What Can Accessories Do For You?

When I got ready to go to church yesterday morning, I was tired and running late, so my outfit, well, it was very lacking in style:

There's nothing so terribly wrong with this outfit, but I could have done so much better, if I'd taken only an extra five minutes to think about the importance of accessories. Last year, I set a fashion goal for myself (yes, I do things like that) to improve my ability to accessorize my outfits. This was a three-step process:

1. Learn how to properly wear various categories and styles of accessories. (What's the best way to wear a long necklace? Bangles? Dangly earrings vs. post earrings? Etc.)
2. Build an accessory wardrobe. (This part is my favorite, because it's the SHOPPING part...)
3. Practice adding the new accessories to different outfits through the year.

I definitely saw a lot of improvement in my use of necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, belts, and even scarves as the year went on. Now that I'm much more aware of the ways that accessories can improve an outfit, I feel much worse when I don't put in the effort to add them when I'm getting ready, as I didn't this Sunday.

Upon thinking about it that afternoon, I decided to take the opportunity to point out this small "failing" of mine and talk about how I could have done it better. After all, I am a teacher - shouldn't I use this as a "teachable moment" and discuss the ways to use accessories to your benefit? (Hint: The answer is yes. Yes, I should use it to teach about accessories. So that's what I'm going to do.)

First, let's look at what the outfit was:

For those of you aware of my proclivity for varying my outfits all the time, you might be disappointed in the repetition of the same jeans from Friday's outfit; you're probably extra disappointed to notice they're even rolled the same way. If we're being honest, though, I think we all have some favorite pieces in our closets - those pieces we turn to again and again because they're just so comfortable and they go with everything - and that's what these jeans are for me. I paired them with an oatmeal colored v-neck sweater with 3/4 sleeves; in spite of the warm temperatures, I liked the sweater choice, and it was a relatively thin sweater anyway. For the shoes I went with my llama-print Keds skimmers, which are an all-time favorite of mine.

But let's look at what the outfit could have been:

This version is so much less... blah, you know? Adding the belt not only breaks up the flat coloration of the sweater with a richer brown tone, it also adds more shape to the outfit by defining the waist. The necklace adds some color at the neck, instead of allowing my fair skin to go directly into what is almost a flesh-colored sweater. A small charm bracelet adds a delicate touch of gold at the wrist, and a gold cocktail ring on the opposite hand balances it.

Hopefully this has shown that the few extra minutes it takes to add some accessories can have a pretty drastic effect on an outfit. Next time you're running late, consider taking that extra minute or two to toss on a necklace, bracelet, or belt, and see what it can do for you!


Get the look for yourself:
Sweater - Target; similar here.
Jeans - Target, available here.
Shoes - Keds, no longer available; other patterns of the same style here and here.
Belt - Target; similar here.
Necklace - Old Navy; similar here (on sale!).
Bracelet - gift; similar here.
Ring - shop in South Africa; similar here.

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.