Stovepipe checked trousers and three sweaters

Stovepipe trousers in check are one of my recent, too-good-to-pass purchases from J.Crew. I have liked them when I first tried them on, but they were way to expensive ($158!). Then I almost ordered them when they went on sale, but I hesitated and they sold out in my size. I told myself that although I liked them (and they are fully lined!) I certainly don't need them Yet, when I saw them in store and the price came down to $34 I bought them. They were not even final sale, but I never considered returning them, which is rare for me.

I was wondering if they are versatile enough, but once I brought them home I realized that they go with so many things in my closet. I tried them with three cashmere sweaters but I can envision many other combinations.

• Tonal

This was a tonal combination with cashmere popover in heather agate. I love this sweater and I find the neckline very flattering and cozy looking.

One reason I like those pants so much is that, surprisingly, they do not add bulk and look rather slim, which is not easy with checks and plaid.

I think I overdid it with matching lipstick and it would have been better with something more red or more pink.

• Neutral

This is a more preppy version of this outfit, with navy blazer and light camel v-neck. I added red shoes for some punch, I suppose I got conditioned into thinking that I need it, lol.  I think the shoes in eggplant or some deep berry hue would be ideal.

• Complementary

Of course I had to try it with blue, doesn't everything go with blue?

Actually, I liked it the best this way. The colors are even more saturated irl and they bring out the richness in each other. The burgundy tank brings some of those tones in the trousers and makes the cobalt pop.

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That's all folks!

Do you own stovepipe checked trousers or similar pants?

Which color combo do you like the best?

Please share, it would be no fun without you!!!

Floating

Floating Roses print from last year was one of my favorites. I got the Winsome dress first and, after debating a lot, I added the skirt. I love them both. I usually try to choose only one item in a unique print. I find that if I buy more than one, I still end up wearing one and neglecting the others.

I wore the dress for Christmas Eve dinner last year and then for Valentines Day date (see here). I think I will wear it again this year to one of the Holiday's parties. I love the fact that the print is bright and definitely reads red but it is not a solid which makes it easier to wear it, more casual and less sexy.

I wore the skirt several times, mostly with black (see here) but I wanted to try something different. I thought the polka dot boy shirt will be perfect with it. Everything else stayed black to ground the two patterns.

I was working from home that day and I wanted a casual vibe, so I untucked and tied the shirt and wore my motorcycle Ryder boots. If I was going to the office and wanted a more conservative look, I would tuck the shirt in and swap the Ryder boots for black Valentinas.

I felt perfectly appropriate for dropping my daughter off at school and running some errands in the morning.

I also tried it with a gray sweatshirt and tights for even more casual option. This outfit was super comfortable and I actually worked in it all day at home without feeling a need to change into a pair of jeans or cords.

The weather was beautiful that day and I wanted to capture some of that afternoon sun in the pictures so I bribed my daughter into snapping some more.

I usually regret buying multiples in the same print, but this time I am glad I got both the skirt and the dress. 

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That's all folks!

Do you like the Floating Roses print? 

Do you buy mulltiple items in the same print?

Please share, it would be no fun without you!!!

These are a few of my favorite things!

 

I am always drawn to color. I do care about the fit and proportions, but what makes the outfit most appealing to my eye, is the color combination. I had definite preferences for some hues since my childhood but I really got into color through studying art. Some of the painters that first influenced my thinking about color are Cezanne and Modigliani. The colors of their paintings inspired  my home decorating style. They helped me understand the magic of color, the harmony and dissonance they can create and the powerful emotions they stirred in me (this was a time in my life when I wanted my house too look like if I was living inside of a painting).

Source

Then there is a way the colors talk to each other. I have repainted many walls repeatedly to get the flow right. To illustrate it, there is an old anecdote about one of the English painters, William Hogarth. He was approached by a father recommending his son to work for him as an apprentice. The father suggested that the young men can help with some easy jobs, like painting backgrounds. "If he can paint backgrounds, he is just the person I want," replied Hogarth. "I have spent many years trying to learn how to paint a background for a picture, and I am not yet able to do it well."  This made me understand how colors interact with each other and how they look very different dependent what what they are next to.

Source

After I decided my house is more or less done, the color combinations were something that has drawn me to J.Crew and fashion in general. It is still something that they do very well, although recently, they have been more after novelty than harmony.

Source

Yellow and blue has been one of my very early favorites and they never cease to please me.  

This outfit includes some of my very favorite items in my closet: Brora plaid skirt (seen HERE) , chambray polka dot perfect shirt (reviewed HERE), double breasted cashmere open stitch cardigan in Honey Glaze, Coach bag cobalt blue patent and my recent favorite, MacAlister wedges in navy suede. (review HERE).

