Chambray Dress - Look #3

This is the final look from the sunflower fields at Hirzel Farms. My Massini chambray dress has proven to be a versatile piece and very easy to combine with accessories and toppers to create new and different looks. I think you could do a similar thing with any solid colored dress. For today’s outfit, I wanted to show a look that was more ready for fall.

This pretty, open weave sweater was a clearance find from Kohl’s. I have a number of Liz Claiborne pieces and I really like the feminine, lacy look of this cardigan. The sweater has no closures, which is fine, but what I have noticed is if the piece isn’t folded or hanging just so, the front tends to fold back. I solved that little problem by adding a small brooch to keep it closed and laying flat.

I added the leaf print scarf as another way to add interest. The colors of the sweater and scarf were very similar, so I like how this looks. This is an infinity scarf, which I like when I don’t want to worry about how to tie it.

Since the leaves on the scarf are black, I added this recently thrifted Scarlton bag. Amazon has a lot of these vegan leather bags. I have many purses that are not real leather. They are sufficient for looking nice and serving the purpose a purse serves, but what they don’t do is last. I have several real leather bags that I bought second hand that look brand new. Many of my non leather bags start showing signs of wear after only a few seasons. We’ll see how this vegan leather bag holds up.

My ankle boots are my old, trustworthy, Sonoma suede boots. The neutral color was perfect for this look.

What did you think of this outfit? Do you have a chambray dress, or any other solid dress that you could do looks like these? Leave me some love in the comments.

Here are the three looks side by side. Which one is your favorite?

I hope you enjoyed these sunny pictures. It was fun to take pictures with these yellow beauties. Isn’t God’s creation amazing?

I am including a few shopping links, so be sure to take a look at those. These are affiliate links, so every click you do gives me a few pennies. I appreciate every click. All opinions are my own.

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull.

Chambray Dress - Look #2

Last week I showed you this chambray, bell sleeve dress styled with a kimono. That was the last in my long kimono series. I told you, I had a number of kimonos and I didn’t even show you all of them. Ha, ha. I styled a dressy casual look, that might be termed resort wear with a touch of Hindi style. Once again, these were taken at Hirzel Farms in Luckey, OH.

I put together this outfit, knowing that it would not be something I would typically wear, but I like to try to show you different ways of putting pieces together to show you there is more versatility in your wardrobe than you realize. I liked how this turned out. It has a flowy quality to it, while still offering full coverage and layering for cooler weather.

The striped linen pants are last year’s purchase from Christopher and Banks. They are very comfy with an elastic waist and wide legs. As I said in last Tuesday’s post, my chambray dress is Massini brand from Target a year or so ago.

My blue duster vest is a LuLaRoe piece. It is made of a medium weight knit and just like all the other LuLaRoe pieces is very easy to care for. I like the long slits at the sides. If you want to create visual interest and add texture to an outfit, a long vest like this is a great way to do it. You can wear a duster length vest with jeans and boots, a pencil skirt and heels or with a variety of other outfit combinations.

For my accessories I clung to a smattering of boho add ons. My bead pendant necklace is a creation of my own. I found the large doughnut shaped bead at a shop on one of our travels a while ago. I simply added a piece of leather for the cord to hang it around my neck and there you have it.

What drew me to this particular bead were the colors. It has flecks of color in it, including a little bit of rust and gold. Those colors prompted me to add this bright orange suede bag to the outfit. This was another thrift find. I love the bright pop of color. You can also see I threw on a few bracelets.

My blue thrifted Keds are making another appearance. I don’t wear these quite as much. As we get older, our feet tend to change, so where I once wore a size 8.5, I now wear a nine. These are a little short, but if I don’t wear them for a long day of walking they are still quite comfortable.

What do you think of this outfit? Do you ever wear pants under a dress? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I’ll be posting the last pictures from this fabulous sunflower spot next week, so be sure to keep an eye out for that. Check back on Thursday for another Outfit Inspiration post. Also, if you are regular follower of my faith page, I hope to be back to posting on there tomorrow.

I hope you are having a great week.

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull.

I am including a few shopping links. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Kickin' It with Kimonos - Looks like Sunflowers

I came across another Ohio blogger, recently on instagram named Shannon Solt. She inspired me to check out Hirzel Farms and their sunflower fields. Since she did a fashion post in front of the pretty blooms, I thought that would be a great idea and texted my daughter about getting some pictures in before the heavy seeded sunflower heads started to droop. Being the practical minded person that I am, I wanted to come up with an outfit where I would be able to get more than one blog post. I finally decided on using one piece styled three different ways.

