As you know, much of this winter I have been wearing UNIQLO curved leg jeans, Timberland boots, and turtlenecks. As you also know, the boots then insisted I buy a cognac tote.
So for spring and the non-brutally hot days of summer, my first purchase was a pair of the selfsame jeans in white. My second was an inexpensive ice blue crossbody bag, by a brand called, somewhat ironically, Hobo. But wait, don’t I still own a brown Bottega Veneta crossbody? Yes. But it’s darker and doesn’t work with cognac and the Hobo was <$200. Hear me out.
Now all I need for hot weather 2020 is a few more t-shirts, to replace the ones I wore holes in last summer, and I should be set. Mephisto sandals will slide right on in to replace the Timberlands (on sale) when my toes, as they must, need to breathe.
The point of all this being, other than to provide me with the opportunity to play Photoshop collage which I have not done in ages: you can find style on very little funds these days–if you pay attention to a) geometry b) color.
The geometry here is pretty simple. High-waisted wide-legged jeans cuffed to the ankle create a silhouette. Everything else is for balance. Heavy shoes, close-fitting or cropped tee, and then, not shown but lurking in my closet, a cropped jacket for our chilly mornings and evenings.
And color?
- Choose a double-down color. For me, it’s blue. Blue kind of bugs me, it’s so dang Western, but I cannot argue with my skin and eyes.
- Then choose a named color strategy with intention and commitment. Are we doing monochrome/similar hues? So many blues to choose from. Are we going with degrees of saturation and brightness? Pastels to match the ice (use sparingly over 50). How about neutrals with an accent? Gray, white, cognac, blue. Or, finally, and kind of my favorite, combo of neutrals, double down color, and something complementary. An olive green tee with as much of a yellow undertone as I can tolerate, to play off the blues and neutrals, etc.
Have a good weekend everyone. I hope you’re taking care of your feet. Mine are quite the bossypants.
Returning to say, I have gotten off my duff and taken an outfit photo. Here you go. It’s the least I can do.
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26 Responses
I like your choices. (Don’t I always)? Jeans and tee shirt or khakis and a tee shirt are my go-to outfits as well. You are just better at pulling them together.
Happy weekend!
@MaryAnne, Why thank you ma’am! Turns out writing a style blog is kind of like intensive style homework and I could not help but learn some things.
Beautiful colour of the bag-and I like the name :”Whisper Blue”! Great find and great plan!
Happy weekend from me,too
Dottoressa
@Dottoressa, Why thank you!
Sounds pretty carefree to me. I especially like the olive T-shirt – I’m on an olive kick for the first time in my life. Olive is my new neutral.
Have a great weekend!
@Jane, So carefree! And I love olive. I think it’s so natively chic.
I really appreciate your carefully considered strategy. It works, and makes for a cohesive wardrobe. And that blue bag is a great addition!!
@Susan Blakey, Thank you:). It’s a great brand for dressing in a color family. I’d never heard of them before, now I can’t even remember how I found this. On Shopstyle I think, searching for “blue crossbody.”
You pull together a simple, classic, fun and economical look. I always felt that wearing out my tee-shirts in a season or two was a sign of some personal short coming. Glad to know I have such great company.
Luci
@luci, Thank you. And yes, wearer outers of tees, unite;).
I’ve not started to think about Spring wardrobe. Today was 19 degrees, windy and cold. Your outfit in the picture looks wonderful. Your temps must be more Spring-like. Lucky you! For Spring, I will bring back my large collection of LL Bean 100% cotton t’s. They hold up well – no shrinking, no sign of wear and no color fade. A good deal considering they last.
@Susan, Ah, we’ve had the first February in forever with no rain at all. Temps in the 60s even 70s. If you have found tees that don’t get little holes in them after a year, I’m all ears!
Well done Lisa! Love the look, you wear it so well. I hear your quandary about blue, I am finding it compliments my skin tone and my eyes more than ever. You gotta go with what works! You rock the look, stick with it!!! Jeanne xxx
@Jeanne Henriques, Thank you! If it ain’t broke don’t fix it I guess;).
Like you, I have been putting my wardrobe together for the coming months. Much needs replacing but, as I found on Friday as I took a proper, critical look – a lot will still do sterling service. I have been buying Uniqlo as well, which delights me. Their website is most helpful for sizing and I have some good new bits and pieces for summer. Re feet. Oh, yes. After a certain age, you can’t mess with them, much like teeth. Nothing makes you look and feel more decrepit than poor teeth or badly maintained feet. All hail the pumice stone, the regular pedi and the joys of nail polish. Happy first day of March to you! Enjoy the pretty bag.
