I do a lot of people watching when traveling.
I often want to run up to people and say "Wow, I love how you put that handbag with that coat!", "I've never seen those kinds of shoes used with that kind of dress, that's genious!" or "Where did you find the inspiration to pair that linen shirt dress with that fabulous down vest?"
Thankfully I don't do this, or security would have banned me from most major airports in Europe and quite a few cafés in London long time ago.
Here's a few of my recent finds.
White outfit with casual denim shirt
I love the lightness of this outfit, the crisply tailored white blazer over an open denim shirt, and a white camisole. The whole ensemble is playing up a fresh and still relaxed summer vibe. A beautiful choice for a Light Summer.
Is there room for improvement?
Perhaps I might change the huge charcoal tote for something in a different colour, to preserve the light mood of the outfit.
As a Light Summer, a clear blue handbag is a wonderful statement colour. If she really wanted something that had a value contrast, a softly dark pine green might be lovely, and if she wanted a neutral grey, I would suggest a medium light pinkish grey, that will still read as quite dark against her delicate colouring.
Simple, stunning peplum
I've thought of peplum tops as a little girly and exquisitly feminine.
However, I saw a pine green peplum top paired with simple skinny jeans and black loafers, on a woman with a short pixie cut and the top made her green eyes really stand out, and her skin was positively radiant.
The peplum of the top softened the stringent seriousness of dark pine paired with black. Very well done, and the colour combination is worth copying for any Dark Winter, regardless of eye colour.
Rust and denim
Denim is a great staple, and there's no reason why a Dark Autumn shouldn't use denim, as long as it is in a blue that harmonises with the teal toned blues of this spicy palette. And paired with rust, absolute dynamite.
I saw this outfit whizz past me, coat flapping, jeans stuffed into tall rust suede boots. It made me notice her.
The details pulled it together
This silver haired woman was wearing cool taupe trousers, a blue T-shirt and a loose denim shirt worn as a jacket, and navy blue sensible sandals.
Boring? Not at all. Her eyeglasses were snazzy transparent neutral frames, little brushed silver earrings and a beautiful pink lipstick.
This woman had it all. Comfortable, sensible clothes in colours that made her skin look healthy, naturally shiny hair cut in a very becoming hairstyle, and accessories that supported her easy-going, approachable style.
Monochrome casual elegance
I saw this woman in passing several times, and each time her quiet softspoken casual chic made me turn and look at her.
She wore a long, button-down linen dress (long sleeved) over white leggings and white sneakers. Over the dress she wore a cropped square down vest which was slightly datker taupe than the beige of her linen shirt dress. She carried a cross-body fanny pack in brown across her chest, and had eyeglasses with some kind of brown/burgundy colour frames.
Pure perfection, and again super casual and comfortable without sacrificing style.
And here's something to not copy
This is not an uncommon situation, if you accumulate a wardrobe without having a clear idea of whether you should go for muted or bright, cool or warm, light or dark colours.
Here's how it might end up looking like: Softly muted lavender T-shirt - Soft Summer. Bright red tote - Winter. Peachy coral sneakers - Light Spring. Blue jeans - could be Light Summer, could be Bright Winter.
Room for improvement? How about starting with a colour analysis, to figure out which one of these Seasons to go with.
So let's give this woman an imaginary colour analysis, and say we landed on Soft Summer. Yay, she'll keep the T-shirt and the jeans are borderline but not up against her face, so we'll let that slide. She invests in new, white sneakers, and a new tote in a soft taupe. If she were a Winter, she's switch to a white T-shirt. Possibly one a little brighter than the one shown here, but hey, it's what she had from before, and it's better for her than the heathered lavender, and she'll use her brilliant red handbag with glee. If she were a Spring, Light Spring, perhaps, she would certainly hold on to her sneakers and the beige handbag, and we'd persuade her to get a fun print T-shirt in her LSp colours instead of the solid coloured one.
Did you find this inspiring? Let me know in the comments.
I loved seeing this example at the end of how to make very normal, everyday clothes look just right for the individual. Thank you for such easy to follow advice xx
I love the idea of normal, everyday clothes and making them look just right for that person.
Inspiring certainly! I am loving most the peplum outfit (in DA greens and an interesting neutral for me), and the autumn rust and butterscotch with denim. 🧡 Happy autumn! Summer whizzed by. But I am looking forward to all the leather, wool, and pumpkin spice 🙂
Hello Keturah, I’m so glad you were inspired. Happy autumn to you too!
Thanks Jorunn, it’s so helpful you describing why it works for each summer. As a soft summer I really appreciated your last example!
Hello Kate, I’m so glad you found it helpful!