TJMaxx Fall Fashion Finds

Lately I've been finding TJMaxx to be my go-to place for fashion.  I try to pop in there at least once a week because the new stuff goes fast.  If I'm short on time, I at least walk the main aisles because that's where they put their newest items.  I can spend time searching through their racks for slower days.

I found both this pretty black top and fun pants at TJMaxx this fall.  This is the perfect fall outfit to wear when the calendar says it is fall but the weather says it is still summer, as the colors are dark, yet the fabrics are light and breezy.

These pants attract a lot of attention.  It seemed everywhere I went, someone complimented these pants.  They have an elastic waist, and are very lightweight so they are super comfy.  I think they would be very appropriate to wear on a summer evening as well.

The top is by Calvin Klein.  It has loose, flowing, butterfly sleeves which I love.

Because the pants are ankle length, I wanted to wear a showy shoe so I chose these strappy black sandals from my closet.

I felt the outfit had a classic, yet boho vibe to it so for accessories I chose a DIY tassel necklace.

 So what about you?  Have you found any great buys at TJMaxx lately?  I'd love to hear from you!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

How to Style a Teal Duster

This month in lieu of an "Ageless Style" post I decided to go solo from the group.  Their theme for September is "Back to School" which we also did last August 2021 (see this post if you missed it) and I really struggled with it the first time so I didn't want to repeat it.  As an almost 60 year old, I don't go back-to-school, or even back-to-work for that matter, so I just don't feel the theme applies to me or my readers, and that's ok.  I love participating in group challenges, but if one doesn't work for me or my blog, I can take the month off.  My other group I participated with, "Stylish Monday", has decided to fold, so I'm thinking it might just be time for me to be flying solo more.  Pre-covid, I use to do two fashion posts a week, but when Covid hit and my lifestyle changed and I didn't need new clothes so often, I dropped to two fashion posts a month.  Now, if the economy doesn't come to a crashing halt or WWIII doesn't happen, life is normal again so I'm getting out and about more, and maybe I can go back to doing more fashion posts.  They are almost always my most popular posts, and I have yet to figure out why.  Why anyone would want to see this old lady with a normal body type play dress up, I have no idea. 😁

Anyway, enough blog business and onto this month's fashion post.  I purchased this teal duster at a local shop last spring, thinking it would be great to wear as a lightweight cover on those chilly spring days.  But I never ended up wearing it because we did not have a spring this year.  Our spring was more of an extended winter and I required more of a cover up than this flimsy thing.  But now that it is almost fall (fall is September 22, so it's not here yet all you people who think it's fall the second the kiddos are back in school) and the weather is a bit chilly in the mornings and evenings, this duster has come in handy.

The duster is styled like a long shirt.  It has buttons all the way down and tab sleeves.  It's too short to wear as a dress, plus it has long slits on the sides, so it always needs to be worn over something.  It is also made of a see-thru gauzy material, so yea, you always need to wear something underneath.  It would probably make a great beach cover up, but this Wisconsin gal doesn't hang out at the beach too often.

When I saw it at the store they had it styled with a little black dress.  I thought that was super cute too, but I wanted to try it with all-white my first time wearing it.  There will be plenty of time to wear this duster with darker colors later in the year.

I really love the length.  It might not work well on a petite person, but on my 5'7 frame it's perfect.  Because it goes way past the torso, I could even try styling this with leggings in the fall.

I styled the teal duster with a column of white.  My white tank has pearls in the V-neck so I skipped a necklace and chose to wear statement earrings instead.  My earrings have both a teal and nude color in them, so they match both the duster and my sandals.

I carried the all-white theme through by carrying a white handbag, but I chose a nude sandal to elongate the leg.

I was so happy I finally got to wear my teal duster as I spent a small fortune on it ($50, shush, don't tell my husband 😁).  It was one of those rare impulse buys, I'm usually far more frugal on my clothing purchases as most of my regular readers know.  But, I wanted to support a small business, and a splurge now and then, isn't so horrible.  I purchased it from "Mustard Seed Boutique".  They have a website so you can order on line too.  They have the cutest things, but unfortunately most of it is on the pricey side.  

