WIW: almost a uniform

This is as close as I come to what feels like a uniform dressing. Ankle length pants, fluid top and a topper for structure...I need to wear a skirt tomorrow just to break a monotony! :-)

pic 1 
I have not worn these drapey pants from BR very often yet so I wanted to wear them again before weather turns too hot. I got this swirly fluid top at Winners last year and like it a lot. I only wish both pants and top were not poly but more breathable fabric WITHOUT A CLING! I especially wished for that in the evening during the dance practice: even without a jacket it was too hot! 

pic 2
Hot and humid day so no topper. This BR shirt is so nice on the skin - a real pleasure to wear in the heat. Unfortunately these plaid KUT jeans are a bit too big in the top part so they tend to slide down without a belt: I wish I bought size 10 last year and not 12! :-(

pic 3-4
This outfit is almost all from this season buys except the bag and shoes. This is not very usual to me but sometimes it happens! I have posted about this BR lace top before and this is its first outing! Love it although I was a bit cold in it at work with the blasting AC: next time I need to layer a sleeved topper for work.
These black Express Editor cropped pants are new too: I got them a couple of weeks ago before the business trip when I realized  that my warm weather business casual capsule is seriously lacking in bottoms department. I think they are a bit too loose in the upper leg part for slim pants but at least they fit in the calves. This is my usual struggle with slim pants - calf fit! I also turned up the hems a bit to shorten them to what I think is more flattering length. What do you think? Are they JFE or not even that? I am still trying to get my head around the whole cropped pant thing...

Thank you so much for looking and as usual all suggestions and comments are very much appreciated!

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WIW: a short week and a cold spell

I had quite a full weekend - nice but full of activities - so did not have much time for the forum. I want to post my weekly outfits but words fail me now so this is going to be a post which heavier on the pictures than on words :-)
pic 1 The weather turned to cold so I was happy to wear a trench over a sweatshirt. I kept in neutral with faded blue, grey and white. Other than Gap jeans everything else is at least 1 year old. Worn to work.

pic 2 Back to colors! I am feeling my scarves again after almost 2 years of hiatus (as you can see this week). The first wear of my new nude flats from Hush Puppies which work surprisingly well for my high volume feet and wider toe box. Other than the shoes everything else is several seasons old here. 

Worn to work.

pic 3 Still cold so another trench day (although it warmed up in the afternoon enough to ditch it). This was inspired by an older Angie's ensemble of peach, brown and navy.Other than brown loafers everything else is at least a year old. 

Worn to work.

pic 4 Saturday Social Dance Gala at our Dance club. I decided to wear my black jumpsuit once more as it is the most Gala-appropriate piece I have. Even though I wore it to a Gala in December and this is the same crowd I think it was too far back and with too many dances with other outfits between them to be safe :-) However I changed the topper from faux fur capelet to a white jacket to feel more summery and the bag from  a black beaded number to a graphic white and black clutch to match the graphic white and black outfit. Bonus pic 5 of my hubby and me dancing (you can see how totally beginners we are) :-)

Thank you for looking and as always all comments and suggestions are appreciated!

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WIW - and a review and a question

This is a variation on Angie's ensemble: the colors are reversed from black to white and flared trousers replace the culottes - but I hope it is close enough in spirit to qualify :-)
I spotted this vest in London UK a month ago when Inge and I were browsing the Banana Republic store on Regent street but it was black. I tried it on and almost fell in love with the quality of leather and the design. 

  • Two zippers to make it more fitted or boxier when closed!
  • Side zippers to make it easier to layer over  when closed!
Yes, it was love but there were 2 details which prompted me to leave it in the store:
- price: in pounds or in CAD it was quite expensive little piece;
- color: as I considered this to be useful in warmer months I was not inclined towards black. "If it was more reasonably priced AND white..." I said leaving the store empty handed.

