Buying Occasion Shoes Before You Need Them

I recently purchased a pair of gold ankle strap pumps with stable block heels without a specific occasion in mind. I might only get to wear them for a birthday celebration in July, or even further out, in my holiday outfit at the end of the year. Of course, I’ll probably have an opportunity to wear them a lot sooner than that.

I’m usually not in favour of purchasing items too far in advance of needing them because they might not be the right style when the time comes. I also bat for Team Wear and want to wear new items as soon as possible. But in this case, it seemed like a good idea for several reasons:

  • Gold ankle strap pumps with stable mid-height heels are hard to find. 
  • They are a tried-and-tested top pick that is sufficiently comfortable. 
  • The vibe is Modern Retro and metallic, so there is little chance of it not working with my future occasion outfits.
  • They are seasonless, and work well with Winter hosiery. 
  • It’s an affordable price. 
  • It will avoid a last minute scramble when the occasion arises.

You often find just the right item when you’re not looking for it. I’m taken advantage of that here. I hope it was the right decision. 

Have you bought items far in advance to prevent the stressful scramble at the last minute? If so, were your purchases successful?

Six Ways to Wear a Neckerchief

A neckerchief is a small square scarf made of cotton, silk, polyester, linen, rayon or blends of those fabrics. The bandana is a type of neckerchief. Neckerchieves are once again on trend, and my guess is that they’ll stick around and become a classic. They are a nice way to add colour, interest and dimension to your outfit in an easy and affordable way. 

A few things upfront:

  • Neckerchiefs are usually small, but larger squares allow you to create a slightly different look, which I’ll highlight below.
  • Make sure you tie the ends in a square knot so that they lie flat because your scarf looks neater that way. 
  • Neckerchiefs were made for longer necks, but shorter necks can wear them too. Simply tie the scarf looser around a shorter neck, and wear a colour that is low contrast to your skin tone to break up the cutting horizontal line

Here are six ways to tie a neckerchief:

1. Classic

This is the easiest and most popular way to wear a neckerchief. Fold the points of the scarf together to create a triangle, and fold again and again lengthways to create a worm. Tie around the neck with a square knot. Position the knot in the middle or to the side of the neck. A larger square has longer ends. You can move the knot to the side, and push one of the ends to the back of the neck when they’re long.

Classic

2. Cowboy

This is the trendiest way to tie the neckerchief at the moment. Fold the points of the scarf together to create a triangle and tie the ends into a square knot around the neck. Pull the triangular part of the scarf to the front or slightly to the side “cowboy” style, with the knot at the back. A larger square creates a larger triangle. Try the look with a low-contrast colour to your skin tone if you need to get used to the vibe. 

Cowboy

3. Wrapped

You’ll need a larger square scarf to achieve this look. Fold two points of the scarf together to create a triangle, and keep on folding to create a long worm. Wrap it around the neck twice and tie a square knot, positioning the knot in front or a little to the side. 

Wrapped

4. Hair Candy

Use a neckerchief as a headband, or tie it around the band of a ponytail. You’ll need a larger square scarf for the headband, and a smaller neckerchief for the ponytail. Cotton scarves tend to feel more secure when used as a headband (silky ones are slippery.)

Hair

5.  Bag Candy 

Tie a neckerchief to the strap or handle of a handbag. A smaller square scarf works best for this. It’s a great way to wear a scarf away from the face. Fuss-free, and adds patterned interest to your outfit.

Bag

6. Arm Candy 

And last, another way to wear a neckerchief away from the face. Wrap a small square scarf around the wrist a few times after folding it into a long worm. The knot should finish on top of the wrist. A silky scarf tends to feel the most comfortable for this, although it might be a little tricky to tie on your own.

Arm

I bought a Spring neckerchief from the Loft last week, and have worn it a few times with J.Crew’s cashmere tees in the same palette. Personally, I prefer silk to cotton neckerchiefs because they look dressier. I like to wear my neckerchief tied the classic way, but with a strand of chunky pearls for a Modern Retro touch. With my green specs, the effect is quite Maximal. I’m also going to tie a neckerchief to the handle of my bag, just for fun.

Angie

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Ensemble: Culottes & Cocoon Coat

This ensemble was inspired by a lovely lady passing the crosswalk in front of my car this week. She combined black culottes with a patterned blouse, tan cocoon coat, black hosiery, black booties and brown bag. She was a brunette with olive skin, and looked good in the combination. 

The proportions of the combination are “volume on volume”, and not traditionally flattering. But with structure in just the right places, you can achieve a look that is just flattering enough. It’s a common look on catwalks, and nice to see on the streets of Seattle. 

Remember that culottes come in many variations. The silhouette can be full, much like a split flared skirt. Or more streamlined, which the industry is calling “wide cropped pants”. We also know them as gauchos. The narrower culotte is easier to style and has more structure than its fuller cousin.

I’ve used a colour palette similar to what I saw on the street, but feel free to use any colour spectrum. I added tomato red to the look, because it makes me smile.

Here are the components of the outfit: 

Culottes: Choose a fuller or narrower silhouette. Denim culottes will also work. Make sure they are sufficiently short so that they look intentional. The right length will add structure to the outfit and lengthen the leg line. Two to three inches above the ankle bone is fab. 

