A FASHION POST: "Summer outfits!"

In my last post I showed you all two summer tops that I recently purchased on some great sales at

Jcrew and Ann Taylor!

Today I will show you how I plan on wearing them!

This first outfit I actually was able to wear to a dinner/play up at our club where we live. I was comfortable and felt good in this new, fun top. I still smile when I move because it wiggles!!

I would call this outfit dressy/casual. Not totally dressy yet a little bit, and casual because of my sandals and how comfortable it was to wear.

I kept it classic by keeping it all navy  and wearing my navy ankle pants.

Another thing I do is decide how to wear my hair with certain outfits. With this outfit I decided to put my hair behind my ears and do a very slight flip. Sometimes different outfits look a bit better with a change in hairstyle, plus it is fun to shake it up a bit!

The top is not totally fitted but a bit loose so I kept my pants on the slim side. That is a good guideline to follow.......

Loose Top Wear slimmer bottom

Fitted top wear looser bottom

The Bernardo gold sandals have been a staple in my summer wardrobe for many years. I also have them in a pretty rose gold. 

If I were to have paired this outfit with a dressier shoe it would have totally made this a dressy outfit easily. Isn't it interesting how one accessory can totally change the look and feel of an outfit. Keep that in mind next time you put together an outfit!! Have fun with it!

Since there is fringe at the bottom I kept my accessories simple and classic. Remembering to let the top's fringe be the star. A necklace would have been one step too far.  Just like in decorating keep one element the star!!

The purse is an oldie but goodie. I purchased it from Jcrew several years ago and I have to tell you this little clutch is a real workhorse in my wardrobe, it goes with so many outfits. 

Sometimes it is a good idea to make a little splurge purchase when you know how often you will use it and this one proved to be worth every penny I spent on it!

Next I have the 

"Top Of Many Colors!"

I am going to have so much fun with this top it goes with so many of my summer pants and skirts.

Here is another Casual/dressy outfit I would wear if we had a special dinner night out that was not a fancy dinner.

I paired it with a casual style, white cotton twill skirt that hits just right at the top of my knee and a pair of suede slides that have a slight heel and a vintage straw bag.

Again I kept the accessories simple.

The cobalt blue striped bangle is a Kate spade and the yellow bamboo bangles were purchased a long time ago from bauble bar. Of course the pearl studs are my every day earrings. I am a pearl girl and actually prefer pearls over diamonds.

 These cobalt suede slides are so comfortable and with a little heel they can be dressed up or down.

This vintage clutch was purchased on Etsy years ago, it even has an eyeglass pouch to go with it. I have been pleasantly surprised at how often I have used this. Etsy is a great resource for vintage bags and also some really fun straw purses as well.

I have found that if you stick with what you love in the colors that are already in your wardrobe you will have a workhorse for your wardrobe and no buyers regrets. Plus, this little number is just fun!!

This next outfit is totally casual and I would wear this shopping or to a barbecue, for that matter just about anywhere that did not require me to be dressed up.

This time around I put my top of many colors with my girlfriend jeans cuffed up. My verrrry old red Ked's mules are just about worn out and hopefully now that mules are in again I can find another pair.

I paired them with my new fossil crossbody bag which has turned out to be a wonderful bag for the style and colors in my wardrobe. I found it at TJMaxx!

This time I am wearing gold bangles with the yellow bamboo bangles and I have  added gold loop earrings.  You might even find me in a pony tail with this outfit.

So there you have it!! I had fun putting these together and I can tell I will be able to make more outfits using these two tops with different bottoms and accessories.

When I purchase separates I have a little rule I try to follow.......

"If it can't go with 2-3 other pieces in my wardrobe I don't buy it!"

I would like to thank all of who commented or emailed me on my last post. I was pleasantly surprised at how many of you enjoyed my fashion post. In fact that is exactly why I wrote today's post.

 Keep your questions and ideas for post coming. It sure helps this girl to keep writing!!!

 

 

This and That For Thursday!

    

I think this might be the longest I have gone without blogging. I have to be honest here, and say I feel as if I have written about everything at least once or twice, or maybe even three times. 

