6 Scarves 2021: July Additions, #3 Navy & Grey, Lily

For an introduction to the 6 Scarves 2021 project, see this post.

For a description of my method, see this post.

Today we are continuing with casual summer wear based on this scarf and color palette.

Here are the capsule garments through June. For warm weather, we have:

-6 skirts: 4 print, 2 solid

-2 pants: 1 ankle, 1 full length

-4 short-sleeved tops: 1 navy, 1 lavender, 2 print

-2 3/4 sleeve tops: 1 pink, 1 print

-1 sleeveless top: chambray

-1 short-sleeved cardigan: pink

-1 short-sleeved jacket: navy

-1 light-to-medium weight long-sleeved cardigan: print

-1 lightweight vest: pink

We will start our July additions with a group of blue/navy garments. The matching cerulean blue "suit" of ankle jeans and t-shirt knit cardigan were purchased from Lands End in the summer of 2019. I'm glad I got two pieces in this color at that time because it's not an easy blue to match! In navy, we have a pair of knit skimmer shorts and two print short-sleeved tops. Finally, the palm print tank has both cerulean blue and navy, making it a versatile option for this capsule.

Navy knit skimmers - Lands End - 2X - $24.46 - 5/2018

Cerulean blue ankle jeans - Lands End - 24W - $21.24 - 8/2019

Navy/white/green striped T - Croft & Barrow/Kohls - 2X - $4.99 - 5/2018

Cerulean blue t-shirt cardigan - Lands End - 2X - $19.19 - 5/2019

Blue palm tank - Lands End - 2X - $8.98 - 5/2020

Navy/teal/purple floral top - Croft & Barrow/Kohls - 2X - $14.99 - 5/2018

This collection of purple and grey additions is dominated by items from my exercise wardrobe that can do double-duty as general casual wear. These include the two pairs of knit capris and the three lower orchid, violet, and purple heather tops. The white and purple bird T and light purple t-shirt knit cardigan come from my general wardrobe.

Violet knit exercise capris - Walmart - ?

Grey knit exercise capris - Walmart - ?

White/purple birds T - Croft & Barrow/Kohls - 3X - $5.00 - 5/2020

Violet exercise tank - Walmart - ?

Light orchid heather exercise T - Kohls - summer 2021

Light purple 3/4 sleeve cardigan - Alyx/JCP - 2X - $11.70 - 8/2018

Purple heather exercise tank - ?

It's always a pleasure to review the accessories. Even in the capsules I'm putting together, that are heavy on accent color and print garments, accessories are such an important element for satisfying a desire for variety, sass, polish, and/or whimsy (whatever your personality and style are looking for).

It's fun to see a bunch of necklaces entering the wardrobe this month, and I'm chuffed that two of them are multi-strand seed bead necklaces that I made this summer. At the lower left is another seed bead necklace that I recently bought in a set of 10 necklaces in the same style but different colors. I'm already enjoying using these seed bead strands to supplement my neck messes. The amethyst bead necklace at lower right was made for me by a friend about 25 years ago. The final three necklaces are all retail purchases from around the time I was interviewing for and starting my current job 7 years ago.

Blue sparkly necklace - Simply Vera/Kohls - $10.56 - 12/2013

Dark blue/periwinkle/silver multi-strand seed bead necklace - made by me - 5/2021

Purple gumdrop necklace - Target - $31.19 - 9/2014

Purple/orchid/white multi-strand seed bead necklace - made by me - 6/2021

Purple/clear seed bead endless strand - Fire Mountain Beads - $0.38 - 7/2021

Blue/green/pearl statement necklace - Target - $29.63 - 9/2014

Purple amethyst bead necklace - made by RB

Woman does not dress in necklaces alone, so here are a few other accessories to add to the mix. This grouping also has several of my beaded creations--all but the bracelet consisting of large navy and silver-tone beads that I purchased in a set that got me started on this whole beaded stretch bracelet adventure. (I just ordered a 100m roll of Stretch Magic thread, so there will be many more bracelets to come!) A difference with these seed bead bracelets is that I have added small charms to a few of them. The purple bracelet has a sweet sleepy bunny charm; the dark blue set has a key and a rabbit with a flower. (All of these are silver-tone; the lighting must have been less than stellar when I photographed the blue bracelets so the charms look rather blue in the image.) And to continue the blue and purple theme of the day, I'm adding in two pairs of flats in corresponding colors. I have a bit of a soft spot for these orchid flats from Born because soon after I bought them, I wore them to get my haircut and all the employees in the salon thought they were marvelous. (I was wearing them with a super basic black top and capris, so I guess they were a stand-out pop of color!) Finally, I know the height of summer isn't prime scarf season, but I couldn't resist how well this one coordinated with some of the purple items, and lightweight scarves can be used in a number of summer-appropriate ways.

Orchid dolphin-edged scarf - thrifted, ThredUp - $3.59 - 5/2020

Pink/purple pearl/gold hoops - made by me - summer 2021

Navy/silver bead bracelet - CJ Banks - ?

Blue/green/white/yellow chip bead/silver hoops - made by me - summer 2021

Purple/silver/sweet bunny bracelet - made by me - summer 2021

White seed bead bracelets - made by me - summer 2020

Dark blue seed bead bracelets - made by me - summer 2021

Orchid flats - Born/Eddie Bauer - $25.00 - 10/2013

Metallic denim snake print flats - Nine West - $33.13 - 2/2021

As soon as we saw the cerulean blue "suit" and the palm print tank in the blue garment grouping, those items were an obvious choice for Outfit #1, no? Accessorizing with the blue snakeskin flats and blue and white seed bead bracelets is another clear winner. For the necklaces, I presented two blue necklaces with an "OR" but I really could have written "AND/OR" because I think the two necklaces could layer together very well.