Top: Choose a blouse or pullover that works with the silhouette of the culottes. Tuck or semi-tuck a fluid top. Boxy cropped tops are also good. Think patterns and embellishment. Garden florals and embroidery, for the win. 

Cocoon Coat: Layer a cocoon coat over the outfit. Make sure the coat is fitted on the shoulder and tapers at the hem. Leaving the coat open in front adds vertical integrity to the outfit by creating a line down the centre front of the body. 

Cocoon Coat Substitutions: Try an unbuttoned peacoat, long cardigan, or trapeze jacket if you don’t have a cocoon coat. 

Footwear: Choose Mary Janes, booties, oxfords, flats or pumps in a colour that works with the outfit. Add hosiery for warmth. 

Accessories: Throw in a fun bag. Tie a bandana or neckerchief to the bag for Maximal effect. Add a floral pin to the coat, and amp up the jewellery for another nod to the Maximalism trend. Add eyewear, watch and headgear as desired.

Ensemble: Culottes & Cocoon Coat

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Roundups

Simpler Items

This week's list of top picks list is about basic pieces.

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Assorted Items

Items for Summer, both in and out of air conditioning.

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Casual Summer Vibes

This week's top picks are good for a casual Summer vibe.

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Summery Earth Tones

These items are for those who like to wear casual earth tones in warm and hot weather.

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Hints of Spring

Some tried-and-tested winning items to refresh your style for Spring.

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Dressier Items

An assortment of dressier top picks might be just what the doctor ordered.

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Link Love: 3 Thought-Provoking Style Stories

The Guardian investigates whether wearing “fun” clothes can help lift your mood in depressing times.

I was moved while reading Laura Turner’s personal experiences with “What Do We Do With the Clothing of Grief“.

I also enjoyed this Fashionista article about how six beauty editors are bringing diversity to newsstands:

“But if there’s any team at a publication that bears particular responsibility to show diverse representations of women — in Every. Single. Issue. — it’s the beauty department. Beauty editors are responsible for pulling foundations that come in shades for all skin tones, hair solutions for all textures and stories on identity from women who, for so long, have been underrepresented.”

Fab Links from Our Members

Lisa reports that BCBG Max Azria has filed for bankruptcy. “A shame”, she says, “because they were a go-to store for me when I needed a dress for a special event.”

Mac enjoyed reading about icon Jane Birkin at 70.

When gardenchick saw this obituary for fashion designer Emmanuelle Khanh, she thought of everyone here at YLF: “What beautiful, wearable clothes. She clearly had a great eye and was ahead of her time.”

kkards thought “The Future of Shopping is Discrimination” was a very interesting read.

This post from three years ago changed how Turmeric dresses.

Debbie Roes’ Recovering Shopaholic blog has been very important to Jenni NZ: “I found it about the same time as YLF in May 2016 and used her ideas to help me track wears etcetera to get a handle on what I was doing with my over-shopping.”

Jenni NZ also found this Cosmo article about “7 Types of Clothing You Should Get Rid of Immediately” quite useful.

And last but not least, she would like to share her favourite Australian online shoestore.

Mules of the Moment

Mules are backless, slip-on sandals without straps. Sometimes they’re called slides, or simply “slip-ons”. They were a fringe trend for a while and are now completely mainstream. In fact, I’ll go as far as saying that they’re the shoe of the season

Mules are available in all sorts of vibes: Dressy or casual, heeled or flat, solid or patterned, refined or chunky, colourful or neutral, textured or smooth, embellished or plain, and closed or open toe. Here’s a collection that showcases the enormous variety.  

Mules look very fresh. I particularly like the dressier styles with closed toes because they look more polished. Quite gorgeous. The silhouette represents a sense of ease and comfort, which is an ongoing theme in modern fashion. Outfits that denote Casual Chic and Relaxed Elegance are more popular and stylish than ever, and mules fit right in with that look.  

I think of mules as ‘90s shoes, and wore them back then. I wore refined styles in gold and white, chunky styles in black, and casual styles in brown. Aside from strappy, sky-scraping stilettos, I can’t think of a worse footwear style for my low volume feet. Mules fall off when you have low insteps, low arches, narrow and long toes, and boney feet. I used to develop foot cramp trying to keep them on. Walking up the stairs in mules was dreadful. Add that I’m a fast walker and it’s an absolute disaster. Mules fly off my feet, and make a hectic “clucking” sound when I stride. My feet pushed forward in the open-toed variety, making my toes sweep the ground. It was awful. I didn’t listen to my footwear needs back in my twenties, and simply suffered for fashion. Two and half decades later and I know better. I will not be wearing the shoe of the season. 

That said, mules can work really well for high volume feet. You need toe width, high insteps and well padded feet to fill out the silhouette and keep them on your feet. Under these conditions they can feel extremely comfortable. You can’t fit an orthotic into mules, but you can purchase styles with extra arch support, like those from Dansko, Vionic and Birkenstock.

Over to you. Will you be wearing mules? If so, I can live vicariously through you.