Friday, October 3, 2014

Fashion Over Fifty: Cut Out Cobalt Blue Top Revisited

Hello!  For this week's Fashion Over Fifty post I have nothing but old clothes to show you.  The only thing brand new in my outfit today is my bucket bag from Express, but more on the bag later.  For now, let's focus on the outfit.  I know most of us are on tight budgets, and I don't want my readers to think I'm constantly buying brand new clothes, so one of my goals this year is to show you how I do wear the clothes in my closet more than once a season, and also to show you different ways to wear the same pieces.  All of the three main pieces in the picture below I've posted before.  In THIS POST I am wearing the same Cobalt Blue top, but with a little black skirt.  And in THIS POST and THIS POST I talk all about black vegan leather jackets.  And finally, in THIS POST I showed you my Stitch Fix Emer High Waisted Cropped Trousers.  So you see?  I do wear my clothes more than once!  And, my shoes are a couple of years old too, I've worn them in many different outfits before, but the only one I can recall doing a post on them is HERE.

I love this shirt.  I love the color.  I know this is the second time I've paired it with black, but I could see it with white skinny jeans, or a camel colored pair of pants, or even another bold color in the same hue. Or maybe,  printed pants with this color in it?  The possibilities are endless!  I like this top not only because of the color, but it's a great shirt for these in-between season months. It's not as warm as a sweater, but not as cold as a tank or sleeveless top.  Just throw on a jacket or a cardigan if it's chilly and your set to go! I love that it is long enough so that I can wear it  loose and flowy, or tuck it in. And I especially love the  little bit of drama thrown in with the cutouts in the shoulder.  It was a great end of season buy at Express for only $14.99!
On this beautiful fall day (did you notice I used the word 'beautiful' when describing my second most hated season?), it was chilly in the morning, so I wore my vegan leather jacket that my daughter and I found while shopping on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago.  We both bought a jacket that day from Forever 21 and paid only $15.00!  Another great find!
For jewelry I wore a gold pendant that I picked up at J.C.Penney awhile back, and this beautiful bracelet that I THINK I got from Burlington Coat Factory a couple of years ago.  This bracelet is always quite the statement piece, and I always get compliments on it when I wear it.  It has the prettiest colors in it and is quite unique.
I chose these shoes for two reasons:  Number one, I'm trying to bring more color into my outfits by wearing color on my feet.  I have the tendency to always want to wear a black, white, or nude shoe, and because I already had so much black on, I decided to bring the blue color down to my feet also.  Secondly, I really get annoyed when I see women rush the seasons.  You know, when it's April and people are walking around in flip flops and short shorts and it's only fifty degrees outside?  Well right now everyone seems to be in a hurry to wear their fall garb and it's driving me crazy!  Yes, I know it's October, but it's a flipping seventy degrees out!  Stop wearing winter boots and chunky scarves!  You will have nine months to wear those boots ladies as long as winter lasts in Wisconsin.  There is no need to rush it.  Whew!  Glad I got that off my chest.  Usually only my husband has to listen to me complain about local fashion don'ts.

That being said, this shoe choice was one I liked in the mirror, but when I saw photos of it later, I wish I would have worn black shoes;  like a little black bootie or a sexy black sandal.  It is so funny the things I've learned doing fashion posts.   So often I put an outfit together and think I look great only to see photographs of myself later and be mortified, and vise versa.  The mirror (or camera) does play funny tricks on you!
Cut outs have been popular for the past couple of seasons, but I usually avoid them for modesty reasons.  This shirt however has cut outs in the top of the sleeve, so it's a fun way to embrace the trend without being immodest.
If your wondering where this beautiful view is, it's the bridge I drive over every day to get to my house.  Although I have the annoyance of an hour drive to work everyday, I do live in a gorgeous area that most people only can dream of seeing on a vacation or a weekend drive.  And almost everyday I have to stop my car and wait for an cranky duck to cross the road;  that, or slam on the brakes to avoid hitting a deer, coon, skunk,  or whatever else chooses to get in my way.  Some nights driving home from work it's a regular obstacle course of swerving and slamming brakes.  I've even had large owls and eagles swoop down from the sky and almost hit my windshield.  It can make a drive to work quite the adventure!
Now as I said earlier, my bucket bag is new.  I bought it from Express.  I needed a new bag like I need a hole in my head, but, I really wanted to try this new style of bag.  I already have a large brown bag that I use as my everyday bag, so I went with a black bucket bag.  This bag is HUGE!  You can dump a lot of stuff in this bucket!  But it also has a separate faux suede zippered pouch in the front to keep those essentials that you don't want to dig for handy.  I will definitely be taking this bag on my next vacation since it holds so much.  You always need to carry more items in your purse when your on a trip.  I also love THIS backpack, which would also be great for traveling, but I simply can't justify buying another bag.
I love the chic details a store like Express puts into their items. It is the main reason I shop there.   The faux suede zippered pouch, the fringe, and the gold cord stops add so much to make this bag more appealing than a standard bucket bag.
My high waisted trousers from Stitch Fix are so comfy and versatile, I'm sure you will be seeing them again and again in future Fashion Posts.  I was recently saying to my husband that I don't think I'll be doing much shopping this Fall as the styles haven't changed much from last year (of which he happily replied 'Amen!').  Leather, animal prints, skinny and boyfriend jeans, plaids, lace, boots, scarves, etc, etc, etc, all seem to still be going strong.  The biggest change I've seen this year has been in boot styles.  The heeled full length boot seems to be 'out' and the flat boot is 'in' (of which I happily reply 'Amen').  Flat boots in Wisconsin winters are far more practical than heeled boots.  But because boots are so expensive, I decided to only buy one pair so I bought THIS black pair of boots from JCP.  I wish I could buy a pair of brown ones too, but I already own a brown pair of boots (with a bit of a heel) that will have to do.
So what about you?  Are there any items on your fall apparel shopping list that you 'must have', or are you going to be doing a lot of re-mixing and re-wearing the items you already have in your closet, like I am?  I'd love to hear from you!

Have a great day!  Amy

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