I have a couple more Florida stories to share but since I haven’t done a Style Post in a while, I wanted to feature one of those today. We’ll return to Florida (figuratively, not literally) next week.
I’ll start today’s style blog with a follow-up on a post I did last year when I featured this skirt.
I wasn’t real thrilled with the light-colored cardigan (several readers agreed) but it was all I had at the moment I have been keeping my eyes open for something (thrifted) to wear with the skirt instead and I finally found this yellow blouse at Goodwill. I think it does a lot better.
This outfit is more comfortable than you can possibly imagine; in fact, it feels very much like wearing a pair of pajamas, which is a good thing since I always take naps on long trips, like our recent Florida sojourn.
I also wore it on the day we left Florida while posing with the “other grandma” (and my dear friend), Sheri.
Hooray for comfy, colorful clothes!
I know I’ve written about proportions before but I have a few more photos to further illustrate this point. If all you do is just start paying attention to this one thing when getting dressed, it will make such a difference!
To review: The general rule is this that If something is roomy on the bottom, wear something closer fitting on the top. If it’s roomy on the top, wear something closer fitting on the bottom.
Here are some examples:
This is one of my favorite shirts. (Everything else in this post is thrifted but I bought this shirt on sale at Stein Mart which is my favorite “new” store.)
I was trying to experiment with different bottoms and quickly found out that wide legged, shorter cropped pants were not the ticket.
And even though I knew before trying it on that this look wouldn’t work, I did it anyway so that I could share the picture with you. (Isn’t nice to have a blogger friend who takes photos of herself in unattractive outfits just so you can see how bad they look?)
As you can see, the colors blend beautifully but the flowiness (is that a word?) in both the top and the bottom is not so great.
Compare the picture above with the picture below. Does it look to you like I just lost 15 pounds? That’s the magic of proportional dressing! No diets needed!
Here are a couple of examples of how to make the swirly skirt work using more fitted tops.
This is another example of proportions being off.
The capris are too short and too wide for this shirt. Ideally, capris shouldn’t end at the widest part of your calf because that is where the eye stops. (Compare these pants with the length of the teal pants in the picture where I “lost 15 pounds.” Quite a difference.)
Even though the length is not ideal, they are a pretty color and would work fairly well with a different shirt.
And from the back? NOT a good look. Note: ALWAYS look at your back view, especially when creating a new outfit. It can be very . . . um . . .insightful. I call it “Looking in my rear view mirror” and I do it every time I leave the house.
And another look. Even though the colors work, there is still too much flowiness going on.
And one more example of colors being great but proportions being a little flow-y.
(Note: After I got a comment from my sister, Debbie, saying that she would wear this, I took another look at it and realized the double flowiness wasn’t half bad with these particular garments. I am hereby revising and retracting my too-flowy decree!)
I experimented with wearing a flowy blouse over a straight denim skirt and that seemed to work pretty well.
Two shoe choices here. The yellow shoes (above) are fun but the nude colored shoes (below) elongate and slimify. (Another new word?)
I guess I could always wear one yellow show and one nude shoe so that I could be fun AND elongated!
Since I talked about capris quite a bit in this post, I wanted to point you to a great article about them here
In closing, here is just a little reminder that shirts can often be worn more than one way to change up a look a little.
And that’s it for today; I hope this has been helpful for you. I love to read your fashion comments and insights.
Here are the other posts in this style series: Small Changes Favorite Style Bloggers Stars and Understudies Proportions and Alterations. Mom Jeans In the Middle Patterned Pieces Two is Best
Hooray for re-visiting the bright flowy outfit! I’m so glad to know that my fashion sense may not be totally out of whack. I’m not in your realm, but I’m at least flitting around right outside there! 🙂
Deb,
Flit away, sister, flit away!
