Fun Fall Look - Floral Bomber Jacket

For the next few Thursdays, I thought it would be fun to show off some of my own fall fashion ideas, using some of the current trends. For each featured piece, I'll include a few shopping links for you to look at as well. That way if you are inspired by the looks I show you, you can find a similar piece for yourself. I try to keep the links connected to stores that offer clothing choices at a little lower price point and places, I feel, have trustworthy brands.

This week's look was one that I wore to my 35th high school reunion which was this past weekend. I graduated in 1982 from Alden High School in Alden, NY. I had never gone to any of my other reunions, as I was not all that popular in school and didn't think it was any big deal. This year, I decided to go and asked two of my closest high school buddies if they would go too. We had a great time and it was fun to give hugs and talk to people I had not thought about in a long time. Let's face it at this point in our lives we no longer care about the things that separated us when we were 16 or 17 years old. We are just glad to see each other and happy to have a similar connection in our history.

I opted to wear an outfit that wasn't real dressy. I was the girl in high school that always wore jeans and tees or flannel shirts.. I wanted to look put together and look my brand, without being fake. This is what I came up with.

I got this floral bomber from JC Penney. This is the exact one and it comes in a bunch of fun prints and colors and right now is on sale for $12.99. This is not lined and is not heavy. It really is a simple piece to throw over a tee or pullover sweater to add a trendy pop of color. The background is black and the flowers contain pink, green, blue and white. The cuff and waist are knit and it has a zip front closure. 

I chose my olive skinny cargo pants (Gloria Vanderbilt - Kohl's) and my Primrose Pink tee (Liz Claiborne - thrifted) as the basics with which to style the bomber. 

The only jewelry I wore was this layered beaded necklace in a shimmery dark navy.

For a bag, I decided on my medium blue, envelope clutch. I love the texture on this piece and while it doesn't exactly match the blue in the jacket, I think it complimented the outfit without being a distraction. 

And once again, my feet are wearing my SO flats. I bet you are getting sick of seeing these shoes, but I really can't say enough about their comfort and wearability for so many occasions and outfits. From casual to dressy to everything in between this little pair of shoes is a perfect choice. If you every are tempted to buy anything through my blog, this would be the item. 

I have a medium width foot, so if you are very narrow or have a wider foot, these may not work for you. The best thing is to go to Kohl's and try them on. 

I felt confident and comfortable in this outfit for my reunion. Some people were dressed up and some wore jeans, the point is to be yourself and wear an outfit that looks neat, clean and put together. 

How about you? Have you gone to your high school reunion? What did you wear? 

Have a great weekend!

This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own. 

Pantone Fall 2017 - The New York Palette - Grenadine and Butterum

I want to continue my look at the Pantone 2017 Fall color palette this week, but now we are venturing into the New York colors. Whereas for the London palette, I paired the two colors together that were directly parallel to one another, for the New York palette I decided to pick the color pairings that appealed to me. 

Grenadine is named after the bright red syrup that is used to make drinks. It traditionally is derived from the pomegranate. Obviously, when the Pantone gurus chose to name this color they hit the mark with this bright red. Butterum has many similarities to the London color Toast. I felt that these two colors made a fun pairing and enjoyed putting this outfit together.

My top is a simple button up cardigan that I have had for some time. It is Merona which is a Target brand. Here is a similar one from Macy's.  Instead of a necklace I added a silky fringe scarf.

My pants edge more towards a cognac color than the Butterum, but you get the idea. I purchased these pants recently from Meijer and they are a brand called Stitch Star.  I love that they have patches. It creates additional texture and interest to the outfit. Here is a blue jean pair from Kohls.

I kept my accessories minimal. My boots, which are Aerosoles, are a close enough match to the pants that it gives me that longer line. Matching your pants with your shoes can elongate your legs making you look leaner, and taller. 

Here is a similar color boot from Aerosole. Here is a fun pair from DSW. There are so many fun ankle boots out right now in every color and heel height.

