Hi all

“Dark Passage” is my third theme for 2019. As the title suggests, it’s about taking a trip to the dark side. But this theme is about the journey, not the destination.

The title is a nod to Lauren Bacall, one of my style icons. Gorgeous, fierce and a dog lover. “Dark Passage” is one of the movies that she made with Humphrey Bogart in the 1940s during the height of the film noir period.

To me, the women of 1940s film noir epitomised tough gal glamour. Their style was a balance of hard and soft elements. The hard - a dark, masculine style suit (houndstooth or pinstripes); sharp shoulder pads; a pencil skirt; a mannish fedora hat worn at a rakish angle; chain smoking (!); lots of attitude. The soft - a voluminous, silky blouse, a nipped in waist; exposed skin (hemlines were getting shorter); long soft wavy hair; a husky voice.

I’m not aiming to recreate 1940s style. But I am aiming for that sort of mixture of hard and soft elements. That’s why the “dark romance” theme appealed to me last year. Pics 4-6 are examples of the vibe that I am after. I will put my more specific list of ideas in replies.

This theme does feel a long way from my Byzantine Jewel theme, which is much more shiny and light, but I like it just as much. As long as I don’t go too “dark”, it feels authentic to me.

This is my final theme for 2019 (I hope!). So far, this theme thing is working pretty well for me. Thanks everyone for the encouragement and support.

Outfit 1 (pics 7-8): New dark floral skirt from Veronika Maine. I planned to wear it with black but the SA suggested that I pull out the brown elements instead by teaming it with a brown metallic top from their collection. It’s a better colour on me. The metallic thread (not very visible in the pic) gives it a nice shine and makes it fit with my other themes. To me the brown and rose gold elements of this outfit warm it up and soften the hard edges.

Outfit 2 (pic 9): a casual daytime outfit for a trip to the city. Tan accessories to lighten the palette.

Outfit 3 (pic 10): black tee, black military jacket and jeans. Using tan, gold and a suede bag to lighten and soften the dark palette. Not a very exciting outfit but it was the first truly cool day in a long time and...Boots! Jacket! It was exciting for me

Outfit 4 (pic 11): my Byzantine Jewel theme is creeping in here with lots of teal and gold. As the weather here gets cooler, I suspect I will be doing more BJ x DP. I wore this out to dinner on my wedding anniversary. Although it wasn’t a cold night, it was raining heavily and we were walking to the venue so I decided to pull out my tall boots for their first wear this year. The necklace (an anniversary gift) is handmade from an Etsy seller. It features an antique button (circa 1880) made from abalone shell. Beautiful colours.

Bonus pic 12: Lauren liked a bit of teal too