Following on my wardrobe post last week I have decided to gime my wardrobe almost-orphans a second chance so this week dressing was all about that.
I also tried to figure out WHY they are orphans for me. Let's see...
#1 Orphans - Donna Morgan midi flare dress, cognac boots, zebra belt
I like this Donna Morgan red dress but I don't wear it very often. I think i know why - it is a neckline which does not work well for me. The V is too deep for my smallish chest, I prefer much higher necklines. Because of this I prefer to wear this dress with a layer on top but it is tricky to layer over a flare dress.
My new white Danier jacket comes to the rescue <waving to Suz and Inge!>. I think I really dig how the ladylike midi dress looks with the moto jacket - much better than I like it with traditional blazers.
I also tried to use more orphans in this outfit. Those BP boots are from NAS 2011 and I was not thrilled with their quality. As a result I seldom wear them even though I like the color and style - it is just hard for me to feel fab if quality is not up to my liking.
This thrifted zebra belt is another orphan because it is too short to wear with pants. It also feels a bit too loud for my late minimal style. However I think it works well here because of the white jacket.
Verdict: dress and belt have potential; as for the boots I will try to wear them for one more season and see how it goes.

#2 Orphan - teal lace skirt
My mom made this lace skirt for me last year but I just don't reach for it very often. While I was wearing this outfit I was thinking why is that ans I think I know: it is not very comfortable. the lining is cotton blend and although it is breathable it does bunch because it is missing the silkiness of the regular lining.
This grey BR sweater is a new one (yes, another striped sweater) in a lighter weight than my other BR sweaters - cotton / silk blend. I think I should be able to wear it well into summer. I surprised myself that I preferred this soft grey color to fuchsia one and also that I decided not to go with the oversized look.
I am also adding my outerwear shot as a bonus - love how cobalt, teal and burgundy play together.
Verdict: I will give this skirt a try a couple of more times and see if the bunching bothers me.

#3 Orphan - black wool blazer
I have really hard time to wear this blazer. It is a nice quality and style but I alwasy have a feeling it is too short on me. Here I am trying it out again. This was my inspiration for this outfit (sans the scarf and purse).
I was feeling OK in this outfit because I think it works better with a column of color rather than differently colored top and bottoms.
Verdict: need to experiment more if I can find other formulas how I can wear this jacket.

#4 Orphan - polka dot shell
This is not really an orphan but I bought this shell in January and this is its frst outing in April. One reason maybe because it is more of a warm season item.
Verdict: I quite like it and hope it will come out to play more often as weather warms up.

#5 Orphan - dark wash BF jeans, animal print shirt, cardigan
Again technically these jeans are not orphans yet as I have just bought them
recently. However I find I don't feel as fab in them as in my light wash Kut BF jeans. The reason - they are bigger so they slouch more and I don't like it to this extreme. Honestly I was feeling quite frumpy in them today. Maybe I can ask my mom to take them in in the waist a bit to remove that extra inch which bothers me?
I got this shirt in Chicago last spring but I don't wear it as often as I thought I would. It is polyester and has some static so that maybe the reason why. I like the style though.
Cardigan - I just don't wear cardigans very often but I like long cardigans with BF jeans. I was really craving a comfort dressing today so I thought this cardigan will fit the bill.
Verdict: Try to style the shirt more. Try to alter jeans to the slouchness level I can live with. Cardigan is useful for those comfort craving days.

#6 Bonus - my outfit for tonight when we had friends over. I am cheating a bit here - I did not use the clutch at home but thought it would be fun to get it in the shot.

That was my orphan taming week. I have started to keep a spreadsheet where I mark how many times I wore what. I am going to be ruthless to orphans I cannot beat into submission!

Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!

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