Posts tagged: black flat slouchy buckle boots
![05.23.2012 [wed]Backlogged outfit, added 02.23.2013.
Worn to: work
Behind the outfit:After really enjoying my winter shorts this past season, I’ve been neglecting my spring shorts for some reason so I decided to pull ‘em out today. Still in a slouchy mood, so I paired them with my new favorite slouchy summer sweater. Kept the look simple with sheer tights instead of pattern mixing with textured tights, but I’ll probably try that soon! I think a sheer black with a pin print would be especially fun.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/26e4de39ac339266570f8175e990adac/tumblr_mijrh3Bfet1r584afo1_1280.jpg)
05.23.2012 [wed]
Backlogged outfit, added 02.23.2013.
Worn to: work
Behind the outfit:
After really enjoying my winter shorts this past season, I’ve been neglecting my spring shorts for some reason so I decided to pull ‘em out today. Still in a slouchy mood, so I paired them with my new favorite slouchy summer sweater. Kept the look simple with sheer tights instead of pattern mixing with textured tights, but I’ll probably try that soon! I think a sheer black with a pin print would be especially fun.
![04.03.2012 [tue]
Worn to: post office, work, grocery
Tissue turtleneck: JCrew (outlet)Blazer: ExpressBelt: VansShorts: Hinge (via Nordstrom)Tights, necklace, watch: TargetBoots: Forever 21Pearl earrings, scarf: giftsTrench: Banana Republic (via YLF swap)Purse: Kate Spade
Thoughts:I’m still trying to sneak in a few wears for some of my favorite fall pieces since the weather is still very mild. I warmed up to these shorts more and more as the season went on, and I’m pretty sure winter shorts have officially worked themselves into a staple role in my wardrobe. Now that we’re officially into April, I think I’m going to put them away until fall; I’m definitely going to miss them, though as I said a couple weeks ago I do have a silky pair waiting to come back out and play. I don’t really have a good transitional pair, that would definitely be something worth looking into either for this year or next.
Behind the outfit:For their last outing of the season, I wanted to try pairing my wool winter shorts with patterned (but not textured) tights. It’s definitely cool enough today for a heavily layered look, so I decided to make the most of the opportunity. I started with the shorts/tights and quickly decided that these short boots would look a bit more transitional than a tall pair. That added some slouch, so I wanted to keep that going with the top.
When putting away wintery pieces a couple weeks ago I kept this tissue turtleneck (and its navy sibling) in my closet specifically for transitional outfit purposes, as I wore them both quite a lot last year at this time. Not really feeling them as much this year as standalone tops, and I don’t really like to layer turtlenecks under other tops. I’m sure that’s related to desire to slowly fade nearly all tees from my wardrobe, but I must say that these are simply starting feel a little sloppy on me.
Either way, I was in the mood to wear a gray top with this outfit, so I chose this top because it was closest to what I wanted (a gray blouse would most definitely get a ton of wear, I must get one!). I wasn’t too happy with it on its own, so instead of a fully slouchy outfit I decided to add some structure with a jacket. The dark colors were a little too moody and muddled so I added the ivory belt, white watch, and long silver necklace, and pushed my sleeves up when the jacket was off. I had the trench/scarf with me but ended up not wearing them even though it was cool enough to. And I really like how the orange bag (and orange/fuchsia nails) looked with the red blazer!](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m566y7qiUI1r584afo1_1280.jpg)
04.03.2012 [tue]
Worn to: post office, work, grocery
Tissue turtleneck: JCrew (outlet)
Blazer: Express
Belt: Vans
Shorts: Hinge (via Nordstrom)
Tights, necklace, watch: Target
Boots: Forever 21
Pearl earrings, scarf: gifts
Trench: Banana Republic (via YLF swap)
Purse: Kate Spade
Thoughts:
I’m still trying to sneak in a few wears for some of my favorite fall pieces since the weather is still very mild. I warmed up to these shorts more and more as the season went on, and I’m pretty sure winter shorts have officially worked themselves into a staple role in my wardrobe. Now that we’re officially into April, I think I’m going to put them away until fall; I’m definitely going to miss them, though as I said a couple weeks ago I do have a silky pair waiting to come back out and play. I don’t really have a good transitional pair, that would definitely be something worth looking into either for this year or next.