Next let's try a couple outfits with the navy knit skimmers and our navy-based tops. In Outfit #3, this handy navy/teal/purple floral top acts as a great bridge piece to bring in the light purple cardigan. The necklace and bracelet add a couple different but coordinating shades of purple into the outfit.

Outfit #4 is one of those outfits that moves from "I am lounging around the house in a t-shirt and comfy knit shorts" to "I am going out in public wearing an outfit" status with the addition of a few accessories that are on point color-wise. I made these earrings to match a navy-based floral tank that's been a go-to item for me this summer, but they look smashing with this navy/blue/white/green striped T as well. I like that the bling-y crystal and pearl necklace and the snakeskin flats are both a bit dressier than the base outfit without going overboard. And I find that wearing a statement necklace or earrings really says "I may be dressed casually but you can tell I didn't just roll out of bed, right? 'Cause there's no way I slept in this jewelry." With my big fuzzy hair and minimal makeup, I can benefit from a marker that indicates "No, really, I did put some effort into wearing an outfit" because my grooming doesn't express much intentionality or polish on its own.

Outfit #5 is crazy but I couldn't resist putting together these orchid/violet items into an outfit and seeing what it looks like. I'm visualizing hair pulled back in a ponytail to better display the earrings and the scarf worn draped like a shawl / knotted as a pseudo-kimono as a very lightweight coverage piece.

Outfit #6 pairs the same knit capris with the bird print T and pink/purple accessories for another very casual look that I would readily wear in public.

Finally, let's try a couple very casual looks with the grey knit capris and our two remaining purple exercise tops. The tank top in Outfit #6 doesn't absolutely scream gym-wear to me, so I think that one is easier to wear as normal street clothes. I like that the cut, fit, and fabric of this one would make it an acceptable tank-to-layer-over in my workplace (which tends to the more casual over the summer) as long as the other pieces of the outfit were business casual (e.g., not knit exercise capri pants!). The T in Outfit #7 is definitely saying "hello, I'm a moisture-wicking top for working out in" so that one is a little harder to incorporate into a non-exercise outfit, even a very casual one.

Our focal garment today is this light purple t-shirt knit cardigan I've had for three years that tends to shift in and out of my summer rotation. It got a lot of play in late summer 2018 and throughout summer 2019, then I ignored it entirely last summer. But when I pulled it out this year, I was definitely in the mood to wear it again.

In this outfit from last month, I wore it with a semi-column of black, tan captoe flats, and (of course) a bunch of necklaces...including the DIY purple seed bead necklace in this round of additions. I think of this top + bottom pairing as a semi-column because both pieces have a black background and the print is relatively small. It doesn't have quite the vertical structure of a true column of color, where there is no clear break between top and bottom for the eye to snag on. However, it still has more of that vertical column feel than a top and bottom in much more divergent colors or values (light/dark).

And to demonstrate that this T + cardigan has achieved Pleasing Pairing status for me this summer, here I am wearing the two pieces together 2 weeks before the above OOTD. The neck mess is definitely different this time, though. Oh, that's interesting...you see the three braided seed bead strands in purple and orchid? I ended up using those strands as the basis for the multi-strand necklace in the previous photo!

Here are a couple outfits from summer 2019, back in that inconceivably distant past when Corona was just a beer and Delta was just an airline. This July 2019 work outfit, I put the navy floral top with the cardigan (as in Outfit #3 above) but kept things office-appropriate with a white skirt.

A couple weeks later, in August 2019, I rocked this same cardigan + skirt pairing again with a black-based watercolor-floral print sleeveless blouse and a chunky statement necklace. You might notice that I love to wear these tan captoe flats with a black top. They are kind of the perfect combination of a nude-to-me shoe and a black "top 'n tail" bookend piece.

Last, but definitely not least, we have our July rabbit: Melanie the Mini Lop! Doesn't she have gorgeous fur? I love the shaded quality of it. I'm not entirely sure of this bunny's colorway...possibly a blue tortoiseshell? Utterly beautiful by any name.

Do you ever find your love of a neglected garment rekindling after a break? Does absence make the heart grow fonder?

In my next capsule post, we will take look at the July additions for our fourth wardrobe: #4 Olive & Beige, Kiwi.

I link up with:

Shelbee at Shelbee on the Edge (Mondays; 3rd Thursday)

Mica at Away from the Blue (Mondays)

Debbie at My Random Musings (Mondays)

Leelo at Beauty by Miss L (Mondays)

Roxanne at Glass of Glam (Mondays)

Claire at Claire Justine (Mondays, Weds, Fridays)

Laura at I Do deClaire (Tuesdays)

Emma at Style Splash (Tuesdays)

Jess at Elegantly Dressed & Stylish (Tuesdays)

Gail at Is This Mutton? (Wednesdays)

Shelly at The Queen in Between (Wednesdays)

Carrie at Curly Crafty Mom (Thursdays)

Ada at Elegance and Mommyhood (Thursdays)

Jacqui at Mummabstylish (Thursdays)

Suzy at The Grey Brunette (Fridays)

Nancy at Nancy's Fashion Style (Fridays)

Michelle at My Bijou Life (Fridays)

Erika at A Little Bit of Everything (Fridays)

Rena at Fine Whatever (Saturdays)