Sveta's Blog

The spring has teased us with the sun, blue skies and bird singing and now it is back to winter: I woke up to a couple of inches of fresh snow yesterday morning, it almost gave me a heart attack! It is bitterly cold now (it was -10C this morning and -17C with the windchill) but I believe the spring is here anyway. Why? Look what I found today in my garden - the first crocuses! (pic 6) Honestly I prefer these humble and shy flowers to the most splendid roses and orchids because they are here when I desperately need them! :-)

pic 1
 I wanted to do Angie's light blue, white and black ensemble from yesterday's post yesterday morning but that snow broke my plans to wear the faded jeans because I could not wear the booties I wanted in the snow. In defiance I decided to to the pastel, black and white outfit anyway so here it goes! True to my color preferences there is a lot of white here and black is represented in small doses (boots, belt, tipping of the blouse and my hair LOL).

pic 2
I was in the mood for a plaid shirt and white (yet again) but rainy weather dictated the white jeans tucked into boots. I desperately want to replace these boots with a better pair of cognac but so far no luck...

pic 3
Skirt day! It was a day before the winter came back so nude hose was pretty warm and comfortable.

pic 4
Dry  days with snow mostly gone and this called for flared leg trousers! Another soft edge outfit here - yellow makes me happy!

pic 5
Almost ink out with some stripes and red thrown in.
OK, I feel very "word-deprived" today so keeping this sweet and brief! :-)
Thank you for looking and hope you have a glorious  and warm (I wish!) spring weekend!

This week was an experiment to see how I can dress for 2015 trends from my wardrobe. Honestly I cannot say that I was 100% happy with the results but this is what experiments are for, right?

pic #1 Fluid Fits
This one was easy as fluid fits make the bulk of my closet. Everything in this outfit is several years old  but I hope it still looks current. My soft edge!

pic #2 Tailored Silhouettes 
My attempt on a tailored silhouette using a fluid cashmere sweater. The sweater is pretty thin (actually it was called "tee" on JCrew website) so it was not too bulky for tucking in. It felt a bit strange to tuck the sweater in though - please let me know what you think.

pic #3 ’70s Inspiration
I have a memory from mid-seventies of my Mom wearing a long gilet over a turtleneck and flared trousers so this was my inspiration for this outfit. It is quite dark for spring so I added a bit of light with the pearl necklace, bag and booties.

pic #4 White
Another easy one as white is widely represented in my closet (Angie's influence of course). This outfit was also a feeble nod to her stunning sea foam outfit because it is also white and blue. I tried this cat print shirt with this pointelle white sweater last week and really liked it so this is what I decided to go with that day. Alas - only during the day I realized that the outfit I tried before was with the dark wash jeans so it was more flattering than this one (lower contrast on the bottom) Oh well, next time - hopefully this one was not a complete disaster!

pic #5 Wild Card
I got these pleated wide leg trousers at consignment store last fall. I was attracted by the camel color and the fluid fit - my wild card for this spring season. This is their first outing as our winters are not friendly for wide legs. I was debating if I should tuck in the turtleneck but decided to wear it untucked.
I was also debating if I should add a scarf or this camel vest and decided to go with the vest in the end. It does not match the color of the trousers perfectly but it is closer in color than looks in the picture.
These pins were my inspiration - something I wanted to try for a long time but was not able until I got the trousers:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/401313016764984301/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/401313016767656840/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/401313016767586974/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/401313016765111715/
It felt good during the day but looking at my pictures I am not really sure it looked that good. Also I think it was a mistake to wear this cape with these trousers - too much volume, right? I would appreciate your opinion here and suggestions.
Anyway, this is what I had this week. Thank you for looking, as usual all feedback and suggestions are very much appreciated.
Have a wonderful weekend!

...but these powder blue culottes are seriously tempting! Bonus for being made for tall gals and available in Canada.
I just can pop into the store and try them on just for fun. Hopefully they are not as gorgeous in person as online...:-)

Ever since Angie posted this ensemble with the sparkly tank I wanted to try it but did not have the right tank to play with. At last this year I got a subtly sparkly tank at the consignment store to play with.
I tried it twice and both times felt that something was off with the outfits - but for the life of me I cannot put my finger what exactly.
Is the neckline of the tank wrong for me? Is it too short to layer over a shirt? Is it not fluid enough? Is it just the wrong tank for layering - or did I try it in the wrong combinations? 
Any ideas how I can make it work - or should I just chuck it out as an unsuccessful experiment and forget the whole concept?