Behind the outfit:
For their last outing of the season, I wanted to try pairing my wool winter shorts with patterned (but not textured) tights. It’s definitely cool enough today for a heavily layered look, so I decided to make the most of the opportunity. I started with the shorts/tights and quickly decided that these short boots would look a bit more transitional than a tall pair. That added some slouch, so I wanted to keep that going with the top.
When putting away wintery pieces a couple weeks ago I kept this tissue turtleneck (and its navy sibling) in my closet specifically for transitional outfit purposes, as I wore them both quite a lot last year at this time. Not really feeling them as much this year as standalone tops, and I don’t really like to layer turtlenecks under other tops. I’m sure that’s related to desire to slowly fade nearly all tees from my wardrobe, but I must say that these are simply starting feel a little sloppy on me.
Either way, I was in the mood to wear a gray top with this outfit, so I chose this top because it was closest to what I wanted (a gray blouse would most definitely get a ton of wear, I must get one!). I wasn’t too happy with it on its own, so instead of a fully slouchy outfit I decided to add some structure with a jacket. The dark colors were a little too moody and muddled so I added the ivory belt, white watch, and long silver necklace, and pushed my sleeves up when the jacket was off. I had the trench/scarf with me but ended up not wearing them even though it was cool enough to. And I really like how the orange bag (and orange/fuchsia nails) looked with the red blazer!
![03.29.2012 [thu]
Worn to: work
Tee: Aggrolites concertBlazer: H&MPants: Max RaveBoots: Forever 21Hoop earrings: GNW (via Fred Meyer)Watch: Timex (via Target)Trench: Banana Republic (via YLF swap)Scarf: Steve Madden (via Nordstrom)Purse: Kate Spade
Thoughts:When I was first working towards honing in on my style I wore the graphic tee+blazer combo quite a bit, but have moved away from that as the number of tees in my closet became drastically reduced. The graphic tees that have survived in my wardrobe are a handful of band tees, a Sturgis tee, and a couple printed/striped tees. I do still think that this is a fun casual look, though more weekend than work, especially when done with high contrast or strong graphic integrity. And it has a bit of sentimental value to me, because it takes me (way) back to my days of playing in a punk/ska band.
This outfit, dressing up a graphic tee, follows a pretty straightforward and versatile formula, and is a great casual option for those days you’re running errands: graphic tee + blazer + slim pants + boots/heels. The more graphic/high contrast the better for myself, but it works equally well with more subtle tonal shades.
(It was pouring, POURING rain when I went to take my photos today hence the goofy pose on the left. I just couldn’t get more than a couple snaps off!)
Behind the outfit:Yesterday Joy over on YLF posted a great outfit sporting a graphic tee, and I was inspired to don something similar (isn’t her hair fabulous!?). Joy’s outfit had white on the bottom and denim for the jacket, but there’s no way I could wear white bottoms on such a rainy day so I swapped that and went with my white blazer and olive skinnies. I did consider wearing blue denim on the bottom (my straight leg jeans) but 1) with the rain I just had to wear boots, and for some reason I am still lacking a pair of blue denim skinnies, and 2) with these rather shapeless band tees I usually like to keep the bottom silhouette more slim, especially today with the slouchy boots. I thought about wearing my tall black boots instead of these, but it just felt too wintery with the white blazer.
To play up the graphic integrity I went with a bold orange lip and matching bright orange bag, and my white watch to add an additional white element. And for the outerwear, of course I had to add my new taupe bird print scarf! I also liked the neon nails with this as a tiny tiny shot of color, and those along with the slick pony add a fun 80s touch to the outfit.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m28ree3omq1r584afo1_1280.jpg)
03.29.2012 [thu]
Worn to: work
Tee: Aggrolites concert
Blazer: H&M
Pants: Max Rave
Boots: Forever 21
Hoop earrings: GNW (via Fred Meyer)
Watch: Timex (via Target)
Trench: Banana Republic (via YLF swap)
Scarf: Steve Madden (via Nordstrom)
Purse: Kate Spade
Thoughts:
When I was first working towards honing in on my style I wore the graphic tee+blazer combo quite a bit, but have moved away from that as the number of tees in my closet became drastically reduced. The graphic tees that have survived in my wardrobe are a handful of band tees, a Sturgis tee, and a couple printed/striped tees. I do still think that this is a fun casual look, though more weekend than work, especially when done with high contrast or strong graphic integrity. And it has a bit of sentimental value to me, because it takes me (way) back to my days of playing in a punk/ska band.
