Color Play - Finding Inspiration in Wall Art

We don’t just have to go to Pinterest to find inspiration for our outfits, although that is a great source for all sorts of color combinations. All you need to do is type in your color combo and outfits of all sorts will pop up. For example if I type in, “Neon green with brown outfit,” or “Outfits with neon green and brown,” you’ll get a variety. If you want to only search casual outfits, add the word casual to your search.

I am one who likes variety when it comes to where I am getting my color inspiration, so it is a good thing the sources are unlimited. Besides nature, one of my favorite places for inspiration is wall art. From water colors to oils, to photographs to tiles in kitchen back splashes or bathroom trim, I love to create outfits using those colors.

Today’s outfit revolves around two pieces of wall art that were hanging at the house we staying at on our trip to Kentucky. I loved the colors in each. (I had to take the pictures at an angle to cut the glare on the glass that was over the prints.)

As I started looking through my closet I was struck by how many different outfits could be derived from these prints. I may have to revisit these at a future date. Today’s casual outfit pulled out the bold red, dark and medium blue, and the creamy light brown.

Everything in this outfit is second hand, except for the tee shirt. My white v-neck tee is Time and Tru brand from Walmart from a year or two ago. These make great basic tees and are totally affordable. If you click on the Walmart link you’ll see they have two packs of these types of tees in various colors.

I pulled out a pair of straight leg jeans as it was going to be a little cool and rainy on the day I took these pictures. These are Old Navy brand and are called The Sweetheart. As I usually do, I rolled these. Having my ankles showing makes me stay cooler and it just seems more appropriate for the summer weather.

My print jacket is a Christopher and Banks piece. It seems to be a blend of leopard, and floral. I thought the lighter colors would be good for the warmer weather. It is also lighter weight than a denim or utility jacket. Once again, the beauty of thrift shopping is that you can find all your favorite brands at reduced prices and keep them out of the landfill.

Since the jeans incorporated the darker blue of the picture, I added the brighter blue crossbody bag to pull in the pretty blue of the vase in the second print. This is Tignanello brand.

Now let’s talk about the color red. Red provides such a wonderful pop of color in any outfit that is somewhat understated. I think the red flower necklace and the red shoes make this outfit more fun and interesting. I just found these awesome red shoes at my favorite dollar thrift store. They are like brand new and are a brand called Comfortiva.

If you want shoes that are super comfortable, and affordable, check out their website. They have some cute sandals like the Erena, the Parrea, and the Ganata. I’m not getting any compensation to recommend this retailer, I just know my dollar thrifted shoes are super comfy and cute.

So what do you think? Did my outfit look a little like the prints I took inspiration from?

As I said before, I might have to revisit these color inspiring prints for another outfit. Do you ever get your outfit inspiration from paintings, wall tiles or nature? I would love to hear your sources for outfit inspiration, so leave me a comment or two below.

I hope you are having a great week.

Color Play - Dark Plaid in the Spring and Summer

Today, I am going to show you how to take a darker plaid and make it spring and summer ready. I know many of us put our darker colors away replacing them with pastels and the bright happy colors of warmer weather, but not everyone has as big of a wardrobe as I do. Indeed, for those who are more into a capsule wardrobe, this is a great way to use a darker print all year round.

I found these plaid Croft and Barrow pants a few months ago while thrifting. When I tried them on, I liked the way they fit, and knew they would be great for the holidays, but I also thought it would be fun to wear these any time of year by just adjusting what I pair them with. I decided to pull them out for this post.

As you can see in the picture below they are a simple pull on knit, thus the name inside the waist band - Effortless Stretch Pant. The older I get, the more I like that idea. Ha, ha. But then, the younger generation all wear leggings, which is really just a stretch pant, right? You can see these are perfect for Christmas with the red stripes, and green and blue plaid.

Style Tip: Roll up the hems on your straight leg pants, creating a narrow cuff, to give them a current, casual, and youthful look.

You might be wondering how I chose the sweater and the tee. I wanted to keep to the color scheme of the pants, but with lightening up the shades to a pastel, minty green, and a pastel, blush pink, it changes the feel of the whole outfit. I could have done a similar thing with a lighter reddish orange, and a lighter blue, but in similar shades to the original.

