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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Oh, Olive! Utility Jacket - Casual

I am back from visiting my mom and ready to get back to posting here on the blog. I wasn’t feeling well, the first couple of days after I got home, but I think most of it was fatigue and allergies. They seem to be beating on everyone this year. While I was at my mom’s I didn’t have internet, but I was able to get some photos taken and was pretty pleased with the result. I hope you will be as well.

I am continuing my look at a few of my different olive pieces and how they can be used with just about any outfit and any color. I do like to think outside the box, at least my box, so I hope you will find some of these outfits inspirational for your own wardrobes. The week before last I showed you a casual and a workwear look using an olive pair of pants. Today and Thursday, I want to take a look at ways to style an olive utility jacket. You can see how I styled this same jacket on the blog before with a striped tee and distressed jeans, another striped tee, and a polka dot chambray top.

Another thing, I decided to add to this little series, is to give you a few peaks at what is trending for fall. I’ll point it out as we go along. Let’s take a look at the olive utility jacket.

I have had this olive utility piece for a number of years now. St. John’s Bay brand, I got it at JCPenney. Since then I have accumulated a few other utility jackets in other colors. I like that they are so versatile. In fact, I may have to do a post on that at a future date. Most of my pieces, including this one are lighter weight, so a great topper for spring, summer and fall. While they do tend towards more casual, I will show you on Thursday how to make one look appropriate for work.

What makes a piece utility? I think it has to do with the pockets and the details like drawstrings, snaps and metal zippers. Next week I will be showing you an olive utility vest.

Fall Trend Alert - Denim on Denim

Once again, it seems denim with denim is trending for fall. While I wouldn’t wear this regularly, it does have a casual appeal. Monochrome is always a good way to get a longer, sleeker line. Most of what I saw on the runway were pieces of the same wash. See this post on Fall 2021 trends from Marie Claire. However, there is a sense of personal creativity in putting together pieces with different washes, as I did in this outfit.

My chambray top is a thrift find from earlier in the summer. It is a brand called Cremieux. Apparently, Daniel Cremieux started a men’s clothing line in Saint Tropez, on the French Riviera in the mid 70’s. It looks like he designed women’s clothing for a time as well. Both lines were sold at Dillards, but the women’s line is no longer available in the US. The fun things you find when you thrift.

You’ve seen my thrifted, distressed Simply Vera, Vera Wang jeans plenty of times on the blog. They are getting rattier looking as time goes along, but I guess that is the point. Ha, ha. If the holes get to big for my comfort zone, I may make a few patches, which actually could be fun.

I decided to add this floral mini print scarf just for a little extra color. I don’t use my scarves much in the heat of the summer. I sweat just sitting still on these humid days. Last night, I was working on this post and I was dripping with sweat. Of course we hadn’t turned our air conditioners on. Sometimes, we have to choose between a little bit of inconvenience and being able to pay the electric bill. My husband always runs colder, so he’s not as hot unless he is doing yard work or something. Today is supposed to be even warmer. I think the air will be on later, so this woman doesn’t get too cranky. Ha, ha.

If you follow my Instagram account, you may have seen that I rearranged my scarves. Just like with all of my clothes, I have way more than I need, but I am trying to make everything more accessible and visible, so it is easier to sort through and find. Do you have a special way of arranging your scarves?

My blue Converse are making another appearance. While I still think this brand of sneaker makes me look even more like I have ski feet, I am trying to embrace those long skinny things on the ends of my legs.

The last accessory I have is my white cross body bag. This was another thrift find. I like that it is a little bit larger than many cross body bags, so I can actually fit everything in it, without having to squeeze it in. I am not sure what the brand is, but it was still very clean and unworn, so I snatched it up.

Do you own an olive utility jacket? How do you like to wear it? I love hearing from you, so be sure to leave me some love in the comments. I hope your summer is going swimmingly well!

I’m including a few shopping links for denim pieces and utility jackets. I hope you’ll look those over. Every time you click on a link, I get a few cents and I appreciate it. All opinions are my own.

Have a great Tuesday!

Kickin' It with Kimonos - Yellow Floral

It seems that floral is a very popular pattern for kimonos. I am not sure it that is because most of us use our kimonos during the warmer months as a way to level up an otherwise, “normal” outfit like a pair of jeans or shorts or if I just am more naturally drawn to the floral prints in my purchases. Today’s kimono is a shorter style, but once again is covered with a floral print, although this time a bit more tropical.

