Long Burgundy Vest

Now that the weather has warmed up just a tad, and I mean just a TAD (forty or fifty degrees) I can wear my long cardigans again.  I find dusters so difficult to wear in the winter because they hang down longer than any coat.  They work best for me for the "in-between seasons":  spring and fall.  It is still too muddy, brown, and down right ugly outside to take photos in my yard, so I decided to try photographing in my new guest room.  It's still not done...I'm looking for wall paintings, lamps, an area rug, bench, and laundry basket.  Hubby is busy making the end tables as we couldn't find any we liked in the stores or on-line.  However, it is coming together beautifully and you will definitely get a sneak peak of the room in this post.  If you missed any of the guest room remodel posts you can find them HERE and HERE.

 
I bought this burgundy sleeveless knit duster from CJBanks (sold out).  I liked it so much as an extra layering piece that I bought an identical one in black.  I already showed the black one before in THIS POST.

I wore this outfit out to breakfast at Buttermilk when I was visiting my children in Illinois and also to church back at home.  When I wore it out to breakfast, it was a cold, chilly day so I added a navy blue scarf.

I paired the vest with my new Refuge Hi-Rise frayed hem skinny jeans from Charlotte Russe and my new a.n.a 3/4 sleeve Round Floral Lace Up Ruffle Blouse from JCP.  I last showed you this top in a Grandma & Me post.

Because the weather warmed up, I can toss aside the boots and bring out the flats.  I just have to watch out for puddles as the snow is still melting.  This is a burgundy pair with a pointy toe and pretty ribbon that I picked up at Express years ago.

 I carried a metallic gold bag which was a gift from my daughter.

For jewelry, I picked out some blue and silver pieces from my collection to pull out the color blue in the top.

The top has a couple of unique details:  there is a ruffle running all the way up the sleeve up to the neckline (hard to see in the photo, but quite noticeable in real life) and the chest has criss cross straps.

 Long dusters really elongate and slim the figure!  If you want to look trimmer and leaner, I definitely recommend trying one of these.

Have a Great Day!  Amy

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Tucking it in!

I purchased this sleeveless sweater over a year ago and I only wore it twice.  I was hesitant to purchase it because it is sleeveless;  I mean, how much use can a Wisconsin girl get out of a sleeveless sweater?  But I found it wasn't the lack of sleeves that was the problem, but the length!  It was simply too long!  I couldn't wear it with a coat, because the sweater was longer than most of my coats.  So I was limited to wearing it on warmer days when I could go sleeveless or just throw a long cardigan over it.  I was about to donate the sweater when I saw Saumya's Post where she tucked a super long, yet thin, dress into a pair of jeans.  "Hmmm",  I wondered.  "Could I try that with my sweater?"

Now, I'm not going to lie, it was more of a pain to use the restroom.  I mean, it takes a while to tuck something this long in and make sure it's not bunched up in all the wrong places.  BUT, it did work.  The sweater is very thin, so I tucked it inside my leggings, then pulled it up just enough so there was no bunching below the coat.  Because it's sleeveless, it fit comfortably underneath my faux leather jacket.

The leggings are actually ponte knit pants by Worthington...the only leggings I would ever wear in public without having my butt covered.  They are very thick, and truly more like pants than leggings. These are old, but all of these are similar to what I am wearing. 

I bought this faux leather jacket at CJBanks on clearance this year, but sadly it's no longer available.  I already owned two shorter black moto jackets, but I wanted one with a longer length too to go with longer shirts or to cover my backside.  For only $24.99, it was worth it!

If you read my Sleeveless Knit Duster post a few weeks ago, you would know belts are trending again and I couldn't be happier.  I'm thrilled to blow the dust off of all my old belts and put them to use!  This multi-grommet black and silver belt adds a lot of interest to a pretty colorless outfit.

To keep the silver theme going I wore this modern silver necklace.  It actually came with a different shirt I purchased, but I wear it with other tops too!

I'm still loving my baker boy hat from Target.  It gets more use than any other winter hat in my closet.

Because we have a lot of snow and ice on the ground, I've been wearing my tall, flat boots a lot lately (old).  I carried my Liz Claiborne Elizabeth Tote to go with all the other black in my outfit.

 I should also mention that the ponte knit pants did not have belt loops.  I just buckled the belt tightly in place and it didn't move.  Without the belt, it didn't look like I had a waistline at all when I tucked the sweater inside the pants.

 In my last post about tucking shirts in and wearing belts, several women mentioned they couldn't pull this off because they have no waist.  Guess what?  I don't either!  The trick is to wear pants with a higher waistline to go up and over the tummy flab, then add a third layer...a coat, cardigan, vest, kimono, ...whatever, to cover your backside up leaving just the front open.  You will be amazed at how thin and lean you look!

