Blue and Gold Day

As I mentioned when I wrote about our first Maxi Dress Friday, we teachers occasionally get permission to wear jeans at school, and the first of those special days came Friday, which was the day of our first home football game. The administration declared it a "Blue-and-Gold Day," and since blue jeans are, well, blue, they are allowed on blue-and-gold days.

Over the years I've been working at TKA, I've accrued more and more tops that work well with jeans on blue-and-gold days, and I'm sure you'll see them through the course of the year. (Good gracious, are you all willing to stay with me through a whole year? Or more even? How long can my wardrobe possibly hold the interest of people who aren't, you know, ME? I'm sure the day will be coming soon when your interest will wane and I will continue writing for myself only. And maybe my mom - she's always a big fan of mine.) Aaaaaanyway... For this first blue-and-gold day, I decided to wear my senior shirt:
 

I paired the t-shirt with a comfortable pair of skinny jeans. The dark wash of the jeans keeps them looking more professional than a lighter wash would; that's a good tip for all you girls to remember, that darker washes look more professional and "formal" (as formal as jeans would get) than lighter ones. Since the weather is still pretty warm, I rolled the jeans to just above the ankle and paired them with a pair of mustard yellow sandals. I had this awesome gold cuff bracelet that I was excited to wear - expanding the normal meaning of "gold" in "blue and gold" beyond just yellow to include actual gold - because it makes me feel like Wonder Woman with her bullet-repelling cuffs.
 

A number of people expected me not to blog this outfit because it's "just" a t-shirt and jeans. I understand where that feeling comes from, but at the same time, I think it's important to look at the right way to wear a t-shirt and jeans, because I know many of you wear that kind of outfit pretty often. SO... A couple tips from me to you:

1. Proper fit is incredibly important when it comes to t-shirts. The difference between a well-fitted t-shirt and a huge baggy one is pretty hard to even put into words, but it's basically the difference between wearing clothes and wearing trash bags.
2. The standard t-shirt is not cut to be especially flattering on women, especially in the sleeves, which is why I highly recommend that all you girls out there roll your t-shirt sleeves. You want the sleeves to fall between three and four inches below the shoulder joint, much closer to the shoulder than the elbow; unfortunately, most t-shirt sleeves end at the halfway point between the shoulder and the elbow. That's why it's so important to roll the sleeves - two rolls should do it.
3. Many traditional t-shirts are cut so that the bottom hem falls much lower than is flattering for women, usually with the hem somewhere between the hip and mid-thigh. That's why on this outfit, I chose to tuck the t-shirt into my jeans, to avoid the messy / baggy look that would have resulted from leaving it hanging out.
4. Because t-shirts are a very casual piece of clothing, they should only be paired with nice, clean pieces on the bottom. A loose pair of jeans in a light wash with holes and scoring is going to make the whole ensemble look messy, no matter how nicely fitted the t-shirt is. Whether you choose flared jeans, boot-cut, straight, or skinny, make sure that they are appropriately fitted and in a dark wash.

Wrong.

Right.

So the next time you feel like wearing a t-shirt and jeans, keep these tips in mind and you will still look fashion-forward and put-together.

Get the look for yourself:

Shirt - TKA; if you don't already have one, you can't get one. I'm sure you all know how to find a t-shirt, though, if you want one.

Jeans - Target, available here.

Sandals - Target; similar here or here.

Cuff bracelet - street vendor; similar here or here.