When I came back home I checked the online site - and it was also available in white...however the price was still too steep for me.
Fast forward one week and this vest was gone in US in all sizes...but still present on Canadian site...I waited...and then it happened: one day sale for "best customers" with no exclusions! I closed my eyes and pressed the "order" button feeling very guilty. :-)
That was the story and this is how it ended - after several weeks of thinking the tags came off this past weekend and I wore it to work today. 
It is a lovely little piece with quality leather which is butter soft and lightweight enough for not-too-sweltering summer days. I hope our love affair  will last a long time!!!
As a bonus: I was playing with new YLF toys cataloging ALL my wardrobe after a purge this weekend and creating several capsules in my finds with custom items. Then I used the "ensemble" feature to record today's outfit. I created outfit ensembles for the whole work week - what a fun feature to play with. I want to continue doing this and only hope that Greg has enough room on the server for all these pictures :-)

An now a question. These white flared trousers were too big for me last year. My Mom took them in but they are still on the roomy side. Do you think they are good enough for one more season or is rear and side views are too ill fitting?

Wow, it is a novel! If you are still reading it you are a trooper!!!
Thanks a lot!!!!!

 

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WIW: the study of cropped pants disaster

OK, they are not technically cropped, just cuffed jeans  - and on pair of culottes - but still the same rules apply, right? I was thinking of getting real cropped pants as a wildcard this season but I think I need to learn about proportions first and what makes them work.
I came to the conclusion that cropped pants are hard to pull off is you have thick ankles and heavy calves (like I do). Sure  they wold work with heels but I don't wear heels very often so they need to work with flats and low heels for me.
So what do you think of pic 1? I think the first outfit with grey skinnies is the most flattering even though the pant length is not ideal according to Angie's tips (above ankle but less than 4in). Maybe because white oxfords are lower contrast to grey jeans than brown loafers with the white jeans in the second outfit? As for the 3rd outfit I think I should have not worn a long vest with long culottes AND flat loafers together. I think the whole look is as close to frump as they come!
I also tried a whole bunch of cropped pants in the mall today and was not thrilled how they look on me at all (see the point above on the thick ankles). I did buy one pair of Express black ankle pants today for work but maybe it was a mistake...

pics 2 and 3 show other outfits I wore last week - before the weather turned to 30C basically overnight! Not a disaster but nothing special either...same old, same old...
I feel pretty discouraged with dressing lately - maybe I am in the rut but everything seems boring to me. Maybe I have lost "my touch" or maybe I am ready for a change but just don't know what should it be? Being very busy with other things from my life does not help either :-( I just packed for 4 day business trip and oh boy! I could not put things together! It was painful... loosing my touch for sure! :-(

OK, rant over, thank you for listening! :-)
Maybe I feel better tomorrow?

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Ask Angie: versatility of a white moto vest

As a lot of us on this forum I was in love with this ensemble. Interestingly the same BR vest which was featured in his post was already on its way to me but in white. It came and I am very tempted to keep it. However as it is a pretty expensive piece (even on sale it is $250) I am thinking hard if I really can justify keeping it.
I need to do a photo session soon but for now my question is - how versatile a white moto vest would be (because this is the color I got). 
Most likely I would wear it with sleeved tops as I get too cold when my forearms are bare. White out is a no brainer and also wearing it over a column of black but what else? Most of my summer wardrobe is white/cream, light pink, light blue, light grey (bottoms only), navy, a bit of black with some brighter colors like yellow, cobalt and orange.
Angie, would the white moto vest fit into you wardrobe and how would you style it? We have pretty similar style preferences so I hope if it works for you it should work for me :-)
Thanks in advance!:-)

26 comments

WIW: inspired by May outfit post

As soon as I saw Angie's beautiful outfit I knew what I want to wear that day! Alas, I did not have white flares so I decided to reverse the colors.
All items are several years old in this outfit so no finds for them:
- JCrew yellow Tippi sweater;
- Danier white leather moto jacket;
- Ink Paige Canyon flares;
I don't have anything in bright turquoise as this is not my best color so this deep  blue-teal silk scarf is the closest I can do.

Pic 2 is what I wore the day before to the office. I got these camel pleated wide leg trousers in the consignment store in the fall. I have been collected the inspiration pictures of such pants for several years and these looked like they fit the bill so I thought they will be my wild card for the season. I could not wear them in winter so I am starting now - and I am not sure. I still like the inspiration pictures but I am not sure about them on me.

I wore them on Thursday and then the flared jeans on Friday and could not help but notice that I felt more fab in the flares than in these trousers the day before...

 Is this because my body type (curvy in the hips) is not the best for this cut at all? Or is it just this particular pair of pants is not right?

 I do wear them with flat loafers here but so are some of m inspirations so that should not be the reason....

Should I just ditch the whole idea and get rid of these pants as a mistake? Your thoughts are very welcome!

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