My Style - Pantone Spring 2023 - NY: Classic Green, Love Bird, Leek Green

For today’s look, I decided to combine the three greens on the New York Palette into one outfit. These greens are all different, but go together making a fun, bright, spring outfit perfect for any casual occasion.

You know my go to is always casual and comfortable, but aIso like my outfits to look put together, so it at least appears that I gave a little thought to what I am wearing. I always try to plan my outfits out the night before, so that I don’t have to take the time in the morning to make those decisions. Do you pick out your outfits the night before, or do you just throw things on at the last minute?

This outfit is my style: casual, cute and comfortable. It is the type of outfit in which I feel most confident and most like myself. I love wearing button downs as a topper over a graphic tee or light weight long sleeve tee. Skinnies are always going to be part of my wardrobe, no matter what the trend forecasters say. I will definitely style other types of pants from boot cut, to straight, to wide leg and flares, but skinnies will still hold a place in my closet.

I thought this Periodic Table of Muppets tee perfect for the Classic Green color on the NY palette. The thing I love about graphic tees is that they allow every individual to speak for themselves. They show the bands we like, the shows we watch, the activities and hobbies we groove on. A graphic tee can tell a lot about a person. What do you suppose this tee says about me? If you guessed that I grew up watching the Muppet Show, then you are right! Ha, ha.

This thrifted Jaclyn Smith Love Bird button down is such a great piece for spring and summer. Gingham always moves our minds towards the warmer days of spring and a summer full of outdoor activities and picnics at the park.

While these olive pants are not as yellowy as the Pantone Leek Green, it still gives you the idea of olive drab, which you know comes in a variety of shades from green gray to green brown and green yellow. I’ve had these Gloria Vanderbilt utility skinnies for a number of years and have styled them multiple times on the blog. You can see them with an olive utility vest, a light weight sweater, a floral bomber jacket, and a snakeskin print jacket.

The addition of my Steve Madden white sneakers keeps the outfit feeling springy and fun.

This brown and white bag was a thrifting treasure. It is Rafe NY brand. I really like the style and roominess of the this bag. The fringe tassel and woven buckle strap on the front pocket add such fun details. The bag is a bit heavy, so I won’t be using it for any long shopping trips, but it will make a great travel bag with room for a book and a few snacks. Ha, ha. I felt it went very well with the whole vibe of this outfit. What do you think?

I didn’t get a good close up of my necklace, but it is a simple short pendant and the colors mimic the other colors in the outfit.

Style Tip: Go monochrome without going monochrome. All of these colors are in the green category, but they are all different. Even still, the outfit does have a distinct monochrome feel. This is also a great way to put an outfit together. Pick a color category, then choose various shades from that category to make up your whole outfit. Use your accessories as a way to add a few pops of different color.

What do you think of this outfit? Does this mimic your style? What is your casual go to style? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Leave me some love.

I’m including a few shopping links. These are affiliate links and are brought to you at no extra cost. If you purchase something through a link I get a little bit of a commission. I also now have a Buy Me a Coffee link, so if you are so inclined you can support this little blog by doing that. Thank you so much.

Buy Me a Coffee

I wasn’t able to find anything in the Love Bird color, so you may have to track that one down yourself by Googling it or by looking for it at thrift stores.

Have a great week.

Shopping Our Closets - Unique Cardigan: A Casual Valentine's Day Outfit

I am pretty sure all of us have a unique cardigan in our closets. This would be the piece that has a different pattern or print that you simply love, but aren’t sure how to use it in an outfit. It has been hanging there for a while, and you are starting to think you should just get rid of it. Don’t do it, until after you have read this post. I am hoping to give you style tips on how to take that unique cardi and turn it into a masterpiece of an outfit.

I found this thrifted cardigan recently at my local thrift shop around the corner. I liked that it is a bit shorter, so for me gives the appearance of a cropped cardigan. It’s actually a petite size, so the sleeves are a tad short, but again this gives it a different look.

Style Tip - Always shop all size sections at thrift stores and even at full priced retailers. Sizing has become such a circus of silliness today. A size 12 now can be worn by someone who wears a size 10 or someone who wears a size 14, depending on the manufacturer. A small might fit someone with a very petite frame or it might be way to big.

Obviously, I was drawn to the color and the Fair Isle pattern on this piece. It actually has some wear around the button holes where the threads are starting to fray, so I need to see what I can do to fix it. I like that it has the red, white and a touch of olive green, so a great piece for Christmas, but also a bit of pink which makes it perfect for Valentine’s Day.