As you can see, my daughter had me climb retaining walls to take the pictures and she directed me relentlessly. I was a bit skeptical, but in the end I was pleased with the effect.  But there is definitely some occupational hazard included, lol.

The colors of the outfit were especially pleasing  because they also harmonized with the autumnal leaf colors. 

This Brora skirt is truly a gem. It is made of lightweight wool and lined in silk. I don't wear a lot of plaid and had trouble if there is red or green included but this is mainly blue, brown and gold and it pleases me to no end.

red lipstick completes the palette

When I wore this skirt in the past, I said I would avoid button downs but I think this chambray shirt works, probably because of polka dots, which tone down a Catholic school uniform vibe.

The colors of this outfit made me smile and I hope I can pass the energy of those colors to you!

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That's all folks!

What are your favorite color combinations?

What inspires you the most in an outfit? Color? Shape? Texture?

Please share, it would be no fun without you!!!

Red skirt for the Holidays (three ways)

Have you been looking forever for the perfect red skirt?  Well, I wasn't really looking but many times when J.Crew came up with different iterations of red pencil skirts there were never red. Modern red as we know is more of an orange and so was persimmon and poppy. So I didn't even think of No2 double serge wool pencil skirts in deep poppy when I saw it online. But then I spotted it in store and it was Red. Medium red, not too deep with blue undertones but also not orange.

Now, in all those pictures below the skirt looks orange, at least on my monitor. I guess it does have orange undertones but irl it reads red. The same thing applies to my Rooftop red Valentinas, they also seem orange in the pictures but they are definitely red. You will have to trust me on that :)

Of course, a red skirt would be perfect for the Holidays. An obvious pairing would be with black and white or black and cream. I think it would be stunning with polka dot sequin top but I don't own it. If you are brave and not afraid of 'sexy' it woudl look great with leopard.

This is what I came up with:

With polka dot Blythe blouse, red shoes and gray tights. I liked how the gray and cream soften the impact of red, but the black snakeskin clutch adds some punch.

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With sequins for some Holiday sparkle:

I kind of wish I have bought that polka dot sequin top, after all. It would have been bold and perfect. But the gray sweatshirt also works, I think.

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Christmas Tree Style:

And to go all out Christmas colors I paired it with green. Usually I would shy away from looking like a Christmas tree but I strangely I don;t mind. I think with the leopard clutch and brown boots I can pull it off. I would probably wear different tights (brown?) but I did not want to change.

Actually, I think this is my favorite look, super cozy but festive.

 My turtleneck is from Brora and boots are Boden. Rest is from J.Crew.

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That's all folks!

Do you own a red skirt?

How would you style it?

Which of the three combinations is your favorite (if you like any)?

Please share, It would be no fun without you!!!

Hairless Cats or Sperry Top-Sider Boots Review

I was in a need of waterproof warm boots for our sometimes slushy New Jersey winter.  I used to have a pair of North Face snow boots I loved but I gave them to my mother when she was visiting me, since she was always freezing. I was going to replace them, but last year we hardly had any winter and I never got to it.  Since I may need to find a pair this year, I thought I will try the Sperry Top-sider quilted navy boots.

Sperry Top-Sider Quilted Shearwater Boots

The boots are currently on sale for 30% off and Shopathome is running 10% off cashback. To tell you the truth I always thought that all those 'duck boots' are extremely ugly but somehow, in the last year or so, I started to see their appeal and decided that maybe they are like those wrinkled face dogs or hairless cats, so ugly that they become cute. 

They only come in full sizes and they recommend to size up if you are in between, so this is what I did. I think this was a right call and the boots fit me well with thick socks.

They are a bit loose without the socks but given their purpose, I think I would always want a pair of thick socks when wearing them.  I am a small 8.5,  Many times I wear an 8 and almost never 9. I ordered 9 in these.

As for comfort, they seem pretty comfortable but I did not get that super comfy, don't-want-to-take-them-off feeling.

The color is pretty and versatile and the boots look great with skinny pants tucked in. I even tried them with a skirt and they were kind of cute too (in hairless cat style). They have relatively slim profile for snow boots, and this helps imo.

The slim profile may be a disadvantage if you want to wear them with trousers (or any non-skinny pants). You would not be able to quickly tuck them in (say on your way from the car to the office or store) to protect them from getting wet. And I am not sure if quilted shaft is practical, as far as keeping clean and dry in a wet snow.

