Pantone Autumn/Winter 2022 - New York Palette: Waterspout, Midnight and Loden Frost

Today’s Pantone Autumn/Winter colors include a bright blue, a dark blue and a light green. Waterspout is a bright aqua blue which seems an odd choice for an autumn palette, but the color gurus will do what they do, and actually it is rather nice to have a few brighter, lighter choices as the days get shorter and the skies begin to gray. Midnight is not really like the midnight blue crayon we all had in our big boxes of Crayolas growing up, but perhaps more like the night sky just after the sun sets, but before the stars start to come out. Loden Frost is a sage green with a little bit of depth and richness.

So far in this series, I think this is my favorite outfit. I like the combination of blues and greens and thought it was an appropriate look for a warm fall day.

I’ve styled this thrifted dress before on the blog. I have had it for years and it is getting a little snug since all my weight has done its post menopausal thing and moved to my mid section. Ha, ha. But that is the beauty of layering. You don’t notice it as much. This is a brand called Oliva Rose, however, there are numerous brands out there with that name, so I have no idea where it originated.

I found this Maurice’s brand sweater at a thrift store. I really like Maurice’s, but I try to stay out of that store. They have so many cute things every season. I like their tees, tops and jeans, but I wait for good sales and coupons, because things cost more now than ever. I am also really trying to curb my buying all around.

My sea turtle scarf is from the dollar store. Back when my oldest was pregnant and we were putting together the shower the theme was Sea creatures. I found a few cute scarves for game give aways and this was a left over. My necklace was a product of two different thrifted pieces that ended up breaking, so I put them together.

My olive Fossil hobo bag is also thrifted. It is another work horse in my closet and is continually in and out of rotation. Fossil brand is a good quality brand and while I never buy them full price, I do love when I can find one on clearance or at a thrift store. This one is a great utility bag with multiple pockets and compartments for everything you need.

I found these navy boots last year online at Kohl’s. They are Journee brand. I am not too adventurous when it comes to my boot colors. I like browns, black, and gray, but I thought it would be nice to have a navy pair, specifically of knee high boots, for a different vibe. Do you like your boots to be a more basic color, or do you like a bright, bold look for your feet?

I hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know what you think of these colors. I am including a few shopping links. These are affiliate links. When you click on a link, I get a few pennies. When you purchase the item through the provided link, I get a little bit more. I appreciate all you clicks. All opinions are my own.

I hope you are having a great week.

Favorite Summer Patterns - Floral

I was going to do a post on what is trending for summer, but there wasn’t a whole lot on the list that really appealed to me and if I know my subscribers at all, most of it won’t appeal to you either. Things like bralettes and sheer fabrics, backless dresses and jumpsuits, mini skirts and halter tops have a place in the fashion world, but I just don’t think they are practical and this blog is about real life and real women, so if you prefer trendy attire, there are oodles of bloggers and Instagram accounts that cater more to those preferences. I hope that doesn’t deter you from following my blog, I just want to keep it real here.

Image by Shirley Hirst from Pixabay

Instead of doing a more trend oriented post for this 5th Thursday of the month, I thought I would share one of my favorite summer patterns. Florals, for a long time, were considered a pattern strictly for elderly women, but I have seen a definite move away from ageism and stereotyping to a more all inclusive thinking on patterns and clothing types for all ages. I have seen some rockin’ 70 plus women sporting mini skirts and crop tops and I have also seen some beautiful 20 somethings veering towards a more modest mindset donning floral patterns and midi skirts. I love the diversity of the fashion blogging world, because now almost anything goes.

Florals are everywhere and on everything. While this post is going to show you a few of my specifically summer pieces, I have florals for every season of the year. In fact, some of my favorites are ones in the darker, more brooding colors of fall and winter, but I couldn’t resist showing off a number of my lighter, brighter pieces that work well from spring, into and through summer.

Tees

Both of these tees were thrift store finds. Floral patterns on tees are an easy way to dress up an outfit. Just throw on some jewelry and your choice of bottom in a pair of shorts, jeans or a skirt and you are ready for a summer picnic or lunch with friends. You can find a plethora of floral patterns at thrift stores and whether you like small prints or large, I am sure you’ll find something suitable. I’ll include a few shopping links at the end if you prefer regular retailers as opposed to thrift stores.

Other tops

This babydoll top was a recent purchase at Maurices. I love the pattern, of course, but also the dark teal color and the tiered layers. It hides all my Covid weight gain. Ha, ha. This piece I can definitely wear into fall with a chunky sweater over top.

This sleeveless denim piece was a recent thrift store find. Denim and floral are two of my favorite things, so how could I not scoop up this pretty top?

Jacket

Once again, the combination of denim with floral is the factor that drew me to this thrifted piece. This is another one that will see wear, all year round. Often in the winter I will wear a jacket like this, just as an extra layering piece to keep warm. It will look great with a pale pink turtleneck, cream sweater or light blue long sleeve tee.

