirt, like a mini ruffle skirt and then this quite intricate military style jacket together with like a big heel and it looked amazing. And it's not like the traditional like I need to wear a dress. I want to bring it back to Ellie and the whole point around finding your personal style. And I think Nimes you and I really well placed to speak to this because we do play in the accessory space quite a bit. Looking at broaches, looking at ways in which you can elevate your outfit. Handbag shoes. Like you don't have to put all the emphasis on the dress. Yeah. Use other avenues that are also more affordable,

26:02a bit more eclectic cool shop Etsy. Go find like type in also the power of the surge engine on Etsy is like you don't even have to have a split. It's grand. You just type in keywords. You start spitting out shit too. And then you just filter through and filter through. But the main point I want to call out is that this takes time. Yes. And effort. And that's what will create something that's really, really lovely and something that you'll look back on. Oh my god, I love that. Yeah. I love a really simple outfit. We put an outrage. I can play. Oh, yeah. Outrageous bag. Great. Big earring. Big, big era. Believe in the power of a big earring. Do you have like a specific accessory that you have in mind when you're thinking about this? Uh, yes. I do. Honestly, I have a tendency to play with belts at the moment. Yeah. I've got this really nice like shell belt that has like a black thread through it. I don't know how to explain it. But that's a really nice way to elevate something. It's a bit more classic. Yeah. What about you? I have this one bag and you will see it in every photo. It's a triangle brown bag with embroidery all over it. And it's got a rope handle. That sounds

27:03really weird when I've explained it in that. But it's, it just is like such a cool shape. I don't see a lot of triangle bags. And I think it just adds something to every single outfit. I think the shape point is a really good call out as well. Like playing with different shapes, not just a traditional hamburger. Like that draws the eye in. Yeah. I also think lean into glam. You can have fun with glam. You could have more of a simple outfit. But I've been really obsessed with Phoebe Bridges glam on this tour at the moment. But she's just had like a really high up do bun with little bits coming out out the front. And it's been really fun because it feels different to like a slick back bun at the moment. Yeah. Hey. I wonder attack. No, I love a slick back bun. But it was fun because it felt like what the traditional thing to go with that dress would have been a slick back bun or like a really voluminous curls. But having it up was really cool. Also like having a bit of fun with like eyeshadow. Like I've been really loving people who do like the pop of blue and the sparkles at the moment. Yeah. Like a sparkly moment. Yeah. Let's go back to the dress because if it is something that you're wanting to be the statement and the hero pays and look a little different. The other option is if you don't want to spend a

28:06lot of money and you want to stick around that more affordable price point is renting guys. And I spoken about this on the pod when I went to Italy for my best friends wedding. I was like I cannot justify spending thousands and thousands of dollars on these events. Like it's just not happening. So I ended up renting a really gorgeous green Zimmum dress. I rented it from a case in Brisbane. L&D. L&D. So good. I think I paid about $400 for that item specifically. Yes, I did didn't get to keep it. But for dresses in these moments a lot of the time you're not wearing them more than once and it felt like an investment for me that I could justify. What would do like original price on a dress like that? Nima that dress retailed for three and a half grand Australian. Yeah, of course. Exactly. Like a $3,500 AUD. But it dresses used to be $400. Yes, I do. Bring that back. And did you take it over there or did they ship that? No, I took it over there. So I got it shipped to my home address and then I actually got a ship to the office and then I did a big unboxing. Yeah, yeah. Did a big reveal. And then I packed it over. But it was also one of those beautiful like lace fabrics where it didn't crease at all. So it was perfect. I literally

29:11well, sorry if you're the owner of NLN, didn't you're listening to this? I literally just crumpled it but it was fine. You couldn't even tell. Now price points, $300 to $500. My honest truth, I think that's where you run into the space of wearing things that do look like everything. And that's okay as well. If you have something that you want to wear and it's very much like that standard classic look, you can find something in that price point. Yeah. Meshki. One of my favourite dresses I've worn to a wedding has been Meshki. Meshki is doing a lot of good stuff in the formal wear space and they have a lot of categories across all different, you know, if you need short dresses, law-length dresses, if you need something, it's a bit more bridal. So if you're a bride to be in, you're listening to this. It's like they have so many good options. And again, it's the styling. Bring it back with something unique in terms of like a bag or jewelry. If you want to look a little bit different to everyone else who might have styled the dress. Yeah. The other option if you want to do something a bit different is getting stuff made. I feel my friends are doing this now. They're taking, yeah, taking photos and images that they've seen on the runway and they're taking them to

30:13dress makers. There's one in Kramon. You can literally just Google local dress makers and find someone that works and it's amazing at being able to create something that is entirely unique or mimicking a style that is on a runway, which I'm never going to be able to afford to wear. And trying to inject a bit of that creativity into something that you will wear to wear and afford. And also there's always eBay. eBay is so good for dresses. Yes, they're in sleep on eBay. And same with, I think there's a million Instagram accounts at the moment that are small sellers who are selling vintage stuff. I would say 100% they're pricing it up. I would say that there's definitely like tax there for like they've done the work to find the item. But eBay, if you have the time to search, you can find lots of good stuff on there, especially if your style is kind of that like 90s, carry Bradshaw, floral, beaded stuff. There's a lot of that stuff on there. You just need to be willing to look one and number two, go to an alterations place. Yeah, that's such a good way. Budget that in. Yeah, always the sneaky. I was saying this the other day, the hidden cost of buying items, being dry cleaning and also tailoring. Yeah. Making sure that you're building that into a

31:16budget. But I do think tailoring in particular can make something go from looking good to quite very quickly. Before we wrap up, I do want to give one other tip that I find really helpful when I'm looking for something for a specific occasion. So, formal wear. I actually go to different retailers. So, Netaportay, Myteriza, Motor Uparandi, who stock a variety of brands for different price set points. So, you could probably buy a dress from there for $500 all the way up to four and a half grand. Guess what, and I'm on. I'm sorting low to high, obviously. I strive for the day. I search quite a lot when it comes to filtering something on a website. But what I really like is particularly on Motor Uparandi is that the curation of the items that they have, they're straight off the runway, but also really, really unique. And you always get brands like Stored, SDAUD. So, brands like Stored have really cool stuff. My Levan is Antipodem. Yeah. If Nym is mentioning Levan, I'm mentioning Antipodem. But again, another really good option for formal wear, really unique patterns that check styles. Oh, they're just absolutely beautiful. Alamei, too. Yes, Alamei.

32:19They're in recent season, obsessed. Such beautiful patterns, beautiful colors. Australian designers. I know. What's finished there? It's always good to finish on an Aussie. Nym, I thank you so much. And Ellie, thank you so much for submitting your DM. That's all for this week's episode of stylish. We hope you love our new Friday format. And please, please, please remember to keep sending us DMs. Thank you so much to our team, Lucy Hunt and Zoe Tredel. Guys, we can't wait to see you next Wednesday. Bye. Shameless media. This podcast was recorded on Verundjeri land. Always was always will be Aboriginal land.