Wearing three pieces of denim in one outfit is my new record

I’m going to credit two exciting ladies sitting at the bar at the Girl and the Fig Friday night for inspiring today’s outfit post where I’m wearing triple denim; yes, three pieces of denim at once. Count them: a denim jacket over a denim dress (which could be a jumper or if I wanted to unbutton it, a tunic) and a pair of Chico’s So Slimming Boyfriend jeans rolled up. Fashion daredevils have combined two pieces of denim before, but triple denim? I’ve never seen it!

You say, “Brenda, how do you even come up with stuff like this?” Well, it wouldn’t have occurred to me to try this denim feat without a lively, spontaneous conversation with two perfect strangers over drinks.

What happened to set the stage for this triple denim explosion

I was dropping my stamped and addressed quarterly business tax bill and check in the mail slot over on Second Street and going to the bank to deposit money to cover the quarterly tax bill. It was nearly 5 p.m. on a Friday night. I called Russ on the way.

“Hey Hon, where are you?”

“I’m just leaving Whole Foods with your yogurt and heading home,” he said.

“Want to meet me for a drink at the Girl and the Fig?” I said.

“I hate to leave the yogurt in the heat. Maybe I’ll run it home first,” he said.

“Oh gosh, if you do that, I’m going to want to just join you at home. How about you bring the yogurt into the restaurant with you?”

“Oh, I suppose I could do that. Okay, meet you there,” he said.

See how exciting our Friday nights are? I hope you had your seat belt on!

So we’re at the Girl and the Fig yucking it up with John, the bartender, the one who has inspired a couple of blog posts with his acronym RSOJ (Random Spasm of Joy), like this one and this one. I’m secretly watching the clock as I want to get home by 6 p.m. to watch the PBS NewsHour.

The cool couple take their seats at the bar

That’s when these two attractive, sparky women sit down at the corner of the bar closest to us. I know immediately that they’re cool. You can just spot those things. Randi (the dark haired cool lady) asked Russ about the big honking camera he had sitting on the bar next to him. Soon we’ve met Carol (the blond cool lady) and we’re talking about photography and Sonoma and painting and New York Fashion Week and writing. The four of us are fast friends in five minutes.

Randi says, “Hey, can we buy you a drink?” Watching Friday night news on TV seemed less pressing. “Sure!” I said.

Quickly we pick up on how spontaneous Randi and Carol are. In fact, spontaneity is something they both value. Example: One says, “Let’s go see Bette Midler on Broadway,” and they book tickets right away. They were in Las Vegas when they bought their Sonoma home from the screen of their iPad. They love horse racing but not the small horse races. They like big ones like the Kentucky Derby, the Royal Ascot, the Breeder’s Cup and the Belmont Stakes and they go to them! They had tickets on the rail at the finish line of the Kentucky Derby.

THE KENTUCKY DERBY. Russ and I watch the Kentucky Derby from the armchairs in our living room with Bella, our cat, jumping from one lap to the other swishing her tail across our faces. They were somewhere when some horse won the triple crown. Horses, breeders, being invited to the private parties, and hats! All those fashionable hats and dresses!

When we parted, we said we’d see each other again in a week or two.

Single, double, and now triple denim

It wasn’t long after we got home that I went to bed…early, as I do. I woke up in the morning and I was thinking about that triple crown and Carol and Randi and spontaneity.

I checked my email and saw the invitation to the 19th Annual Fashion + Design Conference in NYC. It happens every November. Every year I think about going. Every year I don’t go. NOT THIS TIME! If I’d learned anything from Randi and Carol it was to go do the things you want to do…NOW. I’m thinking I could call Carol, my new best friend, and ask her to help me find a place to stay since she knows NYC so well. She’s had a long career in the fashion and beauty business; I’m sure she’d have tips galore for extracurricular activities!

When Russ got up I said, “Do you feel like going to Petaluma for brunch?” He answered in the affirmative. We can be spontaneous too!

Putting together the winning outfit

I went to my closet and felt like wearing jeans. Okay, fine. Easy peasy. It could be something like this outfit which I wore for brunch at Boon Fly Cafe in Napa a while back.

Enjoying single denim in my cuffed jeans, white shirt, and gray blazer

Or maybe I could wear a double denim outfit, you know one where you wear two pieces of denim in the same outfit like this one. It’s been called a Texas tuxedo (by Canadians) and a Canadian Tuxedo by Texans and people in the other forty-nine states.

Double denim, Texas tuxedo or Canadian tuxedo

Wait a minute, I thought. What if I created an outfit using triple denim?! I thought about this denim dress I bought from Chico’s a while back. It buttons up the front and has a self-belt at the waist. I haven’t worn it all summer because it’s been too hot but it was not going to be as warm today. Maybe I should work that into an outfit…and add a jean jacket!

Wearing triple denim: jean jacket, jean dress, jeans

Oh, the fun was cascading all over the place now! The excitement, the glee!

I needed a tee. I went with my mousey gray/brown close-fitting T-shirt by ETCETERA.

Wearing a tee with slim sleeves under the denim dress/jumper/tunic

I slipped into the jeans, my Chico’s So Slimming ankle jeans. I added the dress next. I took out the self-belt and replaced it with my Sonoma leather bison belt.

Crossing the style finish line in triple denim

I added my Lucky Brand booties and decided to carry my vintage Louis Vuitton bag to keep all the leather accessories in the same warm tones.

I needed a focal point. I remembered this square scarf in warm tones. I could tie it around my neck like a neckerchief. It was complete!

Three denim pieces in one outfit

I believe clothes are great entertainers. We can delight in them every day. We don’t have to wait for a special occasion to wear something fun.

Are clothes entertaining you? Let us know what has you feeling delighted!