My style adjectives are Detailed, Retro, Colorful, Graceful, and Smart. My style moniker is The Duchess Next Door.
· Detailed: There must be several interesting elements in an outfit. Color, cut, design, accessories - several things.
· Retro: 1940s and 1950s influence, particularly in predominance of dresses, the defined waist, and natural proportions.
· Colorful: Absolutely essential. An outfits solely in neutrals, except for pure white, bore and depress me.
· Graceful: Many of my outfits look best in motion. When still, I want graceful lines and proportions.
· Smart: An older, British definition meaning neat and trim, implying impeccable taste. Neither ordinary nor flamboyant.

An outfit that is “me” includes the elements above. Aside from that, the biggest single influence is weather.

I basically dress by the forecast on a day-to-day basis at this time of year. So far this year, February has demonstrated high temperatures in the 70s (Fahrenheit) for 7 days (not all consecutive). Our lowest low has been 21F, and our highest high was 79 (twice). February 3-7 had highs in the 70s; February 8-9 had highs in the 30s. Peak wind gusts each day have varied from 17 to 48 mph, none of those associated with storms, and from all points of the compass. It has been fairly dry, with no measurable frozen precip and less than 1” of rain all month; but historically, some of our worst ice storms have been in February.

So the earliest I plan my outfit for each day is the evening before, after studying what the day will bring. This week will show a zigzag pattern of highs alternating from the 50s into the 70s, before a strong cold front arrives for the weekend and gives us highs barely in the 40s well into the following week. And sometimes each day has a temperature swing of 20-30 degrees. My commute to and from work includes both a drive and a long-ish walk through the parking lot, at both the coldest and warmest times of day. So do I shiver in the morning, or carry my coat in the afternoon? (Answer: carry the coat. I hate being cold.)

The most “me” silhouette is a fit-and-flare one. It fits my pear-shaped figure best, and emphasizing the waist gives me some definition. Sometimes the flare is subtle, and sometimes very exaggerated. Monday was a very exaggerated silhouette. It is tricky to wear the exaggerated style in very cold weather, but Monday the weather was mild-ish so I took the opportunity.

Monday I wore a red sweater and a vintage 1950s quilted taffeta circle skirt, paired with regular black tights and black heeled booties. The black on the bottom half is pretty deep for me, so I balanced it with the bright red of the sweater. And the full skirt WITH big petticoat is totally fun and not fashionable in the slightest. The swish factor is HUGE. The sweater is a great piece I found in the Juniors section at Dillard’s. Cropped lengths in Juniors tend to fit my upper body proportions quite well, and this sweater is particularly perfect for not having to tuck with a full skirt. I like wearing very refined shoes with a skirt of this length and volume, either pointy toe flats or heels, so these booties were a good choice. It also wasn’t wet so I didn’t need to worry about damaging the suede.

I wear a badge on a lanyard at work, which doesn’t work with longer necklaces; I prefer a shorter necklace that’s not super dainty. So I wore this bright rhinestone collet necklace with rose gold hardware. Red and black is a strong combination, but tricky for jewelry. I like how the rose gold keeps the red and black color scheme from being quite so stark; silver would have been harsh. (Not that I have silver in a necklace with this visual weight anyway.) The day was middling, starting almost nippy and warming up a lot, but not quite getting warm. Tricky to dress for in any case, but at least I was comfortable during the day.

Today it’s a bit warmer, though cloudy. I’m wearing the Boden knit dress I got in the fall. The shoes aren’t the best color match with the red, but I think I’m the only one who can see it. Red plastic bead jewelry has the right weight to balance the sportiness of the color blocking, as well as fill in the very open neckline.

Most of the time I wear my hair high with a giant bun donut. I like how it frames my face, I love how it feels to have all my hair UP off my ears and neck, and it’s pretty fast and easy to do in the mornings.