OOTD: Gingham + Floral Print Mix Outfit Using an Easy Summer Formula - Navy Version

At the end of June, I wore consecutive outfits including lightweight cotton long-sleeved gingham shirts with rolled up sleeves as top layers over floral short-sleeved knit tops. While this isn't my summer uniform or anything, it is a combination that I like and have been wearing regularly the last couple of years. And because this is the Summer of the Neck Mess, both outfits featured layered necklaces as well.

I find a gingham shirt to be an easy garment to use in a print mix because it has a simple regular geometric print consisting of white and one other color; pair it with an irregular curved print like a floral that contains that color (and ideally white) and there you go. These two outfits were a breeze to put together.

Because I got kind of talkative once I started on this topic, I am breaking the post into two parts.

Part #1: Navy Version

If I had to pick one colorway for a gingham shirt, navy and white would be a tough one to beat. I love navy and white together, and while I won't be letting go of my stripes any time soon, I do like that the gingham check print is a hint lower contrast due to the mid-value areas where the navy and white cross each other and the white lessens the intensity of the navy. This St. John's Bay shirt was a thrift store purchase from December 2019 that set me back a whopping $3.60.

I think I must talk every other post or so about my intense love for a floral print on a navy background, but the obsession is real. It seems like I must have approximately 8,271 navy-based floral tops, but when I count them up, I come to a much more reasonable number (here I am including any foliage print such as leaves or palm trees in the count):

Long-sleeved - 1 total (1 knit top/T)

Short-sleeved - 5 total (4 knit tops/Ts, 1 shirt)

3/4-sleeved - 2 total (1 knit top/T, 1 shirt)

Sleeveless - 2 total (2 knit tops/Ts)

= 10 total (8 knit tops/Ts, 2 shirts)

Is 10 kind of a lot? Yeah. But it's better than 8,271 so yay me?

This is the navy-based floral knit top I have been wearing the most this summer, and with the relatively prominent white outlining of the flowers and leaves, it's a nice choice to mix with the gingham shirt. Because the top half has a lot going on, I kept the bottom half low-key with navy skinny pants and gold flats. For me, gold shoes are a neutral, an almost nude-to-me color, and a bookending piece that matches my hair...and going with that lighter or brighter color (instead of navy, for example) gives this look a more summery feeling.

OOTD 6/29/21

For the necklaces, I went with a very classic combination: gold and pearls. I started with the bold chain link necklace that has small sections of sparkle and pearliness along the links. To pick up that pearliness, repeat the white from the shirt, frame my face with light, and adhere to my general "there shall be pearls!" principles, I added a simple strand of white faux pearls. Then I wanted a longer piece in gold, and once again I popped on this inexpensive gold medallion pendant that I somehow have managed to hold on to since high school when I bought it for a wizard Halloween costume. I really don't understand how it has survived the very many inventory purges from all the times I've moved since then, but I'm glad it did. It's an easy finishing piece for a gold-based neckmess, plus obviously it's a magical talisman of some kind to have endured so long (+2 to Style stat).

I would describe this summer outfit formula as:

--Long-sleeved gingham shirt with sleeves rolled up (you could substitute a stripe, plaid, or similar print; you could also use a 3/4 or short-sleeved shirt; you could wear a denim/chambray shirt)

--Short-sleeved or sleeveless knit top/T in a floral print that contains the same/similar color to the gingham shirt (you could substitute ANY kind print that works with the shirt)

--Any bottom piece in the same/similar color to the gingham shirt

--Layered necklaces / neck mess (and if that's too hot, try a bracelet stack or statement earrings)

--Shoes in a nude-to-you, metallic, and/or hair-color-compatible color

In this version, I have used a neutral as my "color" but that's obviously not necessary. In my next post, I'll show the second outfit that features a rainbow / accent color instead of navy.

Do you use personal uniforms or outfit formulas to put together outfits? I don't do so intentionally, but lately I'm noticing that there are certain combinations I do repeatedly that boil down to outfit formulas, so I'm trying to recognize them as such.

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)

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)

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)