Outfit Inspiration: A Dressy Valentine's Outfit

Hi everyone. Since this month is Valentine’s Day I wanted to give you a few Valentine’s looks. A holiday gives us a reason to dress differently. It doesn’t have to be that you have a significant other to dress for. You can dress up simply for your own well being, to make yourself look pretty and to use some of those extra special pieces in your closet. You can dress up to go out with your gal pals, go to a family dinner or a movie date with a friend. These days we don’t need special intimate date nights to get out our fancy dresses and frilly attire. Why not host a special friend party and celebrate “Galentine’s Day” instead?

One of my favorite bloggers who knows how to do just that is Liz of With Wonder and Whimsy. Liz is a plus size blogger from not to far from where I live, that I have referenced on the blog before. She is very good at what she does and has an enormous following. Not only does she have collaborations with plus size retailers like Spell, Eloquii, Lane Bryant and Anthropologie, she gives all sorts of tips and guides for travel, decorating, hair and make up.

What I love about Liz is not just how organized and thorough her blog is, but her lovely, whimsical style. Liz loves pink, pastels and all things girly. You’ll regularly see her in gorgeous dresses and shimmering skirts. Check out her Whimsical Pastel Holiday Style post from last October. The pieces she shares are indicative of her overall style. You can also see one of her idea posts for a Galentine’s get together in Pink and Red Galentine’s Day Brunch.

I knew I wanted to do something feminine and somewhat whimsical for this post and I knew Liz’s blog would be a great place to find inspiration. I also knew I wanted to include my burgundy tulle skirt and my pastel pink moto jacket. The rest of the outfit came together rather easily.

I found this fun tulle skirt at a thrift store. I haven’t really had an occasion to wear it outside the house, but it is fun to have for blog outfits and Instagram. I have used it numerous times for Instagram style challenges. You can see it styled with a cropped denim jacket, with a denim vest. and with a cropped metallic pink moto jacket. I wanted this look to be more dressy and something my spouse would like. He came in when I was taking pictures and said, “Wow! What are you all dressed up for?” Ha, ha.

I have had this silky button down top for years. I know it is a thrifted piece, but I have no idea where or when I got it. I thought it matched perfectly with both the jacket and the skirt. I was thinking of adding a black belt. Do you think that would have been a good idea or not? Let me know in the comments what your thoughts are.

I decided to use gold as my accent color for my necklace and bag.

My light pink moto jacket is from Christopher and Banks a few years back. I typically don’t wear these as jackets, but use them more as layering pieces. I have a nice leather jacket that I wear in the spring and fall when the temps are chilly, but not cold. These definitely could be used as a jacket, but I think they work well like a sweater for layering.

You’ve seen these shoes before. They are my Aerosoles and so comfy and elegant. They are perfect for a dressy outfit like this or for dressing up jeans or other pants.

What do you think of this outfit? Be sure to check out Liz’s blog and let me know if you think my look did a good job of mimicking her style.

I am including a few shopping links. I am still in the process of trying to find a few other affiliate programs to get involved in to bring you selections that are more in an “average” price range, yet still good quality. I appreciate your patience as I navigate new ideas.

Have a great week and be sure to check out my Faith post on Thursday to see who is inspiring me in my walk with God.

Pantone Fall 2018 - Limelight, Mellow Rose and Meerkat

Of all the colors on the Pantone Fall 2018 palette, I felt Limelight and Mellow Rose were the least fall-like colors. Once again, I had to think outside the box when pairing these two light pastels together, to make the outfit seem more in keeping with a fall theme. In order to do this, I thought it would be best to pair them with Pantone’s classic color, Meerkat. Meerkat is a warm, orange brown and while it could be used in any season, It makes me think of fall leaves, bonfires and warm apple cider.

Mellow Rose is actually one of two colors that is only found on the London Palette. I am not sure why they added this and Crocus Petal, the two extra colors on their palette, but they are light, airy and more spring like. Maybe it was an attempt at bridging the gap between the seasons and reminding people that the old rules are gone and colors are seasonless.