In order to build this outfit, I started with my unique sweater. I thought about pairing it with jeans, but then decided I needed to get out of that box. Seeing as I have several olive colored pairs of pants, I knew that would be a good choice. Thus, my Gloria Vanderbilt, olive, cargo skinnies. Black or white pants, or a skirt would have been another good choice.

Style Tip - When building an outfit start with the most colorful piece, then choose the rest of your pieces using colors from that. You can do this with a scarf, a bag, a top, a cardigan, a skirt or even a pair of pants that are very colorful.

My oddly colored long sleeve tee was a clearance find at Kohl’s. It really is a nondescript color. It leans towards an extremely washed out olive, but could also be seen as a very light tan or beige depending on what you wear it with. It is very light weight, so my thought was it would be a good layering piece, especially as the weather warms up.

Style Tip - Colors can be deceiving, which works to our benefit. A color can look quite different depending on what other color it is paired with. This is especially true for lighter colors in the green, orange and yellow categories. Depending on what you pair them with they might look more blue, pink or beige. Do an experiment and hold one of your lighter colored tops next to a variety of more saturated tones and see how it changes.

My jewelry also mimics the color tones in the sweater with the pinks, reds and olive greens. I thought this beaded necklace made a beautiful statement against the drab backdrop of my tee. Especially, with the somewhat monochrome look of the tee, pants and ankle boots.

Style Tip - Accessories are a great way to show off your own unique personality. Your shoes do not have to match your bag and your jewelry can be a whimsical - this is what I feel like wearing - choice; no matching required

I chose my faithful SO ankle boots and then added the bright red bag to pull it all together. (Don’t mind my blue socks! Ha, ha.)

What do you think of this outfit? What would you have done differently? Tell me about that unique cardigan in your closet and how you plan on using it to build a fabulous outfit.

Note in the picture below, the olive threads in the sweater look more beige. Maybe color is as fickle as fashion. Ha, ha. As my photographer daughter will tell you, color is definitely influenced by lighting.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Leave me some love in the comments. Your comments help keep my blog interesting and also keep it growing. I am including a few shopping links for you to look over.

Thanks for stopping by the blog.

Oh, Olive! Workwear Look

Tuesday I showed you a casual look with olive pants and today I am showing you a workwear look that might be doable for the office. We are looking at the color olive as a neutral. I know many of us have olive in our wardrobes and are becoming more aware of what a great color it is. Tuesday, I showed you how well it goes with orange and white. Check out today’s outfit, which combines dark florals and black for a sassy look.

I found this fabulous dark floral Time and Tru dress while thrifting on one of our trips. I had started really looking over the dress racks at thrift stores recently after seeing Instagram gal, jbowenandcompany using a button up dress like a kimono. It makes a piece like this so much more versatile. When I decided to do this series on olive pieces, I knew this dress as a duster would be a perfect topper for a fun workwear look.

Once again, my olive Gloria Vanderbilt skinny pants are the focal piece. This time I paired them with another neutral, black. My black v-neck polo is a sleeveless piece that I found thrifting a few weeks ago. Black and olive has always been a classic combination. Throwing the dark floral piece over the top really makes the outfit pop.

You’ve seen these Clark peep toe shoeties on the blog before. They are great shoes, I just really have no place to wear them right now. I know many bloggers and Instagram babes who post outfits they are actually wearing, but some of us have a more laid back approach. I would wear these and this whole outfit if I had an office job, but right now I don’t. Still, it is fun to have choices, and to be able to show you all a few of my fun wardrobe pieces, even if I don’t wear them as often.

I thought adding the light blue bag would pull out the light blue in the duster and with the dark florals it still gives the outfit a summer feel. You could have done the same thing with the light pink, yellow, or white. For the same reason I went with the light blue pendant. Just that little extra pop of color adds more interest to the outfit.

What do you think of this outfit? Have you ever worn a button up dress as a duster or kimono? It is a great way to extend the use of your dresses. If you are like me, you don’t have too many excuses to wear a dress. I know some ladies wear them all the time, and if my legs were less blemished by veins, I probably would too, but using a dress in this way still gives me an excuse to get more dressed up.

I hope you enjoyed this post. I am going to include a few shopping links for you to look over. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Have a great weekend. I will not be posting next week once again, as I am going to spend the week with my mom while my brother and his family are out of town. I’ll be back the following week. Until then, take care.