This outfit, dressing up a graphic tee, follows a pretty straightforward and versatile formula, and is a great casual option for those days you’re running errands: graphic tee + blazer + slim pants + boots/heels. The more graphic/high contrast the better for myself, but it works equally well with more subtle tonal shades.
(It was pouring, POURING rain when I went to take my photos today hence the goofy pose on the left. I just couldn’t get more than a couple snaps off!)
Behind the outfit:
Yesterday Joy over on YLF posted a great outfit sporting a graphic tee, and I was inspired to don something similar (isn’t her hair fabulous!?). Joy’s outfit had white on the bottom and denim for the jacket, but there’s no way I could wear white bottoms on such a rainy day so I swapped that and went with my white blazer and olive skinnies. I did consider wearing blue denim on the bottom (my straight leg jeans) but 1) with the rain I just had to wear boots, and for some reason I am still lacking a pair of blue denim skinnies, and 2) with these rather shapeless band tees I usually like to keep the bottom silhouette more slim, especially today with the slouchy boots. I thought about wearing my tall black boots instead of these, but it just felt too wintery with the white blazer.
To play up the graphic integrity I went with a bold orange lip and matching bright orange bag, and my white watch to add an additional white element. And for the outerwear, of course I had to add my new taupe bird print scarf! I also liked the neon nails with this as a tiny tiny shot of color, and those along with the slick pony add a fun 80s touch to the outfit.
![03.11.2012 [sun]
Worn to: breakfast (Vintage), Adam over to work on his bike & dinner
Sweater, watch: TargetJeans: GAP “Real Straight”Boots, necklace: Forever 21Hoop earrings: GNW (via Fred Meyer)Coat, scarf: Old NavyPurse: Michael Kors
Thoughts:Even though I have quite a few of my favorite formulas tagged, this season it seems I’ve fallen back most often on this one. Probably because it’s so very wet around here. As much as I love boots (and I LOVE boots!), by the time spring rolls around and it’s still super wet? I find I get just a little tired of wearing skinnies+boots all the time. Part of the problem, as I mentioned a couple days ago, is that I wasn’t really feeling my skirts and dresses this season which is the best change-up silhouette when it’s raining (I hate getting my hems wet). This also causes my outfit creativity to suffer, in my opinion. So hopefully next year I can remember to force myself to wear those more often so I don’t get bored!
Behind the outfit:Just a quick fall-back outfit (sweater, pendant, skinnies, boots). It’s gloomy today, and my outfit kind of reflects that. To counter the gloom a little I went with my cute little robot pendant, and of course there’s my cheerful manicure. I did keep the outerwear a bit lighter (that’s where the gloom is, after all!) and went with a light coat and colorful printed scarf.
Back in January, Angie posted an outfit where she tucked straight leg jeans into mid-calf boots. This is not something I do often (ever?), but I rather like the uber relaxed vibe. Now, I’m not a member of the super skinny calves club and these jeans are certainly more voluminous than hers, but because my boots are also super slouchy I think it works. If my boots were slimmer, this particular pair of straight legs would certainly poof too much over the tops for my taste.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0wd26BWd01r584afo1_r1_1280.jpg)
03.11.2012 [sun]
Worn to: breakfast (Vintage), Adam over to work on his bike & dinner
Sweater, watch: Target
Jeans: GAP “Real Straight”
Boots, necklace: Forever 21
Hoop earrings: GNW (via Fred Meyer)
Coat, scarf: Old Navy
Purse: Michael Kors
Thoughts:
Even though I have quite a few of my favorite formulas tagged, this season it seems I’ve fallen back most often on this one. Probably because it’s so very wet around here. As much as I love boots (and I LOVE boots!), by the time spring rolls around and it’s still super wet? I find I get just a little tired of wearing skinnies+boots all the time. Part of the problem, as I mentioned a couple days ago, is that I wasn’t really feeling my skirts and dresses this season which is the best change-up silhouette when it’s raining (I hate getting my hems wet). This also causes my outfit creativity to suffer, in my opinion. So hopefully next year I can remember to force myself to wear those more often so I don’t get bored!
