I made two purchases this spring/summer that qualify as wild cards. The first was a pair of Adidas Campus sneakers in dusty mint green suede. I have been searching for a pair of truly comfortable fashion sneakers for a long time. We had a long, cool, dry spring this year -- perfect sneaker weather! -- so these have gotten lots of wear. I don't think of myself as an Adidas person, or particularly loyal to any sneaker brand. I haven't owned a pair of Adidas since grade school, when black-and-white Sambas were all the rage. I went a long time without really wearing sneakers casually at all, but this year I really wanted a pair to wear with dresses and skirts!

I also added a lilac canvas circle bag, on deep discount on the Baggu website: https://baggu.com/products/can.....6233709575 My other crossbody bag is black leather, and I've been wanting a lighter, brighter bag for a while. This one is roomy enough, a fun colour and shape, and the price was right! It's become my everyday bag for days when I don't need a large tote or backpack. Added bonus is that 4yo DS adores this bag!

I'm having fun mixing these items with handful of other pastel or "palewave" (thanks, cindysmith, for introducing me to that term!) pieces -- see Finds. My clothes skew dark -- lots of olive, denim, black, and navy. I enjoy throwing in some lighter pieces for contrast. I especially like tonal looks -- olive/sage/mint or navy/sky or burgundy/blush. And of course I love these lighter colours as an unexpected pop of colour with black outfits.