I have a thing for rock band tees and own a couple of them. This has bled over into rock band sweatshirts, of which I now own two. I picked up this Aerosmith sweatshirt while visiting family for Thanksgiving. A clearance find, which is always sparkling good fun!

Also debuting a new skirt I bought last autumn. It's City Chic and I found it on clearance for $11! Yay! It's a straight, bias cut slip skirt. It has a really lovely bronze metallic thread running through the print.

I struggle with skirts, don't know why. Pants, jeans, and dresses have always been easier for me to wear and style. However, I really, really love this skirt with the sweatshirt.

Outfit 1 (photos 1-3): Adore! I wore this to friend's casual birthday party. I felt really good in this outfit.

Outfit 2 (photos 4-6): I layered the sweatshirt with a clip dot chiffon blouse I own. In theory it works. Practically, it was tough. The sweatshirt kept riding up due to the slippery chiffon fabric. But I still adore the layered effect from pairing them together. I mostly wore the coat over my shoulders as a cape. This was the first time I've worn it all winter. (We've had a warm, mild winter.) I love it so, and I'm glad could I wear it. Having said that, I felt a bit overdressed for the occasion. I wore this outfit to a moms' dinner with a new group of moms. Everyone else showed up in overalls and scruffy old sweaters. And then there was me :p Oh well! I think the only thing really pushing the boundaries of my outfit was my fur coat, more than anything. I am learning to just be me. I want people to be comfortable around me, but I'm not one to show up in super casual clothes most of the time.

I really, truly love these outfits! They bring me joy while honoring my figure. It feels like I somehow hit a sweet spot. I'm wearing Outfit 2 today again. I have nowhere to go, just sitting at home drinking a coffee, about to fold laundry, and enjoying myself.

Both outfits were born out of... not playing it safe. I just had an abrupt, wild idea each time, "what if I paired this with this" and then... it worked! I realized that a lot of time, I am dressing safe to appear a certain to people. (Not dressing appropriate for an occasion but trying to dress safe -- if that makes sense.) It's almost dressing for acceptance rather than dressing to show who I really am. So, I am feeling out that maybe it's better to find the clothing items that fit really well on their own, then mix them all up and dress how I feel?? I know from experience I cannot pressure this sort of intuitive dressing, it won't work. But at least I have a loose working theory.

It's also very clear that I love band sweatshirts and should find more of them.