One day it was Winter, and then we skipped right over Spring into Summer…at least that is what it feels like! It’s that weird time of year when you’ll have a blizzard with 6″ of snow, like we did last Saturday, and then a few days later, the snow is gone and it’s +20 out. And just where did the month of April go? Did it zip past you too?
The weather swings do make it a bit difficult to plan outfits, as well as deciding what to keep out and what to pack away for the season. My closet is a little full at the moment with multiple seasons of clothing out.
This outfit was a fairly good mix; a nod to the cooler temperatures with the sweater and oxford shoes, and then the flower ring and the quilted fabric bag have a more summer weather feel to them.
Every time I try to add “more colour” into my wardrobe, I always end up pairing it back to these more muted tones. This outfit is the perfect match to the colours of nature at the moment, though; brown trees with catkins, grass starting turn green and blue skies.
This is a new thrifted ring I got, mentioned in this post. It is not comfortable in the slightest, but I absolutely love it, and it’s totally worth it for fashion.
The grass is starting to turn green, the sun is shining and the tulips and irises are starting to come up…and I am so ready for it! Happy May 1st!
Are you in Spring where you live, or did you jump right into Summer? Do you struggle with seasonal wardrobe transitions?
Our church Christmas banquet was yesterday. It’s not a super formal event by any means, but when not many opportunities to “dress up” come your way, it’s nice to pull out the velvet and lace when you can!
I thrifted this vintage (1980’s?) velvet skirt in 2017, and after I brought it home, discovered that a piece of the hem had been cut out. I wore it a couple of times like that, but finally decided that it was time to actually fix it before it frayed to pieces. So I cut the hem off, stitched it to a grosgrain ribbon and then turned the hem up and hand stitched it in place. The skirt got shortened about 1″ over all and it’s actually a better length now, and the grosgrain gives the hem a nice shape.
Paired with my black lace top, it gives the impression of a dress.
And then I accessorized with silver and rhinestones: shoe clips, earrings, necklace and a silver, metal clutch.
And that’s all for this blog until after Christmas; I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Dear Readers!
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
About a month ago I realized that I had a gap in my winter wardrobe: a black purse.
I did use to have a vintage black purse, but I sold it a few years ago, since it wasn’t very large and couldn’t hold both my wallet and phone. I hadn’t replaced it, though, because over the past few years I’ve been working to curate my closet to have brown as my neutral instead of black. When I purchased a new everyday purse a few years ago, I chose one that was cognac.
However, since then, I have also realized that I have a cool undertone, and have started to seek out more cool coloured items of clothing, which don’t always pair well with warm browns.
This outfit came together kind of like “if you give a mouse a cookie”, starting with the plaid skirt. This skirt is actually a perfect example of the colours that work best for me: a dark sage green, taupe and merlot plaid.
Which meant that this top was the perfect colour to match. Depending on the light and what it is paired with, it sometimes looks brown, sometimes plum and sometimes wine.
And then as I was going along with these purple undertones, my oxblood coloured riding boots were the obvious choice, paired with hint-o-black hosiery. And the colour scheme worked so perfectly with my taupe-pink beret and a dark purple hatpin.
Everything was working so well together, but then it came to the final detail: my purse. What purse would I pair with this colour scheme? My green purse was the wrong shade and all of my brown ones clashed with the boots. Cognac leather would look terrible paired with oxblood leather, so obviously I needed to get a new purse!
In all seriousness, I have been thinking of getting another black purse for the past few years, I just haven’t earnestly looked for one. I’ve only worn these oxblood boots a few times since I bought them in 2019, all because I didn’t have a bag to carry with them. I also have a lot of black shoes, so having a black bag to create a “set” wasn’t a bad idea.
So about a month ago, I turned to Poshmark and found the perfect one. A leather bag with a suede flap, gold clasp and top handle which can also be turned into a shoulder bag or a backpack with the additional straps! It’s also not too big to carry as an “everyday” bag, but it’s still big enough to hold all of my essentials.
And you know what? I have already worn this bag four times; I guess there was more of a gap in my wardrobe than I first realized!
As for this outfit, I was going to mention which items were new and which were secondhand, but then I realized that the only things “new” were the tights. One day I should figure out how much of my wardrobe is second hand and how much is new; that would be interesting. I think the secondhand would win the majority….how about in your closet? And are you on the hunt for any “wardrobe gaps”?
