My Style: Goblin Core

You are probably looking at my title and thinking, what in the world is Goblin Core? I am so glad you asked. Ha, ha. Goblin Core is a newer aesthetic similar to Cottage Core, with its whimsical fancy, but with a darker, earthier vibe. For a refresher on Cottage Core check out this post I did on Cottage Core with an Edge.

I first learned about Goblin Core when I was perusing Pinterest and looking at Dark Academia aesthetics. You can see my Goblin Core board by clicking on the link. I only have six pins so far. If you look up style types you won’t typically find this style, but you might find something similar called Natural/Earthy. If I had to define Goblin Core I would say it is earthy with an edge, but the colors primarily revolve around earth tones and also embrace the idea of life and living things, so browns and greens. Wardrobe pieces are comfortable, even to the point of oversized or baggy and are robust with textures and details. Overalls, corduroy, baggy sweaters, combat boots, Mary Janes, patterned socks, grandpa style sweaters, and vintage pieces are all part of the Goblin Core style. I was drawn to the greens and browns of this style, so that is what I chose as I put my outfit together.

I feel like there is a bit of Gypsy influence in this style, perhaps due to the earthy colors, or the tiered skirts and vests. It has a similar feel to Bohemian style, but perhaps more grounded.

When I started putting the outfit together, I knew I wanted to pair green and brown, so the sweater came first. This is an older, thrifted Faded Glory piece. It is definitely getting pilly, but I still haven’t found an adequate way to get rid of pills that actually does a decent job. If you know of something, let me know! It is a great sweater with plenty of room, a little longer body, and nice textured stripes.

I then thought about a topper of sorts wondering if I should do a similar colored cardigan, utility jacket, or blazer, but the idea of brown kept coming back to me and I remembered I had this stupendous corduroy vest. This is a Liz Claiborne off shoot called Crazy Horse. This is a great vest with structure, but added stretch. I love it.

I initially had no intentions of using a skirt for my lower half. I was looking at jeans with embroidery, but then when I saw this skirt I knew I had the right combination. This has made multiple appearances on the blog and is a brand called Notations. I honestly do not remember what store I bought this at. It has been a while. You can see how I styled this piece with a graphic tee, in a Pantone outfit, and with a yellow jacket.

I decided to wear knee high boots instead of combat boots, or Mary Janes, because I’m me. These boots are recently thrifted XoXo brand, and seem to be in good shape. No they are not real leather, but I will hopefully get some wear out of them before they start to peel. I decided that if we can wear distressed jeans, why not distressed boots? Ha, ha.

I kept my accessories simple, as Goblin Core doesn’t seem to over embellish. My necklace was a thrift find and my bracelet was purchased from somewhere, which I also can’t remember. Eye, yie, yie. My brain!

My bag is another thrifted Fossil piece, and another one I really like. Olive will go with any other color, so definitely a versatile piece.

Looking back at these photos, I wish I would have used a better looking sweater, but it is what it is. I hate to get rid of something that still has plenty of wear. As I said, I need to find a way to eliminate pills.

I hope you enjoyed learning more about the Goblin Core style aesthetic. I like sharing these ideas with you and even if you don’t necessarily like a particular style I hope that it will still inspire you to be creative with your own clothes, making new outfits from the pieces already living in your closet.

I’m including a few shopping links for you to look over. Remember with Christmas on the way these also might be ideas for the loved once on your gift list. If you make a purchase through my site I get a few pennies. These shopping links are brought to you at no extra cost and all opinions are my own.

Have a great day!

Shopping Our Closets: Cool Weather Basics

I think most of us veer towards certain pieces when the temperatures start to cool down. Even though our temps have been taking their time about cooling off, we know the chilly days are inevitable, and we will be reaching for our long sleeve tees and sweaters. Today I thought it would be fun to talk about these basic pieces and show you how I put together a simple, casual outfit that would be perfect for anyone’s busy lifestyle.

When I hear the word “basics” my mind automatically goes to things like underwear and socks, but everyone has their own likes on those so we’ll just leave that alone. The basics I wanted to talk about today are long sleeve tees, cardigans and jeans. Obviously, these basics can vary from piece to piece. Long sleeve tees can be v-neck, scoop neck, boat neck, crew neck or even turtle necks. The same is true of cardigans. Basic cardigans most often have crew or v-neck and buttons down the front, but cardigans come in a variety of lengths, styles, textures, fabrics and even embellishments. Maybe your basic cardigan is an open front knee length duster. Someone else maybe consider a sweater with a zipper and a fold over collar to be their basic piece. Basics really depend on your personal taste and what you are doing. A work wardrobe is going to be different than a casual, stay at home wardrobe.

