Some WIWs - Evaluating Summer - YouLookFab Forum

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Some WIWs - Evaluating Summer

Anonymous

I 've been looking back at outfit pics, and you know I never realized that I basically wore blue, white, khaki and black all season. Not that there is anything wrong with that I guess, but perhaps bringing in some more color should be a goal for next year. I searched high and low for olive shorts, but never found any that met my criteria.
Anyway, I would appreciate thoughts on the below - what is and isn't working, what could be improved, etc. I have a pretty tough skin, so have at it if you have opinions!
1, 2, and 3 represent summer mainstays - loose cool dresses. As comfy as it gets in the oddly humid heat we had this year. I tried accessorizing a bit, but honestly didn't feel these looks lent themselves to that. Open to any and all ideas in that regard. (Except scarves -I do not wear them.)
4 is a formula I also wore a lot. Light weight shirts on which the sleeves can be rolled up or down is perfect for outdoor heat/indoor air conditioning. I do feel I need to find some longer and perhaps narrower-in-the-leg shorts.
5 is a casual dinner out look. I wore at least 3-4 times. I really like this sheer double-layer top. I do think I'm perhaps reaching the age where I should look for a little more shoulder coverage in future purchases.
6 is for dog-walking, though I'm not above a quick trip to the grocery or hardware store if convenient.
7 is what I wore to help my daughter move to Austin. Despite the fact it adds some volume around the hips, I rather like it. Perhaps that is associated with my joy at having a child living within a 3-hour drive for the first time in 9 years. Plus, 24 hours in Austin = three meals of consisting of tacos - what's not to love? (Could it be the tacos and not the outfit affecting my perception re appearance of volume ?!?)
8 was a concert -comfy and felt appropriate.
9 was a lecture - trying to look serious and stay cool at the same time. Not sure if I was successful.
10 is a top I had decided to purge as too young and girly. Then I tried it on again and decided I liked it. I think the gathering at the sleeves is what was bugging me, but I ultimately decided it is subtle enough to work. Would love feedback on that perception.

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21 replies

Latest reply was from

DizzyLizzy

Crikey - even your dog walking outfit looks fab! Really glad you saved that last top from the purge pile - it looks gorgeous on you. Also a great fan of the sheer double layer top - might have to search for one myself. It looks very elegant.

Anonymous

Hi Ryce! Great formulas for the hot, humid summer months. I like your color palette as it is. My favorite is number 5. You are right. That is a great top and it looks superb with the white jeans.

Barbara Diane

Veteran

Your summer outfits look really well put together, and you looked well put together. The way you described puffy sleeves, I expected huge puffs. These are fine. The one that seems to not fit in with the others as much is #4. It just has a different vibe, I'm not saying it's a problem.

You mentioned color. I don't know it is too hot, but maybe add a bracelet with some color if you want to add some more color. I can't tell if you are wearing earrings, or if they would show with your hair, but that's another possibility. And I also can't see if you are wearing lipstick, or if you carry a purse. Those are all ways to add more color IF you want to. I'm not saying it's necessary.

Dianna

Veteran

Your summer outfits are great. I specially love your first three outfits where you are wearing a dress, number 5 and number 8. The top un number 5 looks fantastic and versatile, I don't see a need for more shoulder coverage. The top in 10 does not look girly, it looks fine, and no need to worry about volume on 7 either. You had a great summer stylewise. It's so hard to dress for summer and look polished, but you manage to do it very well. I also loved your hair in every picture.

Anonymous

You look great. I think I prefer you in separates. Menswear-inspired classics look great on you.

My favourites are 4 (khaki shorts and chambray shirt), 5 (black sleevlelsss top with white jeans), 8 (Pretty navy flowy top and white jeans), and 9 (white sleeveless button down shirt and olive pants).

You have quite the flip flop repertoire!

Anonymous

Oh and ALL your shoes are fab!

Sal

Veteran

You look great in the heat. I expecially like 2 and 5 and 9 - but they are all very nice indeed.

I like the colour palette but I know the feeling of wanting to add in some brightness - there are lots of ways to do this as others have suggested - shoes could be an easy fun one for the summer.

