Color Play: Building an Outfit Around a Jacket

It has been a while since I have done a Color Play post. You know I love color and finding creative ways to put colors together that might not be typical color combo choices. Today’s look revolves around a heavy weight plaid shacket that I got from Maurice’s last year when they had end of the season clearance. They always have such good prices on their clearance items, but you have to act fast because sizes and styles disappear quickly.

We are having such weird weather here in the midwest. It is February and it is acting like late March or April. Today as I write this it is supposed to be almost 70 degrees (F). I don’t like the drastic changes and they don’t do anything for headache and allergy sufferers, let alone for all the viruses and bacteria that keep making our grandkids get sick.

This plaid shacket has the shirt vibe, but it is heavy enough to wear as a coat on the chillier spring days. When I decided to use this piece for my color inspiration, I decided to lean towards pastels rather than the more primary blue, orange and yellow. You can see the colors better in this close up shot. Do you see the very faint minty green line?

With these colors in mind, I plaid with two variations, but the pastels won out. It seemed appropriate as we move towards spring.

All three pastel pieces are thrift store finds. The coral pants are Croft & Barrow. Theses are a light weight cotton blend, so they will be great for the warmer months.

The men’s button down shirt is Express brand. It has tiny white flowers on it, and I love how it goes withe the pale yellow and the coral .

The yellow pullover is a brand called Karen Scott. I her brand used to be sold at Macy’s and perhaps Walmart. Not sure if they still are. I don’t wear pale color too often near my face, but the minty green does the job of providing a border between my skin and the pale yellow.

Style Tip: I will never tire of saying, you can wear all colors. If a certain color doesn’t look good right next to your face, just add a scarf or some statement jewelry, or layer a collared shirt under or over it. That doesn’t mean certain colors won’t look better with your skin tone, but if you love a color wear it.

My navy blue bag was a thrifted Simply Vera by Vera Wang piece. Big tote bags are back in for spring, so dig around in your closet and find those larger bags.

My tan, ankle boots are Sonoma brand and were a pre-winter purchase online from Kohl’s.

I kept my jewelry simple with a blue bead, pendant necklace.

What do you think of this outfit? Do you like pastels? How do find color inspiration for your outfits?

Thanks for hanging out on the blog. I am including a few shopping links for you to look over. These links are brought to you at no additional cost. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Have a great week!

Pantone - Spring/Summer - 2021 - Raspberry Sorbet, Mint and Willow

Today’s Pantone outfit revolves around a tantalizing pink, a refreshing green and another earthy color reminiscent of the weeping willow trees that hug the banks of lakes and streams. Raspberry Sorbet, Mint and Willow combine in an outfit that is both sleek, colorful and casual.

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When I think of the color mint, I am more inclined to think of the light Green Ash color from Tuesday’s post. I guess my rendering of mint is based more on ice cream and Christmas candies than it is the actual plant. The mint plant is a bright, living green, so I think the Pantone color is much truer to the natural source. My Mint green top is a thrifted Falls Creek piece. I wore it for this shoot and then I got rid of it. It has been hanging in my closet for a while and I wasn’t certain, why I didn’t reach for it more often. After putting it on, I just didn’t like how stiff the fabric was. I’m all for structured pieces, but a piece has to move with me for me to want to wear it.

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My camouflage pants, also Falls Creek, are a recent clearance find from Meijer. They are light weight, so good for summer. Unlike some camo that is more green, these tend towards more brown and gray. The Willow color is in there as you can see in the following picture. Willow was hard color to find. Most of my pieces are more olive green and Willow has more of a brown undertone.

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Instead of choosing another clothing piece for the Raspberry Sorbet color, I opted to include it in my accessories. My necklace, bracelets, and the Vera Bradley tote were the perfect pop of this bright, saturated pink.

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I went for my silver SO flats to tie in with the silver chains on the necklaces.

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What do you think of these Pantone colors? Do you have the color Willow in your closet? I love to hear back from you, so leave a comment or two.

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I’m including a few shopping links for you to peruse. These links are brought to you at no cost, but using them to purchase something gives me a few pennies as a kick back. I appreciate all your support. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Photo and graphic credit Rebecca Trumbull.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Pantone - Spring/Summer - 2021 - New York Palette: Introduction

I am a bit behind on the Pantone colors this year. I had a hard time getting back into the swing of regularly posting, but here I am. While we are a few weeks into spring, the Pantone colors for this season are for spring and summer. I don’t pay attention too much to their time table, because they already have the colors out for the fall/winter season. Who wants to think about fall/winter when we have barely made it into spring? Ha, ha.

Just as a quick review, the Pantone Color Institute is an entity that provides the color trends for both the fashion and interior design industries. If you go to their website you can see all sorts of information from color swatches you can order to educational opportunities. Obviously, these are not the only colors that you see trending on the runways, but Pantone is easily considered a color authority by both design areas.

Every year, Pantone chooses a color of the year. Last year it was Classic Blue. In 2019 it was Living Coral. This year they picked two colors, Illuminating, a sunny yellow and Ultimate Gray, which is a classic medium gray. Typically, the colors of the year are seen on both the New York and the London Palettes. As I have done in the past I will be starting my series with the New York Palette. This year, the palettes are quite dissimilar, which makes it more interesting for me, as I pick out outfits and for you, my lovely subscribers.

Here is the New York Palette.

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This is a mix of jewel tones and pastels, so if you lean towards one or the other, this palette will make everyone happy. Rust is a different color for summer, but I think it can work well with many of the others colors. Once again there is a selection of classic colors, which to me are helpful if you want to tone down an outfit and just accent with the brighter colors through jewelry and other accessories.

The following are a few photos from our shoot which give you some sneak peeks at how I combined these colors.

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I hope you will join me on Thursday as I start the series. Have a great day!

Photo and graphic credit Rebecca Trumbull.