Just my opinion, but I don’t think wide legged capri’s are flattering on anyone regardless of their size! They just seem to chop a person in an odd place and then there is a short bit of leg sticking out. Just makes for odd proportions! Such a big difference even a slight taper makes. I’m 5′ 1″, 107 lbs and wide legged capri’s look nasty on me! I like your double flowy outfit that you changed your mind about
Kari,
You’re right–wide legged capris DO seem to “chop” the body at an odd place. I didn’t use to like any tapered capris but I am buying them more and more because of their elongating effect.
And my sister, Debbie, will be glad to know you agree with her on the double flowy outfit because she liked it too. I’ll have to revisit it. 🙂
You know, Becky, the other thing I note is that even if not a fashionista, and I certainly am not there, to keep an eye on what the trends are in fashion is useful. Give certain outfits a rest if they do not fit into the prevailing styles of the day.
For instance, my looser capris and pants have to look exceptional good to work well around today’s leggings and jeggings styles. I don’t like the look, despise the look, but have found that going with the narrower legged pants and capris has me fitting in a heck of a lot better than going with the looser ones. I just found a treasure trove of tighter fitting, but not too tight jean type pants for myself at a decent price , $10 apiece, and wearing them instead of my older looser pants, some of them very good quality, gives me a whole updated look. I;’ve been asked if I’ve lost weight, and I have not. Gained, sadly, not a lot but enough that I really avoided the tighter pants. These fit well and have a slimmer profile, yes, a larger size than my regulars, but comfort rules here, but as an older woman, it makes a huge difference to kind of go with the flow. So checking out what the general populace is wearing is a good idea.
Cath,
Excellent point! I try to keep my eye open all the time for styles I see in real life, as well as what people are wearing online. Although I am far from a slave to fashion, there is nothing at all wrong with trying to stay current and modern and choosing up-do-date things that suit us.
Sounds like you are doing well in that area–great job in not getting stuck in a rut just because there are particular clothes you’ve always worn.
And isn’t it great to look like you’ve lost weight just because you changed your silhouette? Love it!
Thanks, Becky. I learn a lot from your fashion posts. Your style and mine don’t mesh as I look completely different from you but the general tenets are universal. I;m envious of a lot of the pieces I so like, but just don’t work for me that look great on you.
Cath, thanks for letting me know you’re learning things from the fashion posts! I know what you mean when you see things that look on other people but not so good on you. But that’s the joy of finding your own style–your clothes that suit YOU!
I always enjoy these posts. I actually thought the flowy outfit with the bright coral and yellow looked good even though you said the proportions were off. I would wear that. Which is probably my whole problem. Sigh.
You’re looking simply smashing as always! 🙂
Love, deb
Deb,
I actually went back and looked at that outfit again after reading your comment and decided that for a style other than mine, it would look nice. For my body style, I just feel so much better when half of my clothes ares more form fitting ao I probably wouldn’t wear it; however, the two pieces WERE pretty together. The main thing is to wear what feels right to YOU. You have made a lot of progress!
Phew. It’s easier to be a man. You always look lovely!
Steve,
Yes, I agree about the man thing. You can ready in all of 7 minutes!
I learned a lot from this post. I wouldn’t have thought of proportins as something to pay attention to.
I need to ramp up my style. Case in point: over old cut off jean shorts with strings dangling off, i am currerly wearing a long flowing white blouse that is at least 3 sizes too big (but I bought it in an antique store last year because I loved the lace embroidery on it). I have a bad penchant for buying items I love even if they arent right for my body shape or don’t fit so well…..but it’s time to mend the error of my non fashionable ways.
Jenna,
I’m always so very happy when I hear that a reader has learned something from my meanderings. 🙂
I can sympathize with your falling in love with an overlarge shirt because it has beautiful embroidery Sometimes a fabulous feature like that trumps everything else.
Slow, steady change makes wardrobe upgrading doable. You have an artistic eye so you’re already a step ahead of the game!
Need to remember those points. You look great.
Ann,
Thank you for your encouragement! It’s amazing what big differences small changes make.
Great pointers on proportions Becky! Thank You!!!!
Cute outfit in the ‘lost 15 pounds’ picture. 🙂
LeeAnne,
Yes, I love it when it’s so easy to lose 15 pounds!