My sister looked at today’s outfit and said “I don’t get it”:
I said, “What is there to get? They’re both plaid.”
She responded with, “I don’t think that’s how it works.”
I responded by laughing really loudly and saying “That’s exactly how it works.”
The thing is, I honestly do think this outfit makes perfect sense.I’ve had the skirt for a while but the sweater vest is a recent thrifted acquisition. But, when I tried the vest on, my immediate* thought was that I would wear it with this skirt.
For me, a plaid with a plaid is nothing but good, especially when the other rules of pattern mixing are followed; these pieces have a similar scale and they share a predominant color.
Vest: thrifted vintage Skirt: thrifted vintage Tights: Spanx Belt: Gap, similar Shoes: Naya "Jada", similar
Okay, so I guess both pieces being plaid isn’t what makes these pieces work together, but I still maintain that they do work.
Happy Thursday, All!
Gracey
*Okay, that’s not entirely true.My actual immediate thought when trying this vest on was “holy side-boob!” as it’s open basically to the waist. But, my second thought was to pair it with this skirt. I swear.
And, frankly, I'm surprised it took me this long to put these two together.
The houndstooth blouse (thrifted Jones New York, similar) is a natural fit with the harlequin sweater vest (thrifted vintage JG Hook, similar). Thank goodness I found these two hanging out together in my closet or this may never have happened:
Can you imagine??!!
Really though, though, those two did the hard work. I just added a midi skirt (thrifted vintage, similar), tights (Spanx Tight End Tights) and ankle boots (Nine West "Darsy"). Oh, and my new favorite tiger diadem necklace (Hive and Honey via Piperlime):
Is there a rule about mixing your big cats? I mean, if I'm wearing a tiger tee can I pair it with a leopard shoe? Or is this look a fashion faux pas?
Hah! I'm just kidding; this outfit is clearly a great idea. I say the more big cats the better! I figure if I'm going to be a cat lady, I may as well be a big cat lady.
Really though, I love this combination of the tiger tee (Bobeau via Nordstrom) with the tweedy blazer (thrifted vintage, similar) and the ankle zip skinnies (Banana Republic). And I think the leopard flats (Nine West, similar) and tiered chevron necklace (Hive & Honey via Piperlime) are the perfect finishing touches.
I mean, could I have used a bracelet? Sure, but I'm still pretty darned happy with it as is:
Also, lest you think when I say "eye of the tiger" I am referring to Katy Perry, let me disabuse you of that notion right here and now. Below is what I'm referring to when I say "eye of the tiger," you young whippersnappers:
Yes, that song is amazing, thank you for noticing.
It's not a cowl at all. It's a faux cowl I created by draping this sweater vest around my neck:
Thrifted vintage wool sweater vest
Why? Because I wanted a brightly colored, warm scarf to brighten up my otherwise neutral outfit. Specifically, I wanted mustard, but, for some reason, I don't own a mustard scarf (I know, I'm surprised too).
So, I did what anybody would do in my situation; I used my mustard vest as a scarf:
Jacket: Nordstrom (similar) Dress/Tunic: Target Leggings: Target Boots: Gap (similar)
And I'm glad I did. I think the mustard brightens up this whole look and is the perfect focal point. Or faux cowl point, if you will. Yes, it's terrible and no, I can't stop.
For some reason super-saturated bright colors feel like fall to me. Most people tend to start pulling out their browns, tans and rusts but I start pulling out brightly colored pieces like this dress:
Hmm. It looks a bit muted in those pictures, but it really is quite bright:
See? Lovely and bright.
I found it last weekend on a quick jaunt through Goodwill and couldn't wait to wear it. Happily it's warm enough to do so without having to layer so I paired it with my Born riding boots and added a belt (thrifted) and hot pink studs (Kate Spade New York).
Also, for those of you who felt like you were being watched as you read this, I think it might be my boobs:
I didn't realize it until we took the photos, but that particular design element makes it appear as though my boobs have eyes. And that they are watching you.
If you follow me on Pinterest, you know that I've been pinning the heck out of plaid looks for this fall. I have, so far, resisted the urge to run out and buy/thrift a bunch of plaid but I'm no longer able resist wearing the plaid items I already own. Like this plaid skirt:
I thrifted this skirt a couple of years ago but, apparently I wasn't that in to plaid a couple of years ago because I rarely wore it. I'm planning on making amends for that this fall because I am currently absolutely mad for plaid.
Today I wore the skirt (similar) with a chambray shirt (Caslon, similar), my much-loved Born Crown riding boots (similar) and a vintage ram belt.
I finished the look off with a ball-tasseled (basseled?) scarf (LOFT, similar):
What about you, Reader Friends? Are you mad for plaid?