Teal Duster:  Mustard Seed Boutique, White Tank:  Stitch Fix, White Pants:  Talbots, White Bag:  DSW, Nude Sandals:  TJMaxx

 Before I leave I wanted to show you other ways to wear a teal duster.  I will be stealing some of these ideas myself.

As I mentioned earlier, teal goes great with black:

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

With a white tee or tank and dark jeans or black pants:

Photo Credit

With a neutral top or bottom, and a lighter denim:

Photo Credit

And you don't have to always pair teal with neutrals, black and whites, you can also wear teal with other colors too...if you're bold enough.  I love color, but I always prefer to pair color with a neutral.  Here are some other colors Teal goes with:

Photo Credit

I love the color teal.  It's such a beautiful, rich color.  What about you?  Do you like the color teal?  How would you wear it?  I'd love to hear from you.

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

How to Wear Tiered Dresses and the "Ageless Style" Link Up

Ageless Style is a monthly style challenge and link up for women of all ages.   Each month we pick a different theme and style an outfit based on that theme.  This month's theme is ""May Flowers" and was picked by Marsha.

When Marsha picked "May Flowers" as our theme this month I knew that would be an easy one for me since I could photograph in my own garden.  I planned on just picking out a floral top or dress from my closet, but instead I chose a new tiered dress.

Tiered dresses or skirts are really in-style right now.  And like anything in-style women seem to love them or hate them.  Most women that hate them think they look "frumpy" or too "Little House on the Prairie".  I can see that.  But I love them!  I love how romantic they look, and most of all, I love how modest they are.  Dresses and skirts the past decade have been anything but modest, so it's nice to see a modest style become "in" again.

I purchased my tiered dress from Amazon for only $39.00 (price has gone up since then).   I first saw it on Amy's blog, where the dress is a midi on her because she is so tall.  On my 5'7 frame, it is a maxi dress.  I rarely buy something that I see on another person's blog, but this dress was so pretty and the reviews were so awesome, I couldn't resist.

The best way to avoid the "frumpy" look when wearing a tiered dress is to accessorize with modern touches.  I did this by choosing the latest style of sandals, and choosing modern jewelry.

Another trend this dress exhibits is "smocking".  If you hadn't already noticed, smocked tops are all the rage right now.  I was unsure how a smocked top would work on a bigger bust like mine,  but I think it worked just fine.  In fact, that's what sold me on the dress because a lot of the reviews said the dress looked good on a big busted woman.

I carried a straw bag as my handbag choice.  I probably should have picked something more modern, but I needed a bigger bag this day, and it was the one bag in my closet that coordinated the best with the dress.

As I stated earlier, I chose the latest in-style sandal to modernize my tiered dress.  These are "Quilted Sandals", called such for the "quilt-like" appearance on the strap.  If you can only buy one new pair of shoes this spring/summer, I would pick something "quilted" as they are really on-trend.  I purchased mine at TJ Maxx.

For my jewelry I chose modern white hoop earrings and light green beaded bracelets.

In this picture you can also see the smocking detail in the bodice and the abstract floral print of the dress.

If you haven't tried on one of these tiered dresses, I highly encourage you to give them a try.  It might surprise you, as it did me.  Oh, and did I mention how COMFORTABLE this dress it?  It is a lightweight easy breezy polyester material that doesn't wrinkle and is so cool and comfy.  I love it!

Now be sure to check out how the other ladies in the group are interpreting the "May Flowers" theme and be sure to link up with us as well!

