Oh, Olive! Utility Vest - Casual

Another olive work horse in my closet is this utility vest. I have a number of vests. My fuzzy and quilted ones are great for fall and winter, while a vest like this, that is lighter weight, is perfect for spring, summer and into fall. I have been focusing on these olive pieces as the perfect neutral add on for a variety of outfits. I have been styling both casual and workwear looks, so that you have more to think about.

This olive, Mudd brand, vest was a clearance find a few seasons back from Kohl’s. I was paying attention when olive was becoming popular as the new neutral, so I snatched this up. That, and I love vests. They are a great way to add warmth, interest and texture to an outfit. I made my outfit extra colorful, but you could easily tone a look like this down by going for monochrome layers topped by the vest. A black maxi dress, a tan tee and capris or a navy top and denim skirt would look fabulous topped by an olive vest like this. Let me know if you would like to see me style a few monochrome looks with this vest or the jacket from last week.

Fall Trend Alert - Florals

Florals are still in. Harper’s Bazaar listed florals in Finding Patterns on their fall list, and WhoWhatWear called theirs Charming Chinz. However, you label it, it seems that florals are holding their own as a print that is here to stay.

My Bandolino floral jeans are thrifted. They definitely brighten up any summer outfit. I love the floral print and the raw hem on the bottom. It also helps that they have some stretch and are very comfy.

My textured tee is a thrifted Simply Vera, Vera Wang. I love the textured floral print and thought the color and print went perfectly with my pants. You can also see here, I added the long bead and fringe pendant necklace and a few freshwater pearl bracelets in similar colors for an added party vibe. I did the front tuck with the tee and added a gold belt.

Wearing my olive Sperry’s again. These have become a favorite in my summer show wardrobe. I grabbed these instead of the white Steve Madden’s, because I like how the olive on top and on the bottom made the whole look more unified. You could wear any color with this outfit, like my blue Converse or my tan Keds.

Fall Trend Alert - Blush

Bright colors are definitely in for fall, but so are pastels. It seems any more that you really can wear whatever you want and at least a few things in your closet will be on trend.

I didn’t plan it this way, but it seems, most of my outfit has some sort of floral theme. It’s funny when it works out that way. This pretty blush bag was a gift from my younger daughter. Both my girls give me wonderful presents and they are very good at knowing my tastes.

What do you think of this outfit? Do you like the combination of olive with blue? Do you like florals and will you be wearing them this fall? I’d love to hear you thoughts. I’m sorry that I have gotten a little bit behind in responding to your comments, but I promise, I will respond. I appreciate your input.

I’m including a few shopping links for you to look over. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Have a great day!

A Bit of Travel. A Bit of Fashion.

This past weekend was the start of my husband's spring break. I decided to take the week off of work as well, so for the first weekend we spent three nights at Mohican State Park in central Ohio. It is a beautiful area and the state park boasts not only a meandering river which is filled with tubers, kayakers and canoers in the summer, and a beautiful lodge set on a hill overlooking the picturesque river valley, but twenty five lovely little cabins with all the comforts of home. It was in one of these Mark and I stayed. 

It was a much needed time of rest, relaxation and refreshment. We slept, ate, hiked together and then while Mark went out and enjoyed his hobby of metal detecting I stayed in a read a good book. 

Here are some pics of the beautiful scenery.

The scenery is even better in the spring, summer and fall, but we considered ourselves fortunate that we were able to take walks on the trails and that the sun was shining. 

I know this is normally a fashion post, so I couldn't go the entire weekend without taking a few pics for today's post. On our way down to Mohican we go right past Mansfield, Ohio which is a moderate sized town. It is big enough to have a mall, a number of restaurants and other stores like Kohls, Barnes and Noble and Target. We stopped for lunch then did a lap around the mall where I found a fun bomber jacket on clearance at J.C.Penney. 

This is the second bomber jacket I bought. The first one, which will probably come up in a post somewhere down the road is light weight and doesn't have the fun patches. I got an extra large in this version from Penney's. While a large fit perfectly, I wanted a little more flex room. Plus they only had the large size in olive and both my husband and I liked the look of the black better.

When I packed I had no idea I would be purchasing this jacket. I happened to pack a red cardigan which goes perfectly underneath and added my retro beaded fringe necklace. Yes, I do pack jewelry, even when I am going to be in a rustic cabin in the woods! I wouldn't be Stylin' Granny Mama if I didn't. Ha, ha. And yes, I did bring my curling iron as well! My husband will tell you I can go rustic with the best of them: we did camp in a tent on an island in Canada's Algonquin Provincial Park, on our honey moon after all, but, when I have electricity, I will make all efforts to look my best.

You can see some of the patches here. I think they really give the jacket that WWII bomber vibe. This Arizona brand jacket is made from 100 percent polyester. It is fully lined and has soft knit bands around the neck, cuffs and bottom. It also has roomy pockets with snap flaps and a sleeve zipper on the one arm.

I can already think of many ways to style this jacket. It would be fun with a skirt and tennies, dress pants and heels or boot cut jeans and oxfords. 

I hope you enjoyed seeing some pics from our weekend away and liked the new jacket I got. I included a few links to various styles of bomber jackets. I really like the floral ones, especially for spring. 

Have a great Tuesday.

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Monday linking up with Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb. Tuesday linking up with Shelbee in the Spread the Kindness Link up, Jennie in the Ageless Style Link Up, and Jess of Elegantly Dressed and Stylish. Wednesday linking up with Hannah and Sara of The Perfect Storm.