Monday, April 29, 2024

Us Two in Navy Blue


Hello, and thanks for stopping by my blog!

Today I would like to share an outfit
 with my favorite neutral, navy blue
Of all the dark neutrals, it is the one I love the best
For me, the color has a sentimental significance,
because when I was a little girl, 
my grandmother favored dressing me in red, white and blue
Growing up, I had several dresses in this color combination,
 and in a nautical style with sailor collars,
an influence for those of us living in costal areas
To me the color blue in general, has a calm and stable feeling
Today, I still like to wear navy blue,
but go way beyond with my mixing of the color
 Navy is so versatile and goes well
 with just about any other color
 I especially like it with bright pink, Kelly green, yellow
and other shades of blue
Do you have a favorite go-to neutral?
How about one that you love to wear
 because of a sentimental attachment?

For my outfit today,
 I am wearing a Navy blue and white high contrast
intarsia stitch sweater vest in an all over print of daisies
Layering the sweater over an ivory elbow length sleeve, 
 collarless blouse
For trousers, a cranberry colored straight leg pair





Us two in Navy blue
Roger chose a Navy and grey checked
oversized knit vest today, to coordinate


For accessories, I am carrying a two tone mini bucket bag
that I have had for several years-
 and is a crazy good match for this look!



Some bold, gold classic jewelry for a preppy style outfit
An initial necklace, a rose gold and rhinestone bangle,
and 80's dome, sculptural earrings
I favor this sort of big, button earring
and am finding them everywhere 
since they have made a big comeback in fashion
 over the past few years 



Navy suede block heel loafers
with horse bit detail
seemed the perfect finish for this outfit
I will be packing these up soon until fall



Roger has been joining me occasionally for my photos
He says he would be happy to take the pictures for me,
but he likes to dress up too, and I want it to be fun for him
and not turn out to be a chore



Navy favorite color combination from the past-spring 2020
Navy and white sea shell print cardigan,
with a pop of coral


Hope everyone has a good week!









 

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Fluffy Textured Sweaters for Spring


Hello, welcome to my blog and thanks for stopping by!

Today, in keeping with the weather, I thought I would feature
two fluffy textured spring sweaters for the transition
It is still chilly here, but I am definitely ready
 to pull out my spring wardrobe,
 and start lightening up the layers and colors!
I remember this cozy, fluffy knit trend starting in fall, 2022
The knits have stuck around
 and morphed into versions for all seasons,
including sleeveless and camisole styles
for spring and summer
Have you been wearing this fun textural trend?

For my first outfit this week with fluffy texture,
 I am wearing a pale lilac cropped scoop neck sweater,
with elbow length sleeves and puffed sleeve caps-
a very youthful and sweet style!
This pastel lilac color is very on trend for spring and summer
as it has been chosen as one of
 Pantone's colors for this year
I paired the sweater with a suede wrap skirt in ivory


I don't think the soft, fuzzy texture
 is showing up very well on camera,
but here is a close up


Carrying a small drawcord bucket bag in nude


For jewelry, I chose a very special 1940's vintage necklace 
of lavender, pink and pale green glass beads
I haven't worn it in ages,
 so it is nice to get it out of the jewelry box today
It matches perfectly with the color and daintiness of my top
Also, wearing a pink fossil stone
 and nude color leather cord bracelet,
 with gold tone circular earrings 


I had trouble deciding what shoes to wear with this outfit,
and fell back on these light tan suede slides
to keep the outfit from skewing too girly
I need to add some different styles of nude and neutral shoes
 to my shopping list for spring and summer!




