Tag Archives: hue

Anglophile

Posted on by
3

There’s lots of different elements that influence my style.  Lately one of my favorite inspirations has been 60′s English and French styles.  I feel like the above outfit has a little bit of both, but it felt more British to me.  The dress actually is British, so that should count for something.

 

I’ve never actually been to England, but it’s one of those places that I’d really love to visit one day.  My grandfather was stationed there during WWII (in Bassingbourn, near London) so I’d especially love to visit the base he was at and the museum that’s there.

 

 

This beret always makes me happy when I wear it.  I finished knitting it while waiting for a cab at LaGuardia during my trip to NYC several years ago.  It always reminds me of how great that trip was.  Not to mention the fact that it’s cute and warm.

 

Dress: Boden (via eBay)
Cardigan: J. Crew (via eBay)
Tights: HUE
Boots: Keen Bern Baby Bern
Watch: Fossil
Necklace: Wendy Brandes Little Woolf

 

Florida’s Two-Day Winter

Posted on by
3

Every year in Florida, we never really have a “true” winter.  Instead, we get sporadic days of weather below 50 degrees, after which the temperature will go back up to the 70s.  Seriously.  It’s 40 degrees outside as I’m writing this.  Saturday is set to have a high of 74.  So, when we actually get truly cold weather here, I milk it for all it’s worth.  I break out one of my two coats, I resurrect my hand-knits, I wear cashmere and boots like crazy.  Because I know that before we know it, winter will be gone from Florida again.

This is my, “I’m trying to smile even though I’m really cold” face

The key to days like today is lots and lots of layers.  I layered wool knee socks over tights.  I layered a slip, long sleeve tee, sleeveless dress and cashmere sweater for the rest.  And then coat and scarf after that.  Most Floridians, I’ve noticed, don’t get cold weather dressing.  I see people trying to get by with hoodies or cotton turtlenecks.  Everyone complains so much too.  But it’s really fantastic if you’re prepared for it, and it doesn’t have to be expensive if you search for good winter pieces year round.

At first I thought about belting the sweater, but the dress has such a strong pattern that I really wanted to let it shine.  By using the tie from the dress as a belt,  I brought the attention back to the beautiful pattern.

How do you layer for winter?  What’s your winter climate like?

Dress: Mlle Gabrielle (thrifted)
Sweater: J. Crew (via eBay)
Long sleeve tee: J. Crew Factory
Tights: HUE
Boots: Keen Bern Baby Bern
Watch: Fossil
Coat: Target (2008)
Scarf: Handknit by me

 

 

Last outfit of 2011

Posted on by
2

Last week, it finally started getting cold again.  Bear in mind that “cold” in Florida means below 60 degrees.  Thus I was finally able to wear my boots again!  I wore this for a day of running errands and enjoying my time off before going back to work on the 2nd.  Looking at it now, I’m not so crazy about the proportions.  I’m thinking maybe it’s just that longer hems don’t work as well with tall boots.  Or maybe I needed a shoulder bag instead of a cross-body.  Either way, I still enjoyed wearing the outfit.

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe New Years.  My boyfriend and I decided to stay home for this one,  so he had some beer while I had some Jam Jar, and we watched old episodes of 30 Rock and classic 60′s Batman.  It was the perfect, low key end to the year and a great way to welcome 2012.

Happy New Year!

Dress: Soprano (via Li da la)
Cardigan: J. Crew (via eBay)
Tights: HUE
Knee Socks: HUE
Boots: Keen Bern Baby Bern
Scarf: Boden
Bag: Angry, Young and Poor Bread Bag
Watch: Fossil Outlet
Earrings: JuneDesigns

Monochromatic (sort of)

Posted on by
4

I’ve never been a big fan of full-on monochromatic looks, so this is about as close as I get.  This beautiful blue dress is one of my newest Boden pieces, snagged on eBay for a mere $50! (Boden dresses usually retail for over $100).  I had get several alterations done to get it perfect, but now it’s set to become one of my favorite pieces.  For this outfit, I buttoned up a cashmere cardigan over the dress, then took the sash and tied it obi-style over the cardi.  Boots and tights stayed neutral, and I added my bright orange watch for a pop of contrast.

