Seasonal Skinny Wk 21: Suited & Booted | Leather Jacket, Sequin Tie

In my last post, I styled an outfit that had a relaxed Tomboy feel, with a checked skirt, shearling gilet and beanie.  So running with this theme, it inspired me to bring forward a Seasonal Skinny outfit I'd planned for next month.

This outfit is decidedly more masculine in style.  It's the kind of outfit Tomboy would wear, not to conquer the climbing of trees, but to scale the citadel of the Big Smoke, cutting a swathe through meetings and deadlines!

My go to inspiration for this look is Kelly from Alterations Needed.  A fellow petite style blogger from the States, Kelly has EFFORTLESSLY nailed this 'inspired by menswear' style.  I loved her How to Wear a Tie post from last November and it set me thinking that I could do my own twist on the theme, with one of my Seasonal Skinny Style Challenge outfits.

I only own one tie - this Leopard Print Scarf Tie - which wasn't going to be right for the outfit in mind.  I'd decided to use a thin black & grey patterned scarf and knot it as a tie, but as soon as I saw the sequin number, literally only a week ago, the black one got bumped!  Sorry black & grey patterned scarf.  Another time.

The scarf was tangled up amongst all sorts of odds and sods on a forlorn looking sale rack in New Look.  You know, the rack that contains the last dregs of the sale that nobody seems to want. Clearly, people had completely missed this gem.  However, the sequins sparkled just enough in the half light at the back of the rack to catch my beady eye.  I rescued it and instantly knew it would be perfect for my suited and booted post!

What if you want to create a masculine look or find yourself drawn more to that style of dressing?
How can you achieve this without looking too hard edged?  
The secret is to add a few, subtle feminine touches using texture, cut and colour.

Texture
We've certainly a few plays on texture here;

the softness of the wool beret,
the smoothness of the leather jacket and boots,
the mock croc effect of the tote bag and stitching of the gloves,
the sparkle of the sequins of the tie scarf.

Cut
Everything is streamlined and fitted.  The single breasted leather jacket is reminiscent of a suit jacket and when done up, gives a nipped-in waist.  Its structure is offset by the softness of the undone shirt.

I usually go for smaller bags being a petite but when garments are fitted, creating a column effect as in this outfit, then I can get away with a wider/bigger tote.

Originally, I wore the scarf as a proper tie but even doing it in a Windsor knot, the ends still dangled too low, at crotch level - oy vey - throwing the proportions.  Instead, I folded it in half and looped the ends through and violà, the length is perfect, whilst still giving the effect of wearing a gentleman's tie.

Colour
If I'd stuck to just a palette of black and greys it could've looked too harsh, especially as I have pale skin.  The three pops of the berry shades from the beret, gloves and skinnies, give the outfit just that right amount of richness to soften the look. Berry and wine colours are great alternatives to black, if your skin tone doesn't suit wearing all black.

A shirt in mottled shades of grey and a tote with a mix of black, grey and cognac also stops the look from being too monochromatic.

I'm somewhat ashamed to say that my leather jacket has hardly been worn in the 15 odd years I've owned it.  I kept thinking about selling it but something always held me back.  Styling this outfit made me realise why I'd hardly worn it; it's the kind of jacket that works best with trousers or jeans rather than skirts.  I originally bought it thinking it would be great for the office with skirts and dresses but never really wore it with them!

It's a beautifully made piece (it should be, it cost enough at the time!) with a luxurious silver lining and leather that's oh, so soft.

It fits really well but as it's quite heavy, it's too bulky to wear under a coat in winter but is often too hot to wear on warmer days, when you only need a light jacket.  But, on a mild winter's day with hat and gloves, it's an ideal jacket to wear as outerwear.

Now I've seen how it really can work, I won't be thinking of selling it ever again!

I PROMISE!

Dorothy Perkins Skinny Jeans
Land's End Chilled Grey Print Non Iron Shirt  Currently available in the sale.
Precis Petite Single Breasted Leather Jacket (old)
New Look Silver Sequin Skinny Scarf  Currently in the sale.
New Look Grey & Black Mock Croc Tote (old via E-bay) Similar Black Structured Tote
Tu at Sainsbury Gloves bought half price in store.  Not available online but some may still lurk in stores.  Similar Marks & Spencer Berry Gloves
Accessorize Berry Colour Wool Beret  Currently in the sale.
M&S Leather Boots (old)  Similar Pointed Ankle Boots.

A few tips to bear in mind when styling a masculine look.

- Use boots, ties, briefcase style bags, single breasted and/or tweed jackets as your masculine features.
- Unisex hats such as berets or fedoras, are a great way of bringing in a masculine vibe.  If I owned a wine fedora for example, you can bet your life I'd be wearing it here!  One for the 2016 birthday list, me thinks!
- Waistcoats in Spring or Summer or under jackets in Autumn and Winter.
- Use different textures and pops of colour as your feminine touches to balance out the feel.

