Tag: blazer

A Tale of Two Statement Blazers

One of the things on my fall wardrobe thrift list was a statement blazer.  My inspiration for a statement jacket was this toreador bolero number festooned with ribbons, and – surprise – I have yet to come across anything approaching that amazingness.  Instead I have found both a snakeskin print and a plaid in unexpected colors:

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Snakeskin: Isaac Mizrahi Live! (Why does that sound like a talk show? – Googles… – turns out it’s a QVC brand.  Aha.)
Plaid: Merona – It’s the same blazer I own in camel but a size smaller, which I think is actually a better fit.

The first one feels like something a Jersey snowbird would wear to the casino, while the second gives off the vibe of a school blazer featuring oddly chosen spirit colors.  Or maybe your grandpa’s sport coat ca. 1973:

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Why yes, that’s orange, pink, and green all competing on a blue background.

I think I’m more into the ugly-chic of the second one, particularly since it adds more color to my closet than the snakeskin version (see this post on needing more color in my neutral-heavy fall/winter wardrobe).  Although I don’t own any pink of the variety featured in the plaid (or any orange – at all), I DO have that snazzy green in pants!  And I definitely have lots of that blue.  I’m excited to experiment and see how it wears with the rest of  my wardrobe.

The snakeskin version is meant to be kind of a neutral topper vis-a-vis my blue and grey turtlenecks and blue/grey/colorful pants.  (If leopard can be a neutral, so can snakeskin, darnit!)  I’m not sold yet, though: it’s suuuuper soft in that unstructured blazer way I love, but the area where the side seams meet the hem pooches out a little bit (you can kind of see it in the picture) and I can’t decide if getting it tailored will be worth it.  Does anyone have an idea of how expensive that would be?  Currently the seam doesn’t continue all the way into the hem so I think it will involve more Frankensteining than I care to pay for.

 

What do you think of these “statement” blazers?  Do you own any bold, printed jackets like this, and if so, how do you style them?  If not, may I suggest the thrift store as a great way to inexpensively try out the concept?  They always have a wide range of options, from subtly interesting to downright wacky depending on how crazy you want to get.

 

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Thrifting Trends: Pantone “Evergreen”

I’ve mentioned before that I like browsing my boss’s Talbots catalogue for inspiration – go ahead, judge me.  One of the colors they featured this fall caught my eye in this corduroy pant.  Talbots calls the color “Scotch Pine,” which is a great name – and I am a sucker for well-named colors. But basically it’s just their take on Pantone’s Evergreen, one of the colors they’ve selected for fall/winter 2016-17. (For the record I like Talbot’s version better, but it might just be the depth added by the corduroy.)

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Pantone Evergreen; Talbots Scotch Pine

As mentioned above, I really dug how luscious this color looked in corduroy; since there is nary a green in my wardrobe color palette, though, I had resigned myself to admiring it from afar. But when I tried out adding color to my wardrobe via pants, which didn’t require much matching elsewhere, I realized I wanted to do it more. And why shouldn’t I give Evergreen/Scotch Pine (or its thrifted equivalent) a try?

So last time I went thrifting I made a quick run down the pants racks to see if there were any evergreen-ish pants hanging around.  It can be a bit tricky to find Pantone colors of the year/season in the thrift store since retailers are still peddling the new hues in stores.  But even though Pantone likes to make us think they invented the color wheel, the truth is these colors (or ones very similar) have made the fashion rounds before, as evidenced by the kaleidoscope of colors at your local thrift shop.

I had already spotted two great blazers in a serviceable Scotch Pine on a previous trip:

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I think Talbots called this “Hunter Green” last time it made the rounds.

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Blazer with contrast lining by Merona; I own the same one in camel.

This time around I found an overcoat by Forecaster of Boston (Made in USA) – apologies for the blurry photos!

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Wouldn’t a coat in this color make a smashing statement?

And in the pants section, I spotted these M Missoni pants (retail $300+ !!) whose color did not photograph well but was close to this:

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The M Missoni were alas, too small – and also rather lightweight.

But then I found Jessica Simpson cords (retail $59) that were just the right color, weight, and cut – if a little low in rise.  Lowrise waists, you are so tiresome.

Love this slim leg that keeps from veering entirely into skinny territory (and Holy Mirror Smudges, Batman):

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I’m bringing window cleaner and a rag to the Goodwill next trip.

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Here are some eBay photos of the same pants if you wish to view sans mirror smudges.

For $6, they came home with me so I can experiment with this color. I don’t know if I’ll love it or leave it, but this will definitely be a fun, affordable way to find out!  And lesson learned – don’t be afraid to look for current trends at the thrift store!

