One Top, Two Bloggers, Six Styles

I'm so excited because I have a very special fashion post to share this week!  Karen Strand from "She Thought She Could So She Did" came up with the fun idea of the two of us having a "virtual shopping experience" and then collaborating on a post together.  Karen and I live on opposite sides of the country, she lives in Connecticut and I live in Wisconsin, but we each have a J.C. Penney store in our area.  We both went to JCP on the same day to look for tops that we could mutually agree upon and could style three different ways.  We texted each other photos of tops we found in our stores and also some fitting room pictures as well.  We finally decided on this top, on sale then for $19.99 (but I used one of my $10.00 off of  $25.00 coupons and ended up getting a pair of shorts for free!).  The top came in two colors:  purple and pink.  I bought the purple one because I have been trying to get more purple in my closet and I thought it would work great for fall.  Karen purchased the pink one.

Next we each had to come up with three different styles to wear our new top.  I decided to do a summer look, a wedding look, and a fall look.

Here is my summer look.  I wore the top with khaki shorts, brown wedge sandals, and I carried a tan cross body bag.

The top is by Worthington.  It is sleeveless because the Worthington brand caters to the career woman thus most of their tops are sleeveless so they can easily be worn under suits and blazers.  Although the best part of this top is actually the back, so I really don't want to cover it up!

The top has a polyester/rayon front, a spandex knit in the lower back,  and a beautiful lace inlet in the shoulders and upper back.  It is pleated at the neckline, and trimmed with a gorgeous purple trim and ruffle along the neckline and under the arms.

Is this a gorgeous back to a top or what?  I love the keyhole opening and the purple ruffle in addition to the gorgeous purple lace and trim.  It's also pleated in the back too...so no back flab shows and it drapes nicely!  Worthington certainly knows how to dress a real woman's body!

 I wore my old diamond beaded necklace from Stitch Fix (old) and my cute owl bracelet (old).  I love this whimsical bracelet.  It's three different strands of woven purple braid and has adorable gold owls with purple eyes on it.

And here is that same summer look but with the addition of a boyfriend cardigan (old, Target) since the morning and nights are now getting chilly!

My next look is a wedding look.  I will be attending a casual outdoor wedding next weekend, so this top came in handy at exactly the right time because I was beginning to think about what I should wear.

I paired my top with a short black skirt (old, Target) but this time I tucked it in.  Tucking the top in creates a much more elegant and sophisticated look then leaving it out.  

I added a long gold pendant necklace (old), a gold bracelet (old), black peek-a-boo toe pumps (old), and I'm carrying a leopard print bag (old, Express).

The beautiful sheen of the material and the gorgeous detail in the back and shoulders of this top make it so versatile because it can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion.

If your noticing the word "old" in parenthesis a lot it's because I'm doing that on purpose.  Everything I am wearing in this post is one year old or more.  Some items are eons old!  But all I had to do was buy one new top for a mere $19.99 and I have three new looks for two different seasons and three different occasions.  Fashion does not have to be expensive.  You can add just a few new pieces every year to your closet and work with what you have.

And finally, here is my fall look.  And ladies, it killed me to put together this look...both physically and emotionally.  We do not have air conditioning on our third level where the bedrooms are, so it was very hot in my "Beauty Room" whenI was trying to put together a fall look.  Thankfully, it cooled off the next day to the sixties, so I was comfortable for the photography portion of this post.  But I also found it so depressing putting together this look, for I hate the thought of summer ending.  Yet,  I felt it was important to show how this top will work for fall too even though it's sleeveless, so I suffered through it all!  

Here I added a black cardigan (old, Zara), Liverpool straight leg jeans (old, Stitch Fix), tall black boots (old, JCP), a scarf (old, T.J. Maxx) and a necklace in case I get hot and remove the scarf.  I always wear a necklace under a scarf for this reason.  I'm also carrying my Express bucket bag which I have been showing you for years.  I don't need a new black bag, as this one is still in excellent shape, but I feel I need to get a new black bag because I have been showing this one for so long.  :)

The necklace is hand-made.  I picked it up at a gift shop on one of our vacations last year.

This pretty purple and silver bracelet (old) I found in a arts and crafts store.

And here is the look without the scarf.  You can still see the pretty neckline with the cardigan on, but obviously not the back or shoulders.  Isn't this just a beautiful color for fall?  I also think it's very flattering, which is why I wanted to add more purple to my wardrobe!

And here are some snaps of  Karen and me trying this top on in the JCP fitting room.  Karen bought the pink top;  I love it with the olive green skirt she has on!

I tried my top on with these Worthington printed pants.  I didn't buy the pants this shopping trip, but I'm still considering them.  I don't have many printed pants in my closet.

  I took a variety of bottoms with me to the dressing room so I could see if this top would fit our criteria and be able to be styled three different ways.

Here is the top with a partial tuck and white shorts.  I really love it with white!

And the same color and styling, but with white boyfriend jeans!

And now un-tucked with black pants.

I also thought you might want to see how my local JCP styled the top.  They tucked it into a black maxi skirt.  I have this exact maxi skirt so that was the first style I tried when I got home.  But since I look terrible in maxis, it didn't work for me.

I really had so much fun with this virtual shopping experience with Karen.  I texted her when I was done shopping that I felt I was shopping with my girlfriends!  It was a lot of work, but it was a blast, and I hope we have inspired you to save some money by only purchasing a few new pieces this fall and working with whatever you already have in your closet.

And be sure to visit Karen's Post today because she is showing the three ways she styled her top.  Here's a peek at one of her outfits!

And if your interested in this top, you can find it HERE!  Remember to use your coupons!!!!!

Have a  Great Day!  Amy

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