The spring is here! We still have the mountains of snow laying around but they slowly melt down  - such  happy sign! The birds are singing, the sun is shining, the sky is blue and I ditched the puffer and winter boots - hopefully for good. As I said - the spring is here!
Now when I am not limited to black winter boots only I have been trying Angie's ensembles all week:

pic 1 Lemon, and Cognac
This is a variation with white substituting for the light blue. Also wearing (kind of) bandana here as per Inge's post.
Lisap, see - I also wore trench today! :-) It is more caramel than tan in color (and leather) but I think it fits the overall soft color palette.

pic 2 Ink Out
This is as maximal as I go with layering: a shirt, a turtleneck and a vest. I did a version of this outfit with the skirt before - this is more "inked" version. I know that a button down shirt layered under a turtleneck is not everybody's cup of tea but I like the unexpectedness of the collar peeping from under the roll neck.
 I am SO ready for spring that I pulled out the flared jeans - even though the ground is quite messy in some places with the melting snow. Who cares! :-)
Added chestnut booties and cobalt  coat to break down all this ink...

pic 3 Grey, White and Citron
Technically this is the same sweater as in pic 1. I am not sure if it is more lemon-y or citron-y but because it is the only yellow sweater I have it has to work for both ensembles :-) I don't think I will layer this sweater over the shirt again: it is too thin AND too light-colored  - not the right combination as any fold on the shirt is visible through the sweater/. Too bad because I like this yellow color paired with white very much.

pic 4 Navy with Peach and Brown
I still love this peach tipped blouse from Ann Taylor I got almost a year ago and happily repeat almost the same outfit I wore last spring - why not!

Thank you for looking and have a wonderful weekend!

I don't have "sporty" in my style description. If I do sporty luxe it is 90% luxe and maybe 10% sporty - if that. And yet I was mysteriously drawn to this navy anorak from Banana Republic and decided to give it a try. My excuse was that my current purple trench ( my travel staple) does not have a hood from the rain and  - maybe - I need a more casual jacket in addition to the trench?

It arrived this week - and it is going back. I love the color - rich navy with a slight sheen, very beautiful. I don't mind the oversized style at all - even find it attractive. This is size M in Tall and it is pretty oversized on me...except for the sleeves. Sleeves are very slim to the point that when I wear a thin wool jacket under it is uncomfortable  to bend the elbows.

The sleeves are the main reason it goes back but there are others:
- I just do not feel all these hanging drawstrings, especially on the bottom. I tied them in bows to make shorter but they still bother me. I know it is the style but...
- I don't feel the slit in the back - you can see it in pic 2. I feels weird to me - slit while the ends kept together by the drawstring on the bottom.
- the fabric is too stiff for my liking - it does not drape as well as I hoped. It is especially bothersome in an oversized style - to me anyway.
Just to compare the sleeve fit I tried on my old almost 5 year old purple trench (pic 5 -unfortunately its beautiful rich purple-red color does not photograph well indoors) - and my mind was made up immediately. The trench sleeves fit much more comfortable, the fabric is softer and lays better and there are no annoying strings hanging anywhere. The anorak style may be a fun wildcard for me but the classic trench style wins my heart every single time! I would rather use umbrella when travelling but wear my trusty old trench which feels completely me.

I was looking for upscale track pants for a long time. My usual problem with them is that they are too tight in the calf - or that I did not like the fabrication or style on me.
Here I am trying the drapey navy track pants from Banana Republic and I need some help here. The whole notion of ankle pant is alien to me so I am not sure if they look right or not.
The smaller size is on the left and the bigger size is on the right.  It is hard to see with the dark pants in the pictures. I think the bigger size is too roomy overall. The smaller size is still fluid but not baggy or slouchy, just has the right amount of ease - even in the calves. I think I am into more tailored trousers now because I am sure the bigger size would appeal more to me just a year ago...
...however the bigger size is longer. Not much, just 0.5" but still. The smaller size ends just over my ankles and the bigger size covers them a bit.
So which size should I keep? Oh should I just return both and look again? Or is this style is not for me at all? I get drawn to this style but not sure if it suits me. As  bonus I included the shots with these pants and two of my blazers. The fabric is different from my navy blazer but I think they work together. I like them but do they look ridiculous on me? 
I am perfectly confused now... :-(

Thanks in advance for your help!