Happy Holidays!

Hello, thanks for stopping by for my last blog post of 2025!

Wishing you all the happiest holiday season!

What to wear to a holiday party?

 I am wearing a fancy red ruffly blouse

 and a black full skirt with a lace net overlay 

This skirt has been in my wardrobe

 for well over 10 years, and I love it still!

 I wear it mostly during the winter holidays,

 because it is fancy, and so easy to mix and match

 I can use it over and over again, pairing it with different pieces to create outfits for different occasions

 For a dressy skirt, it has been incredibly versatile and useful

How about you, do you have any separates

 that you depend on during the holiday season

 for their versatility?

 During times of the year when there are lots of events,

 and it would be quite an overload to purchase

 a different dress or outfit for each one,

This type of item is priceless!

 

I created some shape to this skirt and blouse combination

 by adding a black leather sash belt,

giving the blouse a peplum look

Here is a photo with Roger in his festive Christmas tie,

 with a dark red shirt and black trousers

This blouse is so very pretty and special!

I don't know how well you can see the details,

 but the fabric is a gloriously hefty but drape-y rayon,

in a beautiful, rich and saturated blue-leaning red color

 It is a tone on tone jacquard print, too

Here is also a close-up of 

Roger's adorable Snoopy from the Peanuts Gang

Christmas tie

The label on the back is notable, too-so cute!

My bag is a metal clamshell frame design,

covered in a red, black, and metallic gold oriental print fabric

I really don't have any idea of the age or provenance of this bag as I purchased it in a consignment shop,

and that was over twenty years ago

For jewelry I chose a gold tone1950s vintage collar necklace

 It is a ribbon and rhinestone design of reticulated pieces  

Also wearing a modern bow bracelet,

 and large heart post earrings

One more piece of jewelry,

 a Christmas brooch pinned to my blouse

  This little prancing 

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, 

is made entirely of prong set rhinestones

For shoes I am wearing these faithful friends

They have seen me through many special occasions

 I wear them to dress up and ordinary daytime outfit as well

They are low kitten heel, reptile print pumps

 with clear, sequins covering the entire shoe

Who would have thought they would be so versatile,

 wearable and hold up so well

 

 I thought this fit in with our outfit theme today,

because of Roger's Snoopy tie

 This little 1950s mini silver tree

 looks like it belongs in the Charlie Brown's Christmas Story!

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday!

See you next year!

 

Teal Satin Blazer for the Holidays

Hello, I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!

🎄🎄❤️🎄🎄

 This is such a busy time of year,

and I really appreciate you taking a few minutes

 to stop by my blog

The winter holidays are a great opportunity

 to dress in our most festive attire, 

and wear all of those fancy fabrics and bling-y jewelry!

 

Do you like any excuse to get dressed up?

Or do you need no excuse at all!

For a holiday get-together,

 I chose this teal green satin blazer style jacket,

 over a bold floral patterned black and white lace blouse

The blouse was a very good buy

Aside from being wearable all year round,

it slips easily from casual to dressy

It is an especially great piece to have 

during the holiday season,

as it is neutral in black and white, 

and mixes and matches with separates easily

 A bonus is that lace is trending big again,  

after only taking a few seasons off

I don't think lace ever really goes out of style,

as it is such a big part of a romantic aesthetic 

Wearing black straight leg trousers 

to finish the outfit

It doesn't really take a lot of extra effort

 (or money in the form of a new outfit),

 to create a festive look for the holidays

 I am wearing a combination of three pieces

that were already in my closet,

 but the new combination of the shiny fabric and lace

 together in one outfit dresses it up

 

It did take me a while and some adjusting

 to get the proportions right on this look

Longer jackets are a bit challenging for me, 

 and can easily overwhelm my frame

I started out with a black midi skirt on the bottom, 

but I found the trousers worked much better

 for me with this jacket

A little last minute adjustment!  

Carrying a shiny hard shell silver metal clutch bag,

with a 3-D geometric design

As with many of my bags,

this one has a long chain strap

for shoulder or cross body wear tucked inside!