Now you know, you can go forth, suitably suited and booted!

Do you like outfits with a more masculine feel to them?  If so, how do you style them?

Want to find out more about my Seasonal Skinny Style Challenge?  You can read the story here.

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Styling a Tomboy Look | Checked Shirt, Doc Martens, Beanie | Black, Brown & Camel

As a nipper, I was never happier than when I was wearing my siblings hand-me-down jumpers and jeans, tearing around the neighbourhood on my bike, climbing trees, falling out of trees, scraping knees, then climbing trees again.  I hated wearing dresses and never played with dolls.  

I was a tomboy!

And although I do now love wearing dresses, there's still a small part of me that's a tomboy at heart.

Of course, as we grow up, we can naturally outgrow a style - our personal style and even life is never static - but I think it's sad when women think a style of dressing isn't for them anymore just because they hit a certain number.   I've never let age stop me from wearing a style I like.  You just might have to tweak it slightly.

So here's an outfit I wore one day over the Christmas break which harks back to my younger, tomboy days.  Definitely no more hand-me-down jumpers!  Instead, for a grown-up tomboy look I wore:

a classic checked shirt.
a shearling gilet; a faux fur one would work equally well.
a beanie, which I prefer to baseball caps.
leopard print dm's.  You could wear converse high tops, vans etc...  but I kinda like the feel the dm's give.  Plus it's an easy way to bring in a little pattern mixing with the checked shirt!
A statement necklace.  I love a bit of bling with a checked shirt - it's a slice of unexpected glamour that seals the grown-up, tomboy look.

Doesn't the colour of my jeans just tone beautifully with the table legs, in the glow of the afternoon sun???
Heavens, some unconscious styling to match my surroundings!!!

As I dressed that morning, it also led me to ponder another memory from my youth.  Way back in the 60's and 70's (oh god, how old do I feel saying that), it was always matching handbags and shoes.  If you had black shoes, it was definitely a black handbag.  Brown shoes, brown handbag and it was a rare creature that strayed from that.  You can see I've strayed far from that with my green bag!

I grew up thinking that black and brown shouldn't really be worn together, which is silly really when you think about it.  After all, in nature black and brown happily co-habitate together.  Look at the big cat family.  You don't get leopards or cheetahs stalking the Savannah embarrassed to be seen in their black and brown fur, now do you?

So this is where the outfit started; my leopard print Doc Martens.  You may have come across them in another recent post when I styled them with my denim skirt and plaid cape.

We were off to spend the morning exploring one of the biggest local markets.  Comfortable footwear on cobblestones was the order of the day.  From there I just decided to carry on the black and brown theme, adding my black shearling gilet (underneath my down jacket as an extra layer) and the beanie hat.

Back from our shopping spree, minus jacket, we have the black, brown and camel happily co-habitating together.

To have a counterpoint colour to the three neutral colours, I wore my navy checked shirt; otherwise the look could end up being a little bland for my personal colour tastebuds. And because there's a thin camel line in the print of the shirt, it neatly tones in with the jeans.

The last time I wore this shirt on the blog was back in October in my Biker Boots & Bling post. Back then I highlighted the turquoise in the check, by wearing a turquoise tee under the open shirt and the Majestic Collar Necklace from Yosa.  

This time, I swapped the Majestic for the Ditzy Mint necklace, which is still available. Unfortunately, these photos don't do justice to the soft Minty green colour of the necklace.  I originally bought it last Summer to go with a white embroidery anglaise top and navy embroidery skirt, as it looks so good with navy but sadly didn't get round to photographing it for the blog. One for this coming Summer though!

Lee Checked Shirt (TKMaxx old)
Dorothy Perkins Petite Shearling Gilet A/W sold out now.  Here's a long length one in the sale from Great Plains Long Faux Sheepskin Gilet currently reduced from £110 to a bargain busting £33!
Dorothy Perkins Petite Camel Jeans

Ditzy Mint Necklace

Accessorize Brown Beanie (old) Bobble Beanie Hat

Leopard Print Doc Martens (old via ebay)  Here's a pair in Charcoal Grey Leopard Print

or you could go for Leopard Print Flux Trainers currently in the sale.

Having been on my feet all morning, I took advantage to park myself on some steps in the garden, whilst Tall Brown Fox took a few more snaps.

And being the cheeky tomboy that I am at heart, I started to morph into 'I'm-modeling-for-a-catalogue-mode'.

Catalogue shoot done, I excused myself; off to find a tree to climb.  I could no longer resist the urge. I had to release the tomboy back into the wild again!

Plasters were on standby for grazed knees.

Do you have a style you liked as a kid or a teenager that you still like to wear as an adult?

I'd love to hear how you style it now, as opposed to then.