As you can well imagine, I have cardigans in a variety of colors, but I chose red as a nod to the weeks ahead leading up to Christmas. It is coming whether we want it to or not. I personally love Christmas, but I also acknowledge that life is already very busy, then throw in the busyness of the holidays and trying to come up with outfits might be a bit overwhelming. However, when you stick to your basics you can’t go wrong. You will still look put together, and you can embellish with jewelry, scarves, bags and shoes and be ready for any holiday shopping or get together you need to attend. Here are a few basic cardigans from Kohl’s, JC Penney, Macy’s, and Amazon.

For this outfit I started with this thrifted red cardigan. I found this in the last couple of years. It is a medium weight, so great for these cooler days that are still above freezing.

Style Tip: When building an outfit around your basic pieces it really doesn’t matter what piece you start with. You could choose your tee first, your sweater, or even your pair of jeans and build your outfit around that. Mood is a realistic part of getting dressed, but instead of not getting dressed I think it is essential to take a shower and put on clean clothes. That is part of what makes having basics to important. If you are feel exhausted, or down if you can at least manage a tee, a cardi and a clea pair of jeans you are doing good.

I grabbed this red and white striped tee for my top. These basic tees from Kohl’s by Sonoma are perfect for layering under a cardigan. Here are a few other basic long sleeve tees from JC Penney, Maurice’s, Target, and Amazon.

These jeans were purchased at Maurice’s in the late summer. They are incredibly comfortable, a lighter wash and heavier so perfect for the cold weather. The mild distressing makes them great for both casual and dressier looks.

Style Tip: Once you have your basics chosen feel free to embellish as much or as little as you want. An outfit like this will allow your pretty necklaces and scarves to really pop and take center stage. I kept my look simple and casual with the choice of my Converse, but if I would have went with a low heeled boot it would have taken it up a notch taking it from busy grandma, to cute date night look.

I have been looking for an excuse to wear this layered bead necklace, so I was happy it looked so nice with this outfit. You can also see my Fossil bag which was another second hand score. One of the things I like about these heavier cloth bags is that you don’t have to worry so much about the issues with peeling that the nylon or faux leather bags have.

Do you like using basics like these to build an outfit? How do you most often use your basic pieces? How do you dress basics up to make them more work, or event worthy? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so leave a comment or two below.

I’m adding a few shopping links for you to look over. These are affiliate links. If you click on a link or buy a product through the link I get a little commission. These are brought to you at no extra cost. Thank you for all your support.

Have a great week!

Color Play - A Pinterest Fall Color Palette

I have been collecting color palettes on Pinterest for quite a while, so I thought it would be fun to revisit that board and see what I could pull up for a fun fall color combination. This is the pin I drew my inspiration from and I used the swatch labeled Fall Fashion. I liked all the color combos, but I guess I wasn’t feeling overly adventurous, so went with the more conservative of the bunch.

This is a rich, earthy combination for fall, and I like how the green and brown are more sedate while the bright blue is a lovely pop of color. When I saw the color swatch I knew the olive would be a good color choice for a topper, as I have a number of sweaters and jackets in that color.

My faux leather moto jacket is an older Christopher and Banks piece. I like that it is simple, light weight and it has stretchy cloth panels on both sides and along the backs of the sleeves. They no longer seem to make these types of jackets, but always keep an eye out at thrift stores. In addition, real leather is always more suitable for longer wear and tear. Be sure to check out the Jacket Maker website for quality leather pieces at more reasonable prices.

I added this thrifted green scarf, because fall is always a good time for a scarf! This was a fun find as I didn’t have too many green scarves and I love the delicate look of it.

I was also dressing for an Instagram challenge today and the theme had to do with bling. This cute joei & i “Blessed” top was a gift from my oldest a few years ago and I do love it. It is the perfect weight for a cool fall day, and the sparkle makes it top notch in my book. You can also see the necklace I added. One can never have too many accessories on at one time, right? Ha, ha. In reality, if this was a work outfit, I would most likely take the jacket and scarf off while at the office, so the necklace works.

I have worn this skirt multiple times on the blog. It is St. John’s Bay brand and was purchased from JCPenney a number of years ago. You can see this skirt paired with a spotted tee, a bookish vest, and more recently a fringe vest.

My boots are second hand old, but they are real suede, so with a little TLC I will keep them indefinitely. They are a brand called Kelly & Katie.

My blue cross body bag is thrifted Tignanello brand.

Do you think these colors work well together? What colors from the Pinterest Autumn palette did you like best? Please leave a comment or two. I appreciate your input.

I’m including a few shopping links for block heeled boots, tiered skirts and faux leather moto jackets. These are affiliate links brought to you at no extra cost. All opinions are my own.

I hope you are having a great week!

