Spring Colors: Fiesta Red, Limpet Shell and Iced Coffee

April 05, 2016 by Amy Christensen in Dressing After 50, Layering, organization, Spring Colors, Women's Fashion

Today's outfit combines the sass of Fiesta along with the beachy vibe of Limpet Shell. Add to the mix a cup of Iced Coffee and we are ready for a lunch date with girlfriends or and evening out with the hubby. Again, my outfit choices may not exactly match the Pantone colors, but colors are meant to give you ideas on how to mix and match outfits, so perfect matches are not necessary.

Photo Credit: Rebecca Trumbull, Makeup by Rachel Christensen

I don't wear a significant amount of red, but I really liked this top. It could be worn long or, as I did, it can be tied at the waist for a casual shorter look. Here is a possible substitute at Kohl's.

You can see below that I styled the outfit with ankle boots, a bag that could be used as a cross body or a clutch and a statement necklace that layered Limpet Shell, cream and Rose Quartz beads for an eye catching look.

I love the Limpet Shell cardigan which I bought on clearance at Kohl's. It will be a great sweater for spring and summer. Oh, by the way, that is my husband having a junior high photobombing moment from inside the door. He's silly! Click on the links below for similar pieces for this outfit. These are not the exact same pieces and colors and sizing will vary.

Shop the Look:

Blouse - Kohl's - $29.99

Palazzo Pants - Target - $19.99

Cardigan - Target - $19.99

Boots - DSW - $34.94

Clutch - Kohl's - $54.99

Necklace - Kohl's - $18.20

Closet Clean Out - Tip 6: Shoes and Bags

The final installment in our closet clean out series has to do with corralling our shoes and bags. I know some of you out there have a strong psychological draw to purses and shoes. Would you call it an addiction? I have a shopping problem, but not as much for shoes and purses. That doesn't mean I don't have my share of shoes and bags. It is rather silly. I mean how many bags do we need to carry at one time, or are you really going to spend the time switching out purses every time you want a different look? I know women do. As far as shoes, well, how many feet do you have? Last time I looked I had two! Still, we are women and we have lots of shoes and bags, so the following are a few suggestions for organizing those items.

This is a nifty little bin and it holds plenty of pairs of shoes. This one has a number of my summer sandals, flip flops and sneakers. No, it doesn't look pretty, but it keeps them off the floor. These from Walmart are similar. The picture below shows what the bins look like stacked in my closet. Sorry for the poor phone photography!

There are also shoe boxes that can be bought at the store. I'm cheap so I use this:

These aren't as pretty and you can't see what's inside, but I really only use these for the shoes that are not part of the current season. I just stack them on top of each other in my closet. Often, I can get more than one pair of shoes in a box. Now boots are a different issue and right now I don't have a plan....maybe more on that next fall!

As for my bags and purses, most of them lay flat in my closet, but I don't have anything real expensive. If you are a Coach purse kind of girl, you'll need a better way of storing your bags to keep them in pristine condition. Here is an idea I thought of today.

A simple over the door hook can solve some of those bag storage problems. This would be good for bags you are currently using. Here are several possibilities from Walmart: multiple hooks and individual hooks.

There are so many ways to organize and store things. I hope that you enjoyed my Closet Clean Out tips and I would love to hear how you might have been inspired to organize and clean your closet. Let me know your stories and ideas in the comments section below.

Have a great day and keep stylin'!

Today I linked up with Jess at Elegantly Dressed and Stylish.

Spring Colors: Lilac Gray and Buttercup

March 15, 2016 by Amy Christensen in Women's Fashion, Shopping, Spring Colors, organization, Dressing After 50

Today you'll see the second outfit in my Spring color series. The color emphasis is on Pantone's Lilac Gray and Buttercup. I found the button up at a thrift store. We had a hard time finding a similar color, but here is a possibility. The bag I found on clearance at JC Penney and I really like it. This purse is roomy, but not overwhelming. I have a tendency to put everything in my bag. The muted color enables it to be carried with many other outfits, and the gold chain gives it a classy look without making it heavier. We found a similar bag at Kohl's.

The buttercup tee (another thrift store find) has an embellished neckline which goes well with the gold on my bag and shoes. We found a similar embellished tank top at Macy's. The skirt, simple black leggings, shoes, and yellow bangle are all second hand store finds but we were able to find you some inspiration from some other stores. Here is a skirt from Kohl's, black shoes from DSW, and a bracelet option on Etsy. As you can tell, I love to thrift shop. If I had been born in an earlier century, I would have been a pirate! Arrrrrrrrrggggg! I was excited to see that the low chunky heel is making a come back!

Obviously, the outfit could be retrofitted for summer simply by getting rid of the leggings and wearing a cute pair of sandals or espadrilles. Carry the button up as a covering for overly air conditioned shops or restaurants and you are all set.

Since, this blog is all about inspiration, I would like you ladies to start digging for treasure in your own closets. See if you have any of Pantone's Spring color line up. Throw an outfit together and have someone take a picture. Then send it to me via a Facebook message or you can email it to me. If you take a pic on your phone you can just text it to my email at guineapigtrekie@yahoo.com. I would love to see how I have inspired your fashion sensibilities and you might even get your pic posted!

Now it's time for our next Closet Clean Out Tip.

Closet Clean Clean Out - Tip 3 - Skirts and Dresses

I really do not know why I have so many skirts and dresses. I think it stems from my upbringing. Being raised in the church we always dressed up for Sunday service. As far as that goes, my mother used to make me wear dresses when I was in elementary school. Being a tomboy I grew to loathe skirts and dresses, although, I never stopped wearing them to church...until recently. However, I still do wear a skirt for work once in a while and if my husband and I splurge on a show I dress up.

