It’s a well known fact I love florals. Sometimes, I’m a little stymied when it comes to styling them. I’ve had this Talbots floral skirt for years, but I’ve only worn it once that I can remember. I’m pretty sure I wore it with a white tee shirt. When Jodie and her gang styled black and white skirts, I commented we should do a repeat. And, here we are! Please visit Jodie’s post as you know she’ll have lots of ideas! I’m using the same skirt and accessories and changing only the tops. This was an exercise in trying out new things for me and, perhaps, it will give you some ideas. This skirt has a self belt, but I used it only in the first outfit.
Florals and a graphic tee…
For this look, I went looking for something that wouldn’t exactly “go” with the somewhat formal nature of this skirt. I decided a graphic tee would be just the thing. But, I didn’t want to go too far out so I stuck with the black and white theme. This tee is from Loft, maybe last year or the year before. It’s very boxy and cropped (on most people). It works because I stuck to the same colors. Another factor aiding the successful combination is the slightly nicer quality of the tee. It has some structure, and the graphic is easily read.
Florals and florals…
This time, I went with an older cardigan from Talbots. You may have noticed it’s also a floral print. I wasn’t sure if this was going to work because the background is more ivory than white. After I decided the color wasn’t that noticeable and even worked quite well. I needed to figure out what to do with the length of the cardigan. It’s very long, but I didn’t want to tuck it in. So, I tried a buttoning hack I’d seen on Instagram. It didn’t go quite as well as I’d hoped. What to do? What to do? An obi belt to the rescue! I tell you…this belt was rather expensive (for me)…but, it has earned its keep in my closet! I folded the sweater up about halfway all the way around, then I secured it with the obi. I also folded in the top of each side to create a vee neck. This combination works, even with the differences in the neutral colors, because both florals are rather large and abstract. Now, I know some of y’all are going to say one of the florals should have been smaller, but I happen to think these two florals like each other and played very well together.
More florals, but add some color…
OK, y’all are now going to see what I mean when I say I used to shop at Talbots a lot! This cardigan is another older cardigan from…say it all together now…Talbots! I used to have a pencil skirt that went with it…same print but reversed colors. I either donated it during one of my Lenten purges or gave it away. Pencil skirts are not my friend, but that’s another blog post, right? Anyhoo, this time, I tried another Instagram hack. I actually put the sweater on backward and flipped it over the top of my head. So, where it’s buttoned in the front is the bottom button of the cardigan. And, there’s only that one button holding it closed…yikes! I buttoned the buttons behind me, but I wouldn’t dare go out like this because there was a big gap between the bottom of the sweater and the top of the skirt! This sweater wasn’t that long! For some reason, I thought you put it on backward and upside down, but every time I tried that, I just had the cardigan on the right way! Hahaha! Another problem I had was where the shoulder seams hit. There was no way I could raise my hands above my head! Here’s why this works. The background color is close enough to white that it’s OK with the white of the floral of the skirt. And, we all know just about every color goes with black and white. I did risk this looking a bit Halloween-ish, but I don’t think many people associate florals with Halloween! The scale of the florals, again, is about the same. I think that’s fine because they’re each drawing just the right amount of attention to themselves. But, heck! I could be biased, right?
The Lewk!
I decided to wear the same espadrilles and jewelry for all three lewks. I wanted the focus to be on the skirt. These Gentle Souls Caplin espadrilles are just so comfortable, but they aren’t available in this color any longer and only in a 9.5. I really like wearing a wedge like this because they give me height plus they’re easy on my arches. The bracelets are both Lagos as are the earrings. The necklaces are from the Brighton Meridian collection, but I couldn’t find the station necklace. Here is the one with the blue stone.
Wrap it up, Marsha!
This was a fun exercise in trying new things. I have been print mixing for so long that you would think it comes naturally. But, I wanted something that wasn’t way out there as a lot of my print mixing outfits can be. I actually like all three iterations, but I think my favorite is the orange floral. I think, should I wear it with the skirt, I’d probably do what I did with the other floral sweater. I’m going to have to find a cardigan so that flipping the sweater over your head trick works because I really like the effect of it. So, can we talk? Which outfit is your favorite? How would you style this skirt? Do you have items in your closet that are older than your own children? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as quickly as I can.
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I enjoyed what you did with the obi belt.