The other day I wandered into Target for laundry detergent, as one does. And I walked out with a new skirt, as one does. But, really, how could I resist this piece?
I love leopard and I love mustard and my joy in having them combined in one piece cannot be overstated, so there was absolutely no way I was going to pass this skirt up.
It is perfection:
I mean, it's short perfection but with some tights, I'm pretty sure I didn't flash anyone. Probably.
In addition to the spotted skirt (Phillip Lim 3.1 for Target) and the tights (Target), I also wore a striped shirt (vintage, thrifted), black booties (Born Crown) and a vintage bracelet (Red Fox Vintage).
Vintage RK Originals dress, Gap boots & Kate Spade New York earrings
Nor did I wear it yesterday as is usually the case. No, I wore this before the rains came. Over the weekend, Oregon remembered that it's Oregon and it has a responsibility to rain steadily from the first day of autumn through the last day of spring. It's off to a great start.
But, enough about the weather. Let's talk about the dress. I think it's from the 60s and I think it's fabulous.
My favorite part is the studded trim:
Seriously, aren't those just the most ladylike little studs you've ever seen?
I finished my Perfect 10 Remix Challenge with two outfits featuring my black pleated skirt.
Day 9:
For Day 9, I paired my pleated skirt (thrifted, similar) with my striped tee (Old Navy).It was a bit cool on the ride in so I also added my floral jacket (thrifted).The shoes are, of course, my Rieker huaraches (thrifted, exact) and I added my red apple pendant (c/o The Monet Chronicles, similar) so I’d still have some interest once the jacket came off.
Day 10:
For my final outfit, I wore a simple combination of the skirt and a sleeveless chambray shirt (Caslon via Nordstrom), again with the Rieker shoes.
But, I also added my lovely bird huddle scarf because I'm from Oregon and I will be putting a bird on it, thank-you-very-much.
And, with that, I am done with the Perfect 10 Remix.Thank you to Callie for creating this challenge and to all of you for reading along and pretending you’re not tired of huaraches and stripes. Heh, Huaraches and Stripes sounds like a terrible buddy comedy with a hard-bitten detective, Huaraches, who semi-retired to Thailand and his Bengal tiger partner, Stripes.Or, it’s my next band name.
I think it’s safe to say that my striped Vince Camuto skirt is the MVP of this challenge as I wore it yet again for Day 8:
Well, co-MVP. I’ve actually worn my Rieker shoes the absolute most during the Perfect 10 Remix Challenge and am wearing them again today:
I can’t help it.The skirt and the shoes are the some of the most comfortable pieces of clothing in my entire wardrobe much less in this little mini-wardrobe.
In addition to my much-loved skirt (Nordstrom, plus available here) and apparently-favorite shoes (thrifted, exact), I also wore (finally!) my cropped floral jacket (vintage, thrifted).It’s still too warm to really layer, so I just buttoned the jacket and wore it as a blouse.I also added a belt (thrifted, similar), for a peplum effect, a chunky gold bracelet and red drop earrings (similar here).
My sister and Ferge didn’t like this outfit at all, stating that it was too much, but I, predictably, loved the combination of the busy floral and the bold stripes.
I received this amazing, fabulous, perfect skirt as a gift from the amazing, fabulous, perfect Dawn at Suitcase Vignettes and, more recently, the Etsy shop, Tea Stained Lace:
It is one of the coolest vintage pieces I've ever seen, much less had the pleasure to own and I can't thank Dawn enough for sending it my way.
Here is a close up of the print on the skirt:
I have no idea what is being portrayed on this skirt, but I love the dark and moody colors and the little bits of red.
Little bits of red that I picked up with my shiny red belt:
I wear my pink striped dress a lot during the summers. And I usually pair it with equally summery shoes and accessories. Today, however, I went a slightly darker route:
Dress: thrifted vintage Belt: Gap Sandals: thrifted
All so I could wear my black, lacquered floral pin:
Vintage, handpainted black lacquer brooch
Because, sometimes, all a girl wants is to wear pink stripes and a floral pin.
I know for some, the inclination in summer is to wear as little clothing as possible.And, as the temperatures climb into the 90s here in Oregon, I definitely understand.And others swear that maxis are good, especially for air conditioning and I understand that too.
But, personally, I’ve found myself drawn to full, swooshy midi-skirts, like this cobalt one:
Skirt: Thrifted vintage Tee: Gap Sandals: White Mountain via Macys
I think it’s the swooshy-ness (shut up, Microsoft, it is too a word) of the skirt that makes it so lovely for summer:
Or, it could be the pockets:
Because pockets are a gosh darned delight all year long.
Whether it’s the swooshy-ness or the pockets or something else, I don’t know.What I do know is that I love a good midi-skirt for the summer months.
What about you, Reader Friends?What length are your summer hemlines?
