Winter Trend - My Take on Color Block and Shearling

The trend of color block isn’t new. It has been around for a very long time. Some attribute the inspiration for color blocking to Piet Mondrian, an artist who used dark lines and bright colors to form paintings with block like components in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. In fact, in 1966, Yves Saint-Laurent designed a line of dresses called Mondrian dresses, after the work of the late artist.

Image by Andrew Martin from Pixabay

Often when color blocking is done, it follows a formula of sorts, where one color will be paired with an opposite color from the color wheel, creating a bold, bright outfit that really stands out and makes a statement. You can easily make your own color block outfit by combining solid colored pieces from your closet.

I am not a huge fan of color blocking, because I love patterns and textures so much. I did, however, find a beautiful color block sweater when my girls took me out birthday shopping, so that is what I built today’s outfit around.

I bought this glam brand, color block sweater at Eden Fashion Boutique. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to try it on. It is so soft and cozy. We have some below freezing temps coming down the pike and I know I will be wearing this to stay warm. I also like the drop shoulder sleeves and the more neutral color tones. I’ve included a shot of the back. As you can see the back is a little longer than the front.

My cognac colored pants are another pair of thrifted jeans. They are Michael Kors brand. I like the color and feel it is one of those colors you can use for all seasons.

You can also get a closer look at my thrifted Unisa wedge heeled shearling boots. I have not really had the opportunity to wear these for anything other than the blog, but they are so cute, I can’t stand the thought of letting them go. For now they still have a home with my many other boots. You can see the fun side decorative gold zipper and the shearling trim in the next picture.

You can see how I styled these on the blog with a fringe vest, and with a floral dress.

My thrifted, leather, Fossil bag is making another appearance in this post. This bag is so durable and goes with everything, plus it is a cross body bag which is my go to when I am going out shopping.

The only jewelry I added was this necklace which was a clearance purchase when I made my Christopher & Banks store closing run. I love the peachy coral colors on the beads. This will be a nice piece for spring and summer.

You noticed that these pictures were taken inside (sorry about the glare on my glasses). I just didn’t have the energy to trudge out into the snow with the camera in tow and take pictures. My incision is starting to heal, and it occasionally hurts a little. I have no complaints, because I think the doc did a great job getting rid of my little fatty tumor, but I decided to take it easy this week, until my appointment on Monday for a recheck.

Here are a few other posts I did, that show off how you can do color blocking with solid pieces from your wardrobe. These do not follow any particular formula as far as colors go, but you get the idea. If you don’t particularly like print mixing and have lots of solid colors in your closet, this is a great way to create outfits that are colorful, fun, stylish and trendy.

I hope you enjoyed this post. I am including a few shopping links for you to enjoy. Have fun with it. These links are affiliate links and are brought to you at no cost. If you click on a shopping link I get a few cents and if you purchase something through my links, I get a little bit more. Think of it as a way to get yourself something special and buy me a cup of tea. Ha, ha.

Have a great day everyone. Be sure to check back Thursday for a post on how you know it is time to get rid of certain pieces in your wardrobe.

Photos in photo grid Rebecca Trumbull.

Summer Outfit - Leopard Print Skirt - Casual

Hi everyone. How are you doing? I just finished reading an article written by a woman whose whole family contracted COVID. They are all struggling through it. Her husband was in the hospital, but now is home. Both of her kids got it, but they are slowly progressing. She has it as well, but is managing at home with oxygen. I also read another article this morning that yesterday was the highest recorded day of new cases in the US since April. It is very disheartening and discouraging, but it is, what it is. Don’t stop taking precautions. Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Keep your distance. Okay, enough on that, now time for an outfit.

Tuesday I showed you my thrifted leopard print skirt in a more dressy, work wear friendly style. Today, I am showing off that same skirt, but with a more fun, casual flair.

If you didn’t read the last post, this thrifted skirt is a brand called Who, What, Wear. It is a very light weight material, but it did seem to get full of static when I put it on. I am going to have to see if washing it with fabric softener makes any difference, plus I dried it on the line, since I don’t have a dryer at the moment. As long as the weather is good, I like to hang clothes out in the warmer weather anyway, so I decided I wanted to get the dish washer, which we just replaced last month, paid off, before we purchase a new dryer. The joys of real life. Ha, ha.

I kept the same off white thrifted St. John’s Bay tank top, but swapped out the black polka dot blazer for my thrifted Rue 21 cropped denim jacket. This is one of my favorite thrifted pieces. It is so versatile and I pair it with everything. The fact that it is cropped with 3/4 length sleeves makes it the perfect piece for summer outfits, when you don’t really need a full blown jacket.

I changed my accessories to reflect a more casual vibe. Sometimes it is fun to wear multiple necklaces together, so I wore a gold and cream beaded choker with a longer gold charm pendant necklace.

I chose my thrifted yellow, Elle tote bag because I like the way it went with the skirt and I thought it added another dimension of texture and interest to the outfit.

My Mossimo sneakers were also a thrift find. One of the Goodwill stores I go to has multiple new items from Target. They must be items that are discontinued, but they are brand new with the labels still on. How fun is that! These are not sneakers I would wear for a long day on my feet, but I thought they were fun for occasional wear and for the blog.

What do you think of this casual interpretation for this skirt? Do you think it works? Would you wear a skirt in this way. Leave me your thoughts in the comments. I love to hear your ideas and thoughts.

Here are the two outfits side by side. Which one did you like better?

I’ve included a few shopping links to look over. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull.

Have a great weekend everyone and stay safe!

