Firecracker's Blog

After your suggestions on this thread for a lighter support act for my stone trousers, I tried out a different look, with several footwear options. I recalled that my initial impulse to make these trousers was in response to a suggestion, from another thread, that a light-colored, drapey pant would work well with my gray and mauve print wool sweatshirt. But I don't have light-colored winter footwear, so I've been wearing the trousers with something black or charcoal on top, so that black shoes might not look so out of place.

Here I've paired the mauve and gray sweatshirt with the pants and tried out different shoes. Note: I could also wear the mauve and gray sweatshirt over a light gray blouse, rather than the sage tee; I just had on the tee for another outfit already.

I'm not super thrilled with any of my footwear options. I have ordered some metallic pumps in hopes that they will work, but I won't know till I see them in real life.

Meanwhile, I'm working with what I have. What do you think? Any of these worth going out of the house in?

1: d'Orsay pumps with spikey heel (Vince, Claire)(not an option for every day--these are party shoes, not all-day shoes)
2: burnished gold pumps with black cap toe and heel (Anyi Lu)
3: brown metallic booties (Donald J. Pliner)
4: heeled oxfords in mixed neutrals (Fidji)
5: taupe nubuck booties (Paul Green, Jano)
6: back view with taupe booties (just so you can see the outfit from back).
7: photo of the Anyi Lu pumps

8: photo of heeled oxfords

Thanks for looking and sharing your opinions!

I loved Angie's post on "four shortcuts to a more current style." Since I wear glasses every day, I wanted to be sure mine were current and reflect my individual style. I decided to swap out one pair that I wasn't wearing. They weren't dated, but I just didn't reach for them, or I'd put them on and then change to a different pair.

Here are the new glasses I chose (1-3): teal on the sides with amethyst over the teal on the front, by Face a Face. I love them! I feel the shape, size, and color suit me so well. They feel integral to my features, rather than something I'm adding on to my face, if that makes sense. Do you agree?

For reference, here are the others I'll keep in rotation:
4: round brown and metal by Kenneth Cole. These are/were my go-to glasses, easy to wear, blend with my features and coloring.
5: brown metal frames with crystal sides (sorry I didn't get a shot of the sides), by Caviar. These are my dress-up glasses or the ones I wear when I want a more minimal look.
6: small cat-eye in eggplant, by Kala. These are my oldest but I still like them. I feel they give me a kind of prissy look, perhaps.

And the ones I am replacing:
7: tortoise and green by Michael Kors. I plan to turn them into sunglasses.

Thanks for looking!

Today was my day to try a few pullover-and-shirt options. When I read Angie's blog post on this topic, I thought of a combination I wanted to try: a mint merino wool boxy sweater with a step hem over a big mixed-print shirt with a high-low and asymmetrical hem.

Photos 1-2: the shirt alone, over dark skinnies, with gray moto boots. The asymmetrical front on the shirt--one side shorter than the other--presents a little challenge for layering with a pullover.

Photos 3-6: the shirt with mint pullover sweater

While I was at it, I decided to try my problematic purple merino boxy sweater with the zip back over the same shirt. You all convinced me to hang on to the sweater and try layering it in other ways, to avoid the neck-chill problem.

Photos 7-10: the shirt with purple zip-back sweater

Later in the day, I tried on the new mauve print wool sweatshirt I showed here
with a gray silk blouse layered under it. I tried different jewelry options, starting with gray pearls, as Angie suggested. Mine are short, whereas I think she probably envisioned long ones.

Photos 11-12: the mauve print wool sweatshirt over gray silk collarless popover blouse (it has a collar stand, but no collar), with gray freshwater pearl necklace, earrings, and bracelet.

Photos 13-14: same outfit, but with two necklaces connected together and worn slightly differently. I connected my white and gray freshwater pearl necklaces together and wore them with the clasps aligned horizontally (in 13) and vertically for a pendant style (in 14). Not sure I'd go out of the house in either one, but was mainly trying to get an idea of length. What do you think?

Photo 15: same outfit with piano-wire necklace and bracelet.

