Toile Print Midi Skirt

Hello, and thanks for stopping by my blog!

 Blue and white is a fresh, 

 but also classic combination for spring and summer

All of the shades of blue are extra popular this season,

and I have been wearing the blues in my closet a lot lately

I see this favorite color of mine everywhere,

 on the street and online

 

Today, I thought I would give a new combination a try,

by mixing some items already in my closet,

in a different way than I have worn them before 

  

  This skirt is a blue and white French toile-ish print midi

The French were the first to use

 this charming print centuries ago

The one I am wearing is a tropical floral,

 but some of the prints are the sweetest repeating vignettes

 of people going about their daily business

 in the 1700's and 1800's 

Red on white and black on white prints similar to mine

have been popular for the past few years

I chose a soft, mid tone blue cashmere v-neck pullover, 

  with a white tee shirt underneath to complement the skirt

This cashmere piece is so whisper light,

I remember when I purchased it,

it was labeled as a cashmere tee

Back when I ordered the skirt,

 what I thought was a button front style,

 turned out to be a faux button front

 The only button that is actually functional, and not decorative,

 is the top one, so you can get the skirt on and off

These are the details in fine print,

 that I frequently overlook when purchasing online!

Have you ever been surprised

 by the difference in what you expected,

 and what turns up at your door when buying online?

I am, quite frequently!

Roger is joining me today in a very blue outfit 

A pale blue Hawaiian shirt,

 with a floral print of a darker shade of blue and soft green

It is paired with light blue trousers

He is truly looking ready for summer!

For a bag today, I am carrying

 a pink canvas tote with leather trim

I have had this tote for a long time, and like it especially because it is a good size for me,

plus, you know, pink!

 Many totes are very oversize and overwhelm me

 This one is just the right size for me,

 if I need to carry extras that won't fit in 

one of my regular bags

Accessorizing with a blue and white

 seashell print scarf around my neck,

 For jewelry, I chose a chunky silver tone cuff bracelet,

and rope twist design open circle drop earrings 

Some razzle dazzle sandals!

 These white two strap slides are so special,

decorated with five little square rhinestones

on each ankle strap, and a cylindrical silver heel

That's it for today,

Hope everyone has a good week!

 

Blush Pink Coordinates

Hello and thanks for stopping by my blog!

Today, for the beginning of May, I chose this sweet,

 pale pink coordinated skirt and blouse set to wear

 I have had this set for five years, 

and have worn the two pieces separately,

 together and layered, as well

That's the beauty of coordinated separates!

 I like the stylized wallpaper floral print, 

and of course, the deep asymmetrical ruffled hem

The blouse is sleeveless and has a high

ruffled neckline

 These pieces are such a pleasure to wear,

 and I almost always get compliments on them,

 which is definitely a mood booster,

 so I would say this set was a very good purchase!

 Today I am wearing the coordinates together,

 layered under an ivory crocheted cropped cardigan,

 as it is still a bit chilly here, 

 even though the calendar has rolled over to May

Are you a fan of coordinated pieces?

I am when I can find both pieces to fit!

I always love a good ruffle!

For a bag with this outfit,

 I chose my ivory reptile embossed purse,

 with a curved handle. I love the mod look of it

 It is by Adrienne Vittadini,

 and I have had it for a long time-

 since the aughts! I still love it and choose it frequently

Here is the simple, delicate golden jewelry,

I picked out to complement this outfit

 A bow detail bracelet and flower shaped earrings 

  The earrings are by chance,

 similar in size and shape to the stylized flowers

in the print of my outfit 

Metallic gold double strap sandals

 with  hoof shaped heels to finish the outfit 

Here are the coordinate pieces

 mixed and matched from the past,

in previous wears on the blog

Pink and blue

Pink and white

Hope everyone has a great week!

 

Ivory Pleated Midi for April

Hello, welcome, and thanks so much for stopping by!

Today, I am riffing on a post I did two weeks ago,

(Black and White with a Splash of Red), for styling inspiration

Like the previous post, today's post features a tunic

  I don't wear tunics very often,

 and am debating consigning this one

There's nothing wrong with it,

 except it is an awkward length for me,

 and a lot of fabric if I wanted to tuck it in

Are you a tunic loving girl?

 They look great on some body types,

 especially with slim pants

Anyway, here's my try at resuscitation

My previous tunic try was over a short skirt

This week, I am trying a soft blue and white,

semi-sheer, geometric print top,

with a longer midi skirt in ivory

 It is a fun skirt, with a pleated net overskirt- 

a long over long outfit

I have noticed that all shades of blue

 are trending this spring,

from the more typical soft pastels of the season,

to the super bright and bold cobalt-

I love the blues 💙🩵, and wear them all!

How about you, do you wear blue,

or have a favorite shades of this popular color? 

Carrying one of my favorite small bags,

 This one is two-toned, in a muted peach and blush combination

 There are loops on the sides to attach a longer strap,

that came with it,

so it can also be worn crossbody

I chose delicate silver toned jewelry

 to go with the light and airy style of this outfit

 A chain link bracelet with a rhinestone heart shaped charm,

 a hammered collar necklace,

 and vintage 1950s clip on earrings

I purchased this pair of ivory mesh sling backs

 at the end of the season last summer,

so I didn't have much opportunity to wear them  

I did not pack them up as I normally would,

 because I wanted to have them ready early this spring

 to experiment with styling them 

Honestly, I have found that I am

not too fond of this mesh shoe trend,

 as it seems to lose it's shape easily

These are cute and comfortable,

but I don't know how they will hold up

We will see-live and learn!

