Tag: corduroy

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!

 

 

What I Wore: Head Scarf with Fall Florals

This accidentally posted early so if you’ve subscribed but are now reading on the blog, you’ll notice there are a few revisions and the links are live, yay!

I’ve been looking for an excuse to wear this scarf and this weekend it finally happened: I washed my hair (with honey, don’t worry) right before church and wanted to disguise the not-properly-dried, not-yet-renourished-with-luscious-sebum look. I spent a fair amount of time scrolling through Dinatokio‘s hijab-chic IG account last week and spotted a Lebanese woman rocking a similar look at the zoo on Saturday, so I thought I’d try my hand at a similar hair-hiding style. Though obviously my motives derived much more out of vanity than modesty.

Bonus: my new cranberry/burgundy/oxblood pants got to play along!

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Mmmm, the texture on this top is simply medieval:img_4521

 

I folded the scarf in half like a triangle, then folded it in a narrow strip but left the tail (the triangle of fabric on top) out so it wouldn’t cover the part of the pattern I wanted to show off.  I tied it around my head like a giant headband, then looped the ends around my bun and tied them in a little knot, the made sure the triangle up top was tucked securely into the main band so I didn’t look like a milk maid:img_4525

Texture galore!img_4526

 

Parting your hair on the side, then pulling a bit of the longer side out gives your ‘do a little oomph:

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Yes most everything is still green here.

The champagne metallic shoes picked up the gold in my top:img_4520

A little sass for the camera:
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Top: Meadow Rue, thrifted
Pants: Style & Co., thrifted
Flats: Trotters passed on from my mother-in-law and repainted
Scarf: no tag, thrifted

I rarely do head scarves or hair wraps so this initially took a little convincing myself that it didn’t look weird in the mirror, but I ended up loving it.

What do y’all think? Do you wear scarf-like things on your head or usually sport them elsewhere? Scroll down to comment!

PS you can see some more of the scarf’s pattern here.

 

Currently on My Thrift List

Here’s what I’m looking to thrift these days as I head to my neighborhood thrift stores:

  • Sleeveless or short sleeve shift dress in a blue anywhere from robin’s egg to “medium” blue – royal is a bit too deep for me.  Other qualifications: cotton would be nice (like this placeholder I shrunk in the wash); just above knee; no cap sleeves (someone please explain to me why these
    Something like either of these would do nicely:
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    source; source
  • Pajamas for my toddler.  She’s busting at the seams of the 2 footie pairs we have (1 gift, 1 thrifted) and doesn’t like to sleep in the short-sleeved Red Sox bodysuit I thrifted for her.  (To be clear: she does like to wear it awake. We’re raising a big time baseball fan; “Go Red Sox!” and “Go Cubbies!” are frequent refrains in our house.)
  • Corduroy pants in a medium-dark blue.  This is part of my top-secret* strategy for Phase 2 of revamping my winter wardrobe.  (*Not really that secret; just haven’t written about it yet.)  Other qualifications: not “skinny” but fitted, or tailorable to be fitted (I’m still stubbornly refusing to wear flares); mid-to-high waist (am I the only 30-something who can’t stand low-cut waists anymore?); thick luscious texture.  These need to keep me warm, not feel like cardboard!
  • Legging shorts.  You know, the above-the-knee kind that give you some extra coverage for shorter skirts but don’t make you feel like you live in an oven?  I want them to go with this dress which I love but which is a tad too short for work, and which sadly has not been worn much since June started (hello ATL heat).

 

What are you currently keeping an eye out for during your thrifting excursions? Scroll down to share!

 

Thrift Finds: Baby Shoes

A small person I know was in need of new-to-her shoes and her parents are down with thrifting. (You should be too, if you have a small person in your life–often pre-loved baby items are barely used because the kiddo who previously owned them outgrew them without doing much damage.  And as Bea of Zero Waste Home says, “A washed secondhand undergarment is cleaner than a new one from a department store,” so don’t let germophobia stop you!)

On the list of preferred characteristics for said shoes: able to take a beating, and nothing crazily pink.  Because, have you looked at anything to do with little girls’ clothing options lately?  The PINKness is overwhelming. Just Google “baby girl clothes”–your eyes will burn with pink overload (or water with happiness if you love magenta).

This is funny, because easily half my baby clothes growing up were blue (with a good smattering of yellow, green, and orange alongside some pink), as were two dresses my mom passed on from her 1940s babyhood.  So it’s not as if pink is the sole appropriate hue for girls.  But for some reason, we’ve been determined lately to equate the two in a way that seems, I don’t know–limiting, at the very least?  Or, when combined with messages like the following gems, oppressive at the worst?

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Let’s discuss objectification of infants AND moms AND the cave-manning of dads (left), or the policing of women’s bodies/relationships/agency (right).  It starts in the crib, people!

Anyway.

I did some looking during my last few trips and voilà! This is what I found:

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“Aw, (s)he got the velcro.” -Macklemore’s Thrift Shop.  If I had to guess I’d say early 90s?  A treasure.

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Corduroy Mary Janes–it doesn’t get much more “fall” than corduroy.

 

Both pairs are sturdy, and although both pairs have touches of pink and flowers (because, see above), I think on the whole they are rather inoffensive for folks trying to avoid drowning their babies in gender roles.  I hope the lucky recipient of these found kicks enjoys ’em!

What are your favorite baby items you’ve thrifted? Scroll down to comment!