Winter Trend - My Take on Color Block and Shearling

The trend of color block isn’t new. It has been around for a very long time. Some attribute the inspiration for color blocking to Piet Mondrian, an artist who used dark lines and bright colors to form paintings with block like components in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. In fact, in 1966, Yves Saint-Laurent designed a line of dresses called Mondrian dresses, after the work of the late artist.

Image by Andrew Martin from Pixabay

Often when color blocking is done, it follows a formula of sorts, where one color will be paired with an opposite color from the color wheel, creating a bold, bright outfit that really stands out and makes a statement. You can easily make your own color block outfit by combining solid colored pieces from your closet.

I am not a huge fan of color blocking, because I love patterns and textures so much. I did, however, find a beautiful color block sweater when my girls took me out birthday shopping, so that is what I built today’s outfit around.

I bought this glam brand, color block sweater at Eden Fashion Boutique. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to try it on. It is so soft and cozy. We have some below freezing temps coming down the pike and I know I will be wearing this to stay warm. I also like the drop shoulder sleeves and the more neutral color tones. I’ve included a shot of the back. As you can see the back is a little longer than the front.

My cognac colored pants are another pair of thrifted jeans. They are Michael Kors brand. I like the color and feel it is one of those colors you can use for all seasons.

You can also get a closer look at my thrifted Unisa wedge heeled shearling boots. I have not really had the opportunity to wear these for anything other than the blog, but they are so cute, I can’t stand the thought of letting them go. For now they still have a home with my many other boots. You can see the fun side decorative gold zipper and the shearling trim in the next picture.

You can see how I styled these on the blog with a fringe vest, and with a floral dress.

My thrifted, leather, Fossil bag is making another appearance in this post. This bag is so durable and goes with everything, plus it is a cross body bag which is my go to when I am going out shopping.

The only jewelry I added was this necklace which was a clearance purchase when I made my Christopher & Banks store closing run. I love the peachy coral colors on the beads. This will be a nice piece for spring and summer.

You noticed that these pictures were taken inside (sorry about the glare on my glasses). I just didn’t have the energy to trudge out into the snow with the camera in tow and take pictures. My incision is starting to heal, and it occasionally hurts a little. I have no complaints, because I think the doc did a great job getting rid of my little fatty tumor, but I decided to take it easy this week, until my appointment on Monday for a recheck.

Here are a few other posts I did, that show off how you can do color blocking with solid pieces from your wardrobe. These do not follow any particular formula as far as colors go, but you get the idea. If you don’t particularly like print mixing and have lots of solid colors in your closet, this is a great way to create outfits that are colorful, fun, stylish and trendy.

I hope you enjoyed this post. I am including a few shopping links for you to enjoy. Have fun with it. These links are affiliate links and are brought to you at no cost. If you click on a shopping link I get a few cents and if you purchase something through my links, I get a little bit more. Think of it as a way to get yourself something special and buy me a cup of tea. Ha, ha.

Have a great day everyone. Be sure to check back Thursday for a post on how you know it is time to get rid of certain pieces in your wardrobe.

Photos in photo grid Rebecca Trumbull.

Winter Trends - My Take on Puffer Outerwear

Once again we are overrun with puffer outerwear. Puffers vests, and coats are all the rage this winter and the reasons probably include the colors, styles, warmth, and price points. You can find reasonably priced puffers at almost any department store. With the end of season sales soon upon us, be sure to shop your local faves, in store, or online, to get what you are looking for. I had a few things to return to Kohl’s earlier and since my hubby gave me a gift card for Christmas, I did a little shopping. The junior’s department had the cutest puffer jackets and I really wanted to scoop one up, but I don’t really need another coat. Ha, ha. I ended up with a pretty pinstriped orange blazer, a pair of floral pants/joggers for spring, a cute sweatshirt and a scarf. I still need to try everything on, since the fitting rooms are still closed, but if the pieces fit, you will be seeing them eventually on the blog.

I’ve styled this neutral puffer vest on the blog before. You can see it with an olive tee and jeans. I have had it for a number of years. It is a brand called StyleWorks Sport. I honestly cannot remember who used to sell this brand. It might have been Sears, but I don’t recall.

I decided I liked the combination of gray with this more neutral tan, so I added my thrifted, striped, thermal, Sonoma long sleeve tee. That is a long description for this one piece of clothing, but that tells you everything about it. Being thermal, it is a heavier weight so a warmer layer for the colder weather.

