Fairy Tales and Print Mixing

I promise, I will be starting my Pantone Spring/Summer 2022 series next week. I can’t thank you enough for being patient with me as I maneuver this new normal in this season of life. As I type this my grand baby is sitting next to me on the floor. He is six months old going on a year. Ha, ha. He can sit up, is starting to eat solid food, looks like he might be getting his first tooth and when he is on his tummy he does planks and rocks back and forth on his hands and knees. What a joy to be able to enjoy the first year of his life with all the changes and all the fun.

I thought I would show you what I am wearing today, which is a mix of fairytale meets military. I never used to do much print mixing. In fact, I never would have thought to put multiple prints together, but now I do it with ease and even look for ways to combine numerous prints as the same time. One of the key elements in classic print mixing is to pick similar color schemes in all of your prints.

I got this Forever 21 sweater at a thrift store. I rarely ever shop retailers like Forever 21, or H & M any more, though they used to be frequent stops when my girls were younger. The clothes were cute and cheap, but I am trying to get away from “fast fashion” and move towards more sustainable choices in my purchasing. That is why thrifting is so high on my list when it comes to finding things, not only for myself, and other members of my family, but also for my home. I have found kitchen items, wall decor, picture frames, candles and even movies and books at second hand shops. This past Christmas I gave everyone in the family a thrift box filled with all thrifted items from clothing to books and movies to cute decor. It was fun to shop for people that way.

Unicorns are the stuff of fairy tales. I am less about the one horned wonder and more about regular horses with insight into their master’s whims and thoughts…think Gandalf’s horse Shadowfax from Lord of the Rings. Still, I could not resist this sweater, since I am a sucker for fairy tales and all things fantastical. Because the top is short, I added a long sleeve pink tee underneath.

It is another cold day, so I knew I wanted a scarf since the top has a wide neck. I remembered, I had recently thrifted this pretty cherry blossom scarf and thought it not only went with the top due to the pink flowers, but the delicate, lacy branches have a fairy tale look to them.

I was searching for a different pair of jeans when I came upon these and I was so thrilled that not only did the embroidery match my color scheme, and add another print, but these fit better than when I last tried them on. Yay! These are Levi’s brand and I got them a while back from Kohl’s clearance.

When I think of fairy tales, I think of princesses, knights, villains, and sometimes monsters. There is usually some sort of magic and always a quest or adventure to go on. I also imagine, flowy fabrics, with the fair maidens dressed in pastels and tulle. The villains are garbed in black or red. Ha, ha. Yes, my fairy tale memories are full of stereotypes. These are not the politically correct fairy tales of today. My favorite Disney fairy tale retelling is Beauty and the Beast. I love both the cartoon and live action versions.

I always wanted to be a different sort of princess. I wanted to be the warrior, so when I started thinking about this outfit, I knew I had to throw in my own touch by adding combat boots. Of course, if you are going to kick some villain butt, you can’t be in dresses and heels, as least I couldn’t. I would end up tangled up in my gown and spraining an ankle from trying to walk in heels. Ha, ha. These are also thrifted, and are a regular part of my fall through spring wardrobe.

Style Tip: An easy way to add an edgy element to any outfit is to wear combat or motorcycle boots. They are fun with jeans, skirts, dresses and even shorts, for those of you who have pretty legs. These days combat boots come in a variety of colors and styles. Check out the shopping links below for options.

I am a child of the King, therefore, I am a princess. I fight battles every day on my knees and on my walkabouts with God, therefore, I am a warrior. I am full of flaws, lack confidence and have a list of idiosyncrasies, but I stand in His strength. Fairy tales all have elements of truth. Magic or miracles? Monsters or murderers? Fairy godmothers, or just grandmothers, I am living an adventure.

I’ve included a few shopping links for you to look over. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own. Thanks for following along on the blog.

Have a great week.

What I've Been Wearing Lately

I didn’t have the time, nor the energy to come up with outfits for a blog post, so I thought I would just share a few of my everyday outfits that I posted on Instagram. I know some of you follow me there, and on Facebook so these might be repeats for you, but to keep it interesting and fun I will be adding a few style tips and commentary on why I chose what I did and my thought process or the inspiration for putting it together. I also thought it would be fun to tell you which pieces are thrifted.

Outfit 1 - Tan Blazer with Striped Tee

Inspiration - Pinterest

Thrifted Pieces - Striped tee, blazer, jeans, belt and shorter necklace

Style Tip - Florals and stripes are an easy and quick way to print mix without getting overwhelmed.

What I like about it - It is casual, but a bit dressier with the blazer and jewelry. It adheres to my fashion style with the combat boots and floral scarf. The layers make it great for these transitional days as winter ends and spring begins.