All of the pieces in this outfit were thrifted except the bag and the boots. The Limelight colored jeans are Talbots brand and are really an ankle pant that I rolled up, so they stop at the top of my boots. The Mellow Rose button up is Izod brand and the long fringe knit vest is a brand called Sun and Shadow. I’ve styled this vest several times before. You can see those posts here and here.

I don’t remember where I got the belt, but I thought it tied in with the boots and bag quite well. I just did a front tuck with the shirt.

This bag I got at Meijer and I am not sure of the brand. It is a nice cross body bag and the embroidery on the front adds interesting color and texture. I think this can be used for all seasons.

These boots are a brand called Sugar and I got them at Kohl’s a few years ago. They are made of a suede type material and add a different look to an outfit because of the single, long, wrap tie.

I just added a simple bead and metal necklace and a bracelet for jewelry. This might be fun with a scarf or even some layered necklaces for a more bohemian look.

Here is a full length view of the vest from behind.

This is the second outfit in this series that I am not completely happy with. These colors are great, just not necessarily together, or for the season of fall. I know, I know, we can wear whatever, whenever, but if I’m not happy with it, then I’m not going to wear it. I’ve worn both of these pieces in the spring and summer. My color leanings are more bold and bright, but if you are a pastel kind of girl, then follow my friend Liz at With Wonder and Whimsy. She loves pastels and wears them all year round!

That’s all for today. Hope you are having a great Tuesday!

Spring 2017 Pantone Sneak Peek with Liz of With Wonder and Whimsy

When Liz of With Wonder and Whimsy contacted me back in January about doing a collaboration featuring some of the Spring 2017 Pantone colors, I was so excited. I featured Liz on my Beautiful Blogger Best column a few months ago. She is a fantastic blogger who offers her readers a wealth of knowledge about style. Both Liz and I love to play with the Pantone colors. The chance to actually meet up and enjoy having our pictures taken together was the perfect spring board to show you some of the new Pantone colors. Be sure you click on the link below to check out Liz's post on her blog. There you can see more details on her beautiful outfits.

After getting refreshments at the local coffee shop, we made our way out into the foggy atmosphere. Even though the air was thick with moisture, I feel it made our colorful outfits pop even more. Pantone's color of the year is called Greenery. This lovely spring green is meant to remind us of life, new growth and to connect us back to nature. In our first outfits, Liz and I tried to incorporate Greenery in a way that would say, "Hang on! Spring is coming!" Do you think we succeeded?

Liz's outfit boasted little pops of Greenery throughout, from the pattern on her skirt, to the cute tassels on her purse pom, to the stones in her necklace. 

I went for a darker look wearing a popover top of Greenery with white. Adding my navy eyelet jacket, distressed cropped jeans, navy heels and the navy fringe necklace really made the green stand out.

Here are a few details of my first outfit including my American Eagle cross body bag, which I donned with brooches, and my navy loafer heels. Yes, those are distressed jeans. I thought I would never get a pair, but I found these at my favorite thrift store. They fit, and the distressing was minimal. Sold!

I had to include more than one of these photos, because I think the grounds and buildings were beautiful, plus we look fantastic! Ha, ha. Liz is styling the Pantone color called Pink Yarrow. Her clutch and scarf also contain Flame, a deep orange. You can see, Liz added a blue bracelet and a pair of super cool earrings that also bring in the Pantone color Lapis Blue. 

Two other colors that are on the Pantone Spring 2017 line up are this olive green which they labeled Kale, and a very light pink called Pale Dogwood. These Kale pants were a recent purchase from Kohl's and will probably become a staple in my transition wardrobe from winter to spring. The Pale Dogwood flats were also a Kohl's find. What can I say? I had a gift card from Christmas and some birthday money. Ha, ha. 

Since I have very little green, when I found the other popover top, I also found this gingham button up with the same Greenery vibe. I love the fresh, crisp feel of this color and of these pieces. I wore a thrifted burgundy leather jacket and threw on two beaded necklaces which brought in the Pale Dogwood and Flame colors. 

Here is a close up of these comfy flats and the bag, which I also found at Kohl's, ha, ha. I love that this bag has, not only the Greenery color, but the Pale Dogwood and Pink Yarrow as well.