Behind the outfit:
Just a quick fall-back outfit (sweater, pendant, skinnies, boots). It’s gloomy today, and my outfit kind of reflects that. To counter the gloom a little I went with my cute little robot pendant, and of course there’s my cheerful manicure. I did keep the outerwear a bit lighter (that’s where the gloom is, after all!) and went with a light coat and colorful printed scarf.
Back in January, Angie posted an outfit where she tucked straight leg jeans into mid-calf boots. This is not something I do often (ever?), but I rather like the uber relaxed vibe. Now, I’m not a member of the super skinny calves club and these jeans are certainly more voluminous than hers, but because my boots are also super slouchy I think it works. If my boots were slimmer, this particular pair of straight legs would certainly poof too much over the tops for my taste.
![02.29.2012 [wed]
Worn to: work, Brad over to keg beer
Sweater: GAPJeans, scarf: TargetLegwarmers, purse: giftsBoots: Forever 21Hoop earrings: GNW (via Fred Meyer)Necklace: Nordstrom RackWatch: Timex (via Target)Coat: Worthington (via JCPenney)
Thoughts:Happy leap day! As you can see behind me, we got a little bit of snow last night though it didn’t really stick around for very long. As much as I like snow, I am hoping this is the last of it we’ll see this season ^^
Behind the outfit:I was feeling a bit tired after getting home late yesterday, so I went with my winter sweater formula (sweater + skinnies + boots + fun necklace) to keep things easy for myself. I started with the sweater, though something long sleeved would probably have been better. I like how light colors look in the snow, so I decided to wear these light gray jeans and then bookend with the black boots and slouchy legwarmers. To keep the top half a bit darker (not usually necessary, but the v-neck coupled with the short sleeves looked too exposed for the weather), I filled the neck in with knotted black pearls. Black watch, simple silver hoops, and peachy lip gloss finish the look off. I chose my black wool coat, and then decided to wear my coral scarf with the red purse since I liked how the two colors looked a couple days ago.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m08waeVmhy1r584afo1_r1_1280.jpg)
02.29.2012 [wed]
Worn to: work, Brad over to keg beer
Sweater: GAP
Jeans, scarf: Target
Legwarmers, purse: gifts
Boots: Forever 21
Hoop earrings: GNW (via Fred Meyer)
Necklace: Nordstrom Rack
Watch: Timex (via Target)
Coat: Worthington (via JCPenney)
Thoughts:
Happy leap day! As you can see behind me, we got a little bit of snow last night though it didn’t really stick around for very long. As much as I like snow, I am hoping this is the last of it we’ll see this season ^^
Behind the outfit:
I was feeling a bit tired after getting home late yesterday, so I went with my winter sweater formula (sweater + skinnies + boots + fun necklace) to keep things easy for myself. I started with the sweater, though something long sleeved would probably have been better. I like how light colors look in the snow, so I decided to wear these light gray jeans and then bookend with the black boots and slouchy legwarmers. To keep the top half a bit darker (not usually necessary, but the v-neck coupled with the short sleeves looked too exposed for the weather), I filled the neck in with knotted black pearls. Black watch, simple silver hoops, and peachy lip gloss finish the look off. I chose my black wool coat, and then decided to wear my coral scarf with the red purse since I liked how the two colors looked a couple days ago.
![02.21.2012 [tue]
Worn to: work, grocery
Tee, watch: TargetCardigan: Old NavyShorts: Hinge (via Nordstrom)Tights: LOFTBoots, scarf: Forever 21Hoop earrings: GNW (via Fred Meyer)Necklace: Kenneth Cole (via Nordstrom Rack)Rain coat: Miss Sixty (via Nordstrom Rack)Purse: Coach (gift)
Behind the outfit:I’ve been wanting to pair these shorts with this leopard cardigan (I just realized I’m starting to run out of time to wear these shorts before it starts warming up!), so today I created a look around those two pieces. It’s not super cold out today, but it is wet wet wet hence the rare raincoat appearance. Since these shorts are baggy by design, I’ve been enjoying styling them with slouchier looks and did the same today.
