In the months to come, one style goal that I've identified for myself is to add a bit of lightness to my preferred dark color palette. I have a few white and cream pieces -- jackets and tops, and some accessories like scarves that use those light neutrals in prints -- that help do this, but I realize that sometimes I struggle a bit with choosing the light pieces for a couple of reasons.

First, I don't have the magical ability to keep things clean. For example, I had my old cream leather moto jacket professionally cleaned last spring because it had developed some staining that kept me from wearing it. And now I'm kind of afraid to wear it and stain it again! Does anyone recommend a protective spray for a cream leather jacket??

But I have made an effort to wear my long, dramatic Nikkie (Amsterdam) coat this winter a few times already, and I really enjoy it. It's a dressier piece, so not an everyday thing really, but it's a lot of fun to wear.

The second reason, I have come to realize, is because I prefer low-contrast dressing -- I don't wear light/white bottoms, so my pants and jeans all tend to be dark. I often feel like the high contrast of light top and dark bottoms can be less than flattering, and a little predictable as well.

I seem to do well with items that incorporate cream/white in patterns -- they provide a bit more visual transition and hide my messy ways a bit better. But does anyone have any suggestions as I move forward with this goal?

Also, I'm keeping my eye out for perhaps some new cream or white tops -- not chunky overly warm sweaters, as I end up never wearing them, and something a bit more interesting than a totally basic white long-sleeve tee. I've seen some interesting cuts, but usually the details are not friendly to my body type (ie, a really cool sweater with a wrap detail right on the hip, not for me) or they are too voluminous (big white sleeves plus my coffee habit equals a recipe for disaster), or are an unreasonable price point for me. Too many things are turtleneck too, which I'm not totally crazy for on myself. Oh, or they are sold out in my size. If anyone sees anything interesting, let me know!