How It Works

My sister looked at today�s outfit and said �I don�t get it�:

I said, �What is there to get?  They�re both plaid.�

She responded with, �I don�t think that�s how it works.�

I responded by laughing really loudly and saying �That�s exactly how it works.�

The thing is, I honestly do think this outfit makes perfect sense.  I�ve had the skirt for a while but the sweater vest is a recent thrifted acquisition.  But, when I tried the vest on, my immediate* thought was that I would wear it with this skirt.  

For me, a plaid with a plaid is nothing but good, especially when the other rules of pattern mixing are followed; these pieces have a similar scale and they share a predominant color.

Vest: thrifted vintage   Skirt: thrifted vintage  Tights: Spanx  Belt: Gap, similar  Shoes: Naya "Jada", similar

Okay, so I guess both pieces being plaid isn�t what makes these pieces work together, but I still maintain that they do work.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

*Okay, that�s not entirely true.  My actual immediate thought when trying this vest on was �holy side-boob!� as it�s open basically to the waist.  But, my second thought was to pair it with this skirt.  I swear.

Clothes, Clever Title, Descriptive Words

I am exhausted today, folks.  Ex-haus-ted.  For reals.  And therefore, although I wore clothes, I pretty much have nothing to say about them.  But, here they are anyway:

And here are some descriptive words about them: I wore this outfit today; it was warm and bike-friendly.  I chose a gray sweater (Old Navy) and orange tights (Spanx via Nordstrom) to pick up the colors in the skirt (vintage, thrifted).  I like this skirt a lot.  It�s wool and plaid and pleated, so that�s fun.  I also wore a belt (thrifted), riding boots (Born Crown �Sosie� via Nordstrom) and a vintage moss agate necklace (via Lil� Gypsy Vintage).  This outfit makes sense.

Now, let�s talk about why I�m so tired.  I stayed up late, late, late last night finishing Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  Have any of you read that book?  What did you think?  I think the premise was great, but even with the unusual plot, it felt a little clich� to me at times.  But, that could just be because I watch too much television.  Or, not enough�  I don�t know.  I don�t feel like I�m articulating my thoughts well enough (I am exhausted after all), but, what it comes down to, I didn�t always believe Amy�s character.  It seemed a little too contrived and manipulative on the part of the author.

Anyway, if you�ve read it, I�d love to hear what you thought.  And if you haven�t read it, I definitely recommend it and then we can discuss.  

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Olive Leopard

It�s true, I do.  Leopard is probably my favorite neutral other than black.  Andit�s a neutral that looks good with black:

I borrowed the idea for this outfit from this look of Cambria�s at Jupe.  She wore forest green tights, but for some reason I don�t have forest green tights (I know, it�s weird to me too) so I went with olive.  Which ended up working in my favor because the spots on my leopard scarf are olive-hued as well.

In addition to my olive tights (Hue via Macys) and olive leopard scarf (???), I wore a black dress (vintage via Goodwill) layered over a black turtleneck (Gap) and black ankle boots (Nine West �Darsy�).  I also added a studded belt because I was worried the scarf-as-bow was too twee.  I like to think the belt reaffirms my status as a Billy Bad Bottom.

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Shop the look:

Similar olive tights

Similar leopard scarf

Similar black dress

Nine West 'Darsy' ankle boots

Similar studded belt

** Disclosure: Actions taken from the hyperlinks in this blog post may yield commission/compensation for the writer. Please see the Disclosure tab for more details.

Reader Question: Belts and Skirts, Skirts and Belts

The other day I received an email from lovely Reader Friend Dana:

Hello �

My name is Dana, and I'm a fan of your blog. You have fantastic style, and I love how you pair your skirts with belts. My question for you is: how? I always want to wear belts with my skirts, but can never get them to stay in place. If I tighten them enough to stay put, then they dig into my middle too much. It ends up being more hassle than it is worth during the day, so I tend to forego them entirely (despite how much cuter my outfits are with them).  Any suggestions?

Dear Dana,

Of course I have suggestions!  Lots of them!   Looking back through my archives, it appears that I depend on a few different things to keep my belts in place; belt and waistband width, belt placement, texture and, sometimes, safety pins. 

Go Wide

My first suggestion is to go wide; if you want to belt a skirt, a wider belt is usually better than a skinny belt.  And a wider waistband is usually better than a skinny waistband.  And they don�t have to be super wide; either.  Personally, I like a waistband between an inch-and-a-half and two inches wide and/or a belt between an inch and an inch-and-a-half wide.

Wide belts work well with wide waistbands:

 But, they also work well with thinner waistbands and can help improve the tuck of a shirt:

Placement

Hate wide belts and want to wear skinny belts?  Then placement is especially important because skinny belts tend to slide around like nobody�s business.  I keep my skinny belts in place by resting them in the seam connecting the waistband to the skirt:

Texture 

As you may have noticed, smooth patent belts on smooth cotton skirts won�t stay put for anything, so I suggest adding a little texture at the waist.  Like with elastic.  A lot of my skirts are thrifted and are from an era when they still had elastic waistbands.  Turns out, they�re not only comfortable, they help keep my belts in place:

If elastic waist skirts are too �old lady� for you, you can also add texture with an elastic or woven belt.  Again, the rough texture will help keep the belt in place:

Safety Pins

I sometimes use safety pins to create temporary belt loops on some of my skirts.  I pin them vertically to my waistband and then thread my belt through them.  Of course, unless you�re attempting to add a little subversive punk-y-ness to you outfit, I�d suggest using safety pins only if you�re doing a half tuck.   Just add the pins to the back and if you�re only half-tucking, no one is the wiser:

There are safety pins in the back, under the half-tucked shirt.

What about you, Dearest, Favoritest Reader Friends?  Do you have any tricks for belting skirts? 

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Gracey Wins Again

I don�t wear this sweater dress/tunic/thingy very often because it�s quite difficult for me to style.  But, this morning, I thought if a shar pei can look cute covered in loose folds, so can I:

Okay, so maybe that's not the best logic I�ve ever applied to an outfit, but I kind of feel like this works.  Probably because I also wore a turtleneck and they make everything better.  In addition to the sweater thing (???) and the turtleneck (Gap), I also wore a knit pencil skirt (Elementz via Macy�s) and herringbone tights (Hue).  I finished the look with a belt (thrifted), cuffed boots (Gap) and a fringe necklace (Jessica Simpson via Macys).

In all honesty, I think it�s probably the belt that saved this look, not the turtleneck; although I think we can all agree that the turtleneck played a strong supporting role.  The problem is that no matter how carefully I arrange the folds of this sweater, it has a tendency to accentuate my tummy.  By belting it with a contrasting belt at the smallest part of my waist (also known as my ribs), I fool the eye into thinking my waist is smaller than it is.  Yeah, take that, foolish eyes; Gracey wins again! Muah ha ha ha ha.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Shop The Look

Similar sweaterdress

Similar pencil skirt (I looked for my actual skirt, which I got just last weekend on clearance at Macy's, but couldn't find it online.  They had a lot left in the store though.)

Similar herringbone tights

Similar cuffed boots

Similar necklace

Similar turtleneck

 

 

** Disclosure: Actions taken from the hyperlinks in this blog post may yield commission/compensation for the writer. Please see the Disclosure tab for more details.