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

Beautiful Blogger Bests - Monochrome with Print and Texture

This week on my Beautiful Blogger Best column, I am featuring the lovely Liz of With Wonder and Whimsy. Liz is a firey red head who is not afraid to wear any color and has a knack for styling outfits that are feminine, flirty and fabulous. 

Today I am referencing Liz's post Outfit Formula: Monochrome, Texture, and Print. To check out her original post just click on the link. The neat thing is, Liz was taking something she learned from another blogger Janeane of Designing from My Closet. I featured Janeane in my original Beautiful Blogger Bests column on styling an outfit around a bag. See that post here

In her post Liz styles an outfit using the colors black and white. If you follow Liz you know this is not her norm. She loves pastels and lace, colors and frills, but she wanted to challenge herself to step outside her norm. The challenge for me was to put an outfit together that had two basic colors, a print and some texture. This is what I came up with.

This photo was taken on one of the last really hot afternoons we had before it started to cool down and become more fall like. Thus, I look a tad wilty. The skirt is thrifted and the top is actually a tunic that I recently acquired from Charming Charlie's end of the season sale. I put the tunic on and then layered the skirt over top.

The eyelet jacket and the bag with it's gold rivets and extra buckles add great elements of texture to this otherwise monochrome outfit. I did cheat by adding the red beads, but I love the contrast of the red against the white and blue. The large beads also add additional texture to the look.

These are my navy loafer heels. Funny thing, I really didn't know what this type of shoe was called. That just shows I am still a newbie to the fashion world, so I thought, "Well they look a bit like a loafer, but with a heel." I typed in loafer heels and up they popped. Isn't the internet amazing? Ha, ha. This is a great shoe to wear with a skirt for a more casual look or with pants for a more dressed up look. Funny how that works!

Are you seeing spots? I'm thinking this would have looked better with a belt of some sort. What do you think?

So there you have it. I am so thankful to all the beautiful bloggers that I follow. Liz has been a great inspiration to me, not only with her knowledge of fashion, but with her kind and attentive comments on my fashion posts. Be sure to click on her link and give her some love. 

Check back next week for more fashion fun! Have a great weekend!

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull. Make up Rachel Christensen.

Shopping Options (I chose black for the color):

Polka Dot Dress - Kohl's - $69.99

Black Eyelet Jacket - Jacket Society - $155.00

or

Bomber Eyelet Jacket - Macy's - $55.99

Black Loafer Heels - Belk - $89.00

Black Tote - JC Penney - $85.00

 

Denim Daze - Knee Length Skirt

This week I am styling a knee length denim skirt. I have had this skirt for a while, but I don't wear skirts as often as I would like. This skirt, however is very versatile for dressing up or dressing down.

Once again, I'll start with a more casual look. This is a cute outfit for a day out shopping or even a visit to the zoo or park with my Grandson.  The beauty of this light wash skirt lies in the panels and stretchy fabric. The skirt is an a-line, but allows the fullness of my thighs and bum because it has 4 panels in the front and 4 panels in the back. Plus there is spandex in the fabric mix which allows a bit of stretch without the skirt becoming saggy or wrinkled.

I topped the skirt with a sleeveless pink gingham blouse that has an attached tie that can be either tied in the front or in the back. I also chose to wear wood jewelry for a different casual look.

To keep the look simple, I carried a plain brown hobo bag and wore these athletic flats. The flats are lined with a light pink material which is visible through the mesh, making a loose connection with my blouse.

This is my more dressed up version. This would be a great outfit for Sunday church, date night with the hubby or a day at work. I intentionally chose pieces that were blue, to show that mixing colors can include colors that fall in the same "genre". I will be discussing that more in this month's Color Crash Course column the last Thursday of the month.

Here you can see the beaded detail on this knit short sleeved shirt from Christopher and Banks. Over the top I wore a navy eyelet jacket. I love this jacket for spring, summer and fall. It's fully lined, so the color of the shirt doesn't show through, but the lining gives it an added layer of warmth. You can also see the silver bangles I chose for my only jewelry. 

These cute heels were a deep discount at Kohl's last year. The bright blue color goes perfectly with my shirt. The bag was another thrift store find and I like how the light blue matches the color of the skirt, but the background is still a darker wash denim. The silver straps and buckle take the dressy factor up a notch.

Here you can see the two outfits side by side. I hope these posts on denim are giving you some ideas for styling your own denim pieces. The beauty of denim lies, not only in it's durability, but its transcendence across seasons. Spring, summer, winter and fall can all use denim as important pieces for casual and dressy styles. 

Next week I'll be styling a pair of denim flares. Hope to see you then. Don't forget to check back on Thursday for Beautiful Blogger Bests to see which blogger inspired me and how I styled the look. 

Have a great week. 

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull. Make up Rachel Christensen.

Shopping a Similar Look:

Casual -

Denim skirt - LL Bean - $27.99

Sleeveless top - Macy's - $26.99

Athletic shoes - Skechers - $60.00

Wooden Necklace - Novica - $37.99

Wooden Bracelet - Novica - $14.99

Brown hobo - Target -$34.99

Dressy -

Bright blue top - Target - $31.48

Navy jacket - The Limited - $118.00

Bright blue heels - Kohl's - $54.99

Bag - Calvin Klein - $69.99

I do not make any money off of these items. This is a list to give you suggestions of different stores that have a similar looking piece to what I am styling. I try to limit my list to items within a reasonable price range. Sometimes I do not include everything I have styled because items are easily accessible at most department stores (such as the silver bangles).

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