Do you ever put together an outfit that you’re just not sure about? Like it’s almost right, but something’s off? This one seems to have all the components of an outfit that I’d wear, that’s my style, but I just didn’t feel exactly confident about it. A reason for posting outfits on this blog was to document outfits I really liked, but I kind of felt like sharing one that’s almost right, just not quite there for me.

We had a surprise cold weather weekend around here, thanks to lots of rain and overcast days. It did give me an opportunity, though, to wear a sweater I’ve been quite excited about, but didn’t wind up wearing before the weather got too hot. It’s a vintage yellow sweater that I got from Studio Tinsel Vintage when my sister-in-law alerted me to a sale she was having. I bought several things from this shop, and highly recommend it. The owner, Amelia Lynn, is very honest about any imperfections the items may have, and every item came clean and folded nicely in cute packaging. Not to mention the clothing items she tends to have are very cute and neat. Though I wore the purple cardigan all day, I wanted to get pictures for you of the sweater by itself. I honestly think, looking at these pictures, that I would have liked the outfit better sans cardigan, but weather didn’t permit that. :)

Cold weather also meant an excuse to wear a hat. I made this one several years ago, and honestly decided on it after going through several beanies and not liking the look until I pulled out this one and dug how the big blue button on the back (which is just a plastic bottle cap crocheted around) looked with the outfit. The shape of this hat is more like a beret, I guess, but I’ve since adapted this pattern to what I originally intended – a more slouchy, big beanie. I also noticed I’ve become a lot more patient with construction of items over these past few years. I had simply tied the button on in two places, and it doesn’t feel secure at all! It makes me cringe, now. While I still struggle with impatience when it comes to little finicky things with making items, I’ve come a long way, and secure construction, though taking time, is important. I need to sew it on more securely sometime.

I bought these jeans at Forever 21 about a year ago because the one pair of skinnies I’d had for years had finally bit the dust, and these were comfy and not too expensive. I was looking for a solid color pair, but I really liked the rose pattern on these, not to mention, going along with the comfort factor, the waist wasn’t lowrise. (I struggled enough with lowrise pants when they were about the only style you could find when I was in high school. I personally prefer at least a slightly higher waist. Maybe it’s a pear-shaped, big hips/small waist thing? Who knows? My sister-in-law loves lowrise pants, however. So it’s whatever people prefer.) Anyway, these have wound up being one of my favorite pairs of pants, although remembering not to wear them with certain prints, especially other florals, since they’re already very printed themselves, can sometimes be a challenge. No matter, though. I do like that I can take advantage of my short legs with these; the bottoms can either be scrunched up as shown or cuffed for a more classic look.

(Also, even though it’s of roses, I think against this bright yellow shirt the pattern looks kind of like clouds in a bright blue sky. A pretty happy thought on these rainy, grey days.)

Even though I was iffy on this outfit, I wore it for a very fun day. We went to lunch with a couple friends and then to a family cookout celebrating a long distance family friend from Germany. He stayed with my cousins as an exchange student over 25 years ago and wound up visiting again several times, once when I was a very little baby. My cousin, Kim, that he stayed with, always babysat me, and apparently I never liked to lay back in my carseat, always leaning forward even when I was sleeping. The friend hated that and would always turn around in his seat and hold my head up. Haha “And your head is straight, see, so you can thank me for that.” It had been 19 years since his last visit, and it was a very good and happy night.

Purple Cardigan: Casual Corner Annex
Yellow Sweater: Inner Visions by Ship n’ Shore
Jeans: Forever 21 (old)
Hat: made by me
Shoes: Faded Glory