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What’s off?

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

I never did find the long-sleeved white shirt I was looking for to wear with this skirt, so here I am in the short-sleeved one. It’s all good though, because I kept my jacket on anyway. Something about this outfit seems not to work though. My son thinks the socks are too long. I’m not sure that’s it.

What would you prescribe to improve this tonal whites outfit?

Stitched pleat silk skirt J Petermann ca 1999
Linen button-front blouse J Petermann ca 1999
Jacket in finds 2017
Shoes in finds
Crossbody in finds ca 2015
Backpack/pannier in finds
Bead necklaces ca 1980

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Patricia Nash 'Torri' Leather Crossbody Bag

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Sanctuary Plaid Bomber Jacket

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by Stagiaire Fash

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by Stagiaire Fash

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34 replies

Latest reply was from Stagiaire Fash

slim cat

Veteran

Black graphic tee will do it for me - however it's my all time preferred thing ( alternatively white graphic tee or dark green top to match colors in the jacket ).
I'd agree with your son about socks - but it's purely personal preference.

Synne

Veteran

I like the socks! Very much actually. You are so good with your nods to punk. Also really fancy the Vivienne Westwood plaid bomber.
But yes... something here is off.
Is it the clash between the cream and the white?
I rather like the length of the skirt, but with the shoes and the hair it skews a little bit House on the Prairie and away from deliberate Berlin Punk Mama. Hmm.. maybe someone else has a better eye!

Synne

Veteran

You know, try the exact same outfit with your army boots and a different blouse. Do an outfit lab!

cat2

Veteran

I would try a shorter or tucked top.

SarahD8

Veteran

I think tuck the top! Then it reads a bit more deliberate -- Gibson Girl with a Punk Jacket.

Anonymous

I like #4 most. Yes to shorter socks, and definitely the cognac bag! Can you tie the bottom of the blouse?

kellygirl

Veteran

I really like this as is. One of your best!

CarolS

Veteran

I like this! No issue with the socks, and I love those shoes with the tonal white mix. I do agree that either a looser white top or tucking this one (maybe adding a cognac belt?) would help with the deliberate feel. That's always the fine line in mixing whites. I love the jacket, but perhaps something in another shade of white or earthy would help tie the mix together. As great as it is, it adds another colour element and I think that might be contributing to the slight feeling of "offness".

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I think it all works quite well together! Creatively maximal. Thrown together, but there is attention to detail and things look intentional.

NICE cognac small bag and shoe complement! The whites and creams are pulled together too. (Thank you, beads). Red bomber is a statement, but gels because of the white in the pattern. The patterned bag does not match, but the jarring juxtaposition works to my eye too. The brown strap works with the brown in your hair, and the botanical pattern is relatively calming. It has found a spot and my eye can rest.

If I had to knit-pick, I'd say that the very Summery blouse under the very Fall bomber could be a better marriage.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

A very quick look at proportions with the blouse tucked in. I hope it shows proportions correctly—camera is below waist level for these. My lower abs “pooch” jumps out at me in these, particularly the one with the jacket, but maybe that’s just the angle. It is a part of my body I’m particularly self-critical of.

I may workshop the skirt with different tops later—have orange & green ready to go, and want to try different footwear options. But right now I’m focused on trying to get a whites mix to work. I could pull other white tops out too, if the problem is this specific white with the creamy/ ivory skirt.

PS a detail of the beads. Mixed 2 strands to try to say “I know the skirt & blouse don’t match; I’m doing it on purpose”

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Anonymous

Yes- better! The whites aren't bad together, the skirt almost reads as beige actually.

cat2

Veteran

The whites are different enough that this looks intentional. Thumbs up for the tuck, don’t be self-conscious, you have a flowy skirt over the bit that irks you.

rachylou

Veteran

I do think this is pretty but tucked is better. Don’t see a pooch issue. Untucked - I’d say, no jacket/shorter jacket/really long topper or no socks or a short white tee.

Anonymous

The combination looks good to me. I find the white and cream paired together refreshing. Red plaid jacket is awesome. Shoes and purse are very cute. Also like the slouchy socks. I prefer the shirt untucked. Nothing is off to my eye

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Thanks everybody! I’ve been looking forward to a snow day with this skirt ever since Angie’s Friday “whiteout” post a few weeks ago, so I appreciate the help fine-tuning it.

Slimcat, glad you picked up on the green in the jacket. That’s what I intended to pair the botanical print with.

Synne, thanks for the compliments and suggestions. You really get my style & what I’m trying to do. I was also wondering about the skirt, if it’s actually on the long side or if I’m just unaccustomed to midis. I’ll have to try it with the red combat boots, as you suggest, once the skirt gets back from the cleaners. Cool Berlin biker mama was a little late putting a knot in the hem of the skirt, ahem.

Cat2, Suntiger, Sarah08, you all nailed it about the length of the top, and that made so much difference!

CarolS, I agree with you about the trickiness of mixing whites & similar shades. Exhibit A is this outfit. Some other colors, like blues, seem much happier to get tossed together in a mix. Wonder why that is? I’ll have to think about a belt with this skirt.

