Been doing a little thinking the last week or so of where my style is at, what I'm enjoying wearing, what I'm buying.... yada yada yada.... Here are a few musings on what I've discovered:
1. FIT IS EVERYTHING. Over the last two years I have done a ton of experimenting with various silhouettes and voluminous pieces. And I've enjoyed the heck out of it. But I've come back to the realization that for me, fit is everything. If something doesn't fit well and provide some level of figure flattery, I no longer want to wear it. And I'm finding this even more important since I've gained some weight.
2. LOWER BODY SLIM FIT. I feel best in either a slim fit pencil skirt or slim leg (not skinny) pants/jeans. Because I have a tummy and larger hips, A-line skirts or fuller bottoms just make me look that much bigger on my lower half. You bring in that magical taper of a pencil skirt or slim legs and I automatically feel slimmer and less sloppy.
3. FAVORITE SILHOUETTE - AGAIN. I have come full circle to my favorite silhouette of pencil skirt with flowy untucked blouse topped with a jacket. Pencil skirt because of what I just pointed out in #2; flowy untucked blouse because it hides any mid section issues; jacket because it adds structure and hints at a waist. This silhouette I find the most flattering on my shape and has always been a favorite regardless of my size. As the saying goes "don't fix it if it ain't broke". However, I have added more current versions of these pieces so there is some modern in my modern classic look.
4. EILEEN FISHER IS STILL MY FAVE. So during my experimentation with various silhouettes and volume, I became enamored with Eileen Fisher and now have several of her pieces in my closet. What I'm finding interesting is that despite coming back to a more fitted silhouette, her pieces are still what I reach for the most. Why? 'cause they are clothes that are truly made to move in, are extremely comfortable and are fuss-free. I'm glad that the pieces I bought were not her extreme volume items and so I'm quite happy to pair them with other more fitted items in my closet. In fact I just purchased her fold-over waist band slim black jersey pencil skirt and couldn't be more pleased. I will continue to add her pieces to my closet as needed/budget allows. I can say with absolute assurance that I will always have some EF in my wardrobe.
5. BACK TO REITMAN'S. I stopped shopping at Reitman's (a Canadian lower end retailer) for a while due to a variety of reasons but I have come back to the store. There are only three local brick&mortar options in my city for petite clothing and Reitman's is one of them. They seemed to have really upped their game this spring with trendy fits and colors and although the quality is not stellar, I have had pieces that have lasted several seasons in the past and at their price point, if they only last the one season it's not a big deal. I particularly like their sleeveless blouses for popping on with a pencil skirt and jacket.
6. JEWELRY/HANDBAG/SHOES: Are back to being extremely important components of my outfit.
Well that's it for now and thanks for popping by