@Annie Green, I am so happy to think you are also finding goods at UNIQLO:). And I hope this summer I too will make time for a pedicure. Last summer got away from me…
I thought you had a blue woven Bottega Veneta bag?
I was just at Uniqlo and I got a cotton sleevless t-shirt dress that I just love, for a song. It’s got that mercerized finish that feels satiny. The label says don’t dry clean so I suppose the material has some kind of finish.
@RoseAG, I do have a blue woven one, but, it’s a large hobo. Also, I’ve carried it almost every day since I got it and it’s REALLY worn now;). I have to take a look at UNIQLO’s dresses, I haven’t done that.
Looking great Lisa!
Hobo make fabulous wallets too…I have a new one by that company and it’s really lovely.
Blues are flattering with silver tresses! And those blessed with blue eyes!!!
@Leslie Lord, I’m so happy to have you corroborate the brand choice:). Thank you!
Oh, you always look great, Lisa, and you always choose not just wisely, but stylishly – for your body, your life, and your impact. So I am not going to spend type here on complimenting you further. But I will ask you (and your readers) a question:
Have you found that certain colors (or shades of colors) no longer work for you? Or that unexpected colors are starting to look good?
I have been surprised by discovering favorite colors that I can no longer wear, such as bright turquoise or bright pink, and colors that I loved in my younger years (such as olive green) which I had to discard in my middle years, and which now are starting to look good on me again.
I’ll be 78 on April 1st (no joke!), so maybe it’s just old age? My complexion is paler and pinker than ever, and my hair is just as dark brown (my hairdresser knows for sure!), but this whole colors-changing experience has really thrown me for a loop…
I’ve noticed this too and in my case it’s definitely about the hair color. My skin tone is quite cool and after I stopped dyeing my hair and the silver had fully taken over, cool sage greens started to look really good on me. Not a color I’d ever worn – or even liked that much – but now it’s undeniably flattering. I’ve accumulated several pieces; they can even be worn together as long as they’re all cool tones. It’s like wearing all gray, that stylish monochrome look, but a bit more interesting.
Olive also works a lot better than it used to, although it needs to be a cooler, more grayed tone. And some cooler browns — mushroom-eggplant, shades that have a gray/purple cast, look very good. And purple, of course, but not bright, the range of darker, richer shades.
On the other hand, now that my hair color is cool and very light, black doesn’t look so good next to my face; it’s harsh and one-dimensional. As an old (okay, middle-aged) punk and artist, I still have a lot of black clothing and will always love it, but now I tend to put dark gray or some color near my face.
I’ve written too much here but would like to recommend an excellent book called “The Lost Art of Dress” by Linda Przybyszewski. The author is an attorney and her angle is historical and social (it’s not fashion tips) but it’s one of the best books on clothing, fashion and style that I’ve ever read. One chapter is about the knowledge of what colors look good at different ages and how that knowledge was once more widely known and followed. Even if you don’t believe in rules for clothing and style, there’s no doubt that what looks good on us changes through life.
Thank you for this comment, lc! I have a fancy cocktail reception to attend tomorrow, and when my beautiful “turquoise raw silk shot through with silver” cocktail suit unexpectedly looked so terrible on me, I was feeling very low – but I took your suggestion about grey tones, and searched my “posh closet” for a steel grey (almost grey-blue) lace dress sprinkled with sequins (!) that I hadn’t worn in a while.
I had thought it would be too dreary on me, since I am presently without a tan. Lo and behold, it looks just great – and with sparkly drop earrings and shiny black slingbacks, I’ll be the belle of the ball!
And I will seek out the book you recommend, once this weekend is over…
@Victoire,
I can’t tell you how happy this makes me! That sounds like a great outfit and that blue cast is exactly what makes that gray work so well for you(and those touches of shimmer). You’re going to look fantastic and I’ll bet that you get a compliment or two. Have a wonderful time at your event!
I love Hobo–though I’ve never thought of the brand as “inexpensive,” exactly. (I guess everything is relative–I remember that $5,000 replacement wardrobe challenge. I would have had no trouble replacing nearly everything I owned at the time, including underwear and socks, and you bought, what? Five items? LOL) Ten years ago I carried this bag all over Paris: https://www.nordstromrack.com/shop/product/566141/hobo-explorer-leather-shoulder-bag?color=GRAPHITE
That’s a nice bag. A very different blue. Where did you this up. I like most of your choices. Neutral colors and perfectly matched extra accessories. It is a contentment to get dressed and get dressed really well. The geometry and color you concentrate is created great output. Let me try your methods. Will post the results.
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