I started with the bottom half. Boots were a must due to the rain. Last time I wore these boots with the shorts I had charcoal legwarmers on so I chose charcoal sweater tights (which I just noticed I’ve done every time I’ve worn these shorts, actually); this time I wanted the contrast to be low on the boots rather than the shorts so I chose black sweater tights.
Since the bottom half was so dark, I wanted to wear something light under the cardigan; I don’t seem to reach for color much when I wear it, and I guess today I felt the same. This white drapey tee was a great find at Target last summer, and while I wouldn’t normally wear it pre-spring I don’t have a lot of white top options; my white button up isn’t relaxed enough for what I wanted, I don’t like to layer sweaters under cardigans, and it’s too cold for tanks with the cardigan left open. To punch up the tee+cardigan pairing I added this fun blue and gold necklace, which also gives a nice little shot of color (along with my pretty orange nails!).](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m08vhbuPFL1r584afo1_r1_1280.jpg)
02.21.2012 [tue]
Worn to: work, grocery
Tee, watch: Target
Cardigan: Old Navy
Shorts: Hinge (via Nordstrom)
Tights: LOFT
Boots, scarf: Forever 21
Hoop earrings: GNW (via Fred Meyer)
Necklace: Kenneth Cole (via Nordstrom Rack)
Rain coat: Miss Sixty (via Nordstrom Rack)
Purse: Coach (gift)
Behind the outfit:
I’ve been wanting to pair these shorts with this leopard cardigan (I just realized I’m starting to run out of time to wear these shorts before it starts warming up!), so today I created a look around those two pieces. It’s not super cold out today, but it is wet wet wet hence the rare raincoat appearance. Since these shorts are baggy by design, I’ve been enjoying styling them with slouchier looks and did the same today.
I started with the bottom half. Boots were a must due to the rain. Last time I wore these boots with the shorts I had charcoal legwarmers on so I chose charcoal sweater tights (which I just noticed I’ve done every time I’ve worn these shorts, actually); this time I wanted the contrast to be low on the boots rather than the shorts so I chose black sweater tights.
Since the bottom half was so dark, I wanted to wear something light under the cardigan; I don’t seem to reach for color much when I wear it, and I guess today I felt the same. This white drapey tee was a great find at Target last summer, and while I wouldn’t normally wear it pre-spring I don’t have a lot of white top options; my white button up isn’t relaxed enough for what I wanted, I don’t like to layer sweaters under cardigans, and it’s too cold for tanks with the cardigan left open. To punch up the tee+cardigan pairing I added this fun blue and gold necklace, which also gives a nice little shot of color (along with my pretty orange nails!).
![02.17.2012 [fri]
Worn to: date night dinner (Fish Brewery) & a movie (Arietty)
Tee: JCrew (outlet)Cardigan: TargetJeans: Empyre (via Zumiez)Boots: Forever 21Earrings: giftNecklace: Asos.comWatch: Fossil (gift)Trench: Banana Republic (via YLF swap)Scarf: Old NavyPurse: Coach (gift)
Thoughts:Feeling well enough to venture out for date night! The movie was cute, I love Studio Ghibli films. I didn’t really have the energy to come up with an outfit, so I decided to wear a variation on this one here. Comfy and easy, I really love red with red-orange! This scarf is new for spring (yes I realize it’s not spring, but I am really lacking in light colored scarves), picked up from Old Navy last week.
(I haven’t worn this necklace in a while, and totally forgot that it doesn’t exactly work well with this slim trench coat. The pearl bulges out and looks so weird! Good thing I had the scarf on ^^)](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m08gr72qwO1r584afo1_r1_1280.jpg)
02.17.2012 [fri]
Worn to: date night dinner (Fish Brewery) & a movie (Arietty)
Tee: JCrew (outlet)
Cardigan: Target
Jeans: Empyre (via Zumiez)
Boots: Forever 21
Earrings: gift
Necklace: Asos.com
Watch: Fossil (gift)
Trench: Banana Republic (via YLF swap)
Scarf: Old Navy
Purse: Coach (gift)
Thoughts:
Feeling well enough to venture out for date night! The movie was cute, I love Studio Ghibli films. I didn’t really have the energy to come up with an outfit, so I decided to wear a variation on this one here. Comfy and easy, I really love red with red-orange! This scarf is new for spring (yes I realize it’s not spring, but I am really lacking in light colored scarves), picked up from Old Navy last week.