The whole idea behind Color Play is to play with colors and color combinations. I am not a color “trekkie”, boldly going where no woman has gone before in my color combinations. I still like things to look classic, polished, and put together in a way that makes a person think, wow, that’s a cool outfit. But, I still want to experiment and try new things, and I hope I am inspiring you to do that as well.

Style Tip: In order to lighten up an outfit when using a darker print, think in terms of shades of the darker print’s colors. If it is navy, evergreen and maroon, think in terms of light blue, minty green and pink.

My pink sweater was a Nordstrom Rack find, and is a brand called BYdesign. You can click on the link for a variety of color options. This is a great spring, and summer sweater as it is light weight. I got an XL, as I often like a roomier option. These are also on sale right now, so feel free to click on through.

My minty green v-neck tee is Hanes brand and a second hand find. Long sleeve and short sleeve plain colored tees are great pieces to stock up on at thrift stores. It doesn’t matter as much if they are not new as they are typically worn underneath other things.

I decided to wear a few red pieces of jewelry to coordinate with the red stripes in the pants.

My white bag is another thrift find that I typically pull out in the summer. I still have that “wear white in the warmer months” mentality, not so much about pants or tops, but definitely bags. In our current time anything goes, as they say, but we certainly still have our own personal preferences.

These cute sneakers were another thrift find. They are brand called vaisb, which looked to be a brand that used to be sold on Amazon.

What do you think of this outfit? Do you think I accomplished a spring or summer look by incorporating lighter colored pieces with the darker plaid pants? I personally like the way the outfit turned out, but I know it is not for everyone. However, the idea is to play with color. Don’t be afraid to think outside the crayon box when it comes to what colors you are brave enough to wear, and the color combinations you might create. Getting dressed should be fun and that is one of the reasons I share this blog with you.

I am including a few other shopping links below. Don’t forget to check out the BYdesign link above if you are in need of a light weight cardigan for summer. These are affiliate links. I do not earn any money from these links unless you purchase the item through the link. I provide these links to give you information and they are brought to you at no additional cost. All opinions are my own.

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Color Play - 2 - Pantone Spring 2023 - NY Palette: Tangelo, Peach Pink, Machiatto

These are the final three colors from the Pantone Spring 2023 NY Palette and I wanted to let you see them. This is also going to be a color block outfit, though not as distinct as the previous one with the more primary colors. These colors are softer and make me think more of light spring showers and Easter flowers. This outfit has almost a monochromatic feel as the colors are similar in their hues.

With Easter only a week away, I thought it might be nice to focus on an outfit that would work for a casual Easter get together. It used to be we dressed up for this holiday, and I think many people still do, but while many are still donning their white shoes and pretty spring dresses, there are others who will reach for a more casual, practical outfit for a day of cooking and preparing treats for the grandkids’ Easter hunts.

This outfit is made up of three main components: bottom, top and accessories. I am including the vest in with the accessories because it is not essential to the outfit. You could easily wear a top and bottom without a topper like a vest or blazer. For this outfit, the vest was representing another of the Pantone colors and not only does it add an element of warmth, but an element of texture and interest.

My Peach Pink pants are W62 brand and I believe were from Dress Barn. I have styled these on the blog before. You can see them styled here in a monochrome look, with a red moto jacket, with a pastel pink cardigan, with a LuLaRoe tee, with a cropped blazer, and with a different set of Pantone colors,

Sorry for the poor picture quality. Phone pictures are great, but not so much when it comes to editing.

My Tangelo vest was a Christopher and Banks purchase a few years ago. I love the deep orange color and it serves well for both spring and fall.

You can also see in the above picture my thrifted Old Navy sweater top. I had a Machiotto colored jean jacket picked out, but I didn’t have any other orange that worked as well as my vest. Even though there is a distinct marled print you can see the brown color throughout.

I added the scarf as a way to pull the entire look together.

My daughter was getting rid of this pretty, statement necklace, so I snatched it up. I thought it went great with this outfit.

My sneakers are Mossimo and were thrift find. They also mimic the Machiotto color almost perfectly and add another bit of shine to the look.

My bag was a gift from my daughter. Both my girls know I love purses, so I am always excited when I get a new one as a gift. I love the embellished detail on this piece.

What do you think of these colors? Would you wear these together? What are you going to wear for your Easter Day celebration?

I’m not sharing any shopping links to day, but hope you have a marvelous weekend.

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