For my second outfit this week
I am wearing a white similarly fuzzy textured sweater
in a cardigan style with front ties
This knit has a very retro Y2K look about it, to me
I wore it on the blog back in March
for my Easter post, too
Today I styled it with a dark blue tank top underneath,
and a full skirt in linen with a dark blue, 
 black and white gigantic paisley print


The cardigan makes a light and soft extra layer of warmth,
and the ties add two bows to the outfit-
which are everything this season!
 I am a big fan of bows, so I will be on the look out for them
on garments and accessories since
there will be many options in the shops



My jewelry is bolder for this outfit, to complement the color contrast and large print of the skirt
Wearing chunky gold tone wrap bracelet, a vintage rhinestone embellished turtle necklace, and vintage clip on earrings 



Carrying a white foldover bag,
and wearing a navy and white polka dot bow hairband 


 I chose a pair of black, low wedge ballet style shoes
I had thought about deleting these from my closet
for the past few years as I have rarely chosen them,
They are a classic that never goes out of fashion so
I am glad I held on to them, as they are really very versatile, 
and are gaining even more popularity again now


Spring has officially sprung in our area
and I love all of the beautiful trees in bloom just now!
(Could do without the green coating of pollen
on every horizontal surface, thought 🤧)
 



Hope everyone enjoys their week!





 

Monday, April 15, 2024

Shirt Dresses in Disguise

Hello, and thanks for stopping by my blog!

This week, during the tricky transitional weather
 that the month of April brings, 
(currently just 50 degrees, with 20 mph winds),
I am styling two shirt dresses,
both with a bit of a twist in their design

Both dresses are shirtwaist style but not exactly to the letter,
 meaning not just men's dress shirt look-a-likes

Are you a fan of the shirtdress?
I find it very versatile,
and it works for many occasions

My first outfit is a subtle royal and navy blue
 vertical stripe in a substantial cotton fabric
 The dress buttons all the way down the front with shiny gold buttons
It has some pretty, feminine details that I like-
 puffed sleeve caps and a deep ruffled hem






My little bag has a curious story behind it
Perfect as it is for me, and a great match for the shoes I am wearing,
I returned it to T J Maxx, where I purchased it
I had examined the purse and opened it in the store,
and the only thing a noticed slightly unusual
was that the tag was not the original
It had been put back on, as if maybe it had come off
and was rather clumsily re-fastened 
No problem I thought, tag come off, these things happen
When I got the bag home and looked it over more carefully,
I unzipped the inner pocket, and to my surprise,
I found a ring of three keys and a signed jewelry receipt 
from a state half way across the country!
I returned the bag and it's contents
and hopefully T J Maxx was able to get the contents back to the owner
I would love to know what the story is behind this,
my imagination is conjuring up all kinds of possibilities! 



Anyway, for jewelry I chose gold tone 3-D flower shaped earrings
and a mixed metal three bar slider bracelet 


A bright pink sash belt and braided hair band
 to add some contrasting color
 


Wearing two tone tan block heel Maryjane slides to finish the outfit




I wore the dress in my second outfit back in the early fall
 in a post about transitioning to fall with shirtwaist dresses
It is light tan and has a utilitarian look, 
with two flapped chest pockets
This dress veers from the typical shirtwaist style
with it's swishy, full skirt 
Back in the fall, I wore a matching short sleeve top under the dress
I am restyling it today as a transitional piece into spring,
with a coral cropped cardigan layered over top




Wearing a fun beaded multi color striped hair band
and simple bright silver tone jewelry
Square stud earrings and hinged bar bracelet




Carrying an ivory satchel bag with buckle details
and I belted the outfit with a taupe braided belt 


Two tone reptile print loafers to complete the outfit


The tulips started popping up in the garden last week. Love!
I bring a few in the house everyday,
because the area deer love to munch on them
and I feel like every morning I could open the blinds
to a sea of just stems!



Hope everyone enjoys their week!





Monday, April 8, 2024

Well Suited


Hello, and thanks for stopping by my blog!

The suiting trend has been a very popular one,
 really picking up stream during the past fall and winter season
The spring arrivals are showing a lot of suiting pieces too,
in softer colors, prints and denim as well
I am glad to see this classic and timeless look
staying in the spotlight with lots of variations,
so everyone can participate if they choose!
Are you a fan of the suiting trend?