Anonymous

You dress much the same way I do, so of course I love your clothes I can't see the gathered sleeve detail on the top in the last photo, but I know what you mean about that kind of detail on a sleeve feeling a bit too young or twee. Doesn't appear that way in the photo at all though. Re; the dresses...I don't wear scarves in the summer either, but want to to do something when I wear a dress, which is often. I do either a bigger earring or a pendant/longer statement necklace. Never both. One piece is all I can deal with in summer, but I find it's enough to keep me feeling fully dressed.

rachylou

Veteran

Neat and tidy. I like your scoop necks and necklaces.

binkle

Veteran

Super outfits - and #5 is out-of-this-world great!! The layering of the tops gives it that certain something extra that says "style" to me.

I am a fan of your color palette - usually blues, blacks, white, khaki in the summer. Adding olive is a good idea. Others above have mentioned scarves to add color, if you like them. Or a single big bangle in a bright color like lime or coral. But don't feel pressured to add accessories - your look is good without too much extra.

JAileen

Veteran

My fave is 5. Your shoulders look fine. Don't change a thing!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Ryce, I always love your posts. Our climates are exactly opposite but our ages, body type, and lifestyle overlap, so I always feel as if I "get you" on some level.

First off, your summer style is an inspiration. Give yourself some credit, woman! You live in a tough climate.

Second, I think you've come up with several terrific fallbacks. The easy dress is a no-brainer for your climate and you wear these dresses well. No need to accessorize. Let's face it, when you are wearing those dresses, you look more "finished" and presentable than 98% of the people around you. A dress is heaven's gift to women in the heat.

I also like you in the shorts outfit a lot. I agree 100% about that type of shirt. But I think I understand your concerns about length/ taper of the shorts themselves. Shorts are awfully hard to get right. For myself -- at a similar age/ stage -- I feel confused about them. I pretty much wear them all summer for my work-from-home days (or at least I wear them when *at* home, because they're the most practical and comfortable thing available. I also occasionally wear them when out and about. But I often feel obscurely self-conscious in them, even though I'm reasonably fit. They easily feel too baggy and "mumsy;" but if they are shorter, I tend to feel like mutton dressed as lamb. It is tricky. One strategy I have tried is to roll a short like these ones up just a little. It doesn't just shorten it a touch-- it also tapers it a bit. I do think longer tapered shorts tend to work better and slightly shorter BF styles also work -- for me, having them tailored wherever they end on the leg seems key. I think these ones would be even better on you if they were narrower. But this may be more about my proportions than anything else. Your own mileage might vary, but I'd experiment just the way you might with skirt lengths.

LOVE #5 on you. NO worries about your shoulders or anything else. That is elegant, simple, and sublime.

I like #7, too -- you can wear that level of contrast because you are high contrast yourself, and the outfit combines softness (the top) and ease and coolness (the top again) with tailoring and crispness (contrast).

Really like #8 and #9, too -- you wear white denim with the best!! Gorgeous.

I like the pattern of the top in the last one but again, I think I understand why you might hesitate about the top. For reasons I can't fully articulate, I feel a bit "off" in puff sleeves or similar, even though theoretically it "should" suit me okay (square shoulder line but not broad). I feel a bit "girlish" in that type of sleeve detail. It isn't really about age at all -- it's something to do with Kibbe type maybe. The wrong kind of detailing. For myself, softness and fluidity can work (in the right places/ right combination) and crisp tailoring can work, and even a certain amount of whimsy can work. Drama can definitely work -- (contrast, sharp lines...). But anything that feels "prissy" or "fussy" will make feel feel foreign to myself.

Anonymous

You have a wonderful summer wardrobe. I liked all your outfits but 5 and 9 were favorites. You look especially great in cropped pants. You must have long legs.

