Winter Trend - My Take on Bohemian Chic

The idea of bohemian style always brings to my mind, gypsies. I think of long, tiered skirts, bright colors and all manner of patterns. I also think of the 1960’s hippies with fringe, headbands and bell bottoms. When I went to put this outfit together, I knew I wanted to incorporate a few of those characteristics into the outfit, but still stay true to my own style. Let’s face it, the 1960’s brought the women’s lib movement, so many women were burning their bras while I was still in diapers and just learning to walk. I personally like to keep the “girls” covered, except when I am ready for bed, so that aspect of the 1960’s boho vibe will not be part of my style.

I found this pretty Westbound medallion print top a while back during a thrift run. I love the bright, happy pattern, the ruching on the front yoke and the unique sleeves.

My Vera Wang distressed cropped jeans have made multiple appearances on the blog. You can see them with a holiday sweater, a red plaid jacket and a graphic tee and long fringe vest. I typically don’t wear them until warmer weather, but occasionally I will pull them out and use them with a pair of boots. Another thrift find, these are great for a casual look. If you look back at the other photos you can see they are starting to show some wear.

I chose beads for my jewelry, since beading also seems to be a bohemian statement.

I chose my black suede Massini slouch boots, as they made me think of the 1960’s styles again. Suede has long been associated with the days of flower children and Woodstock in the form of fringe on bags, jackets and vests. Typically, the suede would have been a natural looking brown, but you get the idea.

My bag is an older Liz Claiborne brand called Axcess. It doesn’t really match, but I thought the pattern, the shape, the colors and the corduroy material was channeling a bit of its own boho chic.

I ended up adding my Chico’s fringe trimmed cape. Not only did it add one last element of bohemian flair, but it helped keep me warm while I was messing with my camera. This piece was a clearance find via Chico’s online about four years ago. I can’t believe it’s been that long already!

Do you like the Bohemian trend? What are the things you like about it? What don’t you like about it? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

I am including a few shopping links for a plethora of things with that Boho vibe. I hope you will spend a little time shopping. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

I will not be posting for the rest of the week. I have several articles on the docket for the community magazine I am writing for, I have to houseclean tomorrow and on Friday I am having minor surgery in the morning. I have a small mass on my upper left thigh that needs to be removed.

I hope you all have a good rest of the week and a great weekend. I hope to be back at it next Tuesday. I have a few ideas for posts, if I can’t get out and take pictures, so we’ll see how things go.

Seeing Red - Actual Amy - Plaid Jacket

Today is the last post for the month of February and for my Seeing Red series. If you are new to the blog, I do a lot of series, as it gives me a theme around which to style my outfits, so seeing as February is Valentine’s month and Heart Disease awareness month, red was my color of choice.

Today’s focal piece is a recent purchase from Maurice’s clothing store. This plaid jacket with its sherpa collar called to me as soon as I saw it. “Amy! Hey, Amy! You know you want me. I would look amazing on you, and you would look amazing with me wrapped around you. I’d also keep you cozy, as well as ramp up your casual, biker-chic vibe.” I do believe the jacket was right. Take a look at today’s outfit and see if you agree?

There are so many things I love about this jacket. The color, the pattern and the sherpa along the collar, cuffs and zipper inside, are the main characteristics that drew me to it. The deciding factor was the price. Since it was a winter/seasonal item, the price was only $19.99. I was doing a return to Maurice’s so I considered it an exchange and got it. The other nice thing about this piece is the fit. I could actually wear a bulkier item underneath and still zip it up without looking like the Pillsbury Dough Boy. Ha, ha. It was a cold dat when we took these pictures and I clearly felt warm with this jacket on.

I was obviously going for a very casual look, so I chose my thrifted, distressed, Vera Wang cropped jeans. I wear these a lot in the summer, but thought they would give a fun, edgy vibe to this look.

It also seemed appropriate to have a thrifted band sweatshirt. I like the Beatles, but I was more of an Alice Cooper and Aerosmith chick as I was growing up. My younger daughter and I went to a Cooper concert a few years ago and it was such a blast. I guess I should have gotten a tee shirt!

To go along with this tough girl vibe, I chose accessories that included metal and black. Please don’t judge me for adding flowers to my olive hobo bag. Ha ha. It may have been a wish for spring, my inner flower child feelings or the fact that I really just love flowers.

Finally, my Seven Dials combat boots finished the look. What do you think?

Why is this outfit actually me? I was the one that beat up boys when I was in elementary school. I was the one that chased after my brothers on their motorcycles on my bicycle. I was the one that swam in the creek behind our house. I’m the one who would really like to have a motorcycle of my own. I’m the one who would like to be a warrior princess, if I could. This outfit just seems to sum me up. I told you that jacket was speaking to me. Ha, ha.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Thank you for all of your support. I hope you have a fantastic weekend.

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull.

