- Blue, turquoise, orange, white, and magenta striped skirt – FREE!
- Magenta shirt – Target
- Chambray button-down – thrifted
- Ribbon belt – thrifted
- Magenta tie sweater – JC Penney
- Tan belt – thrifted
- Blue cardigan – Target
- White short-sleeved blouse – Gap Outlet
- Orange tank top – Old Navy
- Turquoise socks – Target
- Blue socks – Target
- Blue tank top – Target
- Turquoise polo shirt – Gap Outlet
- Blue and white striped shirt – JC Penney
- Blue short sleeved shirt – thrifted
- Second ribbon belt – thrifted
The striped skirt in the middle of the mess o’ clothes is one that I got for free last weekend at a yard sale. For Free!!! I grabbed this pretty and ran for the hills (sidewalk), not wanting to look a gift skirt in the mouth…pockets? Where else can you look in a skirt?
At first glance, this skirt seems perfect. It’s got my favorite colors, it’s striped (!), and it’s a size 16. Trust me, you never find clothes that are size 16 at yard sales that aren’t mumus or sweatpants. So the skirt seemed perfect…until I tried to wear it. I tried on everything in the above photo with that skirt, and nothing, nothing worked. At least nothing worked perfectly. Even fun and color-coordinated socks couldn’t save it. I had a lot of “almost outfits,” and finally settled on this one:
I can’t decide if it’s the colors, proportions, or a combination of factors, but something about this outfit just feels “off.” It’s not unusual for me to throw the contents of half my closet onto the floor in an attempt to find the perfect clothing combination, but usually I end up with something I really like. I’m definitely going to try again, because I really like this skirt. Let’s hope it likes me back.
What about you? Do you have to try everything on like I do in order to tell if an outfit will work, or do you just know? What do you do when you just can’t find a combination that works that day?
The bright spot of my day? Tacky, 50′s-looking jewelry, complete with three-legged poodle whose pearl eyes make him look possessed. Or like these guys.
Seriously, where’s his fourth leg?
The poodle doesn’t need a fourth leg, he’s perfect the way he is.
Could you hike the skirt to your natural waist, paperbag it with a belt and tuck in a simple white or grey tee?
There is something a little bit off here, but I think it might be the color of your shirt or the shoes. Maybe a lighter blue or an orange or a neutral would have worked better…?
I love the pink telephone!
That jewelry is amaaaazing.
I definitely do NOT know what will just work. usually things look awesome in my head and then look like crap in practice and I have to start from scratch. If I can’t make a piece work, I’ll just change into a tried-and-true outfit and give up for the day!
Hmmm, I think I’m stumped with this one. I think you’re right that there’s something off, but I’m not sure what it is. I love Jentine’s suggestion. It might just be color overload. It’s such a phenomenal skirt, though!!