Photo 16: detail of the blouse fabric (two prints)

My own conclusions: I love the cowl neck of the mixed print shirt layered under the pullover as I wore it today. The shirt-tail layering I merely tolerated. And I really like the gray blouse under the wool sweatshirt--I'll wear that one, definitely. Unsure about any of the jewelry.

Your thoughts or suggestions? Thanks for looking!

On my cutoff outfit post earlier this week, CocoLion suggested I try shorter shorts. I dug around in my shorts drawer and found a couple of pairs I had hung onto. They are both pull-on styles, in linen or linen/cotton blend, with wider legs. I wondered if they could pass for the current short culotte styles we're seeing.
They are not pressed, so try to look beyond the fold marks from being stashed in the drawer.

I tried them on with the rest of my outfit today, shown here as well.

1-3: stone linen pull-on shorts (J.Jill); tiered tank in butter cream (CAbi); olive 3/4-sleeved cardigan (Halogen); brass and silver bead wrap bracelet (Lucky); arty dangle earrings with ceramic bead and silver disk; ivory platform sandals with ring detail (Naot)
4-6: black linen/cotton pull-on shorts with drawstring (made by me), with same as above.
7-9: as worn today, with DIY cutoffs (Lucky); cream belt; and taupe-gray hobo bag (Aunts & Uncles).

Should I revive either of these linen shorts, and wear them out of the house? If so, I could put together outfits that go better than these tops with them. Don't worry about offending me on the ones I made, either--they got plenty of wear, back when they were in style. I was a little heavier then, too, and filled them out a bit more.

Thanks for looking and sharing your thoughts.

I just discovered my wildcard for summer. It's a dress I finished a couple of weeks ago. I bought the fabric and pattern more than a year ago, but didn't make it up till now because I had reservations about the fabric. Still, I wanted to try the dress pattern, and so I forged ahead with this fabric figuring it would be a good test of the pattern anyway.
The dress has buttons up the front, cap sleeves, a collar with a drawstring that pulls on the inside if the collar is worn up, side pockets, princess seams that flare out to a billowy skirt that is reined back in slightly by a bottom panel, sort of lantern-style. The dress had a big pleat down the back, which I had to remove after I got finished, because it just created way too much fabric in the back; I would not have worn it that way.
It's kind of a precious design to begin with, and add to that the linen fabric I chose, with a big, bold floral design in blues, greens, and gray on a white background, and well, you have a dress that is not exactly what you'd normally catch me wearing. Why, you might ask, did I pick this fabric? I do like the print and the colors; it just has more white in it than I would typically wear, so it's not as muted as my usual choices.

Anyway, here are some attempts to style it. I bought some white leggings on sale to try with it; and I also tried it with some blue suede booties that are SE Petty lookalikes from DSW, which I bought on impulse today. They are such a great shade of blue for my wardrobe, I couldn't resist. Not until I got home with them did I think to try them with this linen dress. I would say the leggings and the blue suede booties are wildcards along with the dress. Very out of my comfort zone.

1-3: metallic cut-out peep-toe booties (Paul Green); collar is cinched in 2.
4-5: same, with white 3/4-sleeved cardigan (Nic & Zoe)
6-7: with denim ballet flats (AGL) and jean jacket (AG, Robyn)
8: with jean jacket and metallic ballet flats (AGL)
9-10: with cobalt 3/4-sleeved cardi (Halogen) and denim or metallic ballet flats
11: with cobalt cardi and gray leather sneakers (Josef Seibel, Caspian)
12-13: with cobalt cardi and gray wedge sandals (DV by Dolce Vita)
14: same outfit with white denim-knit leggings (Hue)
15-16: same, with blue suede Petty look-alike booties (DSW's Crown Vintage, Tabitha)
17-18: jean jacket, white leggings, blue suede booties
19-20: jean jacket, white leggings, gray wedge sandals
21-22: same but with olive 3/4-sleeved cardi (Halogen)
23-24: same but with gray sneakers

I would love your opinions and suggestions on these attempts or other ideas you may have. I
have tried different toppers with it, because until we get another heat
wave or I go on a tropical vacation, I won't be able to wear it
bare-armed. To use Angie's expression, I definitely run cold. I am not
inclined to buy new things (beyond the leggings--and the tags are still
on those!--to make this dress work; it's just such an oddity for me.