My jeans are my well worn Rock & Republic jeans from Kohl’s. Do you have a favorite brand of jeans you like to wear? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

To add a little fun to the outfit, I added both a longer pendant necklace and my faux fur leopard print infinity scarf. This is a thrifted piece I love to wear, because it is so warm and soft.

My thrifted boots are by Guess. One of the drawbacks of buying boots and shoes that aren’t make with real leather, is that they often wear out quickly. When I got these about two years ago, they looks brand new, but now they are already showing signs of wear. Still, I like them and will keep wearing them with a distressed look. Ha, ha.

This bag was a Christmas gift from my daughter. I love the expensive bag look. It is a little heavy, but holds all my junk in a more organized fashion and I can carry by the top handles or as a cross body bag. The brand is Aidebam and can be found on Amazon.

How many of you have some sort of puffer outerwear; either a vest, coat or jacket? I have a few items that are quilted and not true puffer pieces and I’ll show you that next week. I hope you liked this post. Let me know your thoughts in the comments. As always, I love to hear from you!

I’m including a few links for puffer jackets and vests, so if you are looking for something take a few minutes to check out the links. These links are presented at no cost to you. They are affiliate links, so if you click on a link, I get a few cents. If you purchase something through my link I get a few more pennies. Thanks for supporting me and my little blog.

Have a great weekend.

Winter Wonderland - Week 2

This series for the month of December focuses on taking a more casual day time outfit and making it more party ready. Last week my efforts focused on a pair of jeans and a graphic sweatshirt. This week I take the casual day time look up a notch picking pieces I would be more likely to wear to work.

Here I am featuring a piece in the line of the berry or wine color again. Last week it was my shoes and two different jackets. You can see that post here. I love this color paired with gray. I topped the dress pants with a thin long sleeved cowl neck sweater. Over that I layered a holiday sweater that I got last year at Christopher and Banks. 

What drew me to this zip up cardigan was the design on the front. It looks like a winter city scape with pine trees and sparkles which represent the stars in the night sky. It doesn't have to be for Christmas and that is part of why I liked it. I can wear it all winter long.

I carried my berry colored fringe bag and wore a simple silver fringe necklace.  You can also see I kept the look more casual by leaving the cowl sweater untucked.

Here is a close up of the necklace and you can see a little of the detail on the sweater.

For shoes,  I chose my shiny Oxfords. I have worn these shoes to work on several occasions as they look nice, and are quite comfortable. 

To take this look from day to night I made only a few simple changes. First I changed shoes from the Oxford to the higher heeled black ankle boot. 

Sorry that my boots were looking a little less than spiffy! 

I removed the sweater and donned a brocade vest. When I looked at the pictures after my daughter had downloaded them for me, I realized how similar the color scheme was between the vest and sweater. When I first looked at the pictures I couldn't even tell that I had made a change. So maybe next time a different color vest would be better. I don't know, what do you think?

To add to the dressed up look, I accessorized with gold. The gold fringe necklace took the silver one's place and the gold woven bag added some shine to the outfit. In addition I added a front tuck and wore a thin belt with some gold detail. 

When I put these pieces together, I really liked the combination of colors. The gold adds rich detailing when combined with the wine colored pants and gray sweater. 

Once again, here are the outfits side by side. As you can see, just changing a few details can change the attitude of an outfit. The first outfit says, professional, but warm and comfy. The second outfit says festive and rich with textures and colors. 

I hope you enjoyed today's post. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. 

Have a great day!

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull. 

Shopping the look:

Pants - Kohl's - $36.99 (skinny ponte pants)

Gray Cardigan - J.Jill - $49.99

Gray Cowl Neck Long Sleeve Tee - Kohl's - $17.99

Brocade vest - Etsy - $25.00

Black oxfords - DSW - $49.94

Black ankle boots - DSW - $59.95

Gold clutch - Charming Charlie - $22.00

Tuesday linking up with Jess of Elegantly Dressed and Stylish. Wednesday linking up with Tania of 50 is not Old, Thursday linking up with Nicole of High Latitude Style. Friday linking up with Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge, Tif of Bright on a Budget,  and Nancy of Nancy's Fashion Style. Saturday linking up with Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb.