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!

 

Watermelon Dress

Hello, welcome to my blog, 

and thanks so much for joining me!

Today, I decided to dress

 in the color watermelon-a little tribute to summer!

Every summer I look forward 

to the fresh local, seasonal fruit

available at the farmers' market

July is the best time ever for delicious

 ripe watermelon 🍉

 I love it, but recently I have discovered

 an allergy to one of it's ingredients-bummer!

At least I can still enjoy the rest

 🍑🍒🫐🍓

What is your favorite summer fruit or veggie?

The dress in my outfit today

is a classic and straightforward style,

a sleeveless fit and flare 

 with a V neckline and sash tie belt

The special part about it is the color-

It is a bright, practically neon watermelon hue!

Today I am wearing the dress

under a cropped, white lace topper

Carrying a special aqua color velvet bucket bag,

 with a fold over top that looks a bit like

 a picnic or lunch box

I love this vintage bag from the 1950's 

Although it doesn't get a lot of wear,

 I like to admire how sweet and fun it is

I would love to have a glimpse of it's life

 before it wound up in my closet!

 I chose some light and cool silver tone jewelry

to complement this look

A twisted pavé decorated necklace,

 and open cuff bracelet

I wear this bracelet a lot during the summer, especially

 I'm not sure what it is about it that I love so much!

It is shimmery and a substantial size,

but a very light and open design

 For earrings, turquoise colored posts

 with irregular shaped stones

to mimic the color of my bag

For shoes to finish this outfit,

 a pair of nude sling backs

 with metal decoration

Roger is joining me today

with a coordinating outfit

I realized when I loaded this picture

 his paisley tie was not visible at all...

so here is another

 

Although not a match,

 (surprisingly, no watermelon colored tie in his collection),

 a very nice blend

with orange, red, blue and white

There are not many items of clothing 

in my closet in the color watermelon,

but quite a bit of the similar color coral

Here is an outfit with a coral color jacket  

from summer 2020 that I still wear and enjoy

And here is the white lace cropped topper

worn over a different dress,

 an aqua butterfly print, from summer, 2023

I'll be back next week with another summer outfit

 and an item leaving my closet,

from my long overdue purge!

Hope you all have a great week,

appreciating all of your favorite summer pastimes!

☀️ 🏖️ 🛶 🌊 ⛵️☀️

 

Pastel Geometric Print

 Hello, welcome and thanks for stopping by my blog!

I chose this outfit for today's post,

 because it seems like such a good example

 of how a dress in a basic silhouette

 can really be ramped up when done in a print!

Plus, a one and done dress

is perfect for the hot summer season

This dress has a simple shape,

with a mock neckline, puffed elbow length sleeves

and a cool side slit on the skirt

The wild and wacky multi-colored

  geometric print makes it special

I was attracted to the fun color palette, 

 with turquoise and aqua, purple and violet, 

along shades of orange and pink-

sort of an extended orange and blue

 complementary color mix!

  This design is a little "extra"

even for me, the lover of geometric prints!

Are you a fan prints, in general?

How about geometrics? 

 Imagining this dress in a solid color,

 It would be a perfect backdrop

 for making special accessories pop

The dress was a bit of a challenge to style,

 since the pattern is so busy,

 so I chose a neutral light tan bag

 Interestingly, the half moon shape and box quilting

 echo the curves and rectangles of the dress

I chose a few simple accessories

 in a color that blends with the dress' palette

A wide cuff bracelet with a turquoise color stone,

   and stud earrings with irregular shaped

blue-green stones

Also wearing a top knot taupe headband

I used my jewelry

 and this turquoise scarf as a waist tie

 to pull out one unifying color

Wearing natural tan woven sandals 

with two straps, one clear plastic,

 and block heels to finish the look

Raffia has been especially big this spring and summer

 It seems a natural fit with all of the shades of brown

and neutrals tones that are currently trending,

plus it goes with brights and pastels-

everything summery, really!

   

Here is a previous outfit from May 2023,

that also has an unusual pastel color and pattern mix

It is a vintage 1950's gathered skirt in a pink, aqua, and

 citrus yellow print, with a black and white

graphic background-

love an interesting color combo!

In my continuing series of what has been purged

  in my big spring and summer clean out,

here's something leaving my closet

 This white blouse has such pretty details,

with dainty rows of pin tucks down the front

  I have not worn it often, mostly on hot summer days

I looked back to see if I could find

 a picture of me wearing this blouse in a blog post

 but I could not locate a one,

so clearly, not a favorite 

I love the sweet details,

 but it is not a very good silhouette for me

 Anything that has dolman sleeves looks droopy on me,

  because I have narrow shoulders and a small bust

The blouse is very cool and comfortable

 in the hot summer months, though

 due to the lovely lightweight rayon fabric

  I hope someone whose body shape it flatters

  picks it up from the consignment shop

 and starts enjoying it this summer!

Pink and purple Petunias

 are a favorite summer flower

they just keep blossoming and getting better

as the summer goes on

🩷💜🩷💜🩷💜🩷💜🩷💜

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!