All seriousness aside, Liz was a great person to hang out with. Her hubby Kyle came along as well and my daughter Rebecca was doing pictures. Sometimes we both felt a little silly posing, which makes me love her even more! Ha, ha. For these two looks we both included Lapis Blue. While Liz made her focal point the blue, my focal point was my Flame colored pants. 

Here we are Charlie's Angels! We could so pull it off! 

I loved Liz's floaty top and those jeans!! If I can't find a pair like this soon, I think I might have a project to do in the future! Also, check out that cute bag. It provides the perfect pop of color and texture.

Once again, I found parts of this outfit when I was out shopping. These pants are from JC Penney. Don't you love that orange, or Flame, as the experts are calling it. The vest was another Kohl's find. I find most of this stuff on the clearance racks, just so you don't think I am spending oodles of money. The long sleeve tee was a gift from my mom for Christmas. The boots were another Kohl's find and so was the jewelry. The Kale colored bag was thrifted and the brooches on the bag were mine. Another shout out to Jodie of Jodie's Touch of Style for the pin inspiration.

It was fun to meet Liz and her husband and spend time working on our blogs together. I hope you will head over to her blog and check out all the details on her lovely outfits. Just click below. 

I hope you enjoyed this collaboration. Leave us both some love and let us know what you thought of these Pantone colors. I'll be doing a whole series on each of this Spring's colors soon. Thanks for hanging out on the blog.

Check out the shopping options below. This post does contain affiliate links which means if you click on a shopping link I get a few cents. If you buy something through one of the links I get a little bit more. I appreciate your support and input! 

Have a great day and don't forget to check back tomorrow for this month's beautiful blogger! 

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull. My makeup Rachel Christensen.

Wednesday linking up with Hannah and Sara in the Wearable Wednesday Link Up. Linking up with Shelbee in the Spread the Kindness link up. Friday linking up with Nancy's Fashion Style.  And Jennie of A Pocketful of Polkadots, and Laurie of Vanity and Me. 

Beautiful Blogger Bests - Monochrome with Print and Texture

This week on my Beautiful Blogger Best column, I am featuring the lovely Liz of With Wonder and Whimsy. Liz is a firey red head who is not afraid to wear any color and has a knack for styling outfits that are feminine, flirty and fabulous. 

Today I am referencing Liz's post Outfit Formula: Monochrome, Texture, and Print. To check out her original post just click on the link. The neat thing is, Liz was taking something she learned from another blogger Janeane of Designing from My Closet. I featured Janeane in my original Beautiful Blogger Bests column on styling an outfit around a bag. See that post here. 

In her post Liz styles an outfit using the colors black and white. If you follow Liz you know this is not her norm. She loves pastels and lace, colors and frills, but she wanted to challenge herself to step outside her norm. The challenge for me was to put an outfit together that had two basic colors, a print and some texture. This is what I came up with.

This photo was taken on one of the last really hot afternoons we had before it started to cool down and become more fall like. Thus, I look a tad wilty. The skirt is thrifted and the top is actually a tunic that I recently acquired from Charming Charlie's end of the season sale. I put the tunic on and then layered the skirt over top.

The eyelet jacket and the bag with it's gold rivets and extra buckles add great elements of texture to this otherwise monochrome outfit. I did cheat by adding the red beads, but I love the contrast of the red against the white and blue. The large beads also add additional texture to the look.

These are my navy loafer heels. Funny thing, I really didn't know what this type of shoe was called. That just shows I am still a newbie to the fashion world, so I thought, "Well they look a bit like a loafer, but with a heel." I typed in loafer heels and up they popped. Isn't the internet amazing? Ha, ha. This is a great shoe to wear with a skirt for a more casual look or with pants for a more dressed up look. Funny how that works!

Are you seeing spots? I'm thinking this would have looked better with a belt of some sort. What do you think?

So there you have it. I am so thankful to all the beautiful bloggers that I follow. Liz has been a great inspiration to me, not only with her knowledge of fashion, but with her kind and attentive comments on my fashion posts. Be sure to click on her link and give her some love. 

Check back next week for more fashion fun! Have a great weekend!

