Toronto Girl's TV characters thread, and SarahtheWhite's answer, reminded me of how much I love Mary Margaret Blanchard's style in the show Once Upon a Time (played by Ginnifer Goodwin), especially in the first season. She tends to wear muted colours, mix textures (especially soft ones), and wear clothes that have some type of added interest (lace, embroidery, etc.). Her tops tend to be higher cut (she's a teacher), her skirts with knee length hemlines, and she wears a lot of flats. She also has a fabulous outerwear & beret collection, as befits a woman who lives in Maine & seems to walk everywhere! OUaT started playing in the fall of 2011, when I began focusing on 'tightening up' my style, so her dressing was quite influential (we have fairly similar body types and 'cute' round faces), helping me pinpoint what I love about clothes & outfits, which in turn allowed me to narrow down my silhouettes to just a few uniforms.

So today I thought it'd be fun to be inspired by her! Googling Mary Margaret Blanchard style resulted in this photo as the first result, and as we happened to be having an overcast/possibly rainy day in the 70s/20-25C, it fit the weather. I have taupe skinnies quite similar to those shown, so that & my grey oxfords were easy. I don't have that fabulous coat (peter pan collar! French blue!), but I do have a muted mint rain coat. I've had this coat since 2006, when I was still in college and found it on super clearance at Target. It was the only one left & fit me perfectly (the photos don't show how good the fit is), and 7-8 years later I still love the colour and style. It's held up very well! I could just see a white top peeking out of the coat, so I finished things off with my only warm weather sweater, which is conveniently a soft white colour. This sweater is short enough that it could reveal my waistband, it seemed like a belt would be a good finishing touch. Luckily, I have this thin mint belt, which also let me keep the colour in the outfit even without the coat. It felt like a hedgehog day, so my brooch & a silver bracelet & ring provided the finishing touches. I actually left the house today so did wear the oxfords and coat for more than just photos.

I felt marvelous in this outfit, although photographing it was frustrating (I swear the wrinkles in the trousers aren't that dramatic in real life...and they're definitely not too tight; I think it has to do with my posture & the lighting in my room). I recently came across the phrase 'feminine but not fussy,' which quite resonated with me (it reminds me of the 'girly tomboy' idea, actually), and while I'm still pondering what that means (are ruffles and bows inherently fussy? I'm not sure), I do feel this outfit would qualify.

As always, comments & suggestions/critiques welcome! Any other OUaT fans? All of the female characters in that show have fabulous style, both in the regular world and fairy tale world; the costume designer is clearly very talented.