What's on Trend for Fall-The Classics!

Hello, and welcome to my blog!

Today I am wearing classic separates,

and like last week's outfit,

they could really be styled for any season

These pieces are perfect for the bridge season weather

Shades of blue and brown

 have been trending all summer long,

and will continue to be big influences through

 the fall and winter

  It will be interesting to see

what women will actually be wearing this fall 

If you like to follow trends,

there are many "new" trends

 that you will likely be able to shop your closet for,

 if you desire, as there is a lot of recycling

of classic influences

My entire outfit was shopped from my closet

 For this simple transition look,

 I decided to combine the two trending colors

What do you think about this combination?

Would you wear brown and blue together? 

Short sleeve cropped crewneck

sweaters in all weights and weaves

have made a comeback over the past few seasons,

and their popularity seems to have exploded this fall!

I see them everywhere, online and in the shops

These sweaters are very easy to wear and style,  

  in both pullover and cardigan styles

 I bought this light weight, flat weave one last year

I like the color, and it's versatility for layering,

although I am wearing it on it's own, today

I usually wear the button front skirt

 pictured here in the early fall,

as it has a foot in both seasons-

linen for summer and dark chocolate brown for fall!

A nod to the coming of autumn

with darker toned accessories

 This fun, hand crafted cigar box purse is decorated

 with a brown and beige embossed snake print

For jewelry, I stuck with the classics

to complement the outfit

Gold tone hefty half-hoop post earrings,

and a simple twist bangle bracelet

For a little fun and personality, I added a vintage carved

 and painted wooden lamb brooch from the 1940's-so cute!

An accessory that was very popular

 during the sweater girl era

 of the late 40s and early 50s,

is a form fitting sweater knit and a scarf

Scarves are classics and forever,

but have become especially popular again

for the past several years, too

This season I have been seeing them

 on the runways as waist-cinching sashes,

 as well as being shown often

in outfits as neck scarves

 This adorable vintage scarf from the 1940's

 is one of my favorites in a blue and brown plaid

 with playful puppies!

There are lots of gloriously printed new scarves

to purchase or find second hand

and a scarf can really add a special spark

 to an otherwise ordinary outfit!

 Wearing my brown and tan reptile embossed,

 Mary Jane sling backs as they fit the theme

or this outfit nicely 

Here is a previous wear of the brown skirt,

way before the color exploded 

on to the trend scene

 this blog photo is from the fall of 2021!

This Thursday, is Patriot Day,

commemorating the terrorist attack

on the US on September 11th, 2001

Please take a moment to remember

the victims killed and the brave responders

who lost there lives during this tragedy

Many heartfelt blessings to the survivors

and there families   

Hope everyone is enjoying nice weather

 and has a good week

Asymmetry and Texture

Hello, and welcome to my blog

I hope everyone had a happy Labor Day Holiday Celebration! 

Summer is winding to a close, but as usual,

 I am not quite ready to start dressing for full-on fall

 

 September is one of my favorite months,

  weather wise, where I currently live, in coastal Maryland 

There is only the slightest hint of the coming fall in the air,

and the weather is just perfect!

The heat and humidity of August is behind us,

and I am looking forward to the glorious,

 temperate weather that follows

There are plenty of hints that autumn

 is on the horizon in retail-land, though

I noticed the Halloween decor is out in full force, already!

 

How about you?

 Are you ready to make the shift to autumn?

Today, I am styling an outfit that spans the seasons

 With a layer here, and a tweak there,

 it could be worn almost any time of year

I chose a white pucker textured tee shirt top,

 with a long denim skirt

The skirt has an unusual asymmetrical waistband

 and a side-front slit at the hem, for ease of movement

Denim always makes a return in the fall,

but this year it is trending big, especially denim skirts,

along with western wear, in general

I imagine you already have a few pieces of denim in your closet

to participate in this trend without buying a thing,

if you desire!

Carrying one of my larger satchel bags,

 this one is red, (no surprise, here)

with big silver tone buckle hardware

 on the handles

Wearing a silk square scarf in a riot of bright colors,

  in an abstract floral pattern around my neck

I went with silver tone jewelry

 since the hardware on the bag is so large and noticeable

Wearing a hammered cuff bracelet,

 back to front post earrings with quartz stones,

 and a cute 1960s vintage cat pendant

 (which is actually pewter)

For shoes, I chose faux suede cognac woven slides

Here is a denim skirt that I purged 

from my closet last year, and wonder why

It is a knee length, straight dark wash denim- 

 a classic that never goes out of style

What was I thinking?

