My Week in Fashion: Sunday

OK, true confessions time: I didn't post a "My Week in Fashion" for Saturday (yesterday) because I spent the day in lavender bike shorts and a red zip-front sweatshirt. In my defense, I got up super-early to see my husband and son off on a Scout trip, and I never left the house, but it's still not a look I would especially recommend. I was super-comfy all day, and sometimes you just need to do that. So if you ever have one of those days when you NEEEEEED to dress comfortably and not care what you look like, you have my permission. 

Now on to Sunday. I frequently wear dresses on Sunday, but since I just dressed up to go out to dinner on Friday night, I decided to go a little more casual today, especially since I was teaching Sunday School and knew I'd be running around and playing games. So this was today's look:

I'm wearing a colored tank-style cami, a long-sleeved black jersey, tweed wool dress pants, and my black Clarks shoes from Wednesday's blog. 

This long-sleeved black jersey was (I think) a TJ Maxx find a number of years ago when I needed a nice black top for a concert I was performing in. It features a surplice (wrapped) style top with a knot detail at the base of the vee, and 3/4-length sleeves. The v-neck is much deeper than I'm comfortable with, so I frequently use a safety pin to raise it several inches. But I've also found that wearing it unpinned with a colored cami underneath is a pretty and more casual look. Those two options make this shirt versatile enough for a variety of occasions! The top falls to about mid-hip, which is a good length on me. I found a similar style on Amazon for $22. 

I have a couple of tops and sweaters that, like the black top above, are more revealing than I'd like, or that have woven areas intended to show the color of an underlayer. So I found a 3-pack of reversible camis at Costco (peach, as worn in the above photo, white, and grey) for $12. They now seem to be carrying 4-packs of a single color for $17. What makes them reversible is that one side has a scoop neck and the other has a slight v-neck, to create different looks. With the v-neck black blouse, I like the contrasting line of the scoop neck. These camis are also very long, which is nice when I want to let some of the color show below the tail of my shirt. Since this outfit has a black top and rather dark pants, not everyone would be flattered by showing a wide horizontal band of a strongly contrasting color, but since I have quite long legs, it works for me. 

Finally, these dress pants are another favorite from the now defunct (as a brick-and-mortar store, anyway) Dress Barn. They're a soft wool blend, which wears well and has just a little bit of give, and the fabric is a woven tweed that's black on gray, which creates some visual interest without being too busy to wear with a subtle print, and doesn't bring in any non-neutral colors. They're also dressy enough that they're meant to be worn with heels, which means the hem is longer than many pants, and it accommodates my height very nicely. I like the way they have a slight break at the ankle when I wear flats or low shoes. This pair of Magic Waist Barely Bootcut pants for $33 from Kohl's has a similar muted pattern, a comfortable waistband, and a very slightly flared hem that works well with flats, heels, or low boots. 

I have both a black hat and a peach-colored hat that would have worked great with this outfit, but because of the clocks moving forward last night, the hat got lost in the last-minute shuffle of getting ready for church. But I love this outfit, even without a hat to finish it off. 

So that's the end of my week in fashion - I hope you enjoyed it, and even learned a thing or two about how to choose outfits that flatter your figure but are still fun to wear!

My Week in Fashion: Wednesday

Happy Hump Day! I'm going in to work for a short day today, and since the heat in my office was a little wonky yesterday, I'm wearing layers. I'll probably toss on a hat for the walk in from the parking lot (it was snowing lightly a few minutes ago), but I'm having a very cute hair day so I'm leaving it off for now.

Let's start at the top and work our way down through my look! 

Although I'm not against traditional knit cardigans, long or short, I find they can get in my way at work, and are often too heavy. So I've become a big fan of lighter-weight jersey cardigans, especially drape-front cardigans. I have no idea where I got the one I'm wearing (probably Dress Barn) or how much I paid for it (probably $20-$25), but I found this similar drape-front cardigan from Kohl's for $26.99. I prefer the vivid turquoise, mainly because I wear a lot of dark blue, which can be hard to match, but the vivid color allows a lot more forgiveness of the shades with which it can coordinate. Because of the stretchy fabric, I can wear the sleeves down without feeling that they're too short, but more often I push the sleeves up, and because the sleeves are fairly snug, they stay up, which I love, because there's nothing more annoying than spending all day pushing your cuffs up out of your way! The pointed front panels also extend down, creating vertical lines which always make you long longer and leaner. 

Finally, a piece that I know exactly where I got it and how much I paid, mostly because I bought it for a trip we look this past Christmas. The basic navy top I often wore with these pants had gotten a bleach spot on it, so I needed a replacement. I paid $20.40 for this Amazon Essentials women's sleeveless woven shirt, but the price has since gone down to only $18. If they had it in white, I'd buy another one, because it's a terrific basic piece that works under a lot of other pieces, or by itself. I love that even though it's sleeveless, the armholes (fun fact: the sewing term for an armhole is the "armscye") aren't cut in especially deeply, so I don't have to deal with my usual issue of my bra straps peeking out. In addition, the slit at the neck creates a nice line without being too deep, and the gathering at the back of the neck allows for comfortable movement when I need to reach and stretch. And the hem is curved, so it gives it a polished look when I leave it untucked (as I nearly always do). 

I'm pretty certain that these pants were also a Dress Barn find, which tells you how long I've owned them. Wide-legged pants, especially in a fabric that isn't overly drapy or clingy, are a good look on me, as they camouflage my heavy thighs and thicker waist. The waistband is elastic but also has a drawstring which ties in a bow on the outside, which makes them look less matronly and adds a little feminine touch (if it shows). Amazon and Kohl's both carry similar styles in multiple fabric patterns, including these wide-leg elastic waist pants from Amazon for $28.99 (about what I paid for mine). They're often available in cropped and ankle styles, which don't look good on me but might be just your thing. 