I want to stay current and fresh in my life as well as in my writing. So you might need to help me out a bit and give me a comment, or an email to let me know if you have a subject you would like me to write about. I would really appreciate it. 

After all, YOU my dear readers are why I write. I don't advertise on my blog so it is just you and me. I am my own boss and you and your comments are my paycheck!!!

So what have I been up too lately? A whole lot of relaxing and enjoying the summer or last week was spent staying in the nice cool house and out of the heat blast we had.

Our roses are in their second bloom so I am bringing in some fresh cut flowers from our garden and also from the grocery store. It is my weekly treat to get roses.

I figured something out this week. When my roses begin to look like they are going to fade, I get another 5 days out of them by putting them in a close clump with a rubber band and putting them in a vase with an added touch of some fern.

I was waiting for a couple of summer tops to go on sale and this was the week of sales around the internet so I ordered two that I had pinned on my pinboard shopping list....

 via 50% off right now!

This first one is from Jcrew outlet and it reminds me of my childhood. I wore lots of plaids in those days and this one just makes me happy. It has all my colors in it so I am going to have fun with this one!!

 I will show you all some different color combo's in a later post. This fits true to size if you were wondering, maybe a little on the larger size so if you are in between sizes order down a size.

 via 50% off right now!

I have had this one pinned for quite awhile and have been keeping my eye on it. I love when I get sale alerts!! 

It is a very dark navy and the fringe on the bottom is made out of the same fabric as the top. It moves with every movement I make and makes me feel like when I was a little girl and wore a twirly dress. Remember doing that? Nothing like twirling. 

This is a dress up, dress-down top, so I am going to have lots of fun with it. This also fits very true to size so order your current size. I will do an upcoming post on how I plan on wearing this and the other top.

Next we have been spending some time shooing Mr. Peter Rabbit from our yard. As cute as he is, I don't want him to eat the flowers. If he sticks to not digging and only eating the grass he can stay, but you and I know that is not going to happen, too many juicy green things in my yard to eat.

I am not sure if I shared with you all that our 5 little birds flew the nest and did not even say good bye. Oh what fun we had watching them grow and test out their flapping wings. A true pleasure and they can come back anytime. OH!! We do have another nest in our tree out back, but we can't see inside it only the bottom, but it is nice to know we have more baby birds on their way. This time little yellow finches.

Yesterday I was sooooo excited because our new light fixture arrived. It has been on a backorder for almost 3 months and was not due in until July 21st so it is almost a month early. If you don't remember it here is a picture and trust me when I say, it is even more beautiful in person. Love the elegant matte finish and the sparkle of the glass bowl, which weighs a ton....

Brighton Brass pendant from Robert Abbey. 15% off right now!

I will do a post on the install of this beauty!! Hopefully sooner than later, of course that depends on my handy-dandy hubby's mood. He is a mood worker just like me!!!

Last but not least I spent about an hour at CVS getting this and thats and spending way more than I realized, but I found a new lip balm stick that I love for summer. It is a really pretty watermelon color and glides on like butter,plus it is sheer and looks moist like I already put on a lip gloss, This will be great for my beach bag when I go to the pool this year.

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It's covergirl jumbo lip perfection balm in the color cherry twist. I was told by a reader that rite aid has them on sale right now. I am going to go and check out more colors I love the creaminess of this product. Let's face it I LOVE lipsticks and lip glosses.

One more thing, Hubby just called me to look out the window in the backyard, now we have two squirrels and a dove eating under the tree. Oh dear we have become a little animal playground!!!

 

 

What Do I Want To Look Like?

   

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I discovered a new-to-me  fashion blog the other day, Brenda Kinsel. I loved the philosophy of this lady and enjoyed perusing her blog and reading what she had to say. 

In one of her post she posed a question that she felt many women have, or at least need to ask themselves,

"What do I want to look like?"

It sounds like a pretty simple question when you look at it for face value, but if you start thinking about it, it becomes a bit deeper.

 Of course our first answer will be about our weight, our age, our shape, our height, but I am talking about what do you want to look at right now, where you are age or weight does not count. We must always strive to look the best we can.

I have always said there is nothing worse than feeling over weight and frumpy.

We have all had this question at different times in our lives. I was talking to someone in her early 40's recently and she was starting to address this question.

