Feelin’ Blue
A Café Confictura To-Go mini-post by The Fastionista
I’m feeling blue — not the sad, “my baby left me” blue, but a rich, energetic, zap! electrified blue.
Blue has a shade for every season. It keeps us cool in the summer, cozy in the autumn, playful in spring, and it pops against winter’s snow. When you pair a lively, rich blue with a shade of brown, which can be used as a neutral color in all hues, the blue shimmers while the brown gives the outfit multidimensional style.
Also, it is common to pair blue with black, white, or gray. This is perfectly fine, but to pair with brown makes people look and say, “Huh. This is something special. This is embracing a classic look while stepping out a little from the crowd.” This outfit is an example of how to do just that, and you can dress it up for date night, or dress it down for that quick run to the grocery store, pizzeria, or wine shop for those times when date night becomes “I just want to cuddle in for a movie at home” night.
Black shell top: Any cami, tank, or layering top (a top that serves as a base for jackets, sweaters, or overshirts) will do here, but try to find options that speak to your personality. Are you utilitarian? Then a simple scoop neck works. Are you artsy? Perhaps an asymmetrical or ruched neckline is best. Are you classic and feminine? Delicate lace edging might be the trick.
Blue shrug: When choosing a finishing piece like a jacket, sweater, or shrug to wear over your layering top or shell, look for a statement piece, one that brings in your accent color and/or a pattern, maybe even a touch of shine. In this example, the blue shrug also has a delicate pattern so it creates visual interest without screaming, “Hello, I am a pattern!” Screaming clothes are never pleasant. This example shows, too, how a cropped finishing piece pairs well with the wide-leg pant, because it accentuates the narrowest part of the torso.
Golden-brown flowy pants: Going with a lighter brown, like a golden or champagne color, during the summer months lightens up the feel of an outfit rather than a dark tan or khaki. The pants in this example are shwooshy (technical term). They say, “I am flouncy and fun like a skirt, but I add height and sophistication.” Some women say they cannot wear wide-leg pants because they are too short, but this is not true (I say as a petite woman myself). You just need to find the right cut. The key to finding the best wide-leg style for you is to avoid anything that hides the line of your leg. While the material should billow softly around your leg, as you walk your leg line should be perceptible. Also, avoid anything that fits the waist but is too big or tight around the hips. Pro tip: when trying on any kind of pant, don’t forget to check how they look when you walk around and when you sit down.
Accessories: Because this outfit was designed with simplicity in mind, I’m going light on the accessories. In the sketch above, our model wears dangly-jangly earrings that are also blue to pick up our blouse’s zap. This also adds some sparkle to the outfit, a necessary component. If you are not the type to wear dangly-jangly earrings, a more subtle earring along with another accessory like a necklace or bracelet, or even a ring or two, could replace these. But try to echo the elements in your outfit, not just the color, but also the feel of the outfit as a whole.
Shoes (and purse, not sketched here): It is fun to play with expectation in one part of our outfit, while keeping to tradition in another. While we are being trendy pairing blue with brown, instead of with white or black or gray, at the same time we can go with a simple black pump. Of course, this mirrors the black of our shell. For a purse, I would suggest a black clutch if you do not have a purse that picks up either the golden brown of your pants or the blue of your shrug. Even better, look for a clutch that is mainly black but picks up hints of either the golden brown or the blue. When your accessories can nod to specific aspects of your garments, a true outfit is born.
This outfit was featured in Sketch № 13 of the fictional series Sketches from the Café Confictura. For more Sketches, click or tap here.
Clarissa J. Markiewicz is also the author of Christmas In Whimsy — a heartwarming, fun novel readers compare to Hallmark Christmas movies, and recipient of Readers’ Favorite 5-star Seal — and the genre-bending new-age mystery The Paramour Pawn.
This and any related blog posts are works of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Any reference to living or dead public figures, entities, places, events, and the like, are of a fictional, opinioned, and/or parodic nature. No healthcare professionals have been consulted in writing this. Any advice given or inferred is anecdotal and used at your own risk. Consult your doctor in all healthcare matters. ©2024 Clarissa J. Markiewicz. No portion of this or any related blog post may be used to train any AI application without explicit consent from the author.