My Style: Tomboy/Tomboy Femme

Tomboy or Tomboy Femme style is a mix of masculine and feminine elements that involves pieces as simple and casual as flannel shirts and sneakers to ones more classic and complex like trousers and button downs. I have always deemed myself a tomboy. I loved chasing after my older brothers when I was growing up, especially when they were riding dirt bikes in the field near our house. I would follow them on my bicycle, longing for the day when I could join them on their noisy, dirty motorcycles.

While my longing to race motorcycles never came to fruition, to this day I love the rumble of a Harley Davidson, and all the leather and denim that goes along with it. I enjoy playing outdoors whether it be hiking, camping, fishing or even hunting, occasionally, with my spouse.

When puberty came with all of its teenage angst, it also came with a full swing into things that were girly. I did play with dolls growing up and definitely loved Barbie and all of her friends, but after puberty I noticed I became acutely aware of clothes, boys, and hair styles. Make up came later when I was in college.

To this day, I still prefer jeans and sneakers to dresses and heals. I can totally dress up for a special event, but the bulk of the time I feel most confident when I am wearing a casual look that involves both feminine and masculine vibes.

This look came together after I picked out this multi-print babydoll top with peasant sleeves. This is a fun piece I thrifted a while back, but it is definitely made for cold weather as it is a heavy weight material. I wore a tank top underneath to keep the chilly air from coming up under the top. This is definitely a feminine piece by its silhouette, but the colors keep it more grounded and even masculine in nature.

After I picked the top I knew I wanted to use an oversized button down to hone in on the tomboy nature of the look. I remembered I had this wonderful thrifted corduroy shirt so I dug through my cold weather clothes, which are slowly being transitioned back into my closet after their summer hiatus. This piece matched perfectly with the rusty orange in the top.

Style Tip: Look for heavy weight, oversized button downs in the men’s section at thrift stores. You will most likely find a few gems. Use these like a cardigan, blazer or jacket for a casual, relaxed tone.

Knowing my top half was going to be more bulky and oversized I wanted to go for a slimmer leg jean. I grabbed this slightly distressed, high waisted pair from Maurice’s on clearance. I rolled the hems to add to the tomboy demeanor, but I look forward to wearing these with boots later this season and into winter.

My high top Converse seemed the perfect choice to drive home the tomboy nature of this look, however I wanted a few more feminine touches so chose a pastel pink cross body bag, and two rosy gold necklaces that my bestie gave to me a while back. She gave me a box with multiple necklaces and scarves that she was no longer using, so I finally pulled it out of my closet and took everything out so I can use it. I love the layered look these two necklaces provide. I also added my sparkly rose gold faux leather bracelet.

Do you think I pulled off the tomboy, or tomboy femme look? Do you wear outfits like this? Do you have pieces like this in your closet? Do you own a corduroy button down? Be sure to leave me a comment or two. I always love to hear from you.

I was also participating in an Instagram challenge yesterday that involved our favorite hat, so I added my hat to the outfit and took a few more pics.

I am including a few shopping links. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own. Note I included a few men’s corduroy button downs as they will provide a bigger, oversized look. I typically get a men’s Medium or Large so there is a bit more room in the hip area, but if you are petite order a small.

Have a great week!

My Style: Business Casual

I have been doing a series in this monthly column of different style types that I borrow from. As I have said in the past, I do not have one particular style, although often I choose Casual as my current go to. This said, I do like to borrow from other style types when I am feeling particularly adventurous, or if I have a particular event or style challenge that I am participating in on Instagram. So far I have looked at Classic, Boho, and Grunge. Click on those links to see how I interpret each of those styles. Today I am going to look at the Business Casual style.

Business Casual revolves around pieces you can wear to the work place that are both comfortable and classic in style. Think of blazers, tees, trousers or wide leg denim, structured bags, simple cardigans and shoes from loafers to sneakers. For this outfit I chose items from my closet that were bought new and thrifted.

I actually started this outfit with this Jaclyn Smith sweater and Liz Claiborne bag. Both are thrifted pieces. The green color is trending for fall, and the Pantone color palettes for both London and NY contain a few greens. I believe the London palette color called Rain Forest comes closest to this dark, rich green.

The next piece I chose were these wide leg, Ophelia Roe jeans that I found on clearance at our local Meijer a few seasons ago. That was when wider leg pants were coming back in style and I knew I didn’t have any. I liked the lighter color and the no belt loops waistline. I also like the gold buttons and front patch pockets.

My simple, blue, thrifted, Time and Tru v-neck tee seemed the perfect pairing for this outfit that became, basically, a two color combo of light blue and dark green. To me it symbolizes the beautiful blue skies of late summer and early fall, and the dark greens of the last summer days against those blue skies.