Spring Trends 2020 - Polka Dots

If there is one thing that is prevalent this year for spring trends it is patterns. From polka dots, to plaid, to pinstripes, to florals and tropical greenery, and more, patterns abound. Being a girl who likes color, I am all in when it comes to wearing patterns. It is an easy way to add visual interest and colors to an outfit, with just the addition of a printed top, skirt or scarf.

Today’s outfit revolves around polka dots. Yes the cheery dots are back and bolder than ever. Most of what was on the runway featured larger more bold polka dots, but any dots will do and if you are feeling really bold, why not go for a head to toe polka dotted outfit, like the one featured in this post?

I think everything in this outfit I have used on the blog before. With the ever increasing emphasis on recycling of all sorts, it is a great practice to only purchase pieces for your closet that are going to get used over and over.

Let me tell you about this outfit from head to toe and provide links to other posts where I have used the same piece.

Polka Dot Top

This “top” is actually a short dress/tunic that I got on clearance at Charming Charlie a few years ago. The dress is too short for my taste, but I thought it would be cute with cropped pants in the summer, or used like this, tucked in, so it looks more like a regular popover blouse. It is fully lined, so no worries on having to wear a cami underneath. You can see I styled a similar look with a different polka dot skirt and a navy eyelet jacket here.

Abstract Polka Dot Skirt

I call this George brand, high waisted, pull on skirt, abstract polka dot, because the dots are more squishy than perfectly round. I really like this midi length skirt and midi’s are the trend for spring and summer. Go figure, we go from midi skirts to hot pants. No hot pants for this girl. I’m sorry, but hot pants are only made for ladies with long, slim, pretty legs, and mine have none of those qualities. Back in the day, but not any more. This skirt is fully lined, but very light weight, so perfect for spring and summer. I originally posted this skirt with a striped crop top and jean jacket. You can see that post here.

Classic Blue Cardigan

This ANA cardigan has been a warmer weather staple in my closet for many years. I can’t seem to find another post using this sweater, but I know I have worn it on Instagram. If you don’t follow me yet, on Insta, just look me up. You’ll see more of my every day looks over there and pictures of our cat, Plato and a few other things here and there.

Trendy Bag and Necklace

Large tote bags are making a come back, at least for the spring and summer. Like I said in my introductory post on the Spring Trends, I like a fun, large tote bag, especially for traveling, because you can throw extra things in there like a book, notebook and a bottle of water. This tote was a clearance find at Kohl’s and I love the texture details and the gold design. 

Another Spring Trend is chunky chain jewelry. I got this necklace a couple season’s ago and haven’t worn it that much. Now I have more of a reason to.

Classic Blue Heels

I’ve worn these bright blue Croft and Barrow heels numerous times before on the blog. For a while I couldn’t find them. I had packed them away in a shoe box, inside another box. I’m not sure what I was thinking. Ha, ha. You can see how I styled them with a denim skirt, a floral dress, a maroon skirt and white jeans. They are very versatile shoes and I noticed when we did these pictures they are starting to show signs of wear, so I need to be on the look out for a replacement pair.

Are you a polka dot fan? What do you think of this outfit? I’d love to hear you thoughts.

Thanks to everyone who supports the blog. I’m including some shopping links. These are affiliate links, and all opinions are my own.

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull.

Have a wonderful day.

Wearing White - Embroidered Pants

I hope you are enjoying this series on wearing white. Most of us have at least something or other that is white, or at least cream or ivory (what is the difference really). I centered this series on pieces that I would classify as a true white, not cream or ivory or off white, however every outfit could easily use pieces that aren’t a true white. It’s all about wearing what works for you and what you are going to feel best in. Not everyone likes to wear white, top or bottom. It can make us look washed out or larger if it is on the bottom, but we are trying to break out of some of those fashion boxes right, and if I want to wear white, I’m going to do it. Ha, ha.

Today’s outfit revolves around pants that you saw earlier this spring on the blog. These pants are from Shop National and were gifted to me when I did the original post, which you can see here. I was excited to get to style these again and wanted to pull another color from the festive embroidery on the legs, so I chose yellow.

I have to tell you, my daughter and I had quite a time being silly on this shoot. It was hot and I was melting, so everything was sticking to me, as you can see here, my yellow tee was taking on its own identity with its ripples. Ha, ha. When we are taking pictures, I don’t remember to smooth everything out, but I guess that’s real life. When is life ripple free? Rarely ever. This tee is thrifted and is Basic Edition’s brand.

I thought it would be fun to show movement, so I told my daughter I wanted to take more shots of me walking. Here are a few. I must confess, I was having a hard time walking a straight line. Ha, ha. And I don’t even drink!

Because I wanted to make the outfits in this series transitional to fall, I added a layering piece to each one. For this outfit I chose my green faux velvet jacket that I found at a thrift store. This is a brand called Erika. It is soft and perfect for when the evenings start to get cooler.

Since this was a casual look, I kept my accessories simple. This pendant necklace I have worn before on the blog.

The embroidery on the pants contains yellow, green and a couple of blue shades. I brought in the yellow and green, so I thought blue would be perfect for my shoes and bag. These bright blue Keds are regulars on the blog, as you just saw on Tuesday. Isn’t it amazing how much more blue they look with the bright white pants?

Bright blue is also how my bag rolls. Bright blue like the summer sky.

I actually had this green tassel from another bag, so I added it to my blue bag. I just like that combination of colors and think it works perfectly for summer. I have several Rosetti bags and like each one for various reasons. Cross body bags are definitely my muse right now. They are perfect for hands free shopping and more secure than a shoulder bag.

I hope you liked this post and that this will inspire you to pull out those white pieces and creatively make an outfit that will take you into fall.

I’m heading off to see my mom this weekend. What are you up to? I love to hear from you and am very thankful for all of you who take time out of your busy schedules to comment.

Have a great weekend.