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How to Wear a Blazer + Sneakers Outfit Formula: Inspired by Nancy

Nancy's blazer and sneakers post at Nancy's Fashion Style last Friday was extremely well-timed for me! She wore a dress with a white blazer and white sneakers, which is not a look I could pull off, but made me think that I should try a blazer + pants/jeans-based outfit with my white leather tennis shoes.


And when I say "tennis shoes," I mean tennis shoes, as in: these are the shoes I bought *ahem* years ago when my husband and I took tennis lessons and were playing tennis every week. They are K-Swiss tennis shoes of a classic design in white leather, which is a shoe style having a fashion moment. They have been my go-to casual "wear with sweatpants to the doctor's office" shoe since the start of the pandemic, but I haven't been wearing them as a style choice with normal outfits despite this being a current look...

...until last week, when I decided to test them out with my red plaid sweatshirt and skinny jeans for an ultra-easy Sunday outfit. I had worn the sweatshirt with skinnies and my navy floral Keds earlier this winter, so it was easy to switch the shoes to my white sneakers for a variation on that look. I wore my ankle length skinny jeans and narrowly cuffed the hem up once to show off the entire shoe. I was on my feet a lot when wearing this outfit and was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the shoes were. I mean, yes, that's kind of the point of them, but on a normal day at home, I end up switching into my sturdy house shoes at some point, especially if I'm on my feet. But that wasn't something I even thought about doing in these sneakers.

OOTD 2/19/23

Since I had just dipped my white-sneaker-clad toe into the "styling white tennis shoes in a 'real' outfit" waters the previous weekend, Nancy's blazer + white sneakers idea hit me at just the right time for me to be open to it. And it just so happened that my pre-planned outfit for the next day was a blazer + sneakers outfit with my navy floral Keds. So all I had to do to immediately implement this style inspiration was to switch out my Keds for my white sneakers in that outfit!


The pre-planned outfit was already going to be a bit of a stretch for me because I was pairing the sneakers with my wider leg trouser jeans instead of straight leg or skinny jeans as usual. I had only tried sneakers with wider leg jeans once before (my medium wash trouser jeans) as demonstrated in this OOTD. I liked the combination here but it just isn't a styling choice I think about when putting outfits together.

OOTD 1/1/21

I am surprised by how much I really like the white leather tennis shoes with the dark wash trouser jeans! I was mentally prepared to find the combination too reminiscent of an "outdated look worn by a person who hasn't moved on to fashion choices of this century" because looser jeans and white sneakers is an older look (1980s/90s?) that was really not in style at all for a long time during the skinny jeans era. But in the context of my entire outfit, it definitely is working for me!

Plus size winter outfit idea for women over 40
OOTD 2/25/23

I do not have a prominent sporty/relaxed element to my style, so wearing athletic shoes outside of a clearly functionally-driven athleisure outfit is challenging. The trick, I think, was that the top half of my outfit was completely in my comfort zone stylistically so I wasn't getting the "wearing a costume" feeling that I could easily experience in an "inspired by" look. (See more on this topic in my inspiration versus aspiration post.) My outfit also reflects a modern outfit formula (graphic T + blazer) so I wasn't getting either the "stale/outdated" vibes either.


I have to say, I am so delighted by this particular graphic T + blazer + scarf combination! The scarf perfectly brings together the navy/grey of the blazer and the light blue/grey of the T with its icy light blue/dark blue/grey color palette for a look with a tight color story but a lot of visual interest. (Actually, "tight color story but a lot of visual interest" is pretty much my happy place stylistically.) This is a combination I'd like to wear again...and I have indeed added it to a spreadsheet to remind myself to try it again with a different bottom half.

Plus size winter outfit idea for women over 40

Also on point is my daily bracelet stack based on the "icy" DIY paper bead set made to coordinate with my light pink/navy floral blouse. It's perfect with this scarf.

Plus size winter outfit idea for women over 40

I brought out my cloisonné fish earrings again because their shades-of-blue color scheme were a nice pairing with the scarf.

Plus size winter outfit idea for women over 40

As I discussed in my post about my two pairs of wide leg trouser jeans, I'm all about the just-short-of-skimming-the-ground length when wearing any kind of flared pants/jeans. That full length just looks so right to me. I know that cropped flares have been trendy for a long time now, and they are certainly a very practical option in any kind of wet weather, but for myself, I prefer wearing the full-length version.

Certainly that could change at some point, but I am choosing to lean into that preference right now...which has the nice effect that I haven't bought any new jeans since 2019 and have gotten the total numbers of wears on my two trouser jeans to 27 and 28 wears! (The cost per wear stands at $0.28 and $0.27.) 30 wears on thrifted jeans, here we come.


I'm going to wrap this up with a couple of older OOTD featuring the blazer + sneakers combination with my navy floral Keds. Both outfits include a polka dot print mix and colored denim...and are a good representation of my typical way of wearing this formula.

Plus size winter outfit idea for women over 40

Are you wearing white sneakers in your outfits? How do you like to wear them? Do you prefer a bulkier white sneaker or a more refined/low profile one?


Blogs I link up with are listed here.


18 Comments


mimifce
Mar 08, 2023

I really like my white sneakers and wear them with all kinds of outfits. I probably need to get a new pair soon but this past pair (from Walmart) has been holding up quite well.

www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com

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sallyinstpaul
sallyinstpaul
Mar 08, 2023
Replying to

It's always great when a pair of shoes from Walmart holds up well! I definitely like how you wear such a wide range of outfits with sneakers.

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awayfromblue
Mar 05, 2023

You wear your sneakers so well !I have a few pairs of white sneakers that I like to wear - paired with dresses is my favourite, but as you've shown here they look so good with jeans too so I wear them like that. there aren't many outfits I won't wear sneakers with now, haha! It's good it's fashionable as it's also very comfortable and perfect for my knee injury!

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sallyinstpaul
sallyinstpaul
Mar 06, 2023
Replying to

Good point, Mica - the comfort is amazing and you can look fashionable while doing it!

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carolbenton
Mar 04, 2023

White sneakers are such a classic accessory to go with almost anything. I like your floral Keds, too! Great outfits . . . as always! Thank you for sharing this post in the Talent-Sharing Tuesdays Link-Up 55.

Carol

http://www.scribblingboomer.com

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sallyinstpaul
sallyinstpaul
Mar 06, 2023
Replying to

Thanks, Carol - it was nice to try this combination and see how easily it came together.

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bijoubeadboutique
bijoubeadboutique
Mar 01, 2023

Also? While you don’t seem to lack for content ideas, I’d love to know more about your fashion excel spreadsheet.

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sallyinstpaul
sallyinstpaul
Mar 01, 2023
Replying to

I keep meaning to write about that, so thanks for putting this back on my radar!

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bijoubeadboutique
bijoubeadboutique
Feb 28, 2023

I love all of these outfits! Your white sneakers look amazing with the blue. And I adore your floral Keds. I am trying to get used to wearing sneakers again. You and Nancy are making me think.

Michelle

https://funkyfashionstyle.com

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sallyinstpaul
sallyinstpaul
Feb 28, 2023
Replying to

Sneakers can be so hard to incorporate into "styled" outfits, but the practicality and comfort are top notch, so I think it can be worth the effort to find a way that works for us, while accepting that certain types of sneakers may never look quite right. For me, that's the big obviously athletic sneaker - it just looks silly on me because I really prefer a sleeker profile of shoe. Thanks, Michelle!

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