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!

 

 

Wearing the Rainbow in Seventies Vintage

Hello, and welcome to my blog-

thanks for stopping by!

 

Today I am traveling back in time to the 1970's, 

 with a fun rainbow striped top

Oh, the places this top must have been!

I am always curious about my vintage items, 

and would love to know more about 

their previous lives

I am a fan of a wrap style garment,

in a cropped top like this, a blouse, or a dress-

it is flattering on so many body types

Are you a fan of wrap style pieces?

 

 I layered the rainbow striped sleeveless top 

 over a chambray blue flutter sleeve blouse,

  with a mid wash button front denim skirt

 This skirt is a wardrobe staple for me

  I have worn it several times on the blog, 

 during the spring, and fall,

 since the medium-light wash goes so well 

wiverything I love!

The right fit for me, the right length,

even the right pockets

I wish I could clone it in all the denim washes,

and black and white, too-

it's a classic and a keeper!

I love the label on the top-

some of the old labels have so much character

Another vintage piece in this outfit

is my 1960s yellow rectangular handle bag

The clean line mod style is so versatile

With the retro wrap top and the brass buttons on the skirt, 

 I chose brass tone for my jewelry

 Wearing a current wide cuff bracelet,

  arrow design necklace,

  and yellow 3-D flower petal enamel earrings

 with orange and rhinestone centers

For shoes, a pair of nude T-straps that have a bit of a

 retro 70s Huarache sandal vibe

I think this is the first time

 I wore the denim skirt on the blog,

 back in spring, 2017

(Mother Nature-please give me back my 2017 hair-

  menopause is currently reeking havoc with it!)

On another topic, here is one of the last items

 leaving my closet in my big spring and summer clear out

 I love the mixed textures of this top

 It has a sheer black lace bodice,

 with a pastel aqua chiffon front

 The back and short sleeves are gray jersey

It is such a contradiction,

  with a lingerie style camisole look in the front,

 and a tee shirt in the back! 

I have worn this top a lot, almost always with black jeans, 

black trousers or a black skirt,

 because the black is so dominant in the piece

 It has resided in my closet for a long time,

 and the only reason it is leaving is because the jersey

 in the back has stretched out a bit, 

and it is too big for me now, as a result 

I hope someone a size up, enjoys it as much as I have!

This photo of me in the top is from summer, 2016

It was before I had a blog, 

when I posted OOTD shots on a Flickr site

Anyone remember these early fashion sites?

They were a lot of fun!

The participants in the group could scroll through

new photo inspiration daily,

and since it was small at first,

 it was very friendly, 

and a lot of people added uplifting comments

The group grew very large, as the idea took hold,

and soon, blogs became popular

and replaced many of these Flickr sites

A photo of some cheerful summer flowers

 to leave you with until next week:

Daisies are the flower that comes to mind 

when I think of the late 60's early 70's-

the era of the vintage pieces in this post

 

Hope you have a great week!