I chose some special silver tone and rhinestone jewelry

to glam up this outfit

 Both of these pieces are vintage, from the 1950s

An expansion bracelet 

with three rows of rhinestones all around, 

 and a pair of clip on earrings

 with a giant glass stone in the center,

 ringed by smaller prong set rhinestones

You just can't buy this hand work today

at any price!

Also wearing a Sarah Coventry retro

stylized silver tone bird in flight brooch from the 70's/80s

on my lapel, that I forgot to include in this photo

The brooch is one of the few in my collection that I wear frequently, as it has a modern look and fits so nicely

 with many of my current outfits

Black block heel suede sling back pumps

 with a tuxedo bow decoration

to finish the look

Here is an item that is leaving my closet this season

as part of my fall and winter closet clean out

Oops, I changed my mind

The blouse is a wardrobe basic,

 and I have worn it in the past, though infrequently

It is a very dark red shade, which I love, 

 but I have been purging some of my

 black and darkest color tops 

over the past few years in favor of

  lighter and brighter colors near my face

The deep, dark colored tops and sweaters that I haven't successfully layered with lighter colors 

 are mostly going to a new home

But not so fast, not this one, this time

The blouse is a gorgeous crepe,

and I have talked myself into keeping it another season!

With many dark shades of red trending this fall and winter,

I am re-thinking this one,

and am going to give it another chance, 

 back in the closet it goes!

 This happens, from time to time with me,

an item is snatched back from the 

consignment pile

Letting go of clothing is very hard for me-

 an item can only be discarded once

and it's gone forever!

Anyway, home holiday cuteness!

I have carried this faux pine needle deer decoration

 from house to house for many years,

and it is not the worse for wear

I remember purchasing it from a consignment shop

 in Falls Church,Virginia, where I lived at the time

I fell in love with it

 I thought it was adorable, and it would match so well

 with the type of needles on my little faux Christmas tree

There is just something whimsical and adorably tacky

 I love about it!

Hope you are all enjoying a wonderful holiday season-

I will be back next week with my last post of 2025!

🎄🎄🤶🎄🎅🏻🎄🎄

 

Red Sweater/Jacket Hybrid

 

Hello and thanks for stopping by my blog, today

 I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season,

 it passes in such a whirl!

 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Today I chose an slightly unusual piece to style,

It is a bit of a hybrid

 It is a cardigan in the style of a fitter blazer-

a sweater and jacket in one

There are a lot of styles of knit jackets and toppers

that I see more frequently,

 but I do not see this blazer style often in the shops

I ordered this one online,

 because it seems like a really nice layering option

 The cardigan/blazer 

 looks a little more casual than a blazer,

 and since it is knitted, it is very comfortable to wear

 I don't really see these go in and out of style,

  they are sort of few and far between to find some reason,

I don't remember any season when they were "trending"

the way crew neck cardigans are now, for instance,

but I always keep an eye out for this style

Would you wear one of these?

Do you have one in your closet?

The one I am wearing is bright cherry red,

 which is perfect for the holiday season!

 It has 3/4 cuffed sleeves and is a classic hip length

 When it came in the mail,

 I was surprised by the weight of it,

it is quite a thick cotton knit, heavy and warm, too

Today I am wearing it with a white short sleeve,

 ribbed knit top underneath,

 and a black pleated skirt 

This skirt has been in my wardrobe for years-

 it is such a great basic that I reach for time and again

With a preppy look back this season,

I notice large box pleats in knee length

gaining popularity along side the thin, knife pleated

midi skirts that have been so popular for several years

I chose this cute, unusual bag 

with an asymmetrical flap and geometric shaped

blocks of color

It is a fun one to carry,

 especially to enliven a color block outfit

Wearing a strawberry print silk scarf

 around my neck, bandito style 

 There are quite a few accessories with this outfit

 The simpler the outfit, 

the more of a blank canvas to pile on the accessories!

 I chose a black and white polkadot hairband,

 and a wide red leather belt

 For jewelry, a gold tone cuff bracelet,

 and vintage dome clip earrings

I am happy to see this type

 of chunky post or clip on earrings, come back in style recently,

 because they are part of my usual style

There is more of a variety available to purchase

than usual, this season

It seems t like one of a pair of favorite earrings

 is always most likely to go rouge!