I was on the verge of getting rid of this pretty yellow kimono. It is a brand called TruSelf and I think I got it at Walmart a few years ago. I am not real thrilled about the length of this piece. If the hemline was more asymmetrical, I think I might like it better, but for the sake of trying something different I kept it.

One of the bloggers I have followed since becoming a blogger is Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style. Jodie is such a warm, friendly lady, and an actual person. She isn’t at all fake, and I love that about her. Most of the fashion bloggers I follow are real women, who have their own sets of struggles and difficulties, but they are trying, just like me, to accept themselves and this process called aging. Jodie featured a post on a different way to wear your kimonos and that is where I learned this trick of tying the front to give the kimono a different look. You can see Jodie’s original post on how to make kimonos look more fitted here.

I tied mine differently than Jodie did in her post, but it still serves the same function, to make the kimono more fitted, rather than boxy. Here’s what it looks like tied up.

My light blue tee is a thrifted Sonoma piece. I love graphic tees and a great place to find them are thrift stores. Whether you like band tees, place tees or just random word tees, you can find plenty of different graphics second hand. Be sure to check out the men’s section as well. I found a few tees that were perfect for my younger daughter.

My pin striped skirt is reminiscent of the old time railroad engineers’ caps. this was a recent online purchase from Christopher and Banks. I was looking for another pencil type skirt with a little different look than just plain denim. This works perfectly. I am looking forward to cooler weather and styling this skirt with some tights and ankle boots.

Since the chunky sneaker look is trendy with skirts and dresses right now, I knew I could add my bright blue thrifted Keds and be spot on. My other accessories consisted of my thrifted Jaclyn Smith bag, a navy flower pendant necklace from Christopher and Banks and a simple beaded navy bracelet.

Do you have a kimono in your closet that you are not sure how to wear? I hope these little posts are offering you some inspiration. Sometimes we only need a new way of looking at something to give us a whole new set of ideas for styling outfits with clothes already in our closets.

I hope you week is off to a great start.

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull.

Have fun looking over the shopping links below. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Pantone Spring/Summer - 2020 - Blush Beauty, Bossa Nova and Blanc de Blanc

Today’s two bright colors might seem like an unlikely pairing, but then if you have been following me for a while, you know the crazier the color combo the more I want to try it. In some ways these colors combined almost make the outfit seem monochrome. Blush Beauty is a pinkish orange, so we might say it is like salmon or coral. Bossa Nova is a dark red with a little bit of a brown undertone. I added a Classic color Blanc de Blanc which is white by any other name. I know that there are shades of white, but for all intents and purposes, white is white. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

My paisley short sleeve tunic top is a thrifted Old Navy piece. It has a lace up detail that is just for show, but the print is what drew me to it. I have always like paisley. It just makes me think of the 60’s and 70’s and lots of my Dad’s old ties. Ha. ha. Here is a look at the outfit without the jacket so you get a better view of the top.

My pants are W63 from dressbarn. I’ve styled these on the blog before. You can see them worn with a coral sweater, a multi print jacket, and with a LuLaRoe perfect tee. One thing I noticed as I looked back at these pictures and the one above, these pants are always wrinkled when I wear them. Part of that may be the material as it sticks to my legs, and part of it may be my chunky legs. Ha, ha.

Here you can see the lace up detail on the top and the thrifted distressed Rue 21 cropped jean jacket. This is another piece that has gotten frequent wear on the blog. See it with a floral midi dress and a maxi dress, a high-waisted skirt, dark wash jeans, and with a leopard print skirt.

I thought the white accessories were a good compliment to go with the white in the top. The Jaclyn Smith bag was thrifted and the Keds were a Kohl’s clearance purchase a year or two ago.

What do you think of these colors together or even separately? Do you like Bossa Nova or Blush Beauty better? How are your clothes fitting these days? Ha, ha.

I hope you all are doing well and that you have a great weekend. Thank you all so much for following along and especially for your lovely comments. If there is ever anything you’d like to see or have me talk about on the blog, let me know. I have had someone suggest I do a video on how to tie scarves, so maybe I’ll try something like that in the fall.

I’ve included some shopping links to look over, so if you have the time, check those out. You never know when you might need something new. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Photo and graphic credit Rebecca Trumbull.