This outfit is from autumn 2022,

and knee length pencil skirts are trending again this fall

On another topic,

the series I had been doing throughout the summer,

 highlighting items leaving my closet,

 was very enlightening for me

 It really made me think about 

items that have been in my closet for a very long time,

 and only worn on the rare occasion

It has also helped me see that some of those

infrequently used items are definitely worth keeping!

  Hunting down pictures of me wearing those

 purged items was eye-opening

It was easy to see that it was time to let go 

of some of the items,

 but not so clear on others

I plucked plenty of things out of the to-go pile

 to give them another chance,

and get creative styling them differently

 I decided to continue this series

You will see it again later in the autumn,

featuring fall and winter items

so watch this scape if you are interested

 leaving my closet for consignment,

so watch this scape if you are interested

 The process and the visual

 has been really helpful for me

and has sparked a lot of ideas!

For today, I am picturing the earrings 

 I am going to part with this season

 I have loved and worn every single pair

 of these many times

 The only reason I am purging them

 is that I have had such a lot of trouble

 getting fish hook style wires through my earlobes, lately

  I even had the problem ear re-pierced

 but still no luck!

I think fish hook earrings and I 

 are going to have to part ways,

and I am going to have to embrace post styles and clip-ons 

 Anyway, I hope someone enjoys these who has more cooperative lobes than I do!

Hope everyone has a good week!

Labor Day Outfit Ideas

Hello, and welcome to my blog-

thanks for stopping by!

Happy upcoming Labor Day to you all,

and I hope everyone is having a great summer!

 Next Monday marks the unofficial end 

of the summer season with the long weekend holiday

It seems like just yesterday I was writing

the blog post marking the unofficial first

day of summer

  As usual, I can't believe the summer has flown by so quickly,

  and I am far from ready to start taking on autumn!

 In the "olden days" Labor Day indicated that

  all of us should pack up our white clothes and shoes

 en mass until Memorial Day next year

Oh please, no!

 I am so glad those old rules have gone by the wayside, 

 and no longer apply

  I am happy to be able to confidently wear white

  through the fall and winter months,

without committing a heinous fashion faux pas!

 

Today, I am styling a favorite  

 fresh color combination-sky blue and white

Wearing a short sleeve, white denim jacket

 over a sky blue textured tee shirt,

 with my favorite white high waisted,

 ankle crop denim jeans

Are you a fan of white for fall and winter?

Although I might be packing away

some of my lightweight whites,

the color will stay!

White and ivory are great for brightening up

 the darker, more somber palette of winter

Wicker is a favorite for summertime,

 and I have gotten a lot of use out of this

 round, seashell decorated bag

 It just screams summer, the beach and fun

I chose some silvery accessories to pair with this outfit

 A pair of sterling silver, handcrafted bird shaped earrings,

 a distressed, silver tone cuff bracelet,

 and a thin, silver metallic reptile embossed belt

Get out the belts you may have been storing-

every sort of belt is trending big this fall!  

I love the distressed metallic finish of these sandals,

 but the heel is too high for most of the outfits

  I would want to wear them with

I think they may be destined for

 another more appreciative owner

 

A previous Labor Day Holiday weekend outfit,

when I was also wearing denim, August 2023

These are market bought,

but sun flowers are popping up their beautiful, big heads

all around the neighborhood at this time of year

They are a favorite late summer bloomer!

I hope everyone enjoys their week 

and the upcoming long holiday weekend! 

Late Summer Outfit with Neglected Pieces

Hello, and thanks for stopping by my blog!

Continuing the theme from last week's post,

 I am looking in my closet,

 and pondering what I would like to wear

 before the summer ends and the weather changes

How about you,

 are you thinking along these same lines?

This white denim skirt and bow sandals

stood out to me as having mostly been left out this summer

So, I decided to build an outfit around them

To make the outfit with the left out skirt and sandals,

I chose a black and white three-quarter sleeve blouse

with a scoop neck, in a bold grid pattern

The skirt is a button front style in white denim,

 and knee length

The sandals have three straps in multi neutral colors

with tuxedo bow detail and block heels 

I was able to give the stragglers one more wear,

before packing them away for next spring and summer!