Anonymous

Dizzy Lizzy, I'm honored you like my dog walking outfit - I always feel compelled to include one of those in each group I post in the spirit of "keepin' it real." I got the black and white top on ebay - here's a link to the same one that is on offer right now. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vince-.....SwPCFZrLXI
Thanks, Sterling. You know full well the challenges of dressing for the heat!
Barbara Diane, I agree the shorts and button front is a different kind of look. It suits my lifestyle well, but I am making a concerted effort not to fall back on it so much. That was one of my goals for this season. A colorful bracelet is an excellent suggestion!
Dianna, dresses are great in the heat, aren't they? Thanks for noticing my hair - I went a little shorter and it's so much easier to keep looking presentable.
smittie, you are always so perceptive. I always feel most "myself" in separates. And flipflops. At least my feet can feel like they're at the beach, even though I'm stuck here on the prairie.
Sal, colorful shoes are an excellent suggestion - thanks!
Lisa, I think of you as SO fashionable, so am highly complimented you think we dress similarly. I like pendants, but lack your finely honed sense of choosing the right one. I always love them in the store and bring them home to discover somehow they aren't quite right. Twee is exactly the word I was looking for on the sleeve detail - it's tricky, no?
Raceylou, it's hard to beat a good scoopneck!
Binkle, I wish I could take credit for doing something as creative as layering two tops - but it came that way.
Janet, number 5 does seem to be the universal fav - funny because I was a bit unsure about it. Which is why feedback is so helpful.
Suz, you are always so generous with your thoughts and analysis. And, yes, I often feel that if I was sporting a rockin' silver pixie and living in a cold climate, I'd be dressing - or at least trying to - just like you. You perfectly perceived and described the tricky shorts proportion issue. I think that's a project to prioritize next summer. I will be looking back at your excellent suggestions. You also hit the nail on the head about details that might stray into "fussy" territory. They might be objectively flattering, but simply don't reflect who I am. There does have to be harmony with personality in style, not just body type and coloring.

Carla

Veteran

What a great selection of outfits! Each is perfect for the scenario described and there is a cohesiveness to your look as well. Don't feel compelled to add accessories if they aren't 'you.' Maybe simple, practical items - like a watch or a bag can act as the extra element that finishes your look. I'm also thinking you need a pair of silver shoes.

Your outfits are interesting enough without adding more colour, but if there is a colour that interests you, by all means audition a few items. Maybe a teal or turquoise? It would work with your colouring and mix in with your current wardrobe.

Check out rambling Ann's Ocean Park Project posts for some inspiration.

And, what Suz said about rolling shorts. Works especially well on Bermuda shorts (which are longer to start off with.)

skylurker

Veteran

My favourites are #3 and #8. I love the shape of the dress on you and the light striped linen looks cool in the heat. Also love the floaty blouse and the proportions of #8 - with both blouse and trousers worn shorter than your other outfits.
I'm not fond of #9, too neutral-impersonal maybe (though I understand it was the point, given the circumstances) and stark contrast between top and bottom.

Can't help with dress accessories - I don't accessorize mine - it's enough drama that I wear a dress
Can't help with shorts - I've stopped feeling good in mine, not polished enough for my age, I think - this is a personal feeling, obviously.

What Suz says about the last top : looks fine, but might be "the wrong kind of detailing" for your taste, maybe ditsy flowers+gathered sleeves are too many girly details for one top.

You look good in sleeveless tops.

Anonymous

Thanks, Joy. I do prefer above-ankle pants. I don't think my legs are particularly long, but I've never really felt I have a good handle on my body proportions - they just seem sort of average to me. Y' know, the shirt in #9, which you singled out as a look you liked, is EF bone - I always think of you when I wear it!
Runcarla, I love the way you make bags such an integral part of your outfits. That is something I really need to work on. Thanks for the reminder.
skylurker, I cracked up at this comment -"it's enough drama that I wear a dress." That really is true for you - such an obvious departure from your tailored suits IS a statement in and of itself. Thanks for the rest of your perceptive comments as well.

Muffin

Veteran

Wow, I think you killed it this summer! I agree with Lisa about a simple pendant necklace, Madewell usually has some as does Stella & Dot. Sometimes I will just a bangle bracelet (just one because I don't want the clanging). You wear shorts so well and nothing wrong with having staples in your closet. And I just have to comment that your bathroom looks gorgeous- that tile floor!!!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Fabulous. Casual Chic. My faves are #2, 5 , 8 and 10. Those proportions look outstanding to my eye. KILLER.

Traci

Veteran

4 and 9 are stellar!

Anonymous

Muffin - thanks for suggesting Madewell as a place to look for a pendant. I like their brass jewelry - it's a lovely warm color that suits me well. Thanks for the comment about the bathroom - I really wanted that basketweave tile and am grateful to the contractor who helped us come up with a layout that didn't use too much so it would work with the budget.
Thanks so much for weighing in, Angie! I always feel lucky to get your expert opinion on a look - especially regarding proportions, which I often struggle with.
Traci, thanks for the compliment. I can imagine that both of those outfits would suit you quite well, too.