Piece Perfect - Summer Sweaters

Since I just finished my series on wearing vests in the summer, I thought it would be a good idea to write a post on wearing sweaters in the summer. Everyone has had that experience where it is hot outside, but the moment you walk into that overly air conditioned restaurant your teeth start to chatter. While our bulky winter sweaters wouldn't be appropriate for this warm summer weather, it is good to have a few light weight options for when we know we are going to be in the air conditioning. 

For these pictures I decided to wear two key pieces, a pair of dark wash skinny jeans and a navy shell. By doing this I am emphasizing the sweaters and the accessories, showing you how you can easily change a simple, monochrome look by switching sweaters, and adding different shoes, bags, jewelry and scarves. 

These are four of my favorite warm weather sweaters.

1. Navy cardi with bling.

Before you say my picture was off center I was trying to get creative with my photography. Ha, ha. For this outfit, I kept the entire outfit monochrome navy and added my blush SO flats and my blush bag. 

Talk about silly faces. I do notice when I am doing my own pictures, I am not always attentive to what I am doing with my face. Ha, ha. Oh well, it is entertaining. 

This 3/4 length sleeve cardi I found some years ago at a thrift store is very light weight and it has a spattering of sparkly sequins that embellish the neck area. 

2. Tan open front cardi.

I decided to pair this light weight cardi with a pretty scarf. The scarf has a tiny print on it with light yellow, blue and pink flowers. I added a long pendant necklace and a bracelet that pull out the blue in the scarf.

I matched up my black clutch with a new pair of Clarks peep toe heeled booties. I got these at an outlet mall on a recent trip back to Wisconsin. The store was having a buy one get one for ten dollars on all their clearance shoes. If you are familiar with Clarks brand you know these are not cheap shoes. They are well made, comfortable and have gotten more stylish every year. I was pleased to find these and another more casual pair that I'll show in another post.

3. Cream waterfall cardi.

This next sweater is a cream waterfall cardi with 3/4 length sleeves. That sleeve length is perfect for summer. It provides enough coverage for an air conditioned environment, but not so much that you forget what season it is. 

For this casual look I wore my flat black espadrilles, carried a black canvas tote and added a few pops of color with my turquoise pendant necklace and turquoise bracelets.

You can probably tell in this picture that I am seriously thinking about letting my gray grow out. The last time I went to my beautician I discussed the idea with her. She suggested I try a few highlights to make the contrast between the gray and my natural hair color less noticeable. I haven't decided if I like it or not. I like the highlighting, I'm just not sure I am ready for gray. What do you think? Do you color your hair? Are you letting yourself go gray?

4. Bright pink open weave cardi.

This last sweater I am sharing with you was a thrift store find. I have had it for a while and never seem to reach for it, so I decided I needed to pull it out and play with it, to see if I really want to keep it. 

I do find the handmade look of a piece rather appealing. I don't know if it is because I grew up with a mother who made many of my clothes when I was young and also crocheted beautiful afghans, or if I was inspired by one of her sisters who made all sorts of creations with yarn, or if it is just some of my bohemian gypsy blood, but I love pieces with this sort of texture and charm.

I was having a hard time figuring out how to style this, until I came across this sea foam green infinity scarf. I suddenly remembered this lovely tote that I found when I shopped a friend's closet.

See how the bag has both the green and the pink? I love when that happens. Never say never to a bright colorful bag. You might be surprised how many outfits you can design around it. You can read my posts on creating an outfit around a bag here and here. 

I wore my wedge espadrilles for this outfit. These are another very comfy pair of shoes and they look cute! Cute and comfy? The perfect combo!

I hope you enjoyed this post. My goal as a fashion blogger is not to get you to buy certain clothes, but to challenge you to look in your own closet for pieces that are underused. Do you have any of these types of sweaters that you neglect to reach for. How about taking them out and rethinking how you could wear them?

If you need some added inspiration, I've included a few affiliate links. These are possible shopping options for you. Maybe you don't have a light weight sweater like these and would like to purchase one. These affiliate links can give you ideas. If you click on a link I get a few cents. If you buy something through the link, I get a small commission.

Thanks for stopping by the blog. Have a great weekend.

Marvelous Maxis - Wearable White

White has long been a summer staple for many women. I can remember when I was a girl, going shopping with my mom before Easter to get a new pair of white church shoes. Back then, we didn't wear white until after Memorial Day, with the exception of Easter Sunday. White is now a year long embraceable color. Spring, summer, winter and fall are all appropriate seasons for wearing white. In the warmer months our white clothing will usually gravitate to capris, shorts and lighter weight tanks and sleeveless tops. I have also found white skirts are a fun item to have in your wardrobe. 

Today's skirt is St. John's Bay brand from JC Penney. They currently do not have a white maxi version, but they do have a knee length version here. 

Look 1 - Casual

I topped the white skirt with a simple orange and white striped tee that I found at a thrift store. I like the bright color of this tee. 

I added my antler and bead necklace from Cabelas and a bracelet that matched. It's funny how sometimes you can buy two separate pieces of jewelry, at two different places, at two different times and end up having them look great together. 

To keep the look ultra casual I wore my black flat espadrilles. These are Easy Spirit brand and have a nice cushy insole. Here is a very cute low wedge version. Espadrilles are a great shoe for summer as they are usually made of canvas, which keeps your feet from getting too hot. They also look cute with just about everything.

Look 2 - Dressier

I didn't dress this outfit up as, much because I wanted to show you that making only a few little changes can make a casual outfit look a bit more dressy. 

I kept the same tee, but topped it with a Joe Fresh navy eyelet jacket from JC Penney. Penneys no longer carries Joe Fresh, but they have their own website. Here is a cute version from Old Pueblo Traders. 

You can see I also kept the same bag. This roomy top handle bag is from shopping a friend's closet. It is an Aldo brand bag and is well constructed with a burlap looking body and tan leather trim and handles. 

I swapped out my antler and bead jewelry for a few orange beaded bracelets and a bird pendant, with a gold chain and pretty faux rhinestones. 

I also swapped out my flat espadrilles for my Croft and Barrow Ortholite sandals. These are very comfortable, look stylish and come in two other colors. You can see them here. 

Here are the two outfits side by side.

Do you own a white maxi skirt? How do you style it? Do you wear it all year round or just in the summer? I actually could see wearing this skirt with a heavy sweater and boots in the colder weather, so I may just have to try that. I'd love to hear your input in the comments section below. 

Check back Thursday for a colorful outfit on my Color Crash Course column.

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull. Make up Rachel Christensen.

This post contains affiliate links. All opinion are my own. 

Linking up with Catherine of Not Dressed as Lamb, Nicole of High Latitude Style,