One more item that I know where I got and how I got it is this pair of Clarks Hope Shine Loafers, which I bought from Amazon for $60 two years ago. Unfortunately, this style of Clarks is no longer available, but Amazon does carry a somewhat similar style called the Channing Ann Slip-On Loafer for $46, and if you prefer brick-and-mortar stores, Macy's carries quite a few similar styles, including Emily Cove Slip-on Shooties (with a slightly higher heel), and the Emily Step, both currently on sale for $45. I highly recommend Clarks for anyone with foot problems, as they are very comfortable, reasonably stylish (at least as good-for-your-terrible-feet shoes go), and wear very well. Incidentally, if you do have foot issues and want some really excellent help in finding a style that fits you properly, go to Nordstrom's. The sales staff in their shoe department is very well-trained and helpful, and they carry Clarks as well as other brands of sturdy, supportive shoes. 

And since I'm not wearing much for jewelry or other accessories today, I'll just mention that my watch is an Anne Klein Genuine Diamond Bangle Watch from Amazon (I paid $44 three years ago but now it's only $30). I like this watch because the strap is a bangle on the outside but has links inside the wrist so the size can be easily adjusted (I have bony wrists that sometimes swell due to my arthritis, so comfortable watch bands, especially bangles, can be hard to find). It also has a large face and good contrast between the thick gold hands and the black face (which makes it easier to read at a glance), and I love the little diamond chip at the 12 o'clock position (it's a shameless ripoff of the famous Movado watch, which I love but am too cheap - and too hard on watches - to pay for). 

So that's me for the day: casual, comfortable, and cute! Or at least, that's what I'm aiming for. Let me know if you think I hit the mark or if I missed it today!

My Week in Fashion: Tuesday

Today is another work day for me, but I'm not anticipating too much crawling on the floor or lugging boxes around, so I can be a little dressier and less careful about wearing durable clothing. So I opted for one of my easy go-to pieces. 

This look includes a sweater dress, tights, boots, and a hat. 

I bought this sweater dress from JC Penney a few years back, after seeing it advertised repeatedly on my Facebook page (not the first time I've done that, so clearly FB ads are effective, at least on me). I ordered it online, and the page glitched while I was submitting my order, which resulting in my accidentally ordering it twice - which was fun, because I gave the extra one to a friend who frequently wears similar styles. (*waves at Cindy Lou*) They no longer carry this exact dress, but they have similar styles including the one pictured above, for $25.99 (which I think is about what I paid for mine). 

What I love above this style is the fit-and-flare silhouette, which makes me look curvier than I am, and which camouflages my tummy. It's a look that flatters almost any figure. As with yesterday's outfit, I like the 3/4 sleeves because I don't have to worry that they're too short for my long arms. The square yoke offsets my sloping shoulders, and the slight vertical ribbing is slimming. The black and gold color palette is neutral enough that I can add a colorful scarf or lightweight jersey cardigan, but it's visually interesting enough to leave as is. The skirt length is also short enough that I can pair it with leggings, but long enough that I don't feel too bare with just tights (or even bare legs if I wear boots). 

Side note on the tights - I finally bought myself some Queen size tights and they are a REVELATION. I think of Queen size as having extra stretch around, but I never realized how much extra stretch they add to length. This tall girl wishes I'd tried these years ago! No more readjusting my waistband every time I sit down then stand up again. 

Now, back to the boots. Like yesterday's brown boots, today's black boots have a few subtle details that take them a step beyond basic, but that aren't too fussy. They have a horizontal seam attaching a wide top band, as is traditional with riding boots, as well as a vertical seam at the front of the calf. There is a vertical buckle strap on the side of the horizontal strip and a single buckle strap at the ankle, and a shaped seam at the ankle (also very traditional styling for riding boots). All the visible seams are double-stitched, which is a sign of quality construction as well as simply adding a nice visual detail. My husband gave me these boots as a gift, so I'm not sure where they came from or how much they cost (but since he is willing to pay much more for clothes and shoes than I am, I'm guessing they were over $100). I found this similar pair at Fingerhut for $79.99.  

I sometimes wear my brown boots with this outfit, since the tan pattern ties them in, but with black tights, black boots were definitely the way to go. I also occasionally wear leggings with this dress, and when I do, I sometimes wear either ankle booties or fun flats (like the leopard print slip-ons you may see later this week). 

Monochromatic outfits can be boring, so I usually add an interesting detail of some kind. With this dress, I'll wear a vivid turquoise draped jersey cardigan, a long pendant necklace, or a solid-colored scarf, but today I decided to add some character with a hat. 

I tend to favor short-brimmed hats for daily wear, so I opted for my all-black straw kettle brim hat, which my husband laughingly refers to as my "Annie Hall hat". It's not quite as domed as the bowler hat that Diane Keaton wears in the film, but it's not totally dissimilar. I bought it from a vendor at the Eastern States Exposition a few years ago for the ridiculously low price of $18. The label says Angela & William, but they no longer seem to carry this style. I was able to find a similar (although more decorated) hat on Etsy for $65.  My hat has a simple wide black ribbon hatband with a flat bow at the back and ribbons that are, alas, too short to be called "follow-me-lads". 

So that's my look for the day! Nothing especially new or trendy, but a few workhorses that get a lot of use, and a handful of variations on how to style the central pieces so that the next time I wear this look, it will look like an entirely different outfit.