My only other accessory is my snakeskin clutch. I thought this connected with the outfit well because of the color combination. I like this clutch because it has a short chain, so I can also put it over my shoulder if I need both hands free. 

Here are a few other fun bags. 

What do you think of this color combination? Red is trending this fall and whether it be Grenadine or Flame Scarlet or something in between, you will be stylin' if you are the lady in red. 

I've listed a few shopping options below. This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own. 

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull. Make up Rachel Christensen.

Thanks for stopping by the blog!

Fall 2017 Trends - Textures

A few weeks ago, I was reading a post from Liz of With Wonder and Whimsy. You might recall that Liz and I did a collaboration back in the spring on the Pantone 2017 Spring colors. You can see our posts here and here. Earlier in September Liz posted an article entitled, Texture is Trending this Fall at dressbarn. Click on the title and it will take you to her post. Texture is, indeed, trending this fall, not only at dressbarn, but all over. Liz inspired me, like she often does, to do my own post using a few textured pieces that I already had in my closet.

Texture 1 - Lace

Lace seems to be around to stay. I've been seeing it in stores for a few seasons now, so I decided to show you one of my favorite lace pieces. 

For these pics today, I decided to wear the same pair of Daisy Fuentes pants from Kohls for each outfit. It appears that Kohls no longer carries the Fuentes line. Here is a similar look. 

This lace top I bought a number of years ago. It is Apt. 9 brand (Kohls) and is made of a stretch lace that is easy to get on and off. I just threw a tank top of a similar color underneath, but it would look pretty with colored camis or tanks as well. The Victorian neckline is not at all binding. These types of necklines are also in this fall. 

In this picture you can see the detail on the top. It really can be an elegant piece to wear, whether you dress it up or down. 

I decided on the gold, woven clutch as a little bit of extra texture. 

Here are some shopping options for lace tops. I love that middle one from Anthropologie.

Texture 2 - Knits

Cozy knits are once again the rage this fall. I am looking forward to cooler weather so I can start wearing more layers and snuggle into the warmth of all manner of sweaters, scarves and boots. 

For this look I pulled an oversized pullover out of my closet that I got a few years ago from Charlotte Russe. I love the color of this sweater. It is also heavy, but not overwhelmingly so. The perfect choice for this time of year when temps are just starting to fall. After our week long heat wave here in the mid west, the weather looks to be heading in the fall direction soon. 

For this look, I also added a faux fur infinity scarf, recently thrifted. Fur is another texture that is trending right now. When I spotted this little leopard number (pun intended), I knew it was going home with me. Leopard is still in. Let's see, leopard and fur in a scarf - sold!

You can't see them, but I am also wearing my leopard flats from Christopher and Banks. It looks like is is time to do some raking.

Here are some shopping options for cozy knits and fur.

Texture 3 - Velvet

Velvet is another trend that seems to be making a big come back. We saw it last fall/winter and here it is again. Almost every clothing store add that I see has several styles made in velvet or what we would call faux velvet. You can find, dresses, tops, jackets and more made in this soft, shimmery material.

For this shoot, I chose a Christopher and Banks top that I got at the end of the season last year, so this was my first opportunity to wear it. 

Velvet is always a classic look and just like lace you can dress it up or dress it down. This particular top has an embellished neckline, so I chose to not wear any necklaces. I did, however, throw on a couple of bracelets. You can also see the sleeves are slit, which adds interest. 

Since I was going for a more monochrome look, I added my silvery clutch and pewter heels, to keep the look simple.

Here area few shopping links for velvet tops and shoes. Aren't they fun?

i hope you enjoyed this look at some of the texture trends for this fall. Which is your favorite and why? I'd love to hear from you. Leave me a comment in the comments box here on the blog, or you can leave me a comment on Facebook.

Don't forget to check out my Pinterest and Instagram pages as well. I try to add new things at least once or twice a week. 