Dress before alterations

As you can see in the picture above, the dress originally had a much longer hem (this seems to happen a lot with Boden dresses).  I got about 4″ hemmed off.  Also, the sleeves had a blousy elastic thing on the hems, which I can’t stand, so I had that taken out and replace with a regular hem, and I had them take-in the sleeves a bit too to make them slimmer.  Finally, the neckline was super low (another common occurrence with Boden).  My tailor took up the shoulders a bit, which naturally raises the neckline.

This dress is another example of why I truly believe that you need to customize everything.  It does require a slight investment to get things altered, but once you have an item that fits exactly the way that you want it to, you will love it more and thus wear it more and get more use out of it than if you left it without alterations.

Dress: Boden (via eBay)
Cardigan: Boden
Tights: HUE
Boots: Keen Bern Baby Bern (via Piperlime)
Watch: J. Crew & Timex

 

 

A neutral kind of day

Posted on by
4

 

Okay, so I did in fact wear a very similar outfit last September.  But hey, that was a year ago, and I have long hair and glasses now, so I think it’s just fine for me to post this version.

I had originally planned to put together a mustard and navy outfit.  That is, until I realized that my favorite mustard cardi was in the wash.  So I decided for lovely and elegant neutrals instead, with a pop of mustard in my bracelet.

I love how this little navy dress can work with just about everything.  It really is a year-round staple for me.  The fit is absolutely perfect, the navy color goes with everything (although I often wish I had it in brighter colors), the length is perfect for work.  I can wear it alone in the summer, and layer it up in the winter.  It’s definitely one of my best consigning finds yet.


Dress: Soprano (via Li da la)
Cardigan: J. Crew (via eBay)
Tights: HUE
Shoes: Dansko Sallys (courtesy of Dansko)
Belt: Vintage
Pearls: Coryell Design
Watch: Fossil
Bracelet: Vintage

 

Smiles go with… black accents

Posted on by
2

Originally, this outfit got started as a way to mix black and cream.  It soon turned into a colorful outfit with black accents instead.    To me, black accents always make outfits look classier.  This dress has seen better days; the color has faded and its started to pill a bit since I wear it constantly.  But with a bright blue cashmere cardigan and lots of opaque black, it looks fantastic again.

This little blue cashmere cardigan was a Boden summer sale purchase.  I can never afford full price cashmere, so I always wait until I can find it on sale or secondhand and then snatch it up.  I have a feeling I’ll be wearing this little one a lot.

These gorgeous boots were my one Black Friday purchase this year. I’d saved up some money from selling some old shoes on eBay, and I’d had my eye on Keen’s Bern Baby Bern boots for months.  When Piperlime had them on sale Black Friday, I decided to go for them and I’m so glad I did.  I normally wear an 8 in Keens, but I size up to 8.5, and these fit perfectly.  They’re super comfy, flattering, and my toes don’t feel cramped.  They’re also dressier than most of my other boots, so they’re okay for work.  My only complaint is that the soles don’t have much traction, but I never have to deal with ice, so it hasn’t been an issue for me.

Dress: Boden (via eBay)
Cardigan: Boden
Tights: HUE
Boots: Keen Bern Baby Bern
Purse: Morelle
Belt: Anthropologie
Watch: Fossil Outlet
Pearls: Vintage

 

 

 

 

Polka dots are always in

Posted on by
4

As I’m getting out of my style rut, I’m looking around the blogosphere for inspiration.  I went back this week to one of my old favorites, Fab Finds Under $50′s Inspiration calendars.  A few days ago, the theme was polka dots, and surprisingly, there were only two options in my closet: this skirt, and a polka dot Boden blouse.  Obviously, I went with the skirt.

I knew that I needed a short top if I wanted the proportions to look right, and this little cotton sweater was perfect for the job.  However, being light grey, it can look a bit too casual and dull, so I dressed it up with these lovely turquoise accents.  I’d forgotten just how much I love turquoise!  I felt so “me” all day, and a lot of people complimented me on my outfit, both teachers and students alike.  After taking such a long hiatus from really putting planning and effort into my outfits, it felt like a breath of fresh air.  Goodbye rut!