 

What trends have you had success thrifting while they’re still in retail stores? Flares come to mind as another surefire find these days…

 

What I Wore: Skinned Knee Chic

When your spouse is sick and you are singlehandedly making the church run with a toddler and you are preaching and you are LATE, you only get three outfit photos and you are HAPPY with them:

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Do you like how I turned a last-minute snack for my kid into an autumnal-colored accessory?

 

And when you have recently face planted while running and skinned your knee (and your elbow and your wrist) pretty significantly and your household has run out of band aids so you can’t wear pants or leggings (plus you ruined your favorite pair of leggings in said face plant) but it’s too crisp to go completely bare legged, you put on knee socks and pretend you meant to wear this all along (skinned knee not pictured out of consideration for the faint of heart):

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The print mixing, it is out of control:

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Color block/striped dress: Gap, thrifted
Blazer: Haberdashery by Personal, thrifted
Belt: J. Crew, thrifted
Scarf: my mama’s Kohl’s shopping spree
Socks: Target
Ankle boots: Lucky Brand, gift from my sister

 

Seriously though I did buy these socks for just such a look, hoping to encourage myself to wear skirts through fall and thinking that, with the ankle boots, it would read sort of like a tall boot (of which I have yet to be convinced I need to buy a pair although I would be happly to thrift some). Don’t worry, these socks came in a two-pack with plain navy so I don’t have to be in a 5-billion-patterns mood to wear them.

What do y’all think of the knee sock/ankle boot look? Or the tuck-your-scarf-into-your-belt look? (Very handy for showing off your belt and keeping the fringe out of reach of handsy toddlers/your coffee mug.) Or the print party? Scroll down to comment!

 

My Love Affair with Texture

This fall/winter as I continue to restyle my cold weather wardrobe, I’ve been looking for just the right pieces to hit my sweet spot – classic with an interesting detail that makes an outfit go from blah/bland to ooooh, yes!  in short order. An unexpected color/pattern, a fresh hem or decorative seam, metal trim or other embellishment all do the trick; but a particularly easy way to do that in cooler weather is with texture, since a funky knit or some velvet instantaneously conveys that cozy “sitting by the fireside with a hot drink in hand” vibe.

You may have noticed that I started to figure this out last year with this sweater:

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Yes, that’s a literal hot drink in hand.

See the contrasting knits along with the split hem? Yum.

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And this dress:

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Also with the contrasting knit (plus a zipper – bonus!):IMG_2753

 

These were two of my favorite pieces last fall/winter, so I wanted to take what worked here and apply elsewhere.  Thus you saw in my fall/winter wardrobe preview these luscious numbers:

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Chain detail!  And metallic weave!  I’m such a punk.

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Cartonnier blazer with salmon/cornflower marl – I can’t even believe this fantastic update to the boring (to me) ol’ grey/black marl exists:

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Two-toned blue sweater by Liz Claiborne – yes please!

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Colors are more accurate in the pic above but I wanted to give you a closeup on that contrasting knit:

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Toppers with stuff happening in them!

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Okay so technically I guess those last few were visual texture (aka pattern) instead of actual texture – knit has a texture of course but these are pretty flat.  I don’t really like sweaters that feature standard Aran knit or cable patterns in the weave – too preppy I guess?  Too expected?  Though other people do make them look lovely…

 

Back to actual texture  – corduroy pants with a wale so soft you’d think it’s velvet!

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And I recently snapped up two more pairs in navy and a cranberry/burgundy/oxblood color featured in these two posts LINK:

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Even the shoes have texture.  PS These pants are also featured in Sunday night’s post.

The navy ones (not pictured) will probably replace my Uniqlo navy pants; even though they are lower rise than I would like, they just feel so much more polished than the Dickies-esque flat texture of the Uniqlo ones.

 

Finally, on the same trip I found the red cords, I also nabbed the rayon/acrylic/cashmere beauty featured here. It’s by Joan Vass Studio and likely retailed between $70 – $90.  I love the rounded hem, the length, the color, and the texture contrast:

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(You can see more pics of me wearing both finds here.)

The tapered vertical lines (a little hard to see in the first pic) and the color reminded me of this top…

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…which I am starting to think is too athleisure for my taste – and also a little too casual for my workplace.  So I’m gonna swap it out and swap in the Joan Vass with a thrift upgrade.

 

As I home in on what I love about interesting, unexpected, contrasting textures – both visual and tactile – I’ll likely fine tune my cool weather wardrobe a bit more.  It might seem like a lot of clothes shuffling, but as I talked about here, I’m a fan of living into my style and trying new things out for new seasons – both weather-wise and life-wise.  Figuring out where my style sweet spot is definitely involves trial and error, but because I love thrifting so much and the price tags are so low, I actually enjoy the process.
What about you – what’s your style love affair?  Do you like the textures I’ve included above or are they too subtle for your taste?  Do you feel like you have to stick with clothes you buy for a season, or do you feel free to swap ’em out as your taste evolves?  Scroll down to comment!