The piece I chose to revolve all three outfits around is this Massini chambray dress that I found on the clearance rack at Target. I have styled this on the blog before as seen with a denim vest.

It was a bright day, but with plenty of fluffy clouds flying over, so the sun would shine and then it would go behind a cloud. This can be a problem for taking pictures, but I thought my daughter did a great job. We both prefer shade or clouds for pictures.

I found this fabulous kimono, or in actuality a ruana, at maurices. I love the color combination and once again it is a floral print. You can see in these pictures the sunflowers are already getting heavy with seeds. This was about two weeks ago and now they are completely brown and drooping so their heads face the ground. At this point each individual stalk can be cut. Once further dried the seeds can be harvested, or the stalks can be left outside and the seeds become food for all sorts of critters.

Doesn’t it look like the flowers are bowing to me as I walk by? Ha, ha.

I would have had a yellow pendant necklace if i hadn’t forgotten it at home. Ha, ha. The joys of taking pictures somewhere other than home. I can’t just run back into the house if I forgot something. Anyway, there is plenty of activity going on in the kimono and in the back ground, so it is probably okay that I don’t have a necklace on.

I did have this bracelet for another outfit, so I threw that on. I really like the little owl charm.

If you have been following for a while, you know I love these SO ballerina flats. They are comfortable, light weight and so easy to slip on and off. They tend to mold to your foot, so don’t slip off when I am walking.

I’ve used this light blue bag on the blog before too. Unfortunately, in this picture the bag is backwards and you can’t see the pretty gold zipper and blue tassels on the front. I really need to pay more attention to the details.

Here is a fun black and white photo for you. I love the contrast of grays, whites and blacks in this picture.

What do you think of this outfit? Do you own a chambray dress, or a fit and flare dress like this? Do you like to wear bell sleeves? I’d love to hear your thoughts

I’m including a few shopping links. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull.

Denim Daze 2.0 - Vest - Dressy

A monochrome look, to me, always seems more dressed up than other looks using similar pieces. Style a black pair of pants with a multi print blouse and you have a great work outfit. Style the same pair of pants with a matching black blouse, heels and pearls and you have made yourself ready for a night out on the town.

Denim, by nature, is casual. Originally created as work wear for farmers, miners, lumberjacks and other physical labor jobs, denim was not meant to be worn to the opera or the theater. However, denim has come a long way since its original inception back in 1873. We now have various washes, weights and colors of denim, making it a much more versatile fabric for real life events, both casual and dressy.

In order to make this Christopher and Banks, denim vest seem more dressed up, I chose to pair it with a chambray, bell sleeve dress for a glitzed up monochrome look that I would wear with confidence to any number of more dressy events.

I found this cute, Massini, chambray, dress on the Meijer clearance rack a while back and it was one of those things I felt I couldn’t pass up. You know the feeling. It is not only cute and fits, but it is the right price and you have nothing like it in your closet. I love dresses, but do not wear them very often, but still, that doesn’t stop me from occasionally purchasing one that I absolutely love.

This dress has a full zipper in the back, a fit and flare silhouette, and is light weight. It works well on its own or when styled with a vest over the top. Wearing a vest still lets the fun sleeve bells strut their stuff, but gives you extra coverage and layers if the weather is cooler. I’ve worn this piece with a knit vest, suede boots and tights in the chillier months.

The only other things I had to add to this simple, but stylish outfit were the accessories. Since the vest has silver bling on it, I decided to have silver for my jewelry, shoes and bag. Simple pie, right?

This outfit came together quite easily because I had two pieces that were the same color. I don’t think this would have been quite as dressy if I had a vest that was a darker or lighter wash. Remember, when you have an event and you don’t know what to wear, a monochrome look will always be chic and stylish.

What do you think of this outfit? Do you think I accomplished the casual and the dressy with this vest? Are these outfits you would wear? Specifically could you see yourself wearing a monochrome denim outfit for a fancy occasion? It is always refreshing to think outside the box.

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull. Make up Rachel Christensen.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

I’ve included a few shopping links for chambray dresses. There seem to be a ton of these around right now, so it might be a good time to invest in one. They can be very versatile, especially if you get a button up, shirt dress type, which you could wear as a jacket, vest or dress in so many different ways. Have fun shopping.

These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.