20' and 30's

Over the decades I remember thinking about this question especially in my 30's when we all still have our cute figures and great skin, but we realize we are no longer teenagers of even in our 20s any more and feel the push and pull of how to dress like a grown-up without looking like our Mom's or worse yet Nana's even though I am a very proud Grammy.

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 The 40's and 50's

By time I was in my 40s I felt confident of who I was and how I wanted to look, but then the 50's came and lovely menopause, which without me realizing it changed my mood, my body, and perception of who I was, and how I wanted to look.

I would not call any of these identity crisis, but it might be considered a wardrobe crisis. Here I am in my late 60's, which just blows my mind. and I am in the decision mode again.

"What do I want to look like!?"

It is helpful when you find a stylish lady that writes a fashion blog that has the same taste in clothing as you do, but personally I really don't find many that seem to have my same aesthetics.

Sometimes it is not that we don't know our style, but we just can't find it out in the market place anymore.

 Sure we can find just about anything if price is no object, but let's face it, for most of us, price is an object that we have to be concerned about.

I have deemed my style as a grown-up-classic- preppy style . I love classic clothing with pretty silhouettes. 

 Color is my friend and I wear it often. 

My favorite prints are gingham and stripes in the winter I love a good plaid. If I find a shoe with a tassel on it I am a happy girl and that was before tassels became on trend. Sometimes I feel as if I should have been born on the east coast as far as design and my dress. People that know me have actually told me that.

Finding "YOUR" Style

Finding one's own style is not an easy job especially when the media seems to dictate so much of what we should and should not wear.

 What I loved about Brenda Kinsel's blog was how she works with her clients as a stylist to find out what works for them, and even pushes them gently out of their comfort zone to try new and different things.

I don't necessarily dress like Brenda, she has her very own style, but I do agree with her approach to dressing and the way she thinks.

Know Your Silhouette!

As far as shapes, colors and patterns I am very set on those. Where I have issues is finding them in the market place when so much of what is out there is, well, shall I say,  NOT me!!

I am not Bohemian, nor do I want to bare my shoulders and let's face it that is what is in vogue this season.  

In trying to find what works for us we must be brutally honest with ourselves. I have some personal guidelines for myself that I have found to be helpful over the years.......

1. If I wore it the last time it was in style, I probably should not be wearing it this go around. We all know what goes around comes around again in fashion and decor for that matter. 

For instance right now the styles are so reminiscent of the 70-80s. I was in my 20's and 30s so I should not be wearing what I wore back then and to be honest those two decades were hard for me to find styles I liked.

2. Stay in tuned to your body shape and what silhouette looks best on you. I have an hour glass shape and the big billowy tops that are so on trend right now are not the right shape for me. 

I need tops that follow the lines of  my upper silhouette more closely. I have, shall we say, sturdy legs, so if I wear a billowy top I become shapeless and can visually gain 10 lbs, not good for someone who is already over weight.

3. Try new things when trying on clothing. I read once to try at least 6 pieces that you would never think would look good on you. You might be surprised. Trust me I have had some good private laughs in dressing rooms doing this and once in awhile there is a surprise, but at this point in my life I am pretty in tuned with what works for my body.

4. Just because it is in style NOW does not mean you have to wear it.

5. If you are wearing on-trend pieces make sure you are not wearing them head to toe, making you look like Trendzilla! You don't want to look like you are trying too hard.

6. When wearing a statement piece make sure it is the star, do not wear several statement pieces at a time. For instance if I am wearing a statement necklace I will keep my ensemble more reserved and classic.

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7. Don't be afraid of color wear it boldly and proudly. I do wear color and mix it up all the time. Color makes me happy.

8. Wear a color close to my face that you know is a good color for you. We all have colors that we love and that we get compliments on. Those are YOUR colors wear them proudly and close to your face. White or cream will always brighten up your face as well.

9. Your best accessory is always going to be a smile, it beats out any accessory or makeup.

10. Be who you are, no one can do it better than YOU! Be the best YOU where you are right now!!!

Be sure and go over to Brenda's blog and read some of her post, she recently did two post on 10 Fashion tips for women over 60. I found them helpful for women of all ages.