With the addition of a gorgeous statement necklace that I acquired a number of years ago from Christopher and Banks this outfit really stands out. I also added a few metal bangle bracelets in similar colors of silver, blue and purple.

Here is a closer look at this great, green and brown, Liz Claiborne satchel bag that I found thrifting about a year or so ago.

Finally, I went with my older white and navy Keds for my shoes. I also have a pair of brown loafers, a similar brown to that of the bag, that would have went well with this look as well.

Sorry for the poor pictures. I have gotten lazy and use my phone for pictures, that and my computer no longer has room to hold pictures from my camera. The poor Apple is getting old. I will be looking at replacing it in the, hopefully, not too distant future once I have a bit of money saved up. However, the phone, as great as it does, doesn’t allow for adjusting the lighting, and if the light isn’y perfect then neither are the pictures.

So what did you think of this outfit? Do you have Business Casual pieces in your closet? Is this a go to style for you? I love to hear your thoughts so leave me a comment or two.

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 everyone!

Shopping Our Closets: Fall Trends

I think it is always fun to look at what is trending for the up coming seasons. As we look to fall, we will be seeing much that is familiar, thus patterns and pieces that you probably already have in your closet. Be prepared for a resurgence of animal prints, plaid, sherpa, faux fur, and leather. Silhouettes will revolve around skirts from narrow denim to fuller midi lengths and will also continue to feature wide leg jeans. However, the news is out, skinnies will be back in the not too distant future, so I hope, like me, you hung on to your narrow legged jeans.

Style Tip: It seems in this ever changing fashion scape it is good to keep a few things that are timeless and classic, like a good, straight leg trouser or jean. They are neither wide nor skinny and can be worn with anything, and dressed up or down.

In addition fall will bring wonderful, earthy tones such as dark green and various shades of brown. Pantone revealed both a New York Autumn/Winter Color Palette 2024/25, and a London Autumn/Winter Color Palette 2024/25. I am thinking about delving back into these color palettes, so if that is something you’d like me to do, please let me know.

Today’s outfit revolves around a few of the fall trends that I have in my closet including a structured military jacket, an animal print scarf, a full denim skirt, combat boots and a brown bag.

This look is crossing a bit into a Dark Academia look, which I have featured in a What I’ve Been Wearing post on the blog here. The more somber hues with the structure of the military jacket give it an interesting vibe.

My younger daughter gave me this Torrid military jacket a number of years ago for Christmas. It is not a piece I reach for often, but I keep it in my closet because it is so unique. The olive drab color is such a contrast against the dark black trim, and the fit and flare silhouette makes it additionally interesting. It is a heavy knit fabric akin to sweatshirt material, so very comfy and stretchy.

Style Tip: Military jacket vs. utility jacket, what is the difference? Usually, a military jacket is a cropped piece and will have decorative buttons on both sides of the front opening, and some sort of contrasting piping, ribbon or stitching that gives it a formal military vibe. A utility jacket is usually longer, has a drawstring, large pockets and often both a zipper and snaps or buttons, and is meant to be a casual or functional type jacket.

I thought this thrifted, Express, “honor” graphic tee was the perfect piece to go with the military look.

I found this LizSport, full, midi or tea length, denim skirt while thrifting last year, and it has been coming in handy. It is a lighter weight which is nice with it being such a full piece. If the fabric was thicker it would definitely be very heavy. It is a tad bit tight around my waist, but I am willing to put up with it. Ha, ha. The things we gals do for fashion!

I just added this thrifted scarf to my scarf pile, and yes it is a pile, but I do so love scarves! Since animal prints are back in force, I thought this blend of zebra and leopard a fun mix. I didn’t add any jewelry since there is already plenty going on in this outfit.

If you look up Fall Bags 2024 you’ll see bags in all shapes and sizes, but in one very distinct color, brown, or the hues and shades thereof. It also looks like most of the bags are leather or faux leather, rather than a soft fabric like this corduroy one of mine. Here are a few to look at, including a few small animal print ones.

Combat boots seem to be around to stay, so if you haven’t hopped on that trend wagon, it’s not too late to start. I love my combat boots. They are so comfortable, and my inserts fit it every pair I currently own. This pair is Joe Boxer brand. I find most of mine at thrift stores, but have gotten a few pairs on sale at Kohl’s.

So what do you think of these fall trends? Do you have any similar items in your closet? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or two below. I always love to hear from you.

I hope you enjoyed this post. All links included are affiliate links. If you click on a link, I might get a few cents. If you purchase something through one of the links I get a tiny commission. These are brought to you at no extra cost and are provided to give you inspiration and ideas as to where you can purchase similar pieces to those featured in the post. All opinions are my own.

Have a great week!