And here are two other ways I've worn this long olive green sleeveless sweater.

With a long black cardigan:

And alone, with black pants and heels on a fall day.

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

St. Patrick's Day Outfit

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!  For those of you who celebrate this day with parties, green beer, and parades I hope you have a wonderful time.  As for me, I don't usually celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but this year I will be making my very first corned beef brisket!  Last year they sold out of corned beef brisket at our local Aldi and everyone was furious.  I was so surprised at the ire, because I never heard of cooking a corned beef brisket before.  I have eaten plenty of corned beef deli sandwiches in my lifetime, but I never cooked one like a ham!  So this year, when I saw Aldi had plenty of them, I bought one and will give it a try.  Wish me luck.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I decided to show you an outfit with some green in it.  Since I will just be home having dinner with my husband, I won't actually be wearing this.  But I did wear it to a woman's conference on a cold chilly night.

The long green turtleneck sweater is sleeveless and I first showed it to you HERE when the weather was much warmer.  This time it was way too cold to go sleeveless so I added a long black cardigan over top.  And that my friends is the beauty of sleeveless tops/sweaters...you can easily layer without the bulk.  So many women look at sleeveless sweaters (me included) and think "What's the point of that?  A sweater without sleeves?  If it's cold enough to need a sweater, I need the sleeves too!"  Sleeveless sweaters look great under jackets, blazers, suits and cardigans and they are so much more comfortable to wear under those items because you don't have the extra fabric on the sleeves.

 My cardigan is new and is from T.J. Maxx.  It is a thin cardigan so there is no extra bulk and it's not too warm.  It's also nice and long so it covers my butt so I can wear it with leggings.

I chose gold jewelry as my accessories to coordinate with the gold buckles in my booties.  The necklace is old and is from Ten Thousand Villages.  The bracelet I just bought at Charming Charlies.

My booties are by Liz Claiborne and my leggings are by Worthington...both from J.C. Penney.

March 20th is the first day of spring.  Like most of the country, we had absolutely no snow on the ground and then have been hit several times with snow and bitter cold temperatures in the past few weeks.  It looks like we might just start warming up again...into the forties!  Yippee!  I know my east and west coast friends would say that is freezing but it will feel like a heat wave to us in Wisconsin.  I plan on only showing one more winter outfit, and then I will move on to spring clothes whether it's warm enough to wear them or not!  No one wants to see cold weather clothes anymore, especially if they live in a warm climate.

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!
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Sleeveless Long Sweaters

I've been seeing a lot of long sleeveless sweaters on the market and I've been itching to try one out.  My first thought was "Whats the point of that?  If it's cold enough to wear a sweater, don't you need your arms covered?".  However,  I've since then changed my mind since finding this olive green beauty from J.C. Penney.

The weather in most parts of the country is still quite warm, yet we're all ready to start dressing as if it was not (some were ready way too early...like back in July or August!).  Sleeveless sweaters are great transitional pieces because you do not have the covering on your arms, yet the body of the sweater keeps your core warm.  I wore this sleeveless sweater when the weather was hovering between the upper sixties and mid seventies.  I can honestly say I was not hot all day, but I did get a bit chilled for just a few minutes when I was in an over-air-conditioned grocery store.

The sweater is lightweight, so I did not get over-heated like I would if I had a bulky sweater on.  I will admit, the cowl neckline bothered me some.  I know cowls and turtlenecks are trending right now, but I always feel annoyed when I have all that fabric around my neck.  However, if one is going to be a fashionista, you have to agree to be annoyed with something every now and then. :)

I wore my sleeveless sweater with slim fitting black ankle length pants (Stitch Fix, old) and camel and black pumps (DSW, old).

I accessorized with black and silver jewelry (old) and carried my new burgundy purse (JCP).

My hair was a mess this day, so I just covered it with a hat that my husband bought for me from Burlington Coat House (old).

I'm looking forward to styling this sweater in the colder months.  Because there are no bulky sleeves, a blazer, cardigan, or jacket would fit easily over it.  You could also wear a long sleeve shirt underneath.

Perhaps my favorite feature of this sweater is the length and the slits up on the side.  I will definitely be able to wear this top with leggings in the winter and not feel self conscious because my buttocks are completely covered!

And the slits are so nice too.  Have you ever worn a long sweater before and it just seems to tight at the hips and/or is constantly riding up?  I have!  It's a pain.  The slits make sitting and movement with ease, and there's no riding either.

           a.n.a. Sleeveless Turtleneck Tunic Vest, JCPenney:  HERE,  Nicole Miller Kira Satchel, JCPenney:  HERE.

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!