Headed down to the Santa Monica Promenade yesterday to run a couple of errands and enjoy an early dinner out with my BF. We were planning dinner at a place called the Water Grill, which is right across the street from the ocean and open to the outside. So I knew I'd be chilly if I didn't layer up.

Went with a lighter palette than usual, combining a leather moto in this gorgeous shade of nude/blush (it is primarily a nude color with a hint of warm pink/champagne/flesh tone to it).

I discovered it went beautifully with the nude leather color of my new cutaway-side ankle boots. The boots are by Nine West and were part of a recent Zappos order. The color was called light gray on the website but in the photos they looked more like a nude skin tone so I decided to order them and see (since I was looking for a nude not a gray).

They are indeed a nude/warm ivory color IRL. They don't resemble gray at all, so I was rather pleased at that. I do think nudes look fabulous with gray, though, so I decided to keep the foundation of the outfit entirely in the shades of light warm gray.

I liked the subtle matelasse patterned texture in the jeans and how it picked up on the subtle quilted floral and grid stitching on the back of the leather jacket. The only real pattern I added to the mix was a pale python print fine wool and cashmere scarf (because I knew it would be windy and cooler down by the water and I'd need a scarf to keep my neck warm and not feel chilly overall).

I thought about carrying a nude leather bag and also considered my Gucci python hobo bag, but I ended up going with the darker contrast element of the MJ dark gray leather bag with the bird hardware. Still not sure it was the best addition but it was big enough to hold all my stuff (including the scarf if it ended up being warmer than I thought it would be -- and it can be worn cross body for hands-free browsing at a couple of the stores I stopped into).

I like the way the outfit turned out, especially since I've been forcing myself more recently to wear more overall light color palette outfits (it's generally outside my comfort zone to do so).

What do you guys think? Too match-matchy and/or was the dark bag too much of a deviation from the rest of the look?

Cabbie Hat: Goorin Bros. Burbank in Tan (lately I'm thinking ecommerce retailers and brands are doing a piss-poor job of labeling their colors. In the days of ecommerce shopping, where monitors can display colors so differently, the name of the color becomes even more important. I bought this hat on Zappos (I have it in a few colors) and the color selector called this one tan. It isn't. It's a nice warm pale gray).
Python print wool and cashmere scarf: thrifted
Lace-trim gray tank top: Banana Republic (bought it years ago in both dark and light gray because they are wonderful under sweaters).
Gray cashmere cropped cardigan (not really visible and worn as a warmth layer): Vince (via ebay)
Matelasse textured gray jeans: Free People (via ebay)
Cutaway-sides nude leather ankle boots: Nine West Waterloo (via Zappos-- these are on sale right now if anyone is interested!)
Blush Nude leather moto jacket: Muubaa (Minsk model) in the color Rosetta (via ebay uk)
Gold and topaz quartz hoop earrings: Can't remember the designer's name but bought them years ago at Zappos when I worked there
Gold snake ring: Vintage (gift from BF bought on ebay)
Dark gray leather bag: Marc Jacobs Petal to the Metal Natasha (via Zappos)