This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Thanks for stopping by the blog and have a great fall weekend!

Fall Trends - Reds and Browns

Besides the Pantone Fall 2017 color palette, there are other colors that appear on the fashion scene each season. This fall there has been an outpouring of red and brown. Reds are popping up everywhere and in every piece and style of clothing. Whether it be a coat, a dress, a plaid shirt or a bright red clutch, red has become a go to color for the fall fashion season. In addition there is also an influx of chocolate brown. This rich, warm color can be worn by almost anyone and goes well with so many other colors, including red. 

Last week when I took pictures for the floral trend, I figured I might as well take a few pictures for the red trend as well. This week I was going to take a few pics for the chocolate brown, but Monday I got a cold and so today was a day of rest. I really didn't feel like doing much of anything. I did a faith post on the blog, looked at a few emails, ate lunch and watched a movie. I still had to pick my grandson up from school, but that is really all I did today. So I will include a few shopping links that show you the browns that are trending right now. 

I have a number of red pieces, but since it isn't sweater weather yet, I thought I would share my two red jacket finds. I have grown to love red, a color my mother has always loved. I never realized how pretty red can be in clothing. Red is stunning in a rose, or sweet in a valentine, but I've always associated red with fast cars and fast women. Ha, ha. Isn't that the way we are? We jump to conclusions without really researching things out for ourselves. Last year I wore a red sweater in a blog post showing you my OTK boots. The picture below is from that post. You can see the full post here. 

What started as having one red sweater has turned into a red obsession. 

This is my Christopher and Banks around town red jacket. It is a very simple piece with a full zipper and two roomy pockets. It is fully lined, but I tend to use it more as a work piece rather than a keep me warm outside piece. Fall is the perfect time to wear a jacket like this. They don't have this color at C & B right now, but they do have a pretty red quilted jacket here. 

The jacket is somewhat fitted, as you can see by this picture of the back. 

This next jacket I found at my favorite thrift store, Savers. It is a Worthington brand from J.C.Penney. A little longer, I expect that I will get some outside wear out of this coat. It is not real heavy, and doesn't contain any wool in it, so like the above jacket will be used for fall, but not long into winter. Here is a oxblood red moto jacket and a red pea coat, both from Penneys.

Once again, there is not a lot of fancy detailing on the coat, but sometimes simplicity is better. Both of these jackets will pair well with any number of scarves. 

This coat has large buttons and again is more fitted through the waist with the addition of button detailing on the back. 

Here are some other red items out in stores now. 

Here are a few options for the chocolate brown color. I love the boots and the bags. You don't have to wear the color, you can always accessorize with it. That's why I say no matter what the color you can use it somehow to make an awesome outfit. Accessories are just as important as the clothes themselves. 

I hope you enjoyed this post on the trending fall colors. This post contains affiliate links. All opinions expressed are my own. 

Do you have any red items in your closet? Do you like to wear red? What about brown? How do you wear your reds and browns? I'd love to have your feedback. 

Have a great weekend!

Fall 2017 Trends - Fabulous Florals

I feel like we have talked about florals before, probably because we have. Floral patterns were trending in spring and they are still trending in fall. However, where spring florals were light and bright, fall florals are dark and bold. There are some fabulous fall florals out there right now and I will include a few shopping links in this post, to give you a few other ideas of what is available. As for my own collection of florals, I have nothing quite like what is trending, but I found a few pieces that I thought would transition well into the fall season. As I did last week, I will show you one outfit, a few flat lays and a few possible shopping options.

i have a few floral tops in my closet and chose this one for my outfit, because it seems a bit more fall like. The body is lined while the sleeves are sheer. the sleeves also have an asymmetrical hem line, and there is smocking on the upper part by the neck, making it an interesting piece. 

I paired the top with these recently thrifted J.Jill black jeans and my Clarks peep toe shooties.

I also had this black Franco Sarto bag in my closet. Here is a cross body bag from their site. 

