Connect the Dots Style

Blue Jeans + Blue Blouse = Monochromatic Plus!

Happy day, reader dear!

I would love to say the inspiration for this post comes from inside my incredibly creative and organized (tee hee) brain space, but it doesn’t. It comes from the lovely Brenda Kinsel, whom I am missing. Brenda used to write Anatomy of an Outfit blog posts. She was fabulous at explaining her thought process! You always felt like she was talking right to you. Taking her Anatomy of an Outfit name feels wrong on SO many levels, but today she inspired me to take apart an ordinary outfit and explain the thinking behind it. It makes me feel a little like I’m having a conversation with Brenda, and you get to eavesdrop.

What is it about personal style? Well, it’s just that. It’s totally personal. And yet it exists within the framework of culture. (This is sounding all philosophical, isn’t it?) It boils down to: What floats your boat might sink mine! And that’s the way it should be. What floats my boat is harmony… With a touch of disorder

The Outfit

The Inspo

This outfit started with wanting to wear my new-to-me light blue silk blouse and a throw back to one of my favorite outfits of 2019. Yes, I have the same cardigan in two different colors. I don’t do that often.

Color Shift

This season, I am working with a different color palette and with a few extra pounds that make those jeans too tight with a tucked in shirt. Maybe they’ll stretch a little more by afternoon. I decided I wanted a monochromatic look (All one color from head to toe), so I added the blue cardie, jeans, and the blue suede shoes. Cue: The King…

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Add Interest

Now, monochromatic outfits can be not-so-interesting. This one was doing alright with the varieties of color and texture: silk, cashmere, denim and suede. But monochromatic looks don’t do my personal coloring (2N1C) any favors. So a color pop at the neck with the red and white polka dot scarf was just what the stylist ordered.

Now for jewels. I won’t go out without earrings. Empty earring holes is one of my quirks; they bug me. The pearl drops on these hoops echo the polka dots on the scarf. Those are the kind of deets that make me happy. Finally I grabbed my oldest and favoritest watch and the mixed brass and hematite bead bracelet to tie together the silver and gold. The gold buttons, beads, crystals, pearls and polka dots all speak the same language. This kind of sly self-referencing always amuses me! (Yes, I am easily amused. I think it’s a great quality.)

And because the shirt sleeves are too long (for the moment) I rolled them back and buttoned them through the reverse side to create a faux French cuff! We’ll see what happens after the shirt has been washed…

Lest you think this sounds hard, it’s not really. Some of it happens by instinct, but it IS a skill that can be learned! The more you practice, the less thought it requires. When it becomes second nature, then YOU have the instinct, too! What would I change? I’d lose a few pounds and tuck in the shirt to improve the proportions! Or I could just find a larger pair or jeans…

So How About You?

What recent outfit made you happy? Practice taking it apart and talking through your choices. When you grow aware of what works, you can repeat it! And who doesn’t want to feel great when they walk out the door? What was the last outfit that made you happy? Do tell There’s plenty of room in the comments below…

Stylishly yours,