Clothed with Grace: Lace

Showing posts with label Lace. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Building A Wardrobe: Shirts

I'm excited to be continuing my Building A Wardrobe Series again today. One the first day of the series I shared Essential Blazers and Jackets, one day two I shared Essential Cardigans, on day three I shared Essential Skirts, on day four I shared Essential Jeans and Dress Pants, and on day five I shared Essential Shoes and Accessories. Today I'll be continuing my Building A Wardrobe Series by sharing some essential shirts with you. As important as it can be to have a few basic tops, a great shirt can be the focal point of any outfit or definitely make a good outfit great. Here are my thoughts on essential shirts:

I've think there are five shirts that are essential to any mixable wardrobe, and that includes: a stripe shirt, chambray, gingham, a detailed blouse, and a polka dot shirt. These pieces can go with so many things!
Like I said above, basics are great, but often the key to a great outfit is a shirt that is a little more special than a plain tee shirt. Think about color, texture, and print when you buy tops, they are guaranteed to help make your look great!
I recommend not just getting a plain white, black, gray, shirt. I recommend getting one that has extra details, like a puckered neckline, or unique texture or lace. These details make the shirt more special, but definitely still versatile in your wardrobe.
Fit is definitely important too. When buying make sure the buttons lay nicely on any button-down option and check the length too. Can it be worn both out and tucked in? This is definitely key in creating both dressy and casual looks with the same shirt.
I picked some great additional options, I recommend getting a few great prints, like leopard, and I love the jeweled tops that have become popular too. I definitely think these tops are special and are great additions to your wardrobe, though they are not quite as versatile as the essential shirts I've listed.

Here's a visual of my shirt recommendations:

stripe shirt / chambray / gingham / detailed blouse / polka dot shirt / jeweled tee / jeweled sweatshirt / bird print / bright blouse / leopard blouse

Today I'm wearing a detailed blouse in lace. It's a fun mixable top that makes every outfit better.

Blazer: Kika c/o same

Blouse: Target same

Necklace: Kendra Scott inspired c/o real deal

Bracelets: chloe + isabel c/o same, same

Jeans: Joe's Jeans similar

Heels: Feralicious similar

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Building A Wardrobe: Cardigans

Yesterday I started my Building A Wardrobe Series by sharing with you Essential Blazers and Jackets, and for the second day of the series I'll be sharing with you my thoughts on cardigan essentials. Cardigans are great for laying and can be worn both to dress an outfit up, as well as easily worn with a casual outfit as well. Here are my tips for building essential cardigans into your wardrobe:

Must have colors include black, gray, and tan. In my experience, it's worth it to by quality pieces, as you will probably wear these the most. There are a lot of inexpensive options out there, say at Target or Old Navy, however, they inexpensive options don't seem to last or wear as well and pill much sooner. I've been most happy with the quality of cardigans I've purchased from Loft, Banana Republic, The Limited, and J.Crew.
Consider the type of cardigan that fits your style best. Traditional lengths will probably be the most versatile, but I love a good boyfriend cardigan and think they can be dressed up for worn casually depending on how you chose to style them.
When purchasing, pay attention to how to wash the item, if it's dry clean only, it will limited how often you can wear the piece. I've used Dryel, and in-home dry cleaning product, for over a decade and have been happy with the results, however I still spend the money to get pieces professionally dry cleaned at least once a year and this definitely adds to the overall cost of owning a piece of clothing.
I've also included some additional options for you to consider purchasing. These include purchasing a few cardigans in bright colors, as well as a leopard or other print option. In my opinion you won't wear these as often, so purchasing a less expensive option, like this or this makes sense to me.
Regardless of what you chose to buy, wash these pieces inside out to help protect the them in the washer.

Here's a visual of my recommendations for cardigan purchases:

tan cardigan /gray cardigan / black cardigan / mustard cardigan / bright cardigan / leopard cardigan

Today I'm wearing a bright cardigan, which is a fun addition to any outfit. It helps define my shape and pull the overall look together too.

I'm crazy about today's combo. I score this skirt for $4, new with tags, from thredUP (use this link to get $10 off your first order). I wasn't sure about a top, but tried the polka dots and love it. I might freeze today with bare legs, but this just didn't look right with tights. Hurry up, spring!

Cobalt and Orange

Last year I was ecstatic when I found this Loft skirt at Goodwill and decided to pair it with my cobalt blazer and lace top today. The first time I wore this skirt I wore it like this, and I was so pleased with myself. Yipes, that was pretty bad. Today, on the other hand, I really like this. I really like the texture and color mix and definitely think it's an outfit I'll wear again, although I think I might wear it with my cobalt Portfolio Shirt first. What do you think, how would you style this skirt?