 

 

Travel Wardrobe: Chicago Sightseeing & Lake Michigan Dunes

Ahhh, two of my favorite places: downtown Chicago and the Michigan dunes.

Last week we took time out to visit family and celebrate our anniversary, and although we had access to laundry (thanks Mom & Dad!), I wanted to pack light and bring versatile pieces that could do double duty for sightseeing in the city and the beach.  I also wanted things that could layer since the weather was about to take a dip into cooler temps – real fall!  (Although sadly the trees were all still green because that part of the Midwest has had such a warm late summer/early autumn.) Continue reading “Travel Wardrobe: Chicago Sightseeing & Lake Michigan Dunes” →

Shaving My Blazers and Other Fall Wardrobe Maintenance

Apologies for the incomplete post last night. I discovered that blogging while supervising a painting toddler results in posts with pictures missing and black paint (thankfully washable) splattered all over the dining room wall.

It’s actually a bit cool in the mornings now in Atlanta!  I still couldn’t talk myself into truly needing a blazer, but that weather will be here soon.  In preparation, I took care of some pilling on a couple of cool weather blazers.  And my winter weather pants came back from the tailor!  (I realize in looking back on my preview post that it may not have been clear that I was having the legs tapered on the pants on hangers – I was on my way out the door for some much needed vacation. Also, take a look at the updated version to see the items that did not make it into last week’s wardrobe preview due to technical difficulties.)

And now, shaving my blazers. Continue reading “Shaving My Blazers and Other Fall Wardrobe Maintenance” →

Winter Capsule Wardrobe Update, Part 3: Tops

Part the Third—and final! (Part 1 and Part 2.)

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Today: Tops/Blazers.

I did not buy any new shirts, per se.

But I did buy a new sweater.  And replaced an old blazer with one I like better.  (See: thrift upgrade.)

The Harvé Benard blazer from my winter capsule wardrobe video?  It looked chic but also kind of stiff…too corporate with most of my less-serious stuff.  For example:

A photo posted by LeahLW (@thriftshopchic) on

What are those sassy top & skirt doing with that starched blazer??       So I found something with more give, more softness—oh, and the ability to move my shoulders with complete freedom instead of feeling like Tommy Boy: IMG_3101 It’s wool, it’s knit, and I need to remove a few pills.  Perfect!   It just looks more comfortable, more friendly, no? IMG_3092 Definitely more me.   I figured this out by thinking about what I love about my other go-to blazer, the one for which I actually reach on a regular basis: 

A photo posted by LeahLW (@thriftshopchic) on


Soft, has give, feels good on.

Glad that upgrade has been thrifted.  Sorry, Harvé Benard.  It wasn’t you….okay, well, it was.  Maybe next time.

 

I haven’t been as jazzed about the blue/grey/coral/white sweater as I thought I would.  I sort of make myself put it on like you eat All Bran—because it’s good for you.  The pattern is fun and they are good colors but it doesn’t feel very dynamic with non-jean work pants.

Here, me and sweater in happier days:

A photo posted by LeahLW (@thriftshopchic) on

 

Really I’m just not in love with any of my sweaters except my grey leopard print.

So I nabbed this one whilst heading to the cash register at the Goodwill with a few houseware-related purchases:

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Wearing the pants I just ambivalized in yesterday’s post…

 

Not in love with this sweater either but slightly more excited to wear it.

 

What I’m learning here is that I SHOULD NOT BUY SOMETHING UNLESS I LOVE IT.

Because eventually mediocre attraction to a piece of clothing will out, and you’ll find yourself thrust right back into the cycle of “I need something BETTER in my closet”—the very merry-go-round from which I was trying to disembark in the first place.

DO NOT BUY UNLESS YOU LOVE sounds so simple, and really is the whole point of a capsule wardrobe.  So you’d think I would’ve avoided this problem in the beginning by following my own capsule-building rules.

But I think I was worried about having enough—enough tops/pants, enough combinations, enough variety.  Surely two skirts will exponentially multiply the versatility of my capsule wardrobe??

 

Living with an attitude of scarcity over abundance never leads to happiness in other areas of my life; rationalizing and catering to all my fears about “enough” leaves me dissatisfied in a way that loving (smaller amounts of) what I have doesn’t.

So maybe in the next week or two I will try an experiment in radical wardrobe love and get rid of every winter item I don’t THRILL to put on.  I’ll just embrace the feeling of sartorial (hopefully not actual) nakedness and, I bet, discover I can live just fine with only things I love.

 

What about you?  Do you have tips for/stories about stepping off the cliff and only owning what you LOVE?  Scroll down to comment!