We shared Karen’s incomparable elegance, grace and edge with you last year when she sported some of her Autumn and holiday looks. This season we’re bringing you a series of Karen’s favourite “every day” outfits that we styled for this Spring and Summer. Over the next five weeks we’ll showcase one Karen-outfit per week. What a treat.
At age 71, Karen is retired and leads a casual lifestyle in Seattle. So we are always looking for ways to dress outfits down with polish, sophistication and edge. So we’re kicking off the Summer outfit series with the trusty denim jacket and skirt formula. Karen loves wearing skirts, and is utterly devoted to her multiple denim jackets.
Karen has a strict rule about knee-covering skirts and dresses, and arm covering tops. Anything with less coverage makes her feel less than fab. That’s why we rejoiced when she fitted on this linen animal printed darling from J. Crew with a decent amount of length. We matched it up with an untucked, basic white button down shirt and Gap denim jacket from several seasons ago. Sometimes Karen buttons up the jacket, and sometimes leaves it open. We further relaxed the vibe by scrunching the sleeves. And to quote Karen: “Everything looks better when you scrunch the sleeves”.
The finishing touches to the outfit are very “Karen”. Eyewear because Karen has sensitive eyes. Tortoise shell earrings and a silver cuff because she’s an-earrings-and-bracelet lass. Flat metallic ecco sandals, a fab find, because Karen prefers dainty, lady-like and low colour contrasting footwear (always flat or low heeled). And a vintage wicker handbag that belonged to her late Mother.
Karen thought hard about wearing nude lipstick because she prefers to see a brighter shade on her lips. I think nude lipstick looks fantastic on Karen, and encouraged it from the word go. It’s modern, natural-looking, soft and a nice way to evolve a make-up routine. So for the first time ever, Karen is sporting nude lipstick.
This outfit is ageless, timeless, flop proof and above all, comfortable. Modern yet classic. Casual yet pulled together. Crisp yet distressed. Pretty yet spunky. It gives me great joy to see Karen sporting this look with confidence and panache because she was hesitant to wear denim jackets when we first started working together, fearing that they might not be age appropriate. Well. That thinking is history and Karen started her denim jacket collection on our first shopping trip five years ago. She still feels magical in her denim jackets and rocks them with enough verve for all of us.
Also on Karen’s Summer Style
- Skirt and Denim Jacket (this post)
- White Jeans, Tee and Jacket
- Cropped Pants and Fuchsia Flats
- Denim Skirt and Linen Blazer
- Cold Shoulders with Flares