Outfit 2 - Sunflower Skirt with Pullover Sweater

Inspiration - Style challenge on Instagram for #wearyellowtoendendo22 with @ldywhobrunches and @sarahceeraz

Thrifted Pieces - Sunflower skirt and gray faux suede boots.

Style Tip - Try choosing color combos that aren’t perfectly matched. It might go against your fashion sense, but it is good for your brain to think differently about how colors pair up. You might find color combos you never thought to put together.

What I like about it - I ended up wearing this outfit all day and it was extremely comfortable. It was just the right amount of layering to keep me warm and I didn’t feel overly constricted. I like the boho vibe of it, but it also says classy with the long flower pendant and the chic chenille sweater.

Outfit 3 - Plaid Jacket with Space Tee

Inspiration - My closet and my own creativity.

Thrifted Pieces - Plaid jacket.

Style Tip - Skinny jeans and straight leg jeans are the best for tucking into boots, so don’t get rid of all of your skinnies, no matter what is trending. Skinnies and straight leg pants give you a sleeker fit through the leg, but especially around the knee and top of a taller boot.

What I like about it - This outfit just speaks to my inner lumberjack persona. I love plaids and earth tones like brown and green. I like the contrast of the darker green tee, as opposed to choosing an olive green to match the tones in the jacket. Pairing the jacket with a scarf allowed me to wear the wool without doing all the itching.

Outfit 4 - Casual Blue Sweater and Jeans

Inspiration - My own closet and a desire for comfort. (You would be amazed at what motivates my fashion choices - Ha, ha.)

Thrifted pieces - Light blue sweater and light blue long sleeve tee underneath.

Style Tip - Choose a sweater with texture to minimize noticeable bulges around the middle. The eye is busy trying to follow the texture and pattern, rather than focusing on your bits. (I also size up, but that is a personal choice.)

What I like about it - Casual style is my jam and this is a perfect example of all the things I love: jeans, soft, roomy sweaters, pretty color and fun sneakers.

I hope you enjoyed taking a closer look at my everyday outfits, and hearing about where I draw inspiration from, and how I use my thrifted pieces. I also hope you are enjoying my style tips. Let me know what you think by leaving your thoughts in the comments, or on Facebook. I appreciate all your support.

Fashion Fun: One Blazer Three Ways

Everyone should own at least one or two good blazers. What I consider a good blazer is a piece that fits well, is made well and doesn’t show wear after only a few years. I have my own stockpile of blazers, because they are timeless. I do have wool based blazers that I only wear in the fall, winter and spring because they are the perfect classy layer to keep me warm. I also have a few that serve me well in the warmer months in overly air conditioned restaurants and theaters. Today, I want to show you a thrifted piece that I recently found.

I have been looking for a tan colored blazer for a few months. I didn’t care if it was tan, or beige, or camel, I just wanted something in that color family. I now have two. The one I will show you today being the first one I found. Last week I found a darker one at the dollar thrift store in the town south of us. How could I possibly pass up a beautiful blazer that fit me well and made me look like a girl straight out of Pinterest, for only a dollar? I couldn’t! Ha, ha. Do I need two tan blazers? No, and eventually, I will probably get rid of one, but for now I have two.

Outfit 1 - Casual with Jeans

This piece is a brand called Collections for Le Suit and I got it at Goodwill when my husband took me out for my birthday back in January. Looking at it in these pictures shows me that it is a little big. I lost a few pounds when I was sick and have not gained it back. Not being able to taste anything helps with that. Ha, ha. However, it will be nice to wear with bulkier sweaters and sweatshirts in the cold months.

My Apt. 9 jeans are also thrifted, though from a few years ago. I like the darker wash and bootcut of this pair. I have found most of my favorite jeans at thrift stores. It is a great place to find and try brands you haven’t heard of or can’t afford at regular retail prices. My patterned turtleneck is a thrifted brand called Investments Essentials. The funky pattern is what drew me to it.

To complete the look I added a beaded layered necklace, my Very Peri thrifted Merona bag and my old Sonoma heeled ankle boots from Kohl’s.

Outfit 2 - Workwear with Plaid Trousers

These plaid trousers are another dollar thrift find. I didn’t even try them on, figuring for only a buck, I could just donate them if them didn’t fit. What drew me to them were the light blue stripes. These are Mossimo brand.

I decided to pair them with my light blue Sonoma shirt. I got this from Kohl’s a number of years ago. A good chambray shirt, whether a light wash or a dark wash, is always in style and can be worn with so many things.

I finished off the look with silver accessories, and my blue Converse sneakers.