I added a few fun pieces of jewelry to compliment the colors in the top.

Here are a few other looks that I put together as flat lays.

For this one the focal floral piece is the jacket, I opted to pull the blue out of the jacket by pairing it with a blue Christopher and Banks short sleeve sweater and blue heels. Because the jacket has so many colors it could be paired with lots of other pieces. 

This more casual look revolves around a mini floral print. I've had this yellow sweater for a while and it perfectly pulls out the yellow in the top. Styled with a pair of Rock & Republic boot cut jeans, a leather cross body bag and boots makes for a great casual fall outfit.

Here are a few other options of floral items. This post contains affliate links. All opinions expressed are my own.

I hope you enjoyed this look at another fall trend. Have a great weekend!

Fall 2017 Trends - Mad about Plaid

When I begin my research on the new season trends, I do a goole search. Often I end up looking at sites like Elle and Cosmopolitan to name a few. One has to weed through numerous articles hi-lighting movies stars, and runway styles to find things that are really useful. I try to approach these sites with an open minded attitude, because there are many trends I do no agree with, nor would you ever catch me supporting them on my blog. However, there are plenty of ideas to glean from these fashion authorities.

For the month of September I am going to forgo my Thursday monthly columns to focus on styles that are trending for fall this year. I thought it would be fun to pick a trend then do a post with an outfit centered around each, as well as a few flat lays and possible shopping options. I hope you enjoy this series. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of each post. 

Today I am looking at plaid. Plaid is back and for a girl who grew up loving flannel shirts, I am glad. Plaid has been around since as far back the 16th century. The word plaid comes from the Scottish Gaelic word plaide which means blanket. My husband is Scottish on his mother's side. It is fun to look at the numerous plaid colors that represent each of the family/clan names from that time period. My hubby's great grandmother was a Robertson. The Robertson plaid is a bright red with navy and just a hint of forest green. This is a tie Mark's Uncle David got for him. It even has a tag that says Robertson.

I found this light weight plaid jacket at one of my favorite thrift stores, Savers. I make regular stops at this store as they have a great selection that is always changing. You can read more on thrifting in my two part series: Thoughts on Thrifting - Part 1 and Thoughts on Thrifting - Part 2. 

I love the vibrant red of this jacket. Red is trending for fall also, so look at me, I am being doubly trendy. Ha, ha. We'll look at the fall trending colors in a later post. 

To keep it simple and let the jacket do the talking I slipped on a red tee, my Christopher and Banks slimming slip on jeans, then added black beads, black heeled ankle boots and a black and gray bag. You could also draw on the white in the jacket or the red to bring out those colors as well. 

Here are a few other jacket possibilities:

In addition to jackets you can style an outfit with a plaid top. Here is a flat lay I put together to show you a possible outfit starting with a plaid top. This top screams fall for its lovely fall colors, but to keep it from getting to colorful, I went for olive pants, and a black bomber jacket. 

As a last thought I grabbed the Tawny Port clutch. See the Pantone site for a look at this New York fall color. 

Here are a few plaid button ups that are currently available.

The next look revolves around a plaid accessory. In this case it is a pretty scarf. Plaid scarves have always been a viable option for the cooler weather and this year is no exception.

I think this is a fun look for a date night with the hubby or a lunch date with the girls. Keeping the colors of the pants and top similar allows the scarf to be the center of attention.

Here are a few fun options for scarves:

What do you think of plaid? Is is a pattern you like to wear? Even if you don't like it in big quantities, even a little plaid can brighten up an outfit. 

Here are a few other plaid options:

As you can see there are plenty of options for adding plaid to your wardrobe. If you click on the pictures that show you other options it will take you to the site where you can see more details and tell you the prices.

This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link I'll get a few cents. If you buy something through the link, I get a small commission. All opinions are my own.

i hope you enjoyed this look at plaid. Be sure to check back next week, where I'll look at another fall trend.

Have a great weekend!