Amy ~ Amy’s Creative Pursuits

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Bo ~ Bo's Bodacious Blog

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Cathy ~ My Side of 50

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Joanna ~ My Slice of Life

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Jodie ~ Jodie’s Touch of Style

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Marsha~ Marsha in the Middle

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Mireille ~ Chez Mireille Fashion Travel Mom

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Rosemary ~ Distinctly Southern Style

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Have A Great Day!  Amy

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How to Wear Salmon

Hey Fashionistas, if you've noticed I haven't had a lot of fashion posts lately, you are correct!  I used to do about eight fashion posts a month, but then when Covid hit, I found I didn't need so many clothes anymore as I wasn't doing much outside the home.  So then I cut my fashion posts down to two a month and those two posts were fashion challenges that I did with other blogging groups on social media.  Well the past month and a half, those two groups either picked themes I wasn't interested in or they picked a theme  which I had no ideas or clothes for, so I declined to participate in those challenges.  Because I haven't done a fashion post in awhile, I thought I'd share some pictures from TWO years ago!  You heard me right! I've held onto these pictures for two years and I never shared them.  That is why there are sunflowers in the first picture. 😂. Everyone knows we can't grow sunflowers in Wisconsin in May.

How to Wear Salmon

I absolutely love the color salmon, or peach, or light coral...😉 it's one of those colors that everyone has a different name for.  It's a color that complements everyone's skin tone, and it's the perfect color to wear in spring or summer.

I received these comfy, cool salmon cotton pants in a Stitch Fix years ago.  I recently styled them with a sweatshirt and sneakers in THIS POST, and with an all white top HERE.  At 59, I'm starting to grow less comfortable in shorts, and prefer to a wear a lightweight cotton pant during the hot months instead.  I honestly don't find them any warmer than a pair of shorts.  The secret to wearing pants in summer is the fabric, and keep them loose...away from the skin as much as possible.

Salmon can be a tricky color to coordinate with.  My favorite color to wear with salmon is crisp white!  I will quite often reach for a white tee and white sneakers to go along with these pants.

Other colors that go great with salmon are blue, green and eggplant.  I'm sure you've already noticed how well this color goes with the beautiful, lush green plant background.

These pictures were taken the first year we planted our vegetable garden:  the first summer after Covid.  The porch wasn't even screened in or painted yet.  I couldn't believe how big, lush, and beautiful all the vegetables grew for my very first year as a vegetable garden.  I kept saying "There must have been something in that soil that we hauled in".

My kitty Jackson is an indoor kitty, but he is allowed onto the screened porch and vegetable garden area.  We call it his "Catio".  😁

My top coincidentally matches my pants perfectly.  The top is super old, from JCP.  I owned the top before I got the pants from Stitch Fix.  The salmon in the top ties the outfit together, and the blue coordinates and contrasts beautifully.

The top also has a lovely, interesting crochet edge that I just love.  It's sleeveless, and hangs very loosely, so it keeps my tummy concealed and is cool and comfy as well.

I completed the outfit with neutrals.  I wore neutral thong sandals, a gold bracelet,  and bamboo earrings from Amazon (similar HERE). 

 I hope you enjoyed my two year old fashion pictures! 😃 I hope to be fashion blogging with my other styling sisters soon!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

April Stylish Monday - Everyday Luxe

On the second Monday of every month a group of style bloggers and I pick a theme, style an outfit based on that theme, and then do a link up together where you can join too!  This month's theme is "Everyday Luxe".  This was a hard theme for all the ladies;  everyone was uncertain what "Everyday Luxe" even meant.  So we finally decided as a group to interpret the phrase for ourselves.

I looked at the two words "Everyday" and "Luxe" and diagnosed them separately.  "Everyday" for me would be something I would wear on a normal day at home or on a casual outing since I don't work outside the home.  "Luxe" is short for "Luxurious" which could mean anything from diamonds to fur, whatever one would consider "Luxurious".

Although some ladies in the group really didn't like the theme because they were so perplexed by it, I thought it was actually a pretty good idea.  We are now one year into these crazy lockdowns and let's face it, most of us are growing weary of wearing leggings and sweatshirts everyday.  This challenge provided an opportunity for me to show how I could wear something comfortable at home, yet still feel confident about my appearance.

For the comfort part of my outfit, I chose elastic waist leggings, and the softest, coziest cardigan ever!  The luxurious part of my outfit is the pretty lace trimmed camisole, the sparkly gold sequined flats, and lots of jewelry!