(I haven’t worn this necklace in a while, and totally forgot that it doesn’t exactly work well with this slim trench coat. The pearl bulges out and looks so weird! Good thing I had the scarf on ^^)
![02.09.2012 [thu]Neutrals week: white/gray/black
Worn to: Old Navy, work
Blouse, coat: Calvin KleinBlazer: vintage (thrifted)Winter shorts: Hinge (via Nordstrom)Tights: LOFTLegwarmers, watch, purse: giftsBoots, necklace: Forever 21Hoop earrings: GNW (via Fred Meyer)Scarf: Target
Thoughts:Neutrals challenge day four! Earlier this week one of the ladies over on YLF posted a gorgeous dress from Old Navy that I just had to run out and try. So today I did, and it was so good I bought it right away! (Also a cute bird-print shirt that I’m on the fence about.) I’m planning to debut it for Valentine’s, and it should be great going into spring because of the elbow sleeves. My only qualm is that it’s a knit dress; if it was woven it would be perfect.
I also tried out some slouchy legwarmers for the first time today! I really like how they look with these slouchy boots, but I think this particular pair is too chunky for my non-slouchy boots.
Behind the outfit:What week of neutrals would be complete without a bold, graphic, black and white outfit? For me, certainly it’s a requirement. These are my CORE core neutrals; nearly all of my outfits have some black or white.
Since the coloring is graphic, I wanted a simple outfit. I started with the blouse and blazer. When planning the week’s outfits, this was the first I thought of, and originally I had my black skinny jeans in this outfit; but after moving those to Tuesday’s outfit, I immediately thought of my wool shorts to replace them in this one. Which changed the vibe instantly!
Once the shorts were in I had to restructure the outfit. I decided to add a little slouch, so I went with these slouchy mid-calf boots next; the black helps ground the outfit, but is still low contrast with the rest of the bottom half. After that I chose these charcoal ribbed tights; these are also low contrast, but not no-contrast because they’re lighter than both the shorts and the boots. Together, the shorts, tights, legwarmers (coming up), and boots are a great textural mix as well.
Then today when getting dressed, I liked the slouchiness that was going on so I thought I’d give the legwarmers a try. I’ve tried them with a few other outfits and couldn’t make them work, but those were all with tall boots. They work MUCH better with these shorter boots! With the legwarmers added, I felt like I needed a little more sass-and-bling, so I added the necklace (which I actually had planned for tomorrow’s outfit). The final outfit has just the perfect mix of structure and slouch for me, I really feel like this outfit exemplifies my style goals!](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m08fyn2aQq1r584afo1_1280.jpg)
02.09.2012 [thu]
Neutrals week: white/gray/black
Worn to: Old Navy, work
Blouse, coat: Calvin Klein
Blazer: vintage (thrifted)
Winter shorts: Hinge (via Nordstrom)
Tights: LOFT
Legwarmers, watch, purse: gifts
Boots, necklace: Forever 21
Hoop earrings: GNW (via Fred Meyer)
Scarf: Target
Thoughts:
Neutrals challenge day four! Earlier this week one of the ladies over on YLF posted a gorgeous dress from Old Navy that I just had to run out and try. So today I did, and it was so good I bought it right away! (Also a cute bird-print shirt that I’m on the fence about.) I’m planning to debut it for Valentine’s, and it should be great going into spring because of the elbow sleeves. My only qualm is that it’s a knit dress; if it was woven it would be perfect.
I also tried out some slouchy legwarmers for the first time today! I really like how they look with these slouchy boots, but I think this particular pair is too chunky for my non-slouchy boots.
Behind the outfit:
What week of neutrals would be complete without a bold, graphic, black and white outfit? For me, certainly it’s a requirement. These are my CORE core neutrals; nearly all of my outfits have some black or white.