Angie, thanks! Funny how those complements just sneak in; I can see that they do work. The shoes are new—I’ve decided I’m tired of buckling/ tying/ zipping footwear, lol. Great catch about the summery blouse with the jacket and closed shoes! This outfit started life as a warm summer outfit for my birthday. When I saw the forecast today was for a high of 20, I didn’t want to give it up, so I reached for the jacket—should’ve swapped out the blouse at that point too. I’m sure that’s part of the “off” feeling here.

Suntiger and Cat2, thanks for coming back around for another comment on the tuck. Good point about the skirt flowing over my tum, Cat. ST, isn’t it funny how changing the way I wear them together affects what the colors look like together?

Kellygirl and Nikki, thanks for the thumbs up! You both have such great casual style, with just an awesome touch of attitude, that I appreciate your comments.

Rachylou, great ideas about how to do it with the top untucked. You are the creative dresser nonpareil!

Minaminu

Veteran

ok, I know you live in Germany... and I have a French-Italian background, so there may be a cultural barrier on the white socks, they would be a no-no, sorry! I think shorter socks would give a better proportion.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Minaminu, that’s interesting—but I don’t quite understand. The white socks would be a no-no at any length, or could work if they were actually short (shorter than even the scrunched-down version of these) instead of scrunched down? Would a color work better in an Italien-French context, or nude-to-me/sheers?

rachylou

Veteran

That’s interesting Mina… I do have this idea in my head that socks are rather a German thing when, for example, white socks at the ankle are a little Little Girl in the US…

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

We all know who started with the socks + Birks

Minaminu

Veteran

white socks would only be acceptable in the gym So, I would try a nude pair extra short, so that you don't see the socks at all but the ankle.

Rachylou, growing up we used to recognise German and Austrian tourists with their shorts, white socks and Birkenstock sandals and it is unfortunately one of the stereotypes.... I might have seen a 3-4 y.o. girls wearing a white sock with a ballerina, but it's not a common look and overall white socks are a big no-no.

It's fascinating how certain colours and shapes are perceived in different countries, hopefully I haven't upset anyone

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Minaminu, for me, it’s a certain kind of white socks that belong in the gym. My son and others on his basketball teams always wore many different colors of socks, some of them not athletic socks. That just seemed so *wrong* to me. But it spared me laundering extra pairs of socks, so I let it slide.

I’m not upset at all that you explained that—I asked because I was curious, and I appreciate you taking the time to reply. But I hope you aren’t upset if I don’t use that suggestion unless we travel to Italy. (We are starting to talk about an Italien bike trip. If we do it, looking like bike tourists is probably unavoidable. I’m ok with that, as long as we don’t behave like the boorish kind of tourists who think everything is set up for their amusement/ the place they’re visiting isn’t real). <—I’m planning a post on that and bike tour clothes in general as soon as the laundry from our recent trip is done.

Synne

Veteran

I liked the socks here! They add the school girl, punk rock, rebellious, harajuku element. I really disliked your white socks in an other outfit a while back, I think I pointed them out as Michael Jackson-socks. Funny that socks are so divisive!

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Synne, that MJ socks comment, with photo, cracked me up!

Anonymous

Also not a fan of the socks although it makes sense to me that you're wearing them. We can't see your ankles, which would add some body definition and charm.They're a little too men's gym sock/little girl for me. I don't know that I'd like a different pair that much better, so maybe it's really the shoes?

And if it's the shoes maybe it's the slight seasonal jumble that's throwing the outfit slightly off?

April

Veteran

I would follow Angie's suggestions on this one. Well, duh.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

April, ikr?

Thinking about the socks (probably way too much), it occurs to me that although I want to look pulled together and like I know what I’m doing, I also like to do something a little unexpected, so my outfits have a “madeyalook” aspect to them. That might be “lurking quirk”—details you don’t notice at first that reward a second look, or layering unexpected shades like rose, cranberry, and blackberry, or wearing a neckline designed to highlight a necklace and intentionally leaving that spot blank so it feels just a tiny bit jarring. That’s what I’m going for here.

But which socks do that the right way? I wouldn’t want to wear sweatsocks with this skirt, and what I think of as little girls’ socks—thin fabric, folded over, with lace, ruffles, maybe ribbons—are more delicate than I want to go with the skirt. One reason I didn’t wear it for 2+ decades (besides the years it was too small) is that I’ve always thought it required pumps or something similar, which is a “sometimes, but not very often” look for me. I’ve seen a lot of chiffon/polyester skirts, pleated up to the waist, worn with sneakers recently. It’s not a look for me, but this might be my version of it, a way to wear the skirt without being overly delicate and formal.

So although I intentionally steered away from the expected way to wear this skirt, with a delicate blouse or shell, hose and heels, I also don’t want the oxfords & plaid jacket to look like a lumberjack. Getting the socks (& shoes) right is part of that.

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rachylou

Veteran

I’d try maybe a sock like this, but no guarantees…

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SarahD8

Veteran

I read the socks as kind of a harajuku look, which I think was mentioned upthread — kind of deliberately playing with a schoolgirl trope.

But another idea is — what about a fishnet anklet? Or one of those sheer patterned anklets that have been trendy recently?

Brooklyn

Veteran

I really like the original outfit but also like the tucked in version. With the tucked in version, you might try a tan belt to pull things together with the bag and shoes. Just a different vibe. The first one is probably more suited to casual wear and biking.

I like the socks but agree with your son that shorter might look better.

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