Fashion finds, stylish saves, and respect for elder fashion pieces

 

Welcome back to my review of last year’s fashion. This time I’m going to share a couple of redesigns that turned out well (they may work for you too!), the fashion hit that was on all the runways which created happiness for many, older forgotten pieces that earned new love this year, and some of the newer items in my closet that already feel like old souls. Isn’t it curious how you can find something new that feels like a friend from a past life? I had at least three of those.

The elders in my closet

I want to start with a couple of items that have been in my closet for years and years and came out this year like they’d been reborn.

 

My black sheer blouse

I come across this sheer blouse every spring when I pull it out. It’s gone years without being worn once in the whole season. I think of letting it go and then I save it once again. This year I pulled it out and it felt perfect over my Chico’s white tank and jeans. It filled a great purpose: hanging out with Russ on Sundays in Sonoma.

 

 

The way I feel right now, it will be the first thing I grab when I switch out my closets again. It’s been with me for 12 years and counting!

Pop over here to learn why I thought this black sheer top should go over a column of white.

 

This gray linen jacket didn’t sell at the consignment store so I gave it another chance

What’s not to love about this little jacket? I ask myself. I don’t know, was it the fit? Did I never really figure out how to wear it? Maybe it just needed this very year when I fell back in love with the look of white shirts and jackets.

When I couldn’t make magic with this gray linen jacket I sent it off to a consignment store. One day I got a call to come pick it up. It hadn’t sold. When I pulled it out this summer it still had the tag on it from the consignment store. How funny it felt to be pulling a tag off of it again!

 

I was with my daughter Erin when I purchased this jacket in a boutique on Fillmore Street in SF. It had pants that went with it. I decided the matching pieces weren’t my thing and let the pants head off to a consignment store and another owner well before I sent the jacket off. Now I regret that move. I lost a few pounds this year which is probably one reason I enjoyed wearing the jacket–it just fit better. Now I bet I would have LOVED wearing the matching pieces. Oh well, it’s a jacket that came back to me and I’m happy it got its due this year.

 

Fashion fixes

In this category, there were some items that I loved but they had problems that made me not choose them. If something isn’t being worn, I start thinking about editing them out for good. I looked more closely at each item to see if there was a way to keep them in my wardrobe with an adjustment or two. Shazam!

 

1. A linen sweater that wants to slide all over my shoulders

I’d nearly given up on this cardigan that seemed so useful but I never wore it because I was fiddling with it all the time. Then I thought about closing it up so it wouldn’t slip and slide.

 

 

What I did was go into my brooch/pin collection and pull out my owl pins. I used them as closures to give the buttons they covered more visual appeal. I LOVE the outcome!

 

 

Here’s the post that talked about this Fashion Fairy Godmother Makeover highlighting this outfit.

 

2. A tunic is too big

There was something just not right about this tunic this year. It’s very comfortable to wear and perfect in hot weather. But this year it looked baggy and too big. I didn’t want to let it go; I love the print and the color. It was begging for a fix.

 

 

Again, the solution came with a pin. I created an inward pleat and used a pin that belonged to Mother as a way to get rid of the volume. Now it was also accessorized. Pretty nifty, right?

 

 

If you want to know more about this resizing tip, read on here.

 

3. A necklace that never sparked joy when I tried to wear it

This Chico’s necklace seemed like a slam-dunk purchase but it wasn’t. Every time I put it on I felt like I’d lost my sense of style. I felt matronly! Really! But one day I worked hard at it and figured out what was wrong. It needed to be shorter, by quite a lot. I had no patience to take it to a jeweler to shorten it. I wanted to wear it NOW. I took matters into my own hands and within 10 seconds I’d solved the problem.

To read about my ten-second fix, enjoy the original post here.

 

 

I love the glistening gray of the necklace. It was perfect when I wanted to fill in the neckline of this glistening gray linen dress.

Shades of gray are so yummy to me. (And no, I haven’t read the books or seen the movies about shades of gray!)

 

Feeling a soul connection with these instant love pieces

I added a few pieces to my wardrobe that felt like they couldn’t possibly have NOT been in my wardrobe already. They became instant old friends. Let me tell you about them.

 

1. My wide leg Rag & Bone pants

This pant silhouette was brand new to me. I’ve been in skinny jeans and narrow pants for years! But these wide leg pants are so entertaining with every step. I walk and they respond with a swish, swish, swish against my legs.

 

 

They found an instant home in my wardrobe and updated my look.

 

2. My J.Jill olive quilted jacket

Okay, I’m going to tell you all the ways this J.Jill lightly quilted jacket serves me. I first started wearing it as a jacket. Duh, right? It’s the perfect weight for me. It’s lightweight but it cuts the chill when you need it.

But here’s the unorthodox way I wear it. I want to sleep in a chilled room. I don’t like heat at night. So what do I grab when I’m sitting up in bed reading or watching Netflix before slumber? Yes, this jacket…over my pajamas. It’s like its my bed jacket. Remember those from the old movies?

When I’m done reading I slip it off but put it over a basket of books near my bed. In the morning the house is chilled so I grab it and slip it back over my pajamas. I love the chill of the morning and hate putting the heat on right away. I then open the bedroom door, have a conversation with Bella (meow, meow), and then make my coffee. I head to my writing table and do my morning pages with my cozy jacket still over my pajamas.

And I love it! It’s my security blanket!

 

 

Some days I wear it with a sweater and jeans and go out and about running errands in the city. Sometimes I put it on over an all-black outfit and wear it to see clients. But now that you know the whole story, you’ll understand: there is nothing in my closet that does more things for me than this lightweight jacket.

I first wrote about it here. It was on a most memorable night.

3. My J.Jill gray Chelsea coat

When I slipped this coat on for the first time it was me. I knew it immediately. What was uncanny was that I had bought a similarly styled coat, left the tags on it, and it was idle in my hall closet. But this similar coat by J.Jill (long, gray, same weight of fabric) was the “YES, without a doubt” coat while the other one was the “it seems like this should work” coat. I do not wear this coat to sit in bed and watch Netflix. But every time I slip it on it feels oh so right! Moral of this fashion story: the right one is out there waiting for you. Hold out for the one that says YES!

 

 

Here’s an interesting read about this Chelsea coat if you missed it the first time. It’s about the color gray, the different names for it, and why “ash” and “smoke” are currently not in my color vocabulary.

The biggest fashion miracle of all…

This has been the year of stylish and comfortable sneakers! Oh my! At first I thought it would be mostly a look for young people. And then I put a client in them and it was a total game changer for her. It brought vitality to every outfit in her closet. It was modernizing.

And isn’t it amazing that something that is high fashion is the biggest ally to people with finicky feet? Sneakers have comfort and style. What a combo.

Here are some of the ways I wore sneakers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read more if you want to hear why I think sneakers are the new ballet flats and you need a pair!

 

So my dear friends, what adventures did you have with your clothes this year? Were there surprises? Did old things become new things again? Did you make an adjustment to a problem garment?

We all want to know!!

XO