Fall Wardrobe: Pt. 1 A Few New Things

 

Hello all! 

One thing I did this year that is unusual for me was that I bought more print blouses than plain.    I can't tell you why except that I liked them, they were very well priced and they worked so well with the pants I have that  it just seemed a good thing to have them.

First, I got this shirt from Christopher & Banks.  Not a place I'd typically order from, but I saw this blouse on Instagram and later on Facebook in an ad and I wanted it!  I didn't care for the price but then they had a big sale and a promotional coupon and suddenly it was very affordable, so I put it in my shopping cart and I didn't even wait to see how I felt about it a few days later, as I'd typically do.  Nope.   I wanted this blouse that badly!  I've looked to try and find a link to this blouse, but will watch on Facebook and Instagram for it, because I can't find it online without the ad linking to it.  

You can find it here.  I did not pay the full price.  I paid less than half during a promotional sale and with a coupon.

This blouse has 3/4 sleeves and a pleat off to one side of the waist.  Though it is cut like a wrap top, the top is actually seamed closed so it's not too low a neckline.  There's a waist seam too.  I ordered a 22/24 and this just fits my shoulders as it ought so if you find it online and order it consider that it runs a little small.  I typically wear an 18/20 or even 14/16 in some styles, but I guessed correctly that like most higher end pieces it would run smaller.

The color of the blouse is a soft teal blue (compare to the spread on the bed) with a deeper teal, gray, ivory, rust,  mustard, olive and black in the print.

I wore this first on vacation in St. Augustine on a day when we spent hours walking downtown and it was comfortable and easy to wear, not too heavy and not overly warm.   I felt every bit as chic in my blouse as the rest of the women on the street who came well dressed for a day in town (most wearing dresses).

This blouse pairs well with dark wash jeans,  shown here with Grey flats and my choice of tiger eye or sandstone and cream necklace.

Black jeans, either a grey beaded necklace or the one I also ordered from Christopher & Banks and my hat bought on vacation.

The olive jeans, which are reading brown here and does give me the idea of pairing the top this winter with the brown Ponte knit pants, and a jade colored pendant necklace.

And with the khaki tan pants, plus a pair of shoes Bess gave me.

My next purchases were from Cato.  Both were clearance priced.  I ordered this one online:

It is available here but may only be available  in solids.  There's another here as well that is exactly the same but in Olive green.     It is still clearance priced.  Shown here with the khaki jeans and beige flats and my choice of necklaces with green beads or jade pendant.  This top also looks well with the sandstone and cream necklace, which would be a pretty pairing with the khaki pants.

And here is the same top with the Olive jeans.  I ordered this blouse specifically to go with these jeans and it matches them very nicely.

I failed to take a solo photo of this blouse but I'll explain it best I can.  It is a two part blouse with a rust colored shell and an attached sheer print poncho type covering.  I've had this same blouse in various colors for the past six years.  It appears it's a style that never goes out of style for Cato Fashion.  It's offered up each year and sells out quickly.  This is the first time I've seen it in something that appears autumnal in color.

The last blouse was bought as an in-store purchase also at Cato.

I cannot locate it online.  This top has a ruffle detail that runs from the shoulder to either side of the button placket as well as ruffles on the ends of the sleeves.  The sleeves hit just at my elbow.   The background is black, but there are shades of denim bloom, grey,  mustard, cream and browns in this fabric.  It will pair well with both black jeans, dark wash and medium wash jeans, as well.   

Here I show it with a dull gold heavy chain necklace and the mustard shoes I bought last fall.

And here it is paired with a wood and navy necklace and black flats with the dark wash jeans and a denim blue tank top underneath.   

The rest of the items I picked up are usually considered accessories and not counted as part of a capsule wardrobe but I wanted to show them to you since they are new.

My new brown bag.  My older one was slouchier in appearance and vegan leather but the handles are looking very worn and shoddy.  I've had it for two or three years now so it held up well.  I admit though I like the more classic look of this bag, which also has a shoulder strap.

This is just a very soft, very basic light zippered hoodie jacket, almost sweatshirt material.  It's extremely comfortable.  I used it in Florida on the cooler breezier days and it was just the perfect weight for that time.  It's not something I'd wear for dressier wear for church but it's perfect for shopping and such outings.

A basic scoop neck black t-shirt.  The sleeves hit me just above the elbow and I think you can see in the picture that the sleeves are cuffed. This is a nice weight, neither too heavy nor tissue thin.  I wore it while out today and it wore very well.

A basic white  v-neck, short sleeve  t-shirt.  I consider the black and white shirts wardrobe basics which switch easily from one pairing to another as well as a season to season piece.

This is a long sleeve slight scoop neck charcoal grey shirt.  It's a little bit heavier than a t-shirt but not a sweatshirt, though it does have the banded bottom like a sweatshirt.   With a scarf this shirt will do very well for my wardrobe on cooler days.  I bought this piece at Ross for Less.

This shirt looks maroon but is actually a deep eggplant purple.   This, too is a basic t-shirt weight, three quarter sleeve, slight scoop neck.  This and the two tanks below it were all online purchases from Cato's clearance section.   Fortunately many retailers have an excess of last winter's stock left on hand and they've reduced it this fall.

This is a heavy spandex blend tank top.  I paired it with a kimono and a blouse I have had for years to show you why I purchased it.  Both these pieces go well with this tank and it's just right for a day such as we had today where temperatures eased up into the mid-80s. The color looks rusty/pumpkin but is actually redder than it appears in the photo.  It's a color called Rooibos.

Same piece in an olive color.  It goes well with a kimono or would do well under the blouse shown here.  In person it makes the green in the blouse pop.  I have other pieces that both these tanks might go with but just paired them up for this post with what I immediately picked from the closet.

And that's the new pieces I added this year.  You'll note it was mostly tops.  I have a lot of pants at present that I can wear, jeans and slacks both and simply didn't need those.  I bought everything on clearance except the purse which I found at Ross for Less, so it too was very well priced.   I expect all the pieces to see me through fall and winter and some will be useable in spring, as well, which is the luxury of living in Georgia.  All pieces may be layered to increase warmth should we have cold weather.