What WOULD I Buy?

If I let myself run amok…

Happy day, reader dear!

Last week I wrote about color inspiration, and from whence it comes. (Short answer: Anywhere!) Lise commented that it is a “work in progress” to create a more cohesive color scheme in her closet. AMEN! Especially if you buy what strikes your fancy. That’s a great way to end up with a crayon box closet filled with clothes and nothing to wear. It takes discipline to choose a color palette and stick with it.

So today, here’s a few pieces I love, but simply couldn’t bring myself to buy. Because, as awesome as I find them, they just won’t play well with what I own… Sigh.

I LOVE this sweater. Yes, my love required both caps and bold! I adore the 60’s vibe flowers with the centers that look like polka dots. It has 3/4 sleeves, my fave. And I love orange. It’s fresh and juicy. But it’s warm. Not warm, too-hot-for-our-climate, but warm undertone. Which makes me look like something the cat sicked up. The value contrast of this pattern is verrrrrry high as well, which just adds to the negatives. It would go with exactly two items in my closet; that violates one of my shopping rules: That I need to be able to style it at least 3 ways before purchasing. So, I shopped it with my camera, and can enjoy it virtually!

Can I tell you about all the ways I love mustard? Yes, I do love mustard with a nice sausage, but this color mustard. Give me a nice Dijon anyday!… All mustard yellows are favorites in my color book, though. From hot-dog-mustard-yellow to the toastier more muted mustards. The flaw? Again, the warm undertone doesn’t do me any favors. Even if the cut and length of these trousers are perfect for my petite 8 Shape, I’ll pass. I do have an old mustard handbag that I break out for fun, but not as often as I might like. Sigh.

Hmmm. I’m seeing a pattern here. Orange. Mustard. Olive. All these unpurchased faves are food words! It probably says more about me than it does about the colors.

Last, but certainly not least! Last fall, this olive jacket very nearly made me “break” my palette. It was so soft and light, dreamy to touch and those rounded lapels made my heart go all squishy. The problem? It’s that dratted undertone again! Too warm (yellow) for my complexion. It certainly would have coordinated with many of my wardrobe pieces; it has the same depth of color and intensity, but I still can’t bring myself to spend good money on a piece that doesn’t do me any favors. If I want to look wan and ill, I can drink a bottle of bubbly by myself, or stay up all night reading, both will do the trick, and be far more kind to my wallet.

How about you? What would you love to buy but haven’t? And why? Is it a cost issue? A lifestyle issue? Maybe values? Color? Or personality? Do tell!

Stylishly yours,

PS: The olive jacket is a temptation I am still fighting. And fighting. Because I have that color green in my eyes…