Gold tone jewelry is really trending this year,

as well as mixing your metals, and pieces

with both gold and silver tone combined

together in the design

Solid silver tone seems to definitely

 be taking a back seat, for now

I'm ok with that, but I like to go with whichever

 suits the outfit best,

regardless of the current trend

Double strap black block heel Mary Jane's

to finish the look 

More of a ramble and a topic mash up today!

An item leaving my closet this fall and winter season,

 is this heavy cotton woven striped pleated skirt

 I have had it for a long time and have worn it quite a bit

Strange that I am culling it,

just as these large box pleats are cycling back in style 

  I have an odd reason for deciding to donate this skirt

It is just a feeling

 Lately, every time I see it in my closet,

or get it out to wear,

 I am reminded of a boss I had many years ago,

 who was rather mean-spirited

 (She was said to be working her way down

 the corporate ladder with her management style!)

 I guess I just connected the skirt

 to these unpleasant memories,

because it is just the type of thing she wore

and she had a very similar one

 I don't enjoy wearing it anymore, 

so off it goes to someone

 who does not have any memories connected to it

Wearing the skirt in December, 2022

I liked it well enough, and then suddenly, I didn't

Has that even happened to you?

I'll be back next week with more holiday color

Sharing a little Christmas decor-

this photo is of neighborhood mailbox decorations,

and this one, some yummy special bakery treats!

Have a great week!

A Little Bit Western for My Birthday

Hello and thanks for stopping by my blog today

Celebrating another trip around the Sun this week,

 as my birthday was December 1st 🥳

I thought I would go into my next year with 

a bit of a fashion stretch,

wearing a look that I rarely dabble into,

 which is western wear

 Western wear is a big returning trend

 this fall and winter season,

 especially denim skirts, denim dresses, western boots,

and or course fringe!

So why not give it a try

Are you already a fan of western wear?

If not, are you likely to give it a try this season

 since it is so popular, presently?

The pieces I am wearing today 

were already in my wardrobe,

 I just mixed them together to give the look

a bit of a western flair

 Although I don't have much western wear in my wardrobe,

  I do have a few pieces

 that can lean an outfit in that direction,

and this is what I came up with

A dark wash denim jumper dress

 with a wide full skirt and slightly high low hem

 This dress has lots of gold thread topstitching 

common in a lot of denim,

 and copper buttons down the front

 For this wear, I am layering a long sleeve white blouse

 with embroidered red hearts under the dress

 Adding in one of my favorite motifs 

to make it me ❤️

Most of us have some pieces

to put together a western look, 

because who doesn't have a denim skirt, denim jeans

 or maybe a plaid shirt in their closet?

Here's a picture of Roger and I 

matching in our (semi-western) wear

 Roger's shirt is actually a retro piece

 in red and tan paisley from the Gap from the '90s, 

and he is wearing it with Levi's and brogues

 (Roger is not too fond of boots)

Carrying one of my favorite bags,

 a quilted heart in bright cherry red

A few more accessories in my favorite color-

 a wired crinkle fabric hair band from the '80s,

 an expansion bracelet from the '50s,

 and enamel dot earrings from the aughts-

 what a mix!

Natural leather short boots with a curved top,

 brass studs, and a stacked heel

 to further westernize this outfit

Here is a Dooney & Bourke bag for my consignment shop

I have had this one for years

When I bought it,

 I thought I could match some shoes with the leather accent

 trim on the bag

The color of the bag proper,

 is a very strange neutral taupe-ish grey

  I haven't worn the bag much over the years,

 It has been frequently passed over,

and it didn't seem to add anything special to

any of my outfits

The following photo is from winter, 2019

  Wearing all the brown tones in this outfit!

I am currently contemplating consigning

 the suede skirt as well

 It is real suede and lined,

 and very stiff and heavy to wear

But, with the current popularity of suede,

I think someone else is going to absolutely love it!

The skirt is a really nice piece of nostalgia too,

 from the 90s from the Gap like roger's shirt

 I must have been trying to wrangle up

all the things I could find that were brown toned

 to go with the skirt,

 because there is very little brown in my closet,

and it is an unusual color for me to wear

This outfit would be just right for this fall season though,

because it is incorporating two current trends at once-

 the brown tones and suede

Hope you all have a great week!