  

Some delicate spring color

This tree is in a neighbor's garden-

the giant magnolia blossoms are so gorgeous and fragrant!

Hope you have a lovely week!

 

Bright Blue for Spring

 

Hello, and thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Everyone has their own personal wardrobe staples, 

and one of mine is a knee length fit and flare dress

This dress has been seen on the blog 

numerous times before,

 styled and layered in different ways

What are your personal wardrobe staples?

Today, I am wearing the blue, green, black and white

 floral printed fit and flare dress,

with a bright blue, elbow length,

 puff sleeve blouse layered underneath

Blues of all shades are trending this spring,

bright and deep cobalts, as well as the typical pastels

The blouse is collarless, and has pretty smocked sleeve trim 

For this styling,I added a dark grey reptile embossed belt

to the dress

Carrying a favorite little bag of mine

 It is a hard case handle bag, 

with a photograph of two playful hound dogs on both sides

 It adds such a fun and whimsical touch to so many outfits!

For jewelry I chose a silver tone chain link bracelet 

with a rhinestone heart charm,

 and a pair of 1950's vintage clip earrings

 The stylized shape of the earrings

 remind me of angel wings

This curved triangular shape was very popular in the 50s,

 in a lot of different motifs like leaves and flowers 

Suede bags and shoes

 are very much in fashion now,

even through the spring

 These black suede, low wedge heel

sling back peep toes are well over 10 years old-

 What comes around goes around again and again!

 These have held up really well, 

although admittedly, they don't get a lot of wear

Here is another styling of my wardrobe staple dress, 

over a semi sheer ivory blouse in this wear from spring 2020

Notice I am carrying the same bag!

It's tulip season!

🌷🌷🌷

 I hope you have the opportunity 

to enjoy these beautiful, blooms

Thanks for joining me,

hope you have a great week!

Black and White with a Splash of Red

Hello, and thanks for stopping by my blog today!

It can be tricky to dress for spring

  April, as well as March,

 are considered bridge months where I live,

 anything goes weather wise,

☔️🌦️💨🌨️☀️🌧️

and we have had it all this season!

Today, I chose classic black and white,

 as you can hardly go wrong with this combination-

it is appropriate for any season

Do you like wearing the high contrast

 combination of black and white?

It's an occasional pairing for me,

I usually go for some color,

but black and white can be very chic,

and you know, Cloud Dancer for 2026

 

I put this outfit together as a challenge to myself,

with items that I rarely wear

 I want to see if I can breathe new life into these pieces,

or if it is time for them to go

 The outfit feels a little out of my comfort zone, 

but we'll see how I feel about it, after wearing it today

 The top is a soft white long sleeve tunic,

 trimmed in black on the collar, cuffs, and button placket

I rarely wear tunics,

  they usually just don't work for me,

 but I could try tucking this one in for another wear,

as it is not bulky

 Wearing the blouse with a textured,

 black and white scuba fabric skirt

 Scuba fabric is suitable for most seasons,

 except I avoid it in the summer,

 because it tends to be quite thick and warm

You can't really see it well in this photo, but the skirt is black

with a raised white honeycomb texture design

BTW, these are hot house sunflowers from the market,

it will be months before they bloom in this part of the country

It seems like overnight though, the nurseries and plant shops 

are full of flowers of all types to be planted,

and baskets of flowers of every imaginable color and type 

are suddenly everywhere! 

My patent leather handle bag

 is a vintage piece from the 1960s

 It makes a real color statement,

 in bright cherry red,

 with a red and gold curved handle

 Patent leather has made a major revival

 in shoes and bags over the past few years

 It's the perfect time for me to pull out

 this fun piece from the past!

 I chose a mix of old and new jewelry

 to complement this clean lined, modern look

The two current pieces are the bold gold tone buckle bracelet,

 and the geometric V pattern collar necklace

The fabulous oversized clip earrings are vintage,

 and very unusual

The two 3-D open wavy square pieces

 are intertwined and connected together

 I purchased these on Etsy, and even though I carefully measured the size against other earrings I own,

 I was surprised when I received them,

 they are quite a bit larger and bolder than I pictured them

 I still love them, though 

 Here are a few more patent leather accessories in black,

 to add more interest, if not color, to the outfit

A wide black belt and hairband

Black and tan slides sandals with gold tone heels

to finish the look 

It is unusual for me to wear sandals

 this early in the season

  I usually don't even have them unpacked, yet

 I left these out at the end of last summer,

because I barely wore them,

 and thought the colors might be better suited

 to early fall outfits

 But I didn't chose them in the fall, either

 So I'll see how well they work for spring

 I modified these from black, tan and reptile print 

 gladiator sandals. I paid quite a bit for them,

and since I haven't worn them for a long time,

 I thought it would be worth a try to change them up

So I operated on them, and cut off the gladiator strap 

It worked out pretty well!

Here are the sandals in their original form,

in an outfit from early fall, 2019

As Jodie from a Touch of Style says,

 be the boss of your clothes!

We'll see how this modification works out,

 because I really don't think I would wear these sandals

 as gladiators anymore

Hope you enjoy your week!