WIW :Grey Layers - YouLookFab Forum

Hi Ladies,

I am so enjoying our forum outfit lab on layering grey, so I decided to give it a go.

I wore this out shopping with a friend this morning and I was complemented by a SA, but I am not sure I would wear it again. I feel it needs some modification. The two layers don't work as well as I would like them to.

I generally don't wear dark grey, as I don't think they flatter me as much as the light grey but my girlfriend disagrees?? I think my silver / grey open back sweater will be more flattering tone with the white pants in future.

So it is a true spring day here today and I was excited to wear my new white pants. As I was wearing a flat shoe I simply folded them once to show of the shoe (they sit just on the ankle below the ankle bone). I did wear the sleeves pushed up but forgot to do that for the photo. The skin of my arm showing seemed to help balance the outfit.

The shoes have been a wardrobe orphan:( I got the thumbs up from the Forum when I bought them about two years ago and I think I have worn them twice:( In about 60 seconds I went from loving them to thinking they looked like old lady comfort shoes!! Anyway I do like them and I am determined to wear them this season.

I think I will continue to work on and tweak this idea. What do you think?

Appreciated your thoughts

xxx Deborah

Outfit:

Slouchey grey sweater : ??
Silky grey tank : Jag
White Ankle Pants : Valley Girl
Shoes : Fiona McGuiness
Scarf : Crossroads

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8 years ago

Joy

Veteran

I really like this outfit. The white pants brighten everything and the scarf with its varied greys is beautiful and pulls everything together.

Brooklyn

This mixing of greys is hard! I like the layers of the outfit, the scarf and the new white pants but I am not sure about the grey mix. To me the dark grey of the top is not quite right with the rest of the outfit. I think the underlayer works really well with the scarf and shoes but not so much the overlaying top. What do you think? You still look great so I do feel I am being picky picky picky.

Deborah

Thanks Joy:)

Brooklyn, be picky, I am, sadly, a perfectionist when it comes to outfits and I like to be stretched and challenged;). I tend to agree with you. Perhaps a lighter grey layer over the dark grey tank would work better;). I'm definitely going to play more with this .

Thanks Deborah! I would like to see that. My confidence is shot because I too wore a grey mix outfit during the week: jeans and grey ombre jacket with light grey sweater and grey mix scarf (it is cold here!). I thought it looked fine so I took photos to post and then I decided it looked all wrong! It is amazing what photos reveal. I find undertones hard to detect.

Brooklyn, photos really are such a great tool. I think had I photographed the outfit before I went out, I might have changed into a lighter grey top. I have decided to donate the grey sweater as I really don't like myself in the dark grey. The tank I will keep because it will work for layering. Onwards and upwards. Lets see what we can both come up with next on our grey layering journey

carolbee

Well, I have to disagree, I love the whole outfit, and the shoes are gorgeous.

Anonymous

I don't love this, but I'm having a really hard time putting my finger on why I don't love it. I possibly agree with Brooklyn. My eyes focus immediately on the sweater. There was a clash somewhere.

cheryle (Dianthus)

(website)

I do think you look good in the outfit but you have set the bar so high with your style that it is hard to hit the height every time.

Like Sterling, I am having a bit of trouble pinpointing the issue but what I see is that the two layers have different angles which is fine but then the tails of the scarf add more angles and the sleeves end at about the same height as all of the angles. I feel like there is a lot going on in that one area and no offset elsewhere in the outfit. Does that make sense Deborah?

Suz

This is interesting...I actually love the combination of greys. I do not see that as a problem at all, although admittedly I'm on my laptop and so may be missing something. I also love the greys with the whites. And what a gorgeous scarf! Wow!!

What I do think is that this is a very different look for you, with a lot more going on than is common in your outfits. It may be that there is nothing wrong with this outfit except that it's a different look to what we usually see on Deborah!! Put this outfit on Firecracker or Joy and would people be saying the same things?

I do think perhaps the high contrast between top and bottom, plus the strap of the shoes and the cuffed jeans and the horizontal lines of the bag, plus the scarf covering up your neck, may affect proportions here. What happens with a different shoe? What happens if you switch out the contrast levels a bit?

Overall, this simply feels a bit "arty" for your style as we have come to know it, and less "avant garde." So maybe that's why it doesn't feel like "you." Does that make sense?

JAileen

I love this. I would wear this, if I had the shoes and scarf to make it work. Just because it's different from what you usually wear does not mean it isn't you.

ETA: and the painting behind you echoes your outfit too!

Word Lily

I think this dark grey *should* work for you — you wear black so well, and light grey, too, so why wouldn't it work? It does look good, but I'd like to see it with a light grey top, too, I think. The shoes are really fun. I hope you find ways to wear them a lot.

[goes back to look at photos for the umpteenth time]

OK, am I seeing this right? Some of the greys in the scarf look almost green to me in the photos. And that's maybe conflicting with the pink/purple undertones of the dark grey in your top. If that's correct, that's probably why it feels off. So maybe just taking off the scarf (or replacing with a different one) would fix it, too?

Again, I very much don't think this is a failed outfit, but your usual standards are very high.

Like others have said, it's hard to pin point quite what's working or may not be working, yet I do like your outfit a lot. It is definitely a bit different to your usual looks...as Suz said...more Arty maybe. Personally, I love the proportions and the soft scarf. You also look fab in white jeans!

shedev

I like the outfit. I do think you look good in dark grey. I do see see difference in the undertones of the greys though.

Cerinda

I think I see too much taupe undertone in the scarf, but even with that, the outfit is about an 8 out of 10. As others have said, you consistently hit 10s... Have to add, I really like the funky --not old lady-- shoes.

Rebecca1147

Active Member

I love the underneath layer - the gray is beautiful and the sheer fabric really works against the white. I wasn't sold on the darker gray sweater as the texture felt too heavy to my eyes. All in all, though, a lovely outfit and I feel like I need those shoes in my closet right now.

TraceyLiz65

I like this alot. The white pants really do balance out the dark sweater and the scarf is in perfect harmony with both.

rachylou

I find the shoes surprisingly sophisticated... I would not have guessed they could be so with the Mary Jane strap.

I think the lighter greys of the scarf, placed between your face and the top, take care of the dark grey issue.

Lyn D.

The shoes and bag play well together, and you might feel better about the outfit if the sweater was swapped-out.
I think you wear dark grey very well, but the cooler shade of this one doesn't blend perfectly with the green-grey in the scarf and layered tank.
Yay for Spring weather and a chance to start experimenting with new elements for the days ahead

Without reading all of the other comments, the first/only thing I want to do is take off the scarf. The shoes work with the sweater (yes, the shoes are weird but in an interesting way, not an old lady way) and there is enough colour going on there without adding on the scarf. I would sub in a necklace of some sort (something in silver with angles and sharper edges to add some definition and edge to all of the softness here) and maybe a silver watch/bangle combo (depending on the complication of the neckpiece).

I think this is an interesting and different outfit for you - and white pants look good on you.

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