Maxi dress

You’ve seen this floral maxi dress make its debut appearance on the blog this past spring. You can see that post here. You really can’t go wrong with a maxi like this. Just throw it on, add a few accessories and maybe a shrug or sweater and you are all set for a date night with the hubby or a stylish outfit to wear to church.

Skirts

I have numerous maxi skirts and quite a few of them have some sort of floral print. I keep telling myself I need to get a few skirts that are just solid colors, but I am always drawn to prints. Both of these skirts are really good in any season. The one on the left is fully lined and the one on the right is LuLaRoe and a medium weight knit, so no need for a slip.

Pants

You can see how I styled these ankle pants on my Instagram post here. I need to think of some other ways to wear these. What would you do with them?

Bags

If you have been following me for a while, you know I love to style an outfit around a bag. The top one is a thrift find and the bottom one is Vera Bradley. I love the color combinations for both of these bags. Do you have a floral print bag?

Shoes

These are the only floral shoes I have, but I would love to get a pair of Keds x Rifle Paper Co sneakers. They have the cutest floral designs. I’ll include a few in the shopping links.

I hope you have enjoyed this look at some of my summer floral pieces. Florals aren’t for everyone, but everyone could certainly wear them. They come in all manner of colors, and sizes, and vary from realistic to abstract. Floral patterns are an easy way to jazz up an outfit and get inspiration for assembling an outfit right from your own closet.

I’m including a few shopping links for all things floral. I hope you enjoy shopping. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own. Have a lovely weekend. Stay safe and stay healthy.

Pantone Spring/Summer - 2020 - Classic Blue, Chive and Navy Blazer

As usual, the names for the Pantone colors always amuse me. Classic Blue is pretty normal. Obviously, Chive makes me think of green onions and as you will see, the color is a pretty dark green. Navy Blazer is one of the classic colors and is your typical navy staple, which many of us have a piece or two in our closets. Since Classic Blue is the color of the year, I decided to start with it. The idea to combine it with Chive was a natural progression when I pulled out this thrifted summer midi dress.

This outfit centers around this thrifted OliviaRose dress that I got numerous years ago. Its pretty floral print combines blue, white and green a black background. I didn’t even have to think when I pulled this out of my closet. Classic Blue and Chive were the perfect pairing. An outfit like this really can be worn year round.

This bright blue scarf was gifted to me for Christmas and I used it to introduce the Pantone Color of the Year back in January. You can see that post here.

My faux suede blazer has a little more of a blue undertone than the Chive color, but I thought it was pretty close. This thrifted ISB Inc. blazer is meant to have a double breasted appearance when buttoned, but my figure right now will not allow for that. However, I think it looks just as nice left open since there are buttons on both sides.

You can see in the next picture how nicely the blazer fits through the back. I like that it is more fitted, rather than boxy. I was also trying something different with my hair.

This thrifted Simply Vera/Vera Wang bag has made multiple appearances on the blog as has my thrifted Relativity loafer heels.

I also added my sparkly Classic Blue bracelet, which was also a Christmas gift.

If you are not into wearing bold, bright colors, then these colors would be the perfect choice for you. You could easily make this pairing more summery by adding a white skirt or crop pants instead of the darker print dress. You could also wear head to toe white with a Chive colored blazer or sweater and just a few pops of Classic Blue jewelry. There are so many options, so never say never to any color.

Do you like these colors? How would you wear them? Is this the sort of outfit you would wear? If not, what kind of outfit would you put together? I would love to hear back from you. Things are a little lonely around here. Ha, ha. I am sure you all can relate. We really need the world to get back to something more normal, even if it is not perfect.

I hope you enjoyed this post everyone. Until next time. Stay safe and healthy.

Graphic by Rebecca Trumbull.

I’ve included a few shopping links just for something to look at. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Layering Light - Lifting our Winter Blues with Color

This is the second installment in my Layering Light series. This is not about layering light weight layers, but about layering up with light colors; colors that will help lift your mood in the deep, dark, doldrums of winter. Last week I showed you an outfit with light wash jeans, light neutral layers and a scarf that brought a bright pop of sunshine yellow. This week I reached for a floral dress and a light colored jacket to lighten up the blue mood.

Even though this floral dress might be considered more of a winter floral due to the dark back ground, it still has an uplifting feel, making me think of summer time when the roses are in full bloom. You can see how I styled this Wilde brand bell sleeve top with fishnet stockings and combat boots here.

Versatility in a clothing piece is a prerequisite for purchasing it in my opinion. I have a ton of clothes, but only a certain percent of them get worn repeatedly. Even if it is only to show you on a blog post, you can see the value of a piece in how often and how uniquely it can be styled. Truth be told, I have not yet worn this dress for an actual real day of wear, but seeing it here, I am thinking ahead to summer and wearing it with rolled up jeans and either oxfords or tennies for a fun warm weather look.