This week I have an outfit with a matching suit
I talked about the suiting trend last month 
in a post called Trail Blazer, where I styled unmatched suiting pieces
I wore a solid short jacket
 with a printed midi length skirt for one of those outfits,
and a color block look with a longer blazer
 and a short skirt for the other one

For this post, I choose a two piece matching
jacket and ankle cropped trousers
Well, this looks like a matching suit, but it was not purchased together
or even from the same brand or shop
I am amazed that the pieces could pass for a matched set!
They were bought as separates
 to go with different items in my wardrobe
At the time, I thought these two pieces would be 
too close in color to look right together,
 but to far apart to look like a suit
So this extra outfit is a nice surprise!

Wearing a mauve tab sleeve long blazer worn over an ivory
 silk sleeveless button front blouse with mauve ankle cropped trousers
The pants have a vertical stripe down the the outside of the leg
It could be interpreted as a tuxedo stripe or an leisure wear stripe-
a clever detail to dress them up or down



For jewelry I chose a cuff bracelet with oval natural fossil stones,
 silver tone disc earrings and a very special handmade beaded necklace
I purchased this three strand necklace from a pop-up shop, 
where all of the items in the shop were handmade by the owner
 The beads are different shades of Peruvian mountain opals


Carrying my 60's look curved handle bag



Wearing nude pointed toe sling backs to complete the outfit



Roger and I harmonizing in muted shades of blue, grey and mauve


His solar system necktie has mauve in the planetary print 


Here is another wearing of this jacket, last spring




We are finally getting some happy spring color in the garden-
the first Daffodils!


Hope everyone enjoys their week!



 

Monday, April 1, 2024

Lady Jackets and Cardigans


Hello, and thanks for stopping by my blog, 

and I hope everyone had a nice Easter break!

The lady jacket and lady cardigan
  reemerged to the fashion forefront this past fall and winter season
This style is continuing to trend for spring and summer as well  
I am glad to see it have staying power, as it is such a classic  
 
This week, I thought I would rummage around in my closet
and pull out one of each, a jacket and a cardigan
 from previous seasons to style for spring
This cropped, boxy silhouette never really goes out of fashion-
CoCo Chanel and Jackie O are icons forever!

Are you a fan of the lady jacket and cardigan?
I have seen a lot of women wearing them lately
There are so many variations in the shops now
While they are so popular and readily available,
you might find one that really suits you! 

The ones I am wearing in this post are from previous seasons,
 but I also purchased a bright pink lady cardigan this season,  
 That I wore in last week's post

For my first outfit I am wearing
a Kelly green, navy blue and white tweed jacket with four flap pockets
(that actually hold things)
This shade of green, and similar ones
 have come back around to be big fashion colors in the past few years,
especially this year, as Pantone named "Mint" 
one of their colors of the year
This year's "mint" looks quiet different  
 from the minty colors of past years
Pantone's swatch looks very much like Kelly green to me
I am wearing this jacket over a white ribbed mock neck top,
and paired with a navy blue button front skirt 



Carrying a Kelly green reptile embossed bag in a classic style


For jewelry, I chose a gold tone cuff with green stones all around,
my chunky chain initial necklace,
and 60's vintage double entwined circle earrings 


Navy and white polka dot scarf in my hair
 to add a little fun and whimsy


Navy suede horse bit detail, block heel loafers
seemed just right to finish this timeless look



Next is a black and white knitted soft and lofty wool sweater jacket
 It reads grey in the photo, but the yarn is knitted in a pattern that is reminiscent of tweed
It is open in the front, and piped all around in black satin
Worn over a bright royal blue faux wrap dress 




Carrying a red patent leather 1960's vintage bag
It features a unique metal handle in gold tone and red


Wearing bright, bold gold tone jewelry
 to complement the simple lines of this outfit
Wide chain necklace and the same entwined circle clip on earrings
as the first outfit



A few more accessories:
Black leather gold buckle belt 
and a red scarf in my hair


Grey faux suede, cross strap, block heels
to finish the look
I have this shoe in taupe, and have gotten a lot of use from them so,
 I recently purchased the same pair in grey thinking it would be
a nice alternative to black
I haven't worn them much yet, but we'll see! 




Outfit with a lady jacket from spring 2021



Hope everyone has a good week!