Fashions fade, style is eternal.”
Yves Saint Laurent
“The difference between style and fashion is quality.”
Giorgio Armani
My Favorite
I love the versatility of white denim jackets in Spring. They cheer up Winter colors, provide Spring-appropriate cover up and dress down formal pieces to give them a life under daylight. However, I'm not a fond of spending a lot on white denim since I wash them a lot. Loads of washing changes the color a bit even when bleached so I change them yearly or every other year. I don't see the point in investing in a denim jacket that I won't have in two years.
If you're like me, you will love these options. I'm up for one this year. I love the look of the leftmost bottom one and will sure check it out soon.
I often face a design versus material&make dilemma while shopping name brands. So much that I almost stopped going into retail shops for more than window shopping.
What is the reason for this? The rough economy or the consumer demands might be an effect in th erecent years and I really think that the situation went worse during the recession. Another reason i can think of is how our information age society operates. I think we're all getting to the quick paste of things with short lifespan. So everything gets adjusted to this expectation.
The most recent example of it was the White House Black Market sweater jacket that I liked very much. I liked the design of this jacket so much during the season that i almost ordered it online full price. Than I decided I'd at least try it in store, but forgot about it until I received a sale notice for it. They didn't have my size online so I had the call the stores around me to see which one had my size. I asked them to put a hold on it and went there to get it that day only to discover that this jacket would fall apart after the firt few wears. The ruffles around the trims were already falling apart (it is the umhemmed cut, but they could find a fabric that doesn't fall apart for this design) or they were stitched uneven. I understand that I shouldn't expect such a fashionable item to last that long, but I expect it to be at its top condition at least for a season or when I buy it. Then I said, it's actually a timeless design except for the ruffles so I could cut the ruffles. When I looked at it, it was impossible to cut the ruffles since the button hooks were sewn on top of the ruffles. So empty-handed I left the store.
I don't feel this way while shopping discount store like Mashalls, TJMaxx, Ross or Loehmans. I feel ike I have more options like a department store and can go either direction, cheap or pricey at a discount rate. What I buy in these stores are either really cheap that I don't worry about how long they'd last or they gave me the feeling of quality at the right price at their discounted rate. My shopping also takes a lot less time since I know about the current trends and can find things that tickle my fancy in a short time without paying seasonal prices. So over the years, I moved from shopping retail to shopping in big discount chains and outlets.
How about you? Do you get dissappointed by the quality of your clothes? How often do you shop retail? Do you have a favorite store and for what reasons?
This was a super casual day with a remix of a bunch of things I've worn recently to re-wear them before washing. Since I try to minimize my washing for environmental reasons, I often wear my clothes in clusters. I have a small part of my wardrobe to lightly worn clothes that are not freshly washed, but also are not dirty enough to be washed. I know it sounds a bit like peeing and non-peeing section of a swimming pool as the clothes share the air, but I air everything I wear for a day before putting them back in and I just don't like the worn clothes touching the unworn.
As you know I like layering with camisoles. The first layer gets washed after every wear, and the second wash mostly gets washed after the second wear. The rest of the layers gets stretched as much as they go.
Do you have a strategy for your laundry? How often do you wash your clothes?
Rompers are definitely one of this years fashion trends. Most of the fashion brands have a few in their Spring/Summer collections, but no need to break the bank for one.
My favorite way to style romper is with white tank tops inside, high heeled sandals and big jewelry. It is a simple wardrobe piece that could look dressy with small touches. I also like the look as a cover-up option on my swimsuit to go to the beach, pool, etc.
Do you like rompers? Do you plan to wear it this season?
I'm changing the old rule of "the longer the skirt the lower the heel" to "the shorter the jacket the lower the heel". The reason is purely the proportions. The cropped jacket already makes the legs look taller. There's no need to wear heels and add to the leg length. Cropped jackets are also best with knee high skirts as opposed to super short or long skirts, so the heel rule makes sense there as well.
Do you wear cropped jackets? If so, do you have a formula that you use when you wear them?
I love fuchsia handbags this Spring. I seem to notice them all the time and keep thinking how nice the color is. I have an old handbag in this color so I know how unpractical to pair this color can be. Maybe it's time to get it out of the closet and use it with white, turquoise and green.
Do you like handbags of funky colors? What do you think of this color?
I started building this outfit around another beaded coral bib necklace and ended up liking everything but the necklace. I switched it to this melodramatic chain necklace.
How do you build outfits? I generally have an item that I'd like to wear and keep adding to the outfit until I feel like it is done. The item i start with could be as simple as a ring, necklace or belt or as major as a dress and boots. I make sure the colors, silhouettes and metals come back in the outfit like I had the gold came back at the necklace, artsy stacking rings, belt and shoes in a visible way here. I left the coral layering tee since it adds a pop of Spring-y color. I wish I had another formula to share, but that is what I do every day. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
You've probably noticed another one of my wardrobe staples in addition to scarfs and long layering camisoles: Belts!
In addition to using belts as an accessory, I use them to to cover up problem areas, break down the monotone effect of a black, white or neutral top, give a shape to an otherwise shapeless shirt, lighten up a dark outfit, dress up the little black dress, fix a scarf in place, fix a fit problem in a red carpet costume party dress, match a tunic shirt to a cardigan and more importantly to keep my jeans in place under any top.
Today, I wore this fitted white knit shell on top of my retro plaid shirt. Since the shell is quite tight, I felt like adding extra cover up in the tummy area and added a wide belt right above the elastic part in the hem. This layering and belt placement under a striped cardigan kept the outfit professional looking, hiding the folds around the tummy. :)
Do you use belts? Any tricks you'd share?
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