This color-blocked outfit was so much fun to wear and to put together – it centers around my love for winter white and for clever color-pairing – like lipsticks to gloves, skirts to hats, or leather jackets to tights! Oh, and let’s not forget the leopard booties!
WHY I WORE IT:
I wore this on a rainy late-fall day recently when the cold weather had given up for a weekend and we didn’t have to wear coats here in Chicago! Imagine! I was running errands and playing about town and definitely wanted to make a statement while I was doing it.
To be honest, the jury is still out on this skirt, and it’s mostly my fault – I’m afraid this is a case of buying for the deal and not for the item – a big NO NO in Belle Meets World’s rules! I love winter white so much in theory – so much so that I bought this skirt in a size bigger from what I typically wear because the Banana Republic sales rack didn’t have my size left. My reasoning – I couldn’t pass up $20, and I thought maybe it would still work because a flared skirt can be a bit big as long as it’s narrow in all the right places. But what’s the point of a deal if you’re not going to feel confident in what you’re wearing? After all, lighter colors can add width if worn in all the wrong places, and I don’t know that this one is doing my hips any justice. Thoughts?
But I digress…
If you’re going to wear it, you gotta own it. So I decided to bookend the skirt with a winter white chunky knit hat since it was a chilly fall day – and also to declare to the world that I was owning this color whole-heartedly.
The choice of the color-blocked denim cowgirl shirt was a fluke and I almost didn’t notice it in my closet. I was about to take the skirt off and try something else on when I turned back and realized the cream patches on the shoulders would be a perfect match to the skirt. Plus, it added a playful vibe to an outfit I needed to be stylish and functional.
I decided to go with brown for the accompanying elements like a leather jacket, thin belt and tights. I think this outfit could’ve gone in the direction of black accessories, as well, but I had a hankering for these brown leopard booties and I tend to think cream looks best when paired with other neutrals of the same palette, which brown is.
And the leopard booties – a little bit of a wildcard but also an element of subtle spiciness to an outfit that was shaping up to be pretty sassy.
I chose the navy clutch because navy and brown is one of my favorite pairings, plus there are navy stripes on the gloves. OH YEAH! ……
These gloves! These are one of my prized possessions and my first Christmas gift from my wonderful boyfriend when we started dating two years ago. They were MADE for me! And for this perfectly matched red lipstick (c/o PLA Beauty) that is remarkably appropriate for everyday wear and for going out on the town for all the holiday parties I’ll be attending this year. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the stripes mimicked the color-blocking on the shirt. While the white and the navy weren’t a perfect match to the skirt or the clutch, I was hoping that since my hands are always in motion, you couldn’t really tell.
WHAT I WORE: Winter white flared skirt {similar}: Banana republic // Denim color-blocked button-down shirt: Levi’s {similar} // Brown leopard-print booties {similar}: LOFT // Brown thin belt: J.Crew // Winter white chunky knit hat: {similar by H&M} // Brown leather jacket {similar}: Whet Blu // Red leather gloves {similar}: Aristide // Navy monogrammed clutch: Gigi NY // Red Lipstick: PLA Beauty in Iconic (c/o).
HOW TO WEAR IT YOURSELF:
Don’t forget to ask yourself – especially during the holiday season and the time of sales, sales, sales – why am I buying this, does it look good, and is it right for me?! Happy shopping!
XOXO,
Belle