Since the coloring is graphic, I wanted a simple outfit. I started with the blouse and blazer. When planning the week’s outfits, this was the first I thought of, and originally I had my black skinny jeans in this outfit; but after moving those to Tuesday’s outfit, I immediately thought of my wool shorts to replace them in this one. Which changed the vibe instantly!
Once the shorts were in I had to restructure the outfit. I decided to add a little slouch, so I went with these slouchy mid-calf boots next; the black helps ground the outfit, but is still low contrast with the rest of the bottom half. After that I chose these charcoal ribbed tights; these are also low contrast, but not no-contrast because they’re lighter than both the shorts and the boots. Together, the shorts, tights, legwarmers (coming up), and boots are a great textural mix as well.
Then today when getting dressed, I liked the slouchiness that was going on so I thought I’d give the legwarmers a try. I’ve tried them with a few other outfits and couldn’t make them work, but those were all with tall boots. They work MUCH better with these shorter boots! With the legwarmers added, I felt like I needed a little more sass-and-bling, so I added the necklace (which I actually had planned for tomorrow’s outfit). The final outfit has just the perfect mix of structure and slouch for me, I really feel like this outfit exemplifies my style goals!
![01.23.2012 [mon]Adjacent colors week: red/red-orange
Worn to: work, out for tacos
Tee: JCrew (outlet)Cardigan, earrings: TargetSkirt, boots, purse: Forever 21Tights: LOFTWatch: Anne Klein (gift)Coat: Worthington (via JCPenney)Scarf: gift
Thoughts:And the adjacent color experiment is off! This is actually the color pairing I’m most excited about for the week, I adore red and red-orange together. So fiery! Going into this week I have only the tops pairings somewhat decided on; I thought of a couple options for bottoms, but mostly I’m going to just pick whatever I’m in the mood for each day.
So far this is still the only way I’ve really been able to get a pencil skirt to feel like it’s my style: adding some slouch, boots, and/or rocker elements. I think if this particular skirt were longer I could do more with it, but for now I like styling it this way. I really dig the vibe of this outfit!
Behind the outfit:This cardigan and tee were an easy pairing for this challenge because they were sitting next to each other on the shelf, but I’d forgotten that the sleeves have varying lengths; the tee is long sleeved, and the cardigan is 3/4 sleeved. So I rolled the tee sleeves back and pushed everything up.
I actually had on my black skinny jeans first. But by chance I got a text message and when I went to look at my phone, I spied an old JCrew catalog and was immediately inspired to swap the jeans out for a pencil skirt. So glad I did! I tried tucking just the tee, tucking both the tee and cardigan, belting just the tee, belting over both… And ultimately I just loved the slouchy, untucked vibe so I went with that.
The rest fell into place easily from there. I decided on these slouchy boots, and then because it’s freezing out (still have some snow) I wanted to wear sweater tights; I have both charcoal and black, but liked the visual interest and softness the charcoal offered against the black skirt and boots. I wanted to keep the colors as the focus, so I chose to keep accessories minimal; I wore only earrings and a watch, choosing long dangly earrings instead of a pendant which I would normally have worn with this.
This outfit is VERY waist surrendering (clearly changes my shape from hourglass to rectangle), and is certainly not something everyone is comfortable with; the loose tee and cardigan definitely add extra width, especially considering just how fitted the skirt actually is. There are a couple of things I do to keep these types of outfits from feeling unnecessarily huge on me:
Make sure the top(s) fits well. The cardigan and tee both fit properly in the shoulders, arms, and length. This makes the waist no looser than it needs to be, so the silhouette is as slim-straight as possible.
Highlight other small parts, and show a little skin. I have a smaller bone structure so showing my wrists and collar bone help keep the look a bit daintier. Keeping a slim leg line can also help. In this case I wore lower, slouchier boots and because the skirt is shorter there’s still plenty of leg. If I were to wear taller boots (which would hide some leg) I would be sure to pick a fitted pair so the leg line is still clear.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzis00SawH1r584afo1_1280.jpg)
01.23.2012 [mon]
Adjacent colors week: red/red-orange
Worn to: work, out for tacos
Tee: JCrew (outlet)
Cardigan, earrings: Target
Skirt, boots, purse: Forever 21
Tights: LOFT
Watch: Anne Klein (gift)
Coat: Worthington (via JCPenney)
Scarf: gift
Thoughts:
And the adjacent color experiment is off! This is actually the color pairing I’m most excited about for the week, I adore red and red-orange together. So fiery! Going into this week I have only the tops pairings somewhat decided on; I thought of a couple options for bottoms, but mostly I’m going to just pick whatever I’m in the mood for each day.