The good thing about developing personal style, as opposed to just following fashion, is that, hopefully, you will end up with a closet full of things you like that feel like “you”.
I’ve been curating and collecting my closet intentionally to have a classic, vintage flair to it for over 15 years now, and though in the past few years my style has changed and evolved, and I’ve downsized my closet, there are still quite a few pieces that I have consistently worn during that entire time. Then, there are some other pieces that I haven’t worn for years, but haven’t been able to let go of.
Case in point: these high heeled sandals by Franco Sarto. I got these sometime around 2010? I can’t remember for certain, but judging by the style, it was around then. I wore them quite a bit at the time, and they’ve even been on the blog a few times, but somewhere along the way, I stopped wearing them. While I still liked them, I never reached for them. They weren’t in good enough condition to sell or donate, and because I did still like them I just kept hanging onto them letting them take up space in my closet.
And then this summer I pulled them out and started styling them with my outfits again, such as this more muted and monochromatic outfit and I loved the effect. I started wearing an old favourite in a new way.
I think this is the key to style- not decluttering every item we haven’t worn for one year (that’s a pretty rigid way to keep your closet!) but determining whether the clothes we own are bringing us happiness, regardless of how often we are wearing them. Of course, I have decluttered some items, even recently, that I don’t wear often, but it’s because I realized the reason I wasn’t wearing them was because I didn’t actually like them! (the fit/ colour /comfort was wrong etc.)
But for items we aren’t wearing, but are still drawn to, maybe it’s just because we need a break for a while. And then when we pull them out in the future, they’ll feel fresh and exciting again.
Another example is my pendant necklaces which I used to wear often. Then, over the past couple of seasons I really got into the more dainty necklaces that were trending. I still like my dainty necklaces, but I recently wore my Grandmother’s Button pendant with this outfit, and remembered how much I like a good, long pendant too.
It’s like the ubiquitous owl necklaces that were all the rage in 2010. I have one myself, which I still love. I don’t wear it anymore and have put it away in my “extra” jewelry box. I’m sure I will pull it out in the future again and do you know why? Because 2010 is not the first time owls hit the trend cycle. My sister has an owl pendant from the 1970’s and it’s just as cute now as it was 50 years ago.
Or how about mushrooms and toadstools? Those are everywhere right now! Also they were also everywhere in the 1970’s! I guess my point is that trends come and go (apparently trends specifically from the 70’s), but if you focus on buying things that you actually like (especially if you liked them before everyone and their dog was buying them) then they will last you a long time. And it’s not that trends are necessarily bad, it’s just that they become over saturated and we tire of them.
But even if you might get tired of things you used to love, that doesn’t mean you won’t love them again in the future, especially if you style them in a fresh, new way.
What trends have you been drawn to in the past that you still love today? Are there any pieces you’ve put aside for now, but will bring back in the future?
That was such a selling feature a few years ago for any dress or skirt. I’m sure it still is. And I must say that pockets are handy..even if just for hands! However, to be quite honest I never put pockets in any of the skirts or dresses I sew. They interrupt the “line” of the garment when you actually put things into the pockets, and I don’t usually carry things around with me that I can’t put in my purse, so the trouble of putting them in isn’t worth it. However, if I find a garment already sewn with nice pockets in it, then that is a bonus.
I found this lovely border print skirt in the the thrift store earlier this spring that features pockets (which had never even been cut open). It is made out of a lovely cotton sateen, a fabric that is quite hard to find these days in a sea of rayon and polyester. I wasn’t sure if the colour would work in my closet, as it’s a different tone than all of my other blues, but it pairs splendidly with this off white cotton lace top, tan leather sandals and wicker purse… all of which are also thrifted!
I did these photos on a different day from when I wore the outfit and then realized later that I had forgotten to tie my blue scarf to the handle of the bag. So just imagine a blue bow on the handle of the purse.
I got this necklace years ago and haven’t worn it for ages, so I listed it in my Poshmark shop, but since I did that, I have worn it several times this summer, so I deleted the listing. Sometimes you don’t wear something for a season, and then you’ll bring it back out later. It’s worth keeping the things you like (if you have space), even if you don’t wear them a lot.
And I think it’s time to put away the wicker and the sandals for this year. While it is still warm during the days, the evenings are chilly, the leaves are turning colours and the geese are flying south. It’s after Labour Day, and while I suppose you don’t have to follow the “rules”, it doesn’t feel right to be carrying a basket…unless it’s a harvesting basket with produce in it!
