Celine military skirt. Lets count the ways to wear you...(6 gasp!)

Accessories REALLY change the look of something. To prove my point, for the next three outfits I am going to wear the same Celine skirt (found at Goodwill!) and vintage gold metallic St. John knit tank.  Military is HUGE right now and that’s great because that fabulous khaki/green color can be the perfect neutral background for a million different looks and a million different ways to mix pattern (I LOVE mixing pattern and you will too!). Oh-we’ve-just-begun…lets go to it…

Exhibit A “Edgy”: So I’ve got that “base” I mentioned above (skirt and tank) and to that I decided to go a bit “East Village”/”Chelsea”/”Downtown” if you will.  The look is a touch architectural and bold, just what I like (check out all of those great lines!).

Shoes: Ann Demeulemeester (purchased at Barneys NY in Boston on sale for $315.00), white elastic belt (thrift store $0.99), Collar necklace (Metalliferous NYC $5.99), bracelet (made myself), oversize metallic clutch ($10.00 Volunteers of America Columbus OH.)

Exhibit B: Classic. Vintage. I feel very 1960's Italian.

To my base I changed into a vintage golden silk shantung jacket and added a vintage Chanel inspired chain belt (all from Boomerang Vintage in KCMO).  Italian vintage shoes in metallic gold are from Vintage Vogue in KCMO.  Handbag is Marc Jacobs collection (investment piece! Will own forever!) and goat head necklace is vintage Frank Razza from the 1960’s. I kept this ensemble grounded in warm, rich tones with the khaki/green skirt as a neutral.  You can put any color with that skirt (sigh of happiness!).

Exhibit C: Bohemian

Again, I added to our base for a completely different look. Jean jacket purchased for $0.25 somewhere in Missouri 8 years ago…cheetah scarf $3.99 Ohio Thrift, Minnetonka moccs folded in half bought 8 years ago (don’t remember how $), drawstring handbag Vintage Vogue $10.00.

 

Same Celine skirt again (I know, I know, but I there are SO many ways to wear it!) Paired with my high school Abercrombie shirt (from 199?-wha?!), a relic in itself for my “Military-Military” inspired look.  Subtle pattern plays an important role, the khaki color shell underneath has this fabulous tiny print to incorporate a little interest (Gap shell Ohio Thrift $2.99). A plain shirt underneath would be incredibly boring, always look for ways to make your outfit unexpected and interesting, that cultivates personal style. Express who you are, it’s all about the details. Really. Shoes are from Filene’s basement NYC. Vintage pony hair handbag adds another element of pattern and texture (gift). My heart melts. I love this stuff. I love you patterns!

Military skirt with metallic beaded shirt? It can’t be done?! Oh, but it can! And it is SO spot on right it’s crazy! There’s a common misconception about mixing evening wear and day wear. I am here to announce that it’s possible, but like everything else, it just has to be done correctly. This amazing skirt (as I mentioned before) is a fabulous neutral (kind of like denim would be) and it can hold it’s own against the shiniest top because it doesn’t fight it, it lets it shine on its own, no competition! Top, Oleg Cassini (Ohio thrift $5.99) belt Gucci (Goodwill), cheetah shoes (pattern! pattern! in a neutral which is why this also works) from Vintage Vogue $10.00. I thought I would have fun with the handbag which is a glorious horse print to which I added my favorite Kid Robot charms. This is me, expressing myself!