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull. Make up Rachel Christensen.

Shopping Options (I chose black for the color):

Polka Dot Dress - Kohl's - $69.99

Black Eyelet Jacket - Jacket Society - $155.00

or

Bomber Eyelet Jacket - Macy's - $55.99

Black Loafer Heels - Belk - $89.00

Black Tote - JC Penney - $85.00

The Season of Fall

Today's post centers on the season of Fall. Autumn officially started a week ago to the day on the calendar and the weather has changed to reflect the beginning of this glorious season. My husband and I spent this past Saturday raking the leaves that had already fallen and enjoying a fire in our fire pit in the evening, while sipping on mugs of tea. It was cool enough that I threw on a hoodie. 

As the temperatures begins to fall our thoughts turn to changes in our wardrobes. As you can see from my Tuesday posts, the Pantone Fall color report included rich reddish brown and jewel tone green, as well as yellow and red reminiscent of the leaves that we will be raking out of our yards. But the colors are not the only thing that changes with the seasons. Our choice of clothing pieces change as well.

In the past we have usually put our whites and pastels away and opted for darker colors. Now anything goes. I have seen a number of articles and bloggers feature ways to wear white well into the season. Deborah of Fabulous After 40 shares three distinct outfits for wearing white into the fall in her article Can You Wear White After Labor Day?  JoLynn Shane, one of the many wonderful bloggers I follow, shared her take on wearing white jeans in the fall. Her White Jeans Outfit for Fall post is worth reading. You'll see me styling a pair of white jeans in an upcoming post in a few weeks. 

Since we are going to keep our whites out, we might as well rethink those pastels. Here is a good article from the site Bustle called 7 Ways to Wear Pastels in the Fall written by Emily McClure. While this article is from a year ago, her tips are just as applicable today. The one statement that really stands out to me is:

“When it comes to styling pastels, it’s all about adding in different textures. Personally, I love pairing pastel pieces with suede or leather in the fall, as it’s such a lovely juxtaposition of sweet and edgy staples. However, if you’re into bold prints and colors you may want to add bits of pastels as well. Bold cranberry pieces mix great with mint and cool blues. Basically, pastels are for everyone, all the time.”

— Emily McClure

I love that she talks about adding textures. That is something I am just learning how to do. I also like that she says, "...pastels are for everyone, all the time." Now, does every pastel look good on every complexion or skin tone, maybe not, but you can find the pastels that work for you, or as she says, mix textures. Choose a light pink top under a edgy wine colored moto jacket and maybe throw on a scarf that complements your skin tone. 

Liz of With Wonder and Whimsy, another beautiful blogger I follow, does a perfect job of pairing pastels with fall pieces in this post titled, Color Palettes featuring Pantone's Sharkskin Gray. You can see how she combines light blue and light pink with the darker, edgier Pantone Sharkskin Gray.

In addition to colors, we also think about patterns and how they change in the fall as well. This year in the stores and on the runways we are seeing animal prints like leopard, snakeskin, zebra stripes and tiger stripes. Leopard seems to be the rage right now. Here area a few of my own photos of pieces in my wardrobe.

As you can see in the above pics, I have a few things that have the snakeskin pattern. It is a fun pattern and can go with many different colors, depending on if you want to dress it up or dress it down. 

And just like on the fashion runways and in the stores, leopard print has turned up a few places in my closet. In addition to this fun skirt, I have a button up short sleeve blouse and a pair of flats which turn up occasionally in a blog post. 

Besides the animal prints I have mentioned, florals are also trending, but whereas in the summer the florals were light and backed by whites and pastels, the fall florals are darker shades backed by navy, wine and black. Check out Gemma's take on florals on her blog post The Cherry Blossom Midi Dress. This is the perfect floral look for transitioning to fall. 

Besides colors and patterns the other thing that significantly changes as we move into fall are the textures. Summer fabrics are usually light weight, breathable and moveable. The whole point is to keep you cool. As our weather changes, especially in the northern part of the country, our fabrics become heavier, bulkier and warmer. As women we still appreciate breathability and movement in our clothes, especially if you are menopausal, but we like textures that are soft to the touch and make us feel cozy. Cozy, after all, drums up images of roaring fires, hot cocoa and good books. 

