November 28, 2017
I was asked to show some options for cool colors – especially including grey – for dressy events in cooler weather. Grey can be so elegant…
First I went “shopping” for cool clothes – mostly in silver grey, but I could NOT resist that luscious aqua sweater! It also comes in grey, as well as a really light beige heather, and a glorious bright but heathery blue… The aqua and the blue are such uncommon colors to see this time of year – you won’t see yourself coming and going on the streets…
sweater – Lands ‘ End; cowl sweater – Uniqlo; blouse – Hillier Bartley; skirt – Ralph Lauren
To provide us with a basis upon which we can build some outfits, I’m referring back to A Common Wardrobe in grey that I used a few weeks ago. Realistically, you could easily wear both the grey sweater and the gorgeous silvery blouse with the lace skirt, but it’s good to have a few other choices available… Owning a dozen pieces of clothing that are timelessly classic and that all work together will make ALL of your “getting dressed drama” much less dramatic!
grey tee – Lands’ End; white tee – Lands’ End; blouse – Banana Republic; washable wool sweater – L.L.Bean; white shirt – Lands’ End; long-sleeved tee – L.L.Bean; merino turtleneck – Uniqlo; washable merino cardigan – L.L.Bean; striped tee – Marks and Spencer; herringbone pants – L.L.Bean; cords – L.L.Bean; jeans – L.L.Bean
The sweater is a lovely, relaxed but pretty way to dress up any pair of pants you own – and it’s never wrong to wear beautiful mint-green loafers…
earrings – Auree Jewellery; mint flats – M.Gemi; socks – Muk Luks; bracelet – John Hardy; square earrings – Azuni London; mules – Diane von Furstenberg
Same general idea with the off-the-shoulder sweater (which I believe can be worn as more of a cowl neck style – it would depend on your shoulder width, I’d suspect?) Some amazing earrings and a pretty bag, and you’re good to go!
loafers – Nicholas Kirkwood; earrings – Nadri; clutch – Michael Kors; bag – Coach; ballet flats – Me Too; earrings – Baublebar
This blouse is an INSANE extravagance, but it’s so beautiful that it would dress up anything… The top outfit could go so many places… and the bottom outfit is a comfortable way to look like you’ve gone to a lot of trouble!
earrings – Ted Baker London; pumps – Prada; bag – Steve Madden; earrings – Oscar de la Renta; ballet flats – Børn; bag – Gigi New York
A lace skirt is always good to have stashed away. This one isn’t dirt-cheap, but it’s not insanely expensive by the standards of holiday attire… And it would NEVER go out of style, unless we all start wearing those space-suit uniforms that we were all promised for the 21st Century…
earrings – Alexis Bittar; tassel necklace – Alexis Bittar; boots – Steve Madden; ball earrings – Lord & Taylor; infinity scarf – Treasure & Bond; boots – Sigerson Morrison
Some of these outfits might push your “comfort envelope” a little bit, but I would like to encourage everyone to think a bit creatively, so that we can all get as much mileage out of our clothing as possible… Being “out of the ordinary” can be a very good thing!
love,
Janice
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Love grey for dressy! Seems a tiny less formal than black and sets off some modest bling jewelry. Pearls also do well with grey.
Can we talk tee shirts for a moment? The pairing of the white tee with the lace skirt really too me aback. NONE of my white tees would look AT ALL appropriate with a lace skirt, even with the cardigan. I'm okay with the silhouette, but the fabrics stump me. I followed the link to Land's End and noticed that the tee is a cotton/modal blend. Is that the secret? Choose more "flowy" fabrics for tees rather than the traditional cotton? I love the idea of mixing in a few fancy pieces with my everyday stuff, but I fear I would look rather hodge-podge!
I have found that viscose fabrics with a little elastane offers the best flow especially if the top has a trapeze style cut. I have just received the Lands' End satin ruffle front top which was featured a couple of days ago and was surprised how stiff the cotton/modal fabric felt. It fits okay, but it just looks like a v-neck t-shirt with a frill down the front – fine if you just want to wear it at home but not dressy enough (for me) to wear for an evening out. Sharon, U.K.
Beautiful!!
Janice, you had me at grey again! And then you kept on giving with that gorgeous grey lace skirt. I bought a grey lace dress for a wedding in June and now you've got me thinking how I can team it with something that wintrifies it. I'm on the case! Thanks for your inspo, as always, hugs, x.
I have had a lovely grey satin skirt for more than a decade and it's wonderful for dressing up – I wore it last week for a black tie wedding, with a velvet top and flats with rhinestones. – nancyo
I love grey. That grey lace skirt has me drooling and looking at fabric.