So far this is still the only way I’ve really been able to get a pencil skirt to feel like it’s my style: adding some slouch, boots, and/or rocker elements. I think if this particular skirt were longer I could do more with it, but for now I like styling it this way. I really dig the vibe of this outfit!
Behind the outfit:
This cardigan and tee were an easy pairing for this challenge because they were sitting next to each other on the shelf, but I’d forgotten that the sleeves have varying lengths; the tee is long sleeved, and the cardigan is 3/4 sleeved. So I rolled the tee sleeves back and pushed everything up.
I actually had on my black skinny jeans first. But by chance I got a text message and when I went to look at my phone, I spied an old JCrew catalog and was immediately inspired to swap the jeans out for a pencil skirt. So glad I did! I tried tucking just the tee, tucking both the tee and cardigan, belting just the tee, belting over both… And ultimately I just loved the slouchy, untucked vibe so I went with that.
The rest fell into place easily from there. I decided on these slouchy boots, and then because it’s freezing out (still have some snow) I wanted to wear sweater tights; I have both charcoal and black, but liked the visual interest and softness the charcoal offered against the black skirt and boots. I wanted to keep the colors as the focus, so I chose to keep accessories minimal; I wore only earrings and a watch, choosing long dangly earrings instead of a pendant which I would normally have worn with this.
This outfit is VERY waist surrendering (clearly changes my shape from hourglass to rectangle), and is certainly not something everyone is comfortable with; the loose tee and cardigan definitely add extra width, especially considering just how fitted the skirt actually is. There are a couple of things I do to keep these types of outfits from feeling unnecessarily huge on me:
- Make sure the top(s) fits well. The cardigan and tee both fit properly in the shoulders, arms, and length. This makes the waist no looser than it needs to be, so the silhouette is as slim-straight as possible.
- Highlight other small parts, and show a little skin. I have a smaller bone structure so showing my wrists and collar bone help keep the look a bit daintier. Keeping a slim leg line can also help. In this case I wore lower, slouchier boots and because the skirt is shorter there’s still plenty of leg. If I were to wear taller boots (which would hide some leg) I would be sure to pick a fitted pair so the leg line is still clear.
![12.05.2011 [mon]
Worn to: dinner with my husband (Kosta’s)
[[MORE]] Tee: JCrew (outlet)Cardigan: Eddie BauerJeans: Empyre (via Zumiez)Boots: Forever 21Hoop earrings: GNW (via Fred Meyer)Watch: Fossil (gift)Coat: Calvin Klein (via Wilson’s Leather)Purse: thrifted
Thoughts:Since I’ve been behind on getting my outfits posted up here I haven’t really been reflecting on what I’ve been wearing. The result? I feel like I’m in a slump, but when I look at the photos on my camera or on the site they look good (it’s kind of weird). Part of the problem is my self-imposed “no repeats” rule; it feels like I’m working a little too hard to not repeat, so I think I’m going to relax a bit on that rule (hope you all don’t mind the occasional repeat!). The other part has to do with my wardrobe not being where I want it (reflected upon recently), but that doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy styling what I do have while I work on improving my wardrobe. After all, fashion should be fun!
Behind the outfit:I must say I am really enjoying JCrew’s bright colors and layerings this season, especially the tonal color pairings. While flipping through a JCrew catalog last night I saw the particularly appealing layering below, and based today’s outfit around it. I do have a white/navy striped tee, but this orange tee was next to the gray cardigan on the shelf and I thought they looked fun together. I know a lot of people don’t like to pair orange with black because it feels too Halloween-y, but adding another neutral, in this case gray, can help mitigate that effect. (Kitty says hi!)](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ly2l7yKfIG1r584afo1_1280.jpg)