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Seasonal Skinny Wk 20: Rollneck Jumper & Riding Boots | Camel, Wine & Plaid Cape

Winter has been fashionably late this year.  So fashionably late, I think everyone thought it would never actually show up and all our wool coats and chunky knits would remain hanging forlornly in our wardrobes.

But it's here with freezing temperatures, catching us a little by surprise.  We even had a light smattering of snow fall overnight in London on Saturday, so this week's Seasonal Skinny is adapting to the true nature of the season!

Now it just so happens that a blogging pal of mine from over the pond - the gorgeous Debbie at FashionFairyDust did a post last Wednesday that's so in tune with this outfit it might appear I'm copying her style! She showcased her Camel Cowl Neck Jumper but with black jeans and a plaid scarf.

However, with living in a building site this week - we've no kitchen at present - I got behind with my blog reading (my apologies fellow bloggers) and only caught up with her post over the weekend, after I'd prepared this week's Seasonal Skinny. It's funny how independently our style planets aligned within days of each other!

Telepathy across the Atlantic Ocean?  
Perhaps, but the similarity made me smile, as I pondered what great taste we both have!

I've been itching to show this jumper on the blog for a while but it wasn't due its debut for a few weeks.  I have a list of planned Seasonal Skinny outfits going up to February but with the weather turning, this outfit jumped the queue - its time had come.

I bought the jumper way back in September when I was looking for a couple of new ones and I love the versatility of the camel colour.  It works with denim, black jeans (as Debbie superbly showed) and then equally well with an assortment of my coloured jeans from burgundy, forest green, purple to my Winter Seasonal Skinny.

Sometimes you want a cosy, slouchy jumper you can just pull over your head and go.  Nothing complicated, simple, easy styling.  This one is loose fitting in the torso but close fitting in the arms with drop down shoulder seams, so some of the pattern falls down onto the upper arm.  A design touch I like.

With a looser top, I kept the bottom half streamlined; the knee high boots were ideal and the slightly darker colour of the tan ties in neatly with the camel above.

When jumpers have patterns as part of the weave I do like the pattern to be on both sides.  I never understand why manufacturers will have the pattern on the front but then not bother to do the same on the back.  Scratches head!!!

'You've half finished the job!'  is what I feel like shouting! 

I didn't shout that at this jumper though, as the job was finished.  Thankfully, the pattern is on both sides.  PHEW!

My light down jacket is surprisingly wearable, warmth wise, for short trips out and about, even with the mercury hovering around zero, but for an added layer and to bring in some pattern I threw over my plaid cape.

Like Debbie, I'm wearing some leopard print.  However, I opted for my dark brown leopard print beret.  Well, it wouldn't be an outdoor shoot without my signature beret!

A tassel necklace is the perfect focal point against the block colour of the jumper and then my three tassel bracelets tie in with the necklace.  They aren't actually a set even though they look like one.  I stumbled upon them in France over Christmas, when buying my Polka Dot Gloves I wore in last week's Seasonal Skinny.  The bracelets caught my eye as they were fortuituously in a tray at the till and I immediately thought they would go with my tassel necklace.

Debbie paired her cowl neck jumper with the most uber fierce leopard print boots.  So uber fierce, I was tempted to hop on a plane, turn up at her door and ask to borrow them but that might have freaked her out!

I'll definitely wear my leopard print ankle boots that I wore a few weeks ago in my Winter Wine post, with the jumper in the future but for this post, I'd always planned to wear a pair of old faithfuls - my knee high, riding style boots.  These boots have been with me for at least 15 years and are still going strong.  They are perfect for chilly temperatures.

Dorothy Perkins Petite Skinny Jeans
Tu at Sainsbury Jumper A/W15 - not available anymore.  Wallis Camel Block Cowl Jumper
Marks & Spencer Riding Style Boots (old).  These Camel Riding Boots from Clarks are in the sale.
Accessorize Tassel Necklace.  Similar Tassel Necklace from Topshop
Tassel Bracelets from Camaieu currently in the sale
Light Down Jacket & Plaid Cape from TKMaxx
Dark Brown Leopard Print Beret from e-bay (old)
Wine Coloured Bowling Bag, Debehams (old)  Jasper Conran Wine Bowler Bag

Do you think I'd make a good spy?  I'm doing a little blending in with the fence, camoflauge style.

It was all going so well, until TallBrownFox blew my cover.

He started to make me giggle and once I start giggling, well, it's game over!

Oh what the heck.  Who am I kidding?  Blending in, ain't my style.

Have a great week everyone and I'll see you back again on Thursday for a non Seasonal Skinny outfit - my last outfit from my Christmas trip to France.

You can read why I started this Seasonal Skinny Style Challenge here.