Once again, I would say, start by organizing. You can arrange by color, length or type of skirt, or seasonal. The same goes for dresses. If you have room you might want to hang from shortest to longest. Organization is for your benefit, so figure out what is going to work for you. As you begin to organize take a hard look at what skirts and dresses you have. Do you love it? Does it fit? Is it in style?

Actually that is not a valid question any more. What isn't in style? Mini vs. maxi, plain vs. print, plaid vs. floral, a-line vs. pencil, pleather vs. leather.....anything goes! Style is what you make it. A dress you wore in the 80's may no longer be in style, but if you throw a chunky sweater over it, or add a black moto jacket and a pair of over the knee boots you can make it work. That's not something I have to worry about, since I can't fit into any dresses that I owned in the 80's. Ha, ha.

I have found that if I am unsure about a particular item, I put it in a pile, then when I have a significant number of items I try them all on. The item has to answer several questions: Does it have a slimming or smoothing effect? Is the pattern or color complimentary? Could I pair it with other items I have to make it work for me, like wearing a dress with a jacket or sweater over the top, or wearing a skirt with a wide belt and a tee shirt or tank top. How can I update my look if it is something I really love? I am getting better at putting things in the donation box if I am not absolutely convinced it works for me.

I hope as you reorganize your skirts and dresses you will be thinking about some of the things you have read here on my fashion blog. As you saw today, I paired a skirt with leggings, something I have never done before. Think outside the box, after all, you are women and we are more like spaghetti than waffles.

Be sure to come back next week. We'll have another Spring outfit and more tips on cleaning out our closets.

All photos by Rebecca Trumbull, Makeup by Rachel Christensen

Spring Preview

March 01, 2016 by Amy Christensen in Women's Fashion, Spring Colors

While spring is still a few weeks away, the fashion world has been at work since sometime last year planning the color line up for Spring 2016. Pantone is the color guru. Not only do their color choices affect what the models are wearing on the fashion run ways, but they affect the colors used in design and decorating. You can see their website and the Spring color choices by clicking here.

In my fashion posts for the next few weeks I have taken Pantone's color choices and shopped in my closet. Most colors put out by the designers fall into similar color categories and you probably already have something that resembles some of the colors in your closet. For example the color "Serenity" is very close to a light denim blue. "Peach echo" is related to the dark coral family and "Buttercup" the vibrant yellow.

Pantone picks two colors that become the central focus of the spring line up. This year it is "Rose Quartz" and "Serenity". While you can be trendy just focusing on those two colors, I love to see what I can do with all ten colors put forth in the spring line up. I have so many clothes and I was able to find most of the colors already hanging in my closet or folded in my drawers. A few things I ended up purchasing, but mostly at thrift shops.

The color guide is there as that, a guide. Not everyone can wear "Fiesta" or "Iced Coffee", but you can find the colors that suit your skin tone and make up scheme best and then accent with pieces in the other tones and colors. For instance, maybe your outfit consists mainly of "Snorkel blue" and "Green flash". You could then accent that with "Buttercup" beads around your neck and wrists, or use a "Lilac gray" bag or "Iced coffee" shoes. You will see some of my "Spring line up" over the next few weeks.

In the mean time don't be afraid to try new things. I will confess, I have a hard time getting out of my comfort zone, but that is part of what writing this blog is about. Learning, changing, adapting and growing. We should never be stagnant, and when we find that we are, well, it is time to do some spring cleaning. Continue reading for our first Closet Clean Out Tip...

Closet Clean Out - Tip 1 - Organize

If you are like me, you love to shop, or maybe you don't, but you have a closet full of clothes, many of which you don't even wear. The first thing to do is organize. I know this may be counterintuitive, but I find that if I organize first then I can more easily see what I have and what I don't. Also, I have a second reason for organizing first, as I organize I purge.

I like to organize things in different ways. Sometimes I organize strictly by color; all the yellows together, reds together and so on. I do this by hanging rack and drawers. Right now, I have short sleeve shirts with prints by color, short sleeve shirts without print by color, 3/4 sleeve shirts with prints by color, 3/4 sleeve shirts without print by color and so on. I would love to be more of a minimalist, the whole capsule wardrobe has it's appeal, but I love options and I love colors and I love different shapes and lengths. I guess I just love clothes!

So as you delve into your closet, don't be afraid to pull everything out...but be aware this does take time and you and your spouse want to be able to sleep on that bed where you are piling all your clothes. As you organize according to your own system, get rid of stuff. That pink blazer your never wear because it is just not the right pink for your skin tone...donate it. That turtleneck you love but it's covered in pills, throw it away. Pilling does not look attractive on any clothing. That skirt that is a tad too tight, give it to your skinny friend. I hate to tell you girlfriend, but if you are anything like me, that weight is not coming off very fast and by the time it does, you will want to buy a new skirt.

I know organizing can be an overwhelming task, but look at it in bite size chunks. Look at your hanging racks first. How can you organize your tops, dresses or skirts so that you have a better idea of what you have? Start with the long sleeve tops. Leave everything else on the rack, but the long sleeve tops. Take those out and pile them on your bed or hang them on an empty rack. As you are handling each shirt, decide do I want to keep it, do I want to donate it, or do I need to try it on and decide after I look in the mirror. An item you bought because it was such a good deal, may now not look so great. Even if you never wore it, get rid of it, because keeping it will not guarantee you will wear it.

One thing I read about reducing clutter said to get rid of ten things at a time. So your assignment today, ladies, is to reorganize your closet and as you do, try to get rid of at least ten things. If you do more than ten you are awesome and I feel good that I inspired you to do that much! Tell me your success stories in the comments section below. I'd love to hear from you!

Next week we'll talk about those pesky socks and underwear.