I’m including a few shopping links. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Holiday Outfit - Casual - Jeans

Welcome to my series on holiday style. I hope that these next few weeks will take you from Thanksgiving through the New Year in creative and inspirational ways. I grew up in a family that rarely dressed up, except for church on Sundays. Holidays were typically ultra casual, in fact sometimes on Christmas we stayed in our pjs or most comfortable sweats all day long. When I got married and we had children our holidays were always spent traveling so that we could spend time with our extended families. Living out of a suitcase for a week was always a challenge, not because I couldn't fit everything in, but because I had to plan ahead! What was I going to wear on each and every day of our time away? And how was I going to look presentable, but still be warm and comfortable?

Now that I am a fashion blogger, I want to dress in a more festive way, but still stay true to my comfortable, relaxed roots. For this series I decided to take a look at three different approaches to holiday dressing, (No! I do not mean stuffing.) The first two weeks will look at a casual approach, the second two weeks a dressy casual approach and the last two weeks will be devoted to a dressy approach. I will follow that with a post on a New Years eve look. So let's begin.

Certainly all of you own a pair of jeans. Some of you may even own a pair of cropped jeans, and/or a pair of distressed jeans. Jeans are a part of my style routine. I wear them all the time, for work, play, dressing up or down and everything in between. Maybe you are not a jeans kind of girl. but whether you are or aren't you can create a casual style using the following simple guidelines.

1. Pick a pair of jeans or casual pants that you enjoy wearing. For this outfit I chose my Vera Wang cropped distressed jeans. Here is a cute pair from Lord & Taylor. You could just as easily choose a pair of mom jeans or a pair of skinnies and just roll up the bottoms for a similar, fun look. 

2. Pick a fun sweater. It doesn't have to be a holiday sweater. I think it is fun to wear something with a holiday motif after Thanksgiving, but until then, any warm cozy sweater will do and over sized is even better. Here is one from Old Navy, Nautica and Target. 

I found this fair isle sweater on the clearance rack at Kohls. It is amazing the treasures you can find on the clearance rack for just about any season. This is Chaps brand, which is on the higher end of what I like to spend, so finding it on clearance with a good coupon was a win. I tucked it away knowing I would be able to use it this winter. 

If you are not familiar with fair isle, it is a knitting technique that uses multiple colors to create patterns. This sweater also has some silver threads knitted in, so it gives the fair isle pattern some subtle bling. My fave and perfect for a holiday gathering.

As you can see I had a tank top underneath, but it works because the pinky red of the tank matches the pinky red in the sweater. I am always cold in the winter, unless I am moving around, so I like to have an extra layer or two, but more on that Thursday in my Layering Love series. Ha!

3. Add a few statement jewelry pieces. Jewelry can be such a wonderful outfit booster. A fun piece of jewelry can take an outfit from dowdy to divine.

This pendant was another Kohl's clearance find. The bracelet I found on my first visit to Chico's. The two matched perfectly to one another and to the light blue in this sweater. Plus the silver trim goes well with the silver threads in the sweater. 

This brings me to another style question that seems to often come up...to match or not to match? This really is a matter of personal taste. I personally love to have at least a little bit of matching going on in an outfit. I feel that it makes the outfit look polished and gives it a classic, pulled together feel, BUT that is just my personal taste. There are many fashion bloggers who take pride in not being matchy and do a fabulous job at it! Do what is best for you. After all that is what this blogging thing is all about, helping you find your own style!

4. Grab a great bag. Since red is big this fall, I couldn't resist pulling out this Arizona Jeans brand Buffalo plaid tote. A Penney's clearance purchase last year, I got this as a possible Christmas gift, but decided to keep it for myself. Ha, ha. Here is an adorable one from dressbarn. 

A tote bag is a great way to transport things, especially if you are going to visit family at the holidays. Whether you are going just for dinner, for the day or for an extended weekend, a large roomy tote will give your room for all your essentials, a few little gifts and that book you are planning to read in the car while someone else drives. Oh, and don't forget that water bottle! The holidays can be a hard time to keep hydrated because there are so many goodies and fun drinks occupying our hands 

5. Don't forget the shoes. Just because you are going casual doesn't mean you have to wear sneakers, although a cute pair of hi-top Converse would be perfect with this outfit. I chose my wedge heel ankle boots from Impo. Here is a very similar pair from Macy's. 

I love these gray suede boots. They are super comfy, but also stylish. I wear these over and over during the cold weather. 

This is a look that I will most likely be wearing over the next few weeks as the holidays begin. It would be a great casual look for a holiday gathering, movie night or a day out Christmas shopping. I hope the tips I gave you will help you come up with your own casual holiday outfit. 

I would love to hear about what outfits you came up with. Leave me a note about them in the comments section, or leave me a picture on my Facebook page. I'd love to see your looks.

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull. 

Below are a few shopping options. This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link, I get a few cents. If you buy an item through a link I get a small commission. All opinions are my own.