Accessorizing the outfit with this leather shoulder bag-

 for a bright pop of turquoise color

For summer jewelry, I chose a few simple pieces

 A turquoise stone expansion bracelet,

 and chunky textured hoop earrings

A few more accessories

 to make this one really matchy matchy! 

A black leather belt and a turquoise,

 black and white geometric print scarf around my neck

As adorable as these sandals are,

 I thought I was going to wear them a lot more

They turned out to be a little bit difficult to style

I think it is because of their very bold design

 

Here is a previous neutral black and white outfit

from summer 2022,

also accessorized with pops of turquoise color!

Last week I finished up my series

 documenting the items that left my closet

 in an unusual big spring and summer purge!

Though I am done editing

 my spring and summer wardrobe for now,

  I think I might continue this series,

 and go through all of the seasons 

I have an upcoming fall and winter consignment appointment,

and think I might review those things

 and include them in some upcoming fall posts,

  later in September

Documenting my wardrobe clear out

  has proven to be so valuable!

There was a lot of hedging, 

and numerous items came out of the consignment bag,

and went back into my closet-

I have to be sure before saying goodby forever!

I rarely look back on my photos from previous seasons,

 unless I am looking for something specific

 This exercise has been a good reason

 for me to revisit some past looks

 and take inspiration from my own former outfits

Also, to notice the evolution of my style

and relive some comical choices and trends!

Keep an eye on this space 

 if you are interested in continuing to share

  this journey with me

End of summer flowers

Yellow mums in a humorous googly eyed holder!

Hope you all enjoy your week!

 

Ruffles and Flowers for Summer

Hello, and thank you for joining me on my blog today!

The summer is starting to wind down,

 and as usual, I am scanning my wardrobe

 for items that have not been shown much love this season

I'll bet many of you are doing the same thing-

looking at the pieces that have not been worn much,

and maybe evaluating why

 This bright and colorful, floral fit and flare dress

by Betsey Johnson, is one of those pieces for me

It has not been worn all summer,

 so I think at least, it's time for it to come out

of the closet for a remix!

It is a classic style, not trendy,

so it never goes out of fashion-

 is it's a keeper even though this is

 it's first wear this season

I don't adhere to the thought

 that if an item hasn't been worn for a year,

 it's not going to be chosen, and it's time to let it go

Maybe the perfect time to wear it 

has just not presented itself so far this season

How about you, 

what do you think about the one year rule?

This is definitely a spring and summer dress,

in the past I have generally worn it 

    with a light layer underneath or over top,

 because it has quite a low V neckline

Today I am wearing it

 with a soft white cotton batiste blouse underneath

to fill in the V

 The blouse is so sweet with a ruffled neckline

 and gathered elbow length sleeves

with crochet edges

  I think this blouse steers the outfit towards a romantic look

Wicker and raffia are warm weather go-tos,

and this little bag is a summer favorite of mine

It has been in my wardrobe for several years 

 and I continue to love it!

 The wicker combined with the seashell motif 

give it such a fun summertime vibe

For jewelry with this outfit,

I chose some old favorites

 A gold tone bow design bracelet that fits with the

 romantic ruffle and flower theme so well

 Also wearing a gold tone collar necklace

 and double faux pearl earrings

I am not so sure how much I love these sandals, though

 They are new this season and were an inexpensive purchase (from Target, for $40)

I really wanted to try some raffia sandals this summer,

so I thought these would be an affordable way 

to see how I liked them

  I think these are just adorable with the rosettes

After wearing them though, 

they are not as comfortable or stable

as I originally thought

We'll see if I am still longing for raffia next summer-

I will start hunting for a better quality pair

earlier in the season

Here is one of the previous wears of the floral dress,

 in the summer of 2022

Just a little different look,

pulling out the light blue in the print

for the blouse and belt

Notice I'm carrying the same wicker bag

as the current outfit!

Below is the last item from my big summer

closest clear out

It is very unusual for me to cull a dress,

 but here is one that is leaving

  I have loved it over the years, 

 it has been great for the summer months

 for the base of an easy one-and-done outfit 

 I like the wavy blue and white print, and nice detail

 of the draped faux wrap waist

 It has been washed and worn many times though,

 and is getting quite droopy as the elastic fibers

 in the cotton jersey blend are losing their stretch

 I love a wrap style dress, 

and there are quite a few in my wardrobe,

 but I will miss this one

 I donated it to charity, and am hoping

someone will be able to use it

 I think it would make a good slip-on beach cover up,

 with the wavy water like pattern

 

Hope everyone enjoys their week!