 

The lining is not a true shearling but it is some kind of wool and it is full. This is great news because I hate when boots are only lined in the shaft area. My feet is the part of my body that gets cold the most, so I like to have some toasty lining there. That said, I don;t think these shoes would be very warm in extreme temperature. There is something about the rubber and having your feet so close to the ground that makes me think that I will still freeze if the temperature drops below 25F.

 

I do like the shape of them and the quilting and shearling look very nice. I like the look of the leather laces but I don't like to manipulate them. They are hard to adjust since they are so thick and kind of stiff. It would be easier if you would lace them using the hooks but they are threaded though the loops except for the top pair. This is a problem for me because I like to have boots that I can easily pull on. I would want to use them after skiing and when you are dead tired and cold you just want to change quickly.

My other issue was color. I love navy but my Wintress puffer and my ski jacket are both charcoal, so I think I would prefer black. For a moment I was contemplating a pair of black and white Sperrys, but I think the white will scuff  too easily and look huge.

I have talked myself out of keeping them...

Overall, I think they are great looking boots, but for me they are not practical. If your coat is navy or camel and you don;t mind fussing with the laces you may like them better. Writing this review convince me to return them and look for a pair of North Face pull-ons.

My apologies to any hairless cats owners out there, I do think they are sweet,  in their own way...

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That's all folks!

What do you think of Sperry Top-sider boots?

Please share, it would be no fun without you!!!

Hat Weather

We got some colder days last week and I took out my hat and gloves box. Well it wasn't exactly the weather when you need a hat or gloves but rather the kind of weather when you can wear a hat and gloves and do not look silly. The floppy hat was knitted by my talented mother and I love it. There are not many hat styles I think look good on me but I find this one acceptable. Why is it that hats look so much better on other people? I think my head is a wrong shape or something...

One advantage of loose floppy hats is that they don;t mat your hair so badly.  The advantage of the weather being 'can do a hat' as opposed to 'need a hat' is that your nose does not get red.

It may seem funny to wear a hat, gloves and shearling boots with no coat, but I was actually quite warm. Of course, I only walked the short distance from my car to the church that day. If I had to walk any longer, I would probably need a coat, but covering the extremities actually works quite well in non extreme temperatures. I did have a coat in my trunk, just in case, but I was fine without it.

Somebody mentioned to me wearing a button down blouse with the oversize merino pocket v-neck (my review here) and I wanted to try it. The polka dotted Blythe blouse (last seen here)  turned out to be perfect and I loved wearing it with midrise cord toothpicks in salt (review here) . This also solved the problem with the color of the sweater. I love the color but it does not look so good with denim. The shape of the sweater just calls for a a pair of skinny pants and I decided that cords will be my answer. I also have a pair in light camel that should also work.

I told you my daughter had me sitting in the trees for the pictures

This outfit made me think of ice skating for some reason. Maybe if I replaced the Blythe with a cream turtleneck? I did not go ice skating for years but maybe I should, now that I have an outfit for it ;)

My necklace is also from J.Crew and I thought it added that sparkly, winter-y  touch. My shearling MacAlisters are from last year (review here).

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That's all folks!

What style hats do you wear when the weather turns colder?

Do you own the Midrise toothpick cords, oversize merino pocket v-neck or Blythe blouse in polka dots? How do you wear them?

Please share, it would be no fun without you!!!

Miss Matchy Matchy

Sometimes I get tired of certain J.Crew "look" that is trying very hard to have unusual color and pattern matching. I feel like all those 'unexpected' touches became predictable and overused. It has been done so often that I am expecting bed-hair or motorcycle boots with a pretty party dress, and the only thing that seems to go with Chanel-esque jacket anymore is a pair of ripped boyfriend jeans and pointy stilettos.

Suddenly, the rebel in me wants to match my purse with my shoes and pick up the most obvious solid color to wear with patterned blouse. I don't want to borrow anything from the boys or surprise anybody with a sequined baseball cap.

So yes, the Festival Blue double serge pencil skirt is a perfect match for a Electric plaid blouse. And nothing goes better with bow tied blouse than a pencil skirt and a pair of pointy pumps that match your purse.

 

Now do tell, didn't you rather expect a flower skirt in green and yellow tones and a pair of red Converse? 

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My second outfit is even more matchy matchy, with only two colors involved.

I am wearing a thermal from Brora (i love these), J.Crew Sterling skirt, old shoes from Joan& David, J.Crew Andy purse and tigths matching my top.

I have to say that I felt put together and maybe even 'unexpected'.

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That's all folks!!!

Do you do matchy matchy?

Please share, it would be no fun without you!!!