Denim Daze - Bermuda Shorts

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I don't wear shorts much anymore due to bad varicose veins, an unfortunate genetic problem passed down from both of my parents. But for the sake of versatility I decided to don a pair of denim bermudas to show how they could be styled for a casual day at the park or for a dressed up evening with the hubby. I am wearing support hose, just to make my legs look smoother and less black and blue. Ha, ha.

Not sure what I was looking at in this photo, but you know me...silly most of the time. I really like these shorts as they do not have belt loops or a zipper. They simply slip on with little tugging and twisting and they stay in place. What a wonderful day it was when manufacturers decided to add other fabrics to cotton denim, like spandex and polyester. It allowed more movement with denim pieces and made denim a go to choice for all sorts of occasions. 

Graphic tees are in and always will be. What I like these days is that there are so many choices. I am really not one to advertise a product, like Diet Coke, although I am a die hard addict; or bands though I am going to see Alice Cooper with my younger daughter in October; but just a simple white crew neck with pictures that reminded me of my trip to England, I could do. I still may end up with a Diet Coke shirt or tee from the concert, but you don't have to settle for those types of tees when there are so many options available. 

I just wore a simple black and gold bangle and carried my boho drawstring bag. Perfect accessories for this laid back, casual look. For shoes I kept it simple and comfy with my black espadrille flats.

To dress the outfit up, I changed my tee shirt for a dressy feminine sleeveless top. This top has an asymmetrical hem, front ruffle and little bits of bling throughout.

I added a two layer black bead necklace, two bracelets with black and silver and an envelope clutch made with a sparkly gray material. The final piece to dress this outfit up was to swap out the black espadrilles for a pair of strappy black sandals.

I found these sandals at a thrift store and must say I love them. The black straps are elastic and are pieced together with strips of patent leather. The back of the heel is also patent leather and has a zipper for easy in and out. You can also see the hemline of the shirt a little better. Notice the sheer black strip around the bottom for added length, dimension and detail. 

Here are the two outfits side by side.

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull. Make up Rachel Christensen.

Shopping a Similar Look:

Denim shorts - Macy's - $24.99

Graphic Tee - Kohl's - $26.40

Espadrilles - Zappos - $42.00

Boho woven bag - Rebecca Minkoff - $78.00

Feminine ruffle top - JC Penney - $15.99

Envelope clutch - Nordstrom - $49.00

Black sandals - DSW - $34.95

Hope you enjoyed this weeks' post. You can see how I styled a denim chambray shirt last week by clicking here. Let me know your ideas for styling a pair of denim shorts in the comments section below and be sure to like and share my page on Facebook. 

Check back on Thursday for ways to wear an awesome accessory.

Monday linking up with Catherine of Not Dressed as Lamb. Tuesday linking up with Jess of Elegantly Dressed and Stylish. Thursday linking up with Nicole of High Latitude Style. Friday linking up with JoLynne Shane for Fashion Friday and Jennie of A Pocketful of Polka Dots.

Denim Daze - The Chambray Shirt

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Chambray is not a true denim. However, we can wear chambray like denim as far as wash and color. See the difference between these two fabrics by clicking on this link to Proper Cloth. That being said, I have included a chambray shirt in the denim series because it "looks" like denim. Chambray is much softer and more moveable than true denim, so I can wear a chambray shirt as a shirt or as a jacket as I show in my two looks for today, but I would not usually wear a denim jacket as a shirt as it is too stiff and thick.

For this casual look I tucked the polka dot chambray shirt into a pair of pink polka dot pants. Yes, I did some print mixing, but I felt that it worked because the print on the pants is so much smaller than the print on the shirt. I kept the look casual and a touch boho with my woven drawstring bag, beaded woven belt and the suede loafers as seen below. The jewelry is a simple strand of brown beads.

In the next look, the chambray shirt becomes a light weight jacket and is worn open over a light blush tank. These together, top a pleated maroon skirt. My pewter sparkly bag that I have used on other occasions (see here , here and here) is worn with the strap over the shoulder. I am showing the front and back of this look so you can see my hair which is pulled to the side in a chignon type bun.

In the above picture you can see the bling on the tank. Vertical stripes made with tiny metallic dots cover the top half of the shirt. It makes something so simple, dressy and I opted to not wear a necklace as the bling speaks for itself. I added a simple gold bracelet as my only jewelry. I love this bracelet. It has a spring hinge so it opens to put on and then snaps closed around my wrist; no struggling with a clasp. I wore my nude peep toe heels. I bought these shoes for my daughters wedding two years ago. They are classy, but fairly comfortable and with the strap there are no worries that my foot will fall out of my shoe.  

I'm really starting to sound like i have security issues aren't I? Bracelets that snap around my wrist, shoes with straps around my ankles and if you continue to follow me you'll find I keep most things covered up. Does that make me insecure or comfortable, confident and mysterious? It all depends on how you look at things.

So here are the two looks side by side. Which one do you like better? What else do you like to do with your chambray shirts? Leave me a comment below. 

Photo credits Rebecca Trumbull. Make up Rachel Christensen.

Shopping the Key Pieces:

Chambray shirt - Kohl's - $24.99

Pants - Boscov's - $27.60

Loafers - 6pm - $77.99

Pleated skirt - ASOS - $49.00

Tank top - Nordstrom Rack - $28.97 (no bling, but very cute)

Nude heels - DSW - $39.95

Clutch - DSW - $34.95

Casual and Dressy: Outfit Recap

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This week I wanted to show you a recap of the last few weeks' outfits by showing the pictures side by side. This gives you a better idea of how I styled a piece casually and how I styled it more dressy.

The first two were styled around a pair of jeans. I swapped out the casual sneakers, tee and sweater for a dress and sparkly sandals.

These weeks revolved around a black maxi dress. Week 1 was a casual tee, espadrilles and yellow beads. Week 2 a sparkly vest, silver belt and black sandals.

The key piece in these posts was the white crop pants. Casual with the sparkly tee, dark wash denim button up and Keds was turned dressy by changing into a silky blouse, light weight sweater, neutral sandals and a sparkly pewter bag.

Here I styled a pair of light pink jeggings. Again you can see the change of shoes, top and jacket or sweater can take the look from casual to dressy.

In these final two posts there were only a few simple changes made. My black espadrilles were changed out for nude peep-toe heels, the pewter hobo bag became a sparkly pewter clutch, the jewelry switched from casual beads to shiny gold and the lace tee was tucked in a belt added.

I am, by nature a more casual dresser. I don't get dressed up for very many occasions, so this was a fun way to think about how I would make an outfit that started out casual, more dressy. I decided to take this adventure up a notch so starting in August I'll be doing another series on casual versus dressy styles, but this time using denim.

I hope you all enjoyed this series. Let me know your ideas for taking a casual style and turing it dressy. Have a great week.

Thursday linking up with Nicole of High Latitude Style.