OOTD: Floral Coral

This WFH outfit of the day started with one of my many floral tops, though perhaps surprisingly, this one doesn't have a dark background (which is one of my major sartorial weaknesses)! It's a short-sleeved knit top that is slightly fancier than a t-shirt because of the gathered neckline but is just as comfortable as one. I was very attracted to the color palette of coral, aqua, navy, and white. (If you have seen my capsule wardrobe posts, you might recognize that those are 4 of the 6 colors of the #2 Navy & Beige, Darcy capsule...along with yellow and beige.) I also liked the somewhat impressionist floral print. At the bargain price of $5.59 at JCP, I was sold (back in November 2017). I have worn it 8 times, for a current cost-per-wear of $0.70.

I knew that I wanted to wear it with this cute navy elbow-sleeved jacket that adds structure to any outfit. This was the first pairing of this top and jacket, and I really liked them together. I was pretty happy that the length of the jacket is just ever so slightly longer than the untucked length of the top. For the bottoms, I had a lot of options, but I keep coming back to this just-below-the-knee coral pleated skirt (paired with the top on 3 of its 8 wears). And despite it being the Summer of the Layered Necklace, I pulled out a bold crystal statement necklace instead; I thought it fit nicely in the V of the top and didn't compete with the floral print. These chambray ballet flats were not the most obvious choice, but I liked the idea of a medium value neutral that coordinated with but didn't match the colors of the top. I consider this likely to be the chambray flats' last hurrah for the season.

OOTD 8/26/21

I added two extra splashes of color near my face: a DIY coral 5-strand braid headband made from an old t-shirt and a pair of my world's easiest DIY glass pearl earrings in varied sizes and shades of aqua from my Amazon bulk bead order.

But what really made this outfit special to me was this DIY seed bead bracelet stack! Of course my matchy-matchy self enjoyed putting together a stack that reflects the colors of the top, but it was the three bracelets with adorable charms that made my heart sing. The two bunny charms came from a set of assorted rabbit charms, and the key charm came from a set of assorted Alice in Wonderland themed charms (both sets from Amazon). (Notice that the key has a heart shape at the top similar to the key in the 1951 Disney Alice in Wonderland animated movie...nicely done! To my recollection, we don't get a clear view of the key in Tenniel's original drawings; I think this is as good as we get.)

Here's a quick breakdown of the outfit items:

-3 retail purchases (top, necklace, ballet flats)

-2 thrift purchases (jacket, skirt)

-3 DIY projects (headband, earrings, bracelets)

About 10-15 years ago, I did a good bit of garment refashioning and some rudimentary garment sewing, which I had fun with as a creative outlet. But during years of steady weight gain, that just didn't make as much sense to me; I didn't want to invest a lot of time in a clothing project that wouldn't fit for very long, and once I hit plus sizes, my days of having over-sized free t-shirts, etc., for refashioning were over. So I'm happy to have picked up accessory making as an alternative wearable craft form during the pandemic!

Did you take up any new hobbies during the last 18 months or so? Are there any you would like to try?

I link up with:

Nike at Life as a LEO Wife (Sundays)

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

Michelle at My Bijou Life (Mondays, Fridays)

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 (Mon, Wed, Fri)

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)

Jodie at Jodie's Touch of Style (3rd Thursday)

Carrie at Curly Crafty Mom (Thursdays)

Ada at Elegance and Mommyhood (Thursdays)

Jacqui at Mummabstylish (Thursdays)

Nicole at High Latitude Style (Thursdays)

Suzy at The Grey Brunette (Fridays)

Nancy at Nancy's Fashion Style (Fridays)

Erika at A Little Bit of Everything (Fridays)

Lucy at Lucy Bertoldi (Fridays)

Kimberly at Being a Wordsmith (Fridays)

Rena at Fine Whatever (Saturdays)