My jeggings are from Liverpool and they are one of my all time favorite Stitch Fix items.  Like I said, they have an elastic waist, the "zipper" and "pockets" are faux.  You just pull them up, and they do stay up all day without a belt.  The fabric is stretchy, and doesn't sag at the end of the day.  They are seriously the best, most comfortable pair of "jeans" I ever owned.

My sweater I picked up at CJBanks.  I was so sorry to hear about their brick and mortar stores closing. There are not enough clothing stores for us older women as it is.  They still have an on-line store, but I really don't like buying clothes on-line except through styling services where I can easily return what I don't like.

This sweater is SO SO SOFT.  I feel like I'm wrapped up in a cozy blanket when I wear it.  I think they call this type of sweater a "popcorn sweater", for it has a raised texture like little kernels of popcorn.

For jewelry I chose large rose gold hoop earrings, a single pearl necklace and a multi-strand bracelet.  The lace in my camisole adds so much luxurious romance to my outfit.  And don't forget how much just a little change in your make up can alter your look from "everyday" to "luxurious".  Here I used pretty glittery pastels from the Naked 3 palette and shiny rose pink lipstick.

For footwear, I wanted something comfortable, yet "luxurious" (Are you sick of that word yet? 😀) so I wore these gold sequined flats from Old Navy.

And now lets see what the rest of the ladies in the group are wearing:

                                                   Nancy

Nancy -  Nancy’s Fashion Style - Everyday luxe for me means that I am able to work out! Well, not every day, some weeks I do though, but at least five days a week. What makes it a luxury for me then? I have a hereditary lung disease and working out is so very important for my health. The fact that I can work out is a luxe. Most lung patients don’t have  the energy for it. And I can still work out at the gym at my physiotherapist twice week and I have a gym at home. That is everyday luxe to me!

                                                                             Shelbee

Shelbee - Shelbee on the Edge - “Everyday Luxe to me means combining luxurious fabrics and prints into an everyday outfit. A combination of leather, leopard print, sequins, and laced up suede seemed like a perfect pairing for this theme.”

Nicole

Nicole - High Latitude Style - For me everyday luxe means that I wear what I love  even when the piece would be considered Sunday’s Best by my Mom’s or Granny’s generation. An example is this teal silk skirt. However, I pair it with typical everyday wear like this cardigan with bold colors abstract huge floral  print that I probably wore more often as a top than cardigan.

Emma

Emma - The Style Splash - “When I think of everyday luxe, soft textures and bold prints immediately come to mind. Velvet is my ultimate luxe fabric and these trousers are so comfortable (the elasticated waistband helps!). Paired with a bright retro print shirt and I’m feeling groovy and comfy!”

Ada

Ada - Elegance and Mommyhood - “What is Everyday Luxe?! It can be interpreted many different ways, I think depending on your lifestyle and your profession, too. In my opinion it’s pieces that are timeless, well-made and classic! Take a pair of leopard flats for example. I have always owned a pair of nice (not cheap) leopard flats. This new Sam Edelman calf-hair pair replaced by White House Black Market ones. I also think every woman needs a nice neutral knit dress and this cable-knit Zara dress is the one. Ditto on a beautiful blazer: go for a black, or another neutral color; think of a classic pattern like herringbone or glen plaid print which are classy and timeless.”

Julie

Julie - Fashion Trends and Friends and Instagram FashionTandF -  “Everyday Luxe for me is taking an average relatively plain item like a t-shirt, a jean jacket, a pair of sweatpants but knocking it up a level or two by adding elements of interest like rhinestones, sequins or glitter!”

Gwen

Gwen - Gwen Lives Well and Instagram - GwenLivesWell - “Everyday luxe to me means adding a little something that changes the whole feel of an outfit and my mood. And for me, that’s shoes! Just by picking a pair of fab shoes, my mood brightens, my step is livelier, and my outfit is elevated.”

And Me!

Amy - Amy’s Creative Pursuits - For me, Everyday Luxe is something you would wear at home or for a casual outing that is comfortable yet has some small luxurious elements to make you feel confident and beautiful.

Have A Great Day! Amy

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