One of the trending textures for fall is velvet. This jacket (which will be featured in a future post) is not real velvet, but it is so soft. Real velvet can be somewhat stiff, so I like this "faux velvet" if you will. It is moveable and fairly light weight.

There are so many other things we can talk about as the season of fall takes center stage. Our shoes transition into boots; our light weight sweaters transition into light weight jackets which transition into trench coats and we pull out scarves to accessorize and add warmth to our necks. Our sweaters become longer and eventually heavier and we begin adding hose or tights to our once bare and sun tanned legs. As I write this, I feel a little sad, but also excited because as you know I am a woman of layers and as the cool weather closes in, I get to create new and interesting outfits full of layers of texture, color and depth. And that will be fun!

Beautiful Blogger Bests

This is the third column I am adding to my fashion blog. When I started thinking about blogging my daughter told me I needed to follow other blogs to see how people set up their pages, what they were talking about and so on. I have simply fallen in love with some of the other blogs I follow. 

Pixabay

I have found ideas, inspiration, motivation and encouragement through other bloggers. So in honor of their wonderful blogs and their great ideas, I have decided to do a feature once a month focusing on an idea that I saw on another blogger's post, by showing you my own version of their idea. Of course I want to give them all the credit, so I will be including links back to the original posts that inspired me.

Here are a few of the fashion bloggers that I love to follow:

Jodie's Touch of Style - Jodie is a retired cosmetic dentist. She has taken fashion, interior decorating and design classes and uses the things she has learned to enhance her knowledge of fashion for women over 50. I love how Jodie uses three generations of models; herself (50's), her step-mom, Nancy (60's) and her mom, Charlotte (70'). Many of the items you see, she has found at thrift stores, which is right up my alley. Jodie is a sweet, down to earth person, who wants to encourage all women to find their own style. I will be featuring a number of ideas from Jodie because I have learned so much from her. 

Designing From My Closet - Janeane is a beautiful soul. Being an interior designer she has easily translated that ability into her fashion. She, like Jodie and myself, loves to create from her own closet, using pieces that she already has, or buying more inexpensively via thrift stores, using coupons and Poshmark. Janeane has inspired me in so many ways and has made me think more about intentional dressing. Dressing not just for an occasion, but looking at our style as a way to convey an image, emotion or message. 

With Wonder and Whimsy - Liz has her own style and I love to see what she posts each time. Her style is full of color, lace and well, whimsy. Liz is not afraid to try new things and doesn't let her beautiful red hair keep her from wearing certain colors. She looks beautiful in them all! Whether she's styling an outfit up or an outfit down, Liz creates a cohesive look that inspires and motivates me to give new things a try. 

A Pocketful of Polka Dots - Jennie is an administrative assistant and a blogger. She is the mother of 4 boys and hit a point in her 40's where she decided to do things differently, going from wearing mainly black to all sorts of color. She loves shoes and you'll love her collection too! I haven't been following Jennie for quite as long as the others, but I really like her style. Being a fan of casual dressing, I love her take on wearing jeans, Converse sneakers, tee- shirts and blazers. 

Not Dressed as Lamb - Catherine is a well known, award-winning,  blogger from the UK. Her sense of style is supported by the idea that no one should tell you what you can and cannot wear...no matter how old you are. She has no fear of mixing colors, patterns or textures. She knows how to bring a pop of color to a more subdued palette, but can also create an awesome outfit around something as unique as a pair of yellow pants. Catherine believes women should be able to wear what they want, when they want and look stylish while doing it.  

These are only 5 of the bloggers I follow and there are many more out there including Elegantly Dressed and Stylish, High Latitude Style, Petite Over 40, JoLynne Shane, Grace and Beauty, Fifty is Not Old and more. As I learn and grow as a fashion blogger, I hope to expose those of you who follow me to even more of the beautiful bloggers that inspire me. The more I read and learn, the more I can't wait to try new ideas. 

Be sure to check back next month for my first Beautiful Blogger inspired post. Have a great weekend!