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Seasonal Skinny Wk 19: Purple & Plaid | Wine, Purple & Turquoise

Just as Picasso had a blue period, so Petite Silver Vixen is having a purple period.  How long this purple period may last - who knows?  I'll live on the edge and see where the muse takes me; just as I am sure, good ole Pablo did.

No, your eyes do not deceive you. I am wearing the same cardigan and boots from last week's Seasonal Skinny Jewel Tones.

Have I succumbed to complacency already and we're not even at the half way mark of the challenge?
Am I thinking; 'they won't notice I'm wearing practically the same thing as last week!'

Heavens no!  This is merely a more in depth exploration of the sheer panacea that is purple; a colour which runs a close second to my favourite colour - blue.

Although the 3 main items - skinnies, cardigan and boots are the same as last week, I think you'll agree it's a different look, showing that with just a few tweaks, you can create not only an entirely different outfit but one with a different feel. There's definitely more of a casual vibe here than last week, which was on the dressier end of the casual spectrum and that's even with following the same style template as last week ie 3 colours; primary secondary and accent.

Plus, it's a dollop of practicality!  When we were on our Christmas break in France, I packed my Winter skinny.  I knew once we got back to the UK, life would be hectic.  As you read this, I'll be living in a temporary building site, tapping away at my laptop to the sound of floor boards being ripped up as we have a new kitchen floor and kitchen installed and no doubt I'll be covered in a thin - nah, who am I kidding - make that a thick layer of dust! Therefore it seemed prudent to do a couple of Seasonal Skinny outfits whilst we were away!

What's changed from last week's outfit?

To date, the Winter Skinny has been paired with 2 floral tees, a block colour shirt and a geometic patterned, silk blouse, so I thought it was about time we threw plaid into the mix!

Although the shirt doesn't have purple in it, turquoise and teal shades, works equally well with both wine and purple so it's still my linking piece, as my floral tee was last week.

I changed the accent colour from orange to turquoise.
That lead to the orange bag being swapped for my turquoise mini tote.
I replaced the silver necklace with a Labradorite pendant.
I wore the waterfall cardigan differently, straightening the folds out and then only turning one back.
Finally, I tucked the skinny jeans inside the boots to show off the fabulousness of the purple more and that they have an asymmetrical height - they are lower on the outer ankle than the inner.

The French don't have Boxing Day like we do in the UK, so 26th December was an ordinary Saturday.  We decided however, to continue the Christmas eating and drinking by going out to lunch in a hilltop village called Aups.  I mean, who wants to eat left over, cold turkey sandwiches, anyway?

Not that we would've though because we had roast pork on Christmas Day, but you get my drift.

You can see I was quite excited at the prospect of more feasting!

Hilltop villages mean colder temperatures so the perfect time to road test two new holiday purchases I'd bought only a few days earlier - my smokey blue/grey scarf from a local market and polka dot gloves!  I also bought the gloves in red at the same time.  Having wee hands it's tricky finding gloves small enough so I don't have yards of material flapping at the ends of my fingers.  I guess French size petite really is très petite, as these gloves really do ...

... and no apologies for the upcoming pun...

... fit like a glove!  Boom, boom!

Over the years, I've collected a fair bit of semi precious jewellery as I love wearing it.  The stone in this particular pendant, for me at least, is one of the most extraordinary and mysterious stones used in semi precious jewellery: Labradorite.  So called, as it was originally discovered in Labrador in Canada in the 18c.

I'm particularly drawn to this stone because of its exquisitely beautiful schiller. Schiller itself, is quite an exquisite word and means play of light.  It occurs when you see different coloured reflections in minerals, giving an iridescent effect to the stone, which with Labradorite, is know as labradorescence.

You can see flashes of gold, turquoise, peacock green and hints of a blue-y/lavender, which so tie in with the colours I'm wearing, and the depth of the colours changes as you look at the pendant from different angles.

As it hangs on a cord, I can alter the length it sits at, so I adjusted it to be centrally seen when my leather jacket was unzipped.

Dorothy Perkins Petite Skinny Jeans
Wallis Petite Gothic Faux Leather Biker Jacket.  Only size 14s left in the sale but it's available in Stone in the petite and Black in the regular size.
TKMaxx Purple Waterfall Cashmere Cardigan.  Here's a Purple Cashmere Buttone Cardigan currently in the sale
TKMaxx Turquoise & Navy Plaid Shirt
New Look Turquoise Mini Tote.  Seen here in my Turquoise Delight post.
Wollen Scarf from French market
Polka Dot Gloves from Camaieu available in the sale in Grey and Red
Labradorite Pendant (ancient) bought at an holistic health fair.  I love the setting of this Pendant.
Marks & Spencer Purple Suede Boots (old).  These are a funky pair of Purple Boots.

Do you have a favourite semi precious stone you like wearing?  I'd love to know what it would be in the comments below.

You can read why I'm undertaking a style challenge here.

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