Try-it-out Tuesday: starting points

     Pre-blog days, my clothing choices were often dictated by two key criteria: 1) is it ironed? 2) Does it match something that is also ironed?
      This Tuesday, I decided to challenge myself. These shoes and necklace are recent purchases, and I wanted to experiment with building an outfit based on these key pieces.

     I loved the colors and drape of this necklace when I spotted it while browsing the Macy's clearance section. It's very different from my other necklaces, which tend to be on the dainty, understated side. Since I'm still searching for my style, I'm not sure whether this necklace is really "me." But it looked fun and different.

     I couldn't really figure out what colors/style of top to wear with this necklace, so I wimped out with a basic black T and pencil skirt.
    On a whim I added the fuschia belt, another recent purchase. No, I don't believe in wearing all of my new purchases at once, but I wanted to see how it looked with the other colors.

    I'm excited about finding these shoes! I literally own one black pair of comfortable sandals for work, so these will be a great alternative. I think the pewter color is just a little different and pretty.

  

     I kind of like the light in this last photo, and this is the best sitting-on-the-ground photo I've taken yet. Just don't ask what I'm doing with my hands, or whose mess that is in the background ...

outfit tweak: adding purple and sparkle

I wore this outfit last week, except I put a gray T underneath.

I know I need some new poses, but this isn't it. While I liked last week's outfit, I thought it would be fun to add some unexpected color. Enter these really cute Bandolino flats, which I love but haven't worn much.

The color purple completely baffles my camera, so I've done some heavy-handed tweaking via Picnik to better represent the color. I thought the yellow and purple would play well together. And then, I found my favorite long necklace, so I decided to throw that into the mix as well. (Rumors of me being supremely organized are untrue. For months I've believed this necklace to be lost, only to find it hanging off the knob on the back of my bedroom door.)

I think this outfit tweak was a success, and I can't wait to wear it. It was also lots of fun ... can't you tell by my smile?