I love folk/popular art and traditional folk clothing; it's so fascinating to see how different cultures solved the problems of getting dressed, and while they're all individual, it's fun to also find the similarities (I've noticed in old photos women are almost always in full skirts, from Estonia to the Andes). So when I came across this skirt while thrifting a few weeks ago, I knew I had to have it, even if the red was a bit brighter than my usual and the waist too big. Look at that embroidery! I took the waist in recently (of course, once I had it in, I realised that now the skirt was a bit shorter than my ideal, exposing my entire knee cap, but oh well) and then tried on various tops with the skirt to figure out how to integrate it into my wardrobe. I'd found a few options I liked and was looking forward to wearing it, when the photo challenge was announced and I saw the Santana album. The skirt would be perfect for that, so I waited, and then on Thursday I pulled it out.

I actually meant to wear a teal long sleeve tee a la this palette , but the weather had cooled off, so I decided this cardigan would keep my warmer. I added the cami with bow neckline (which I just realised is the piece in my closet that I've had longest, as I had it my sophomore year of college, in 2005) to bring the skirt embroidery colour up into the top, but it played a bit better with the neckline of my original tee shirt than the cardigan. And then I added blue stockings in a very similar colour to the cardigan, although they're not photographing that way; they also have a kind of jagged stripe pattern, adding a bit to the business, which seemed appropriate considering the album cover! I felt really good in this all day, a little bit old fashioned, a little bit contemporary.

For my walk, it had gotten colder (41F/5C), and I wasn't wearing a ton of wool layers, so I pulled out my bigger winter coat. It's navy blue wool (with some nylon mixed in), I bought it halfway through college, and it saw me through the next two Midwest winters and then through Colorado weather and is still going strong (except I need to lint roll it)! It's from the Gap, and I remember hunting the post-Christmas sales (I hadn't yet discovered secondhand shopping) to find just the right thing. I'm very grateful to past me for choosing a classic, warm, hardwearing neutral. Since the coat covered up most of the colour, I decided to bring a bit of Santana in with my teal hat & matching fingerless gloves (they also help since the cardigan has bracelet sleeves). Finally I pulled on a thicker pair of tights under my stockings (they're a very pale pink, so that's why it looks like bare leg) and added my higher lace up boots for a folksy touch and for Museum Girl! I was super warm and toasty in this, in fact I ended up extending my walk just to enjoy the weather more.

Comments and suggestions always welcome!