I opted for my skinny olive cargo pants, since it is cold and I don’t have any good sweater weight tights right now. Leggings would work as well, but these Gloria Vanderbilt pants are a good medium weight and have lots of stretch for maximum comfort.

My tweed moto jacket is from H&M clearance last season. It hasn’t gotten a ton of wear, but I really love how it looks with this dress. You can also see how I styled this pieces in my Pantone series from Fall 2018.

There are several things that drew me to this piece. The first was the color. I have numerous moto jackets, but until recently I only had darker colors. With this creamy color, I have different options for putting together an outfit like this. In addition to the color, I was draw to the tweedy texture and the frayed hems on the bottom and sleeves.

For my jewelry I chose two simple rose gold pieces. The bracelet was a gift from The Happiness Boutique and I featured them on this post here.

This cream colored bag was another thrift find as were the shearling knee high boots. The bag is Stone Mountain brand. The boots are Unisa brand. DSW and other retailers carry this brand. I love the details on these boots. The three inch wedge heel is a bit of a challenge to walk in for me, but these would be great “sitting” boots, because they look so good. Ha, ha.

I was being photo bombed by my cute grand puppies, so of course I had to include a few of those pics.

They didn’t like that they had to stay in the fence at my daughter’s house, but Titan, the white Pity mix, would have disappeared in a grand squirrel chase adventure if he was let out. Beatrice, brown Mastiff mix probably would have stayed by us, but would have barked at every car that went by.

What do you think of this outfit? What pieces do you have in your closet that will lighten up your dreary winter days? What’s keeping you from getting them out and putting together something new and different that you had never thought to put together?

I’m including a few shopping links. While the pieces I am wearing are thrifted and from clearance racks, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t similar pieces out there. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull.

Photo bombers: White Pity mix - Titan Oliver Trumbull, Brown Mastiff mix - Beatrice Potter Trumbull, Follow their adventures on Instagram - sitstaybea

Outside the Box - Floral Dress with Combat Boots

I have never been especially adventurous with fashion. My style is somewhat classic with a tomboy edge and a dash of boho meets warrior princess, or at least that is what I would like to think. I am not overtly feminine, though I do like pink and especially love lace. As I revealed in last week’s Ordinary Amy post, I like motorcycle jackets, blue jeans and boots or tennis shoes. The premise for having a column called Outside the Box, is exactly that, to get me thinking outside my own fashion box.

This week’s outfit is what I would call motorcycle mayhem meets feminine flirt. Let me know if you agree.

I often see bloggers who put together outfits that I would have never dreamed of doing. Not because they are so bold or daring, but because my mind would just never think to combine combat boots, fishnet stockings and a floral dress.

I began this outfit journey with the floral dress. I picked this up at Gabes this past spring with the thought in mind that it would be a great fall piece. Bright florals on a dark background make me think more of cooler weather and sipping hot cocoa. It’s not that you couldn’t wear these colors in the spring and summer, but there is something seasonal about certain color combinations.

I know fashion is not contained neatly in one box and many in the fashion world are strongly pushing against the stereotypes of weight and age, which is awesome, and I fully support. However, there is also a push against traditional fashion ideas, such as not wearing white before or after the summer months, or allowing seasonal color changes to affect what we wear. I’m fine with many of these ideas, but fashion is also about wearing what we want to wear. I like darker colors in the fall and winter and brighter colors in the spring and summer. That is just me!

What really drew me to this little floral number besides the print were the bell sleeves. You can’t see them really well in these photos, but they add a fun element to the piece.

During the summer, when my hubby and I were on vacation in Wisconsin, I went with my mother-in-law to a department store that was going out of business. They were just getting started with their sales and we spent our time looking at shoes. It was then, I came across these boots.

Just like motorcycle jackets, I love combat boots. This is now my third pair and I love the embellishments on these. I’ve included a few shopping links at the end of similar pairs. These zip on the inner ankle so are easy to get on and off. I thought the contrast of the floral dress with the combat boots was a look that was outside my norm.

To give the outfit another more feminine edge I added the fishnet tights. These are a heavier weight than true fishnet stockings. I didn’t even remember I had these until I started looking through my hose bin! I saw these and said, “Yes, this is it!” The outfit would be just as fun with a pair of sweater tights in a dark or a bright color like red or cream. I do like darker on the bottom for the thinning factor.

Because the dress is so busy, I kept my accessories minimal. I put on my yellow pendant necklace and added a faux leather cross body bag for a last touch of tough girl.

This bag makes me think of a motorcycle saddle bag. I’m a little preoccupied! My hubby had a Harley before we ever met, and I keep trying to convince him we need to get one in our old age. Ha, ha.

What do you think? Would you wear combat boots with fishnet stockings and a dress? It even sounds odd, but I actually think it works. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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Have a great weekend!