Sweater: Gap (via Deja Vu Boutique)
Skirt: Thrifted
Tights: HUE
Shoes: Dansko Sallys (c/o Dansko)
Necklace: Express
Belt: Thrifted

Mis-matched Day

Posted on by
4

Remember back in school, when you would have Spirit Week and each day would have a different theme, like Sports Day, Twin Day, etc?  One fun thing about working in a middle school is that you get to experience that every year :)  Our Spirit Week was last week, and this is what I wore for mis-matched day, my favorite day of the week.  It’s so fun to put together an outfit that is as intentionally mis-matched as possible.  I tried not to make my outfit so jarring that it was painful to look at, and also not so shabby that I looked homeless.  I think I succeeded.

Leopard and polka dot = pattern mixing

I wore two different socks, two different styles of Converse Chuck Taylors, two different earrings.  I tried to keep the base of the outfit a little more simple, so the solid colors didn’t match, but also didn’t clash painfully.

I can French braid my hair again.  Yay!

Is it strange that I actually had more fun getting dressed when it was mis-matched day than on a normal day?  I love having a theme or challenge for an outfit – to me it makes things more interesting than just pulling clothes out of the closet and wearing them.

Did you have mis-matched day at your school when you were a kid?  How did you dress up?

Cardigan: J Crew (eBay)
Top: Target (thrifted)
Skirt: Thrifted
Tights: Hue
Socks: Hue (grey) Smartwool (green)
Shoes: Converse Chuck Taylors
Scarf (in hair): Vintage
Belt: Thrifted
Watch: J. Crew/ Timex

“Scuffed his boot in the leaves”

Posted on by
11

The cold weather has officially hit Florida.  Temps have been in the 40s and 50s all week, so I’m back to my winter layering.  Thank goodness my Dansko Kylee boots arrived just in time.  Dansko was nice enough to send me a pair to try out (thanks Dansko!)  and I absolutely love them!  They are my new favorite boots ever.

Once it got cold this year, I realized that, while I adore my boot collection, none of them worked very well for eight hour days on my feet.  I needed a pair of flat boots that could provide all day comfort and style.  These boots are exactly what I was looking for.  They’re so insanely comfortable, that I don’t even feel like taking them off when I get home.  And they’re versatile – that knit top can be rolled down:

The chocolate suede with the side stitching detail fits in exactly with the kind of boho chic boots I’ve had in my mind for awhile now.  I’ve pretty much worn these every day since I got them.  If you like them, hop on over to Barking Dog Shoes, where she’s giving away a pair!

Yay for winter!

Dress: Ella Moss (via My Mosh Posh)
Cardigan: J Crew (via eBay)
Tights: Hue
Boots: Dansko Kylee (courtesy of Dansko)
Scarf: Ann Taylor
Purse: Morelle City Bag

Quote: Maggie Stiefvater (Shiver)

“No sense of what was proper”

Posted on by
5

Last week, I styled this skirt to look like Joan Holloway.  Today, I went with more of a Peggy Olson look.  I love how vibrant all the colors looked together.  I’m not so sure how I feel about having all black on the bottom half of my body, though.  I think this would have looked amazing with some white pumps.   I know a lot of style advice columns recommend matching shoes to tights to elongate your legs, but to me, it felt just a bit boring.

 Originally, I was going to wear a strand of pearls with this outfit, but that felt just a bit too prim and proper.  Tying the blue scarf in a bow threw an extra color into the mix, while still retaining the vintage flair of the outfit.

Unfortunately, this will probably be the only time I’ll wear this green sleeveless button-down.  I got it while thrifting last week, but it’s a bit too short and the arm holes are a bit tight.  I could fix the arm hole problem, but the length is a bigger concern.  Even though this is my highest-waisted skirt, the blouse kept popping out when I would sit down.  I don’t like garments that I have to constantly fuss with, so this will likely go to the swap pile.  I might hang onto for a bit longer in case I get some true high-waisted skirts.

Do you incorporate vintage stylings into your wardrobe?  How do you make them look modern?

Cardigan: J Crew (via Ebay)
Blouse: St Johns Bay (thrifted)
Scarf: Thrifted
Skirt: Semantiks
Tights: Hue
Shoes: Clarks Apple Sky
Earrings: Sara Westermark

Quote: The Red Balloon, by A. LaMorisse

Related Posts with Thumbnails