Working from home = t-shirts & leggings

This year has been one of big change. I lost my job back in July, I went to America again (which always, even when it's not planned, seems to spark deep philosophical questions about my life when I get back), and then the big one, I started two new jobs, both of which don't require me to spend every day in an office.

While that works for me in many ways (though I have no trouble keeping busy), the one thing I love one day and hate the next is that working from home doesn't exactly encourage me to get out of bed in the morning and be creative with my outfits. In many ways, I feel like I should be more creative than I was in an office because I'm not limited by any office conventions (like low tops and singlet sleeves for example), but who wants to work in their beautiful pinup gear when the only people to see your outfit most days is the dog? 

So I've gone completely in the other direction. That is, my pjs have become my uniform. To counteract being slobby and gross (and being ashamed of answering the door when the postman comes), I've been working on some dressed, but comfy work-from-home outfits and hairstyles that don't involve getting dressed to the nines. 90% of which centre around my Black Milk leggings. The way I see it is, if I make an effort to be properly dressed, I don't have to change if I need to run out to Officeworks or hide when the postman comes.

I'm going to share a couple of outfits here, and then share some others in future posts - I think there are a few work from home-related topics to be covered. Be warned, this will frequently mean seeing me out of the pinup gear, no makeup and the dreaded top-knot or bun (we'll talk about that later too). 

I did in fact go out in this outfit. To the hospital to visit my pop.
Who later told Mum that you'd see me coming in a blackout.
Achievement unlocked, I think.

Outfit 1 details

T-shirt: The Mighty Thor

Leggings: Black Milk Tartan Yellow Leggings (Now a museum piece, sorry!)

Shoes: Bam!Pow! flats from Rubi shoes | Similar

Oh hai, no make-up face

Outfit 2 details

T-shirt: Eff Your Beauty Standards shirt from Tess Holliday | Similar

Leggings (not pictured): Black Milk Matte Black leggings

My wardrobe loves: Wearing Black Milk Clothing (and still looking a bit vintage)

I’m pretty well aware that in general, Black Milk Clothing and shiny nylon is about as far from pinup and retro as you can get. In the past, when people said Black Milk, I got a picture of super gorgeous modern girls in tight, shiny clothes. They looked gorgeous, but that wasn't for me.

Or so I thought until I went on the hunt for some leggings that wouldn’t sheer out around the butt when I went to pilates. I started doing the bend test at department stores and ended in the most expensive gymwear stores, all of them producing that disappointing sheer butt. I’d heard from some of my nerdy friends that the quality of Black Milk leggings was so good that even the whitest of leggings didn’t sheer out. I’d spent a lot of time on their website after the release of their TARDIS leggings, but was wary of the cult-like fervour of the girls who loved the brand, so had stayed away. But lured by the promise of quality leggings, I took the plunge and bought a pair of their matte navy legs.

And basically, as soon as I opened the black parcel two days later, I became a fully indoctrinated Black Milk Sharkie (so named because the girls nom so hard on release days that the old site used to crash!). There’s just something about the comfort and quality of these legs that make you go from interested fence-sitter to complete devotee in a really short amount of time. I was also really happy that I actually looked and felt good in them, despite being 5kgs heavier than I am now!

I don’t like how pants, jeans, capris sit on my body, even the vintage ones, so I love my Black Milk legs as an alternative to trousers. Which means yes, I do wear leggings as pants. Depending on the piece and how you style the rest of your outfit, you can still get a pinup look wearing leggings. One of my fellow Cooly Rocks On contestants, Miss Brydie, is a gorgeous sharkie babe and I know that there are lots of other girls who love vintage glamour who also have a penchant for shiny BMC legs.

Here are a couple of ideas for how you can get a vintage look in your leggings:

My navy mattes are getting a bit old and baggy around the ankles now, so I quite often roll them to my calf and pair them with a cute top like this Collectif red gingham Dolores top, a big barrel rolled updo and a coloured hair flower. You could wear some nice pointed heels to dress this up, but leggings are usually my comfy, dress-down outfit so I usually go with my favourite soft brown oxfords.

You'll have to take my word for it, but I am wearing leggings here!

Currently getting a huge work out are my new(ish) yellow plaid leggings. I originally bought the skirt in this print because it’s a 90s Clueless inspired piece and who doesn't want to be Cher? But a few weeks later, I couldn't stop thinking about being a cute golfer-girl in the legs, so I ordered them too.

These are the easiest legs to style vintage and, even with the bright yellow colour, are super easy to match. I’ve worn purple, red, green and blue tops and cardigans with them. I made them warm and cosy with my black Doc Martens when I was in Tassie recently, and cool and casual with a short sleeved blue knit jumper and slip on shoes when I got back to Brisbane.

All that being said, sometimes I just want to wear my leggings without styling them pinup at all, and I have pieces that I haven’t quite managed to wear (like these gorgeous purple foil legs) in yet, but I’d definitely encourage anyone who likes comfy legs to check out Black Milk, no matter your style (or shape, or size).