Outfit 3 - Dressy with a Polka Dot Skirt

I found this fabulous black and white polka dot skirt at the same dollar thrift store where I got the pants. How could I resist this classy, flowy piece, especially when black and white is trending for spring. It is a brand called Urban Coco. It has a white elastic band waist making it very comfortable. It also has a partial lining which hits just above the knees. I hope to see this one get some wear this summer.

White tees are all the rage for pairing with blazers, so I thought why not bring that into play here. My simple white tee is a Time and Tru piece from Walmart. This brand has definitely given Walmart a place in the fashion world, and they seem to be affordable pieces meant for real life wear.

For the rest of my look I kept it simple by adding a thrifted pendant necklace, a blag sparkly clutch and my Clark’s open toed shoeties.

If a girl’s got a twirly skirt, the girl’s got to twirl!

Here are the three looks side by side.

Which outfit do you like the best? Do you have a blazer this color? How do you like to wear it? Leave me some love in the comments. I really appreciate it. I am including a few shopping links for items similar to pieces in these outfits. Feel free to look them over. These are affiliate links, all opinions are my own.

Fashion Fun: Boho Maxi Dress

I do apologize, again, that I am not getting as much content out as I would like, and I am also forgetting to send out a weekly email. Life has been busy and we have been continually bombarded by life bombs including those minor inconveniences like car problems and bigger things like family illnesses and issues. Sometimes we get to a point where we want to give up and just go hide in a nice warm hole, but in the words of Tim Allen of Galaxy Quest fame, “Never give up! Never surrender.”

This week I wanted to share with you three looks revolving around a dress I got as a gift for Christmas. Most of us are aware of the prairie/boho vibe that invaded Target this past year. Long, flowing, tiered maxi and midi dresses hung from every rack. I heard many women complaining that the retailer had lost their mind and that there was no way they were going to keep shopping there. However, I noticed these options are still strong with new colors and prints for spring.

My dress is a solid, rusty color, which will be great for fall, but I tried to think about how I could style this for spring. Let’s take a look.

Outfit 1 - With a Knit Vest

I have long been a fan of gauze. I can remember as I was growing up having a few different tops made out of the light weight, textured fabric. It is the perfect warm weather fabric. This dress is fully lined with a polyester underlay, so actually great for cooler temps. As you can see, the dress has an empire waist and four tiers layering down from the bodice. No worries about pinching or feeling like this piece is too tight. It is like a muumuu, but a little more stylish and classy.

This knit vest was in a style box I won through an Instagram Style Challenge. I hardly ever win anything, so this was a pleasant surprise and was gifted by Instagrammer Rae, @forensicfahsionnotes . There were lots of other goodies in the box including a dress, scarf and necklace. Most of the pieces were thrifted, which I love. This vest is a heavy weight yarn and the oxford gray will go with so many things.

To complete this look I added some beaded jewelry, my gray combat boots and a Sonoma tote bag that I picked up online at Kohl’s last fall. These are a great addition to your wardrobe. They are light weight, but sturdy; very roomy and will carry everything from your laptop or tablet to a notebook and all your other essentials. Check out all the glorious colors and prints by clicking on the link above.

Style Tip: When wearing a lower cut neckline, fill in the exposed area with several layers of beads.

Outfit 2 - With a Corduroy Jacket

I found this wide wale corduroy jacket while thrifting a few years ago. I have been very close to getting rid of it, because I just don’t wear it, but for some reason I keep hanging on to it. It is as though this jacket wants to be mine. It wants to belong to me, because it knows both it and I have such great potential together. The sleeves are a little short, but I love the off white color, the roomie box cut and the texture.

I thought my fringy boho scarf the perfect complimentary piece. After that it was just a matter of a black bag and white sneakers. Done!

Style Tip: When adding a scarf to an outfit with only one or two colors pick one that also has at least one or two of the same colors.

Outfit 3 - With a pullover sweater.

I was going to try just wearing the dress with a belt, but to me it didn’t look quite right. Part of it might be the need to find the right belt. Instead, I decided to make my maxi dress into a maxi skirt by topping it with this Christopher and Banks pullover sweater. This works wonderfully for the cold weather as it gives you an extra layer and using the belt allows you to cinch in your waist for a more streamlined look. The belt is another thrift find as it the necklace.

I added my suede boots and an older tote bag from many years ago. Once again, I love the pattern and the corduroy texture. Plus, it adds to the boho flare of the entire look.

Style Tip: Trying looking at your maxi dresses as skirts and see what sweaters or tops you have that would go with the bottom.

Here are the three outfits side by side.

Which outfit do you like best? Would you wear a prairie/boho dress like this? What other ways would you wear a dress like this? I’d love to have your feedback, so leave a comment below, or on my Facebook page.

I’m including a few shopping links, just for fun. Feel free to look them over. These are affiliate links, which means I get a few pennies every time you click on a link. I appreciate every click.

Have a great day!