good, better, best

Sometimes an outfit just works the first time you throw it together.  The other night was not one of those times.  Thankfully I have gotten into the habit of blogging outfits, or I wouldn't have caught my repeated follies in the screen of my camera.  Here are some of my rookie mistakes:

First attempt: I am rocking the stripe pattern--brown, red, brown, red, brown--bor-ing.  The only thing breaking up the monotony is my glasses (which I do admit I sometimes use to pull black into an outfit), gold necklace, and ivory and orange cameo.  Plus, the tights aren't even the right shade of red!  Eeek.

Second attempt:  To save myself from my discolored red tights catastrophe, I opt for my cream socks with gold and orange stripes.  Finally, the cameo has a friend, and the glitter gold stripes set off the whale necklace.  However, the outfit still seems off. I also slightly resemble a bee-keeper.

Thrid attempt:  I lose the hat, add a cream cardigan, move the cameo to the cardigan, and viola!  The outfit flows together and I don't look too crazy.  (Maybe a little.)  I think the secret to odd color combinations is to get a little matchy-matchy.  Otherwise, the silhouette or structure of the outfit is lost in the process.  Just be sneaky about it, like pairing oranges and golds together, as well as browns, tans, and creams together.  Once you trick your outfit into "matching," you can get away with odd pairings like a bright red blouse (with green polka dots and buttons--they're hard to see) and a plaid skirt.

The next day I received four very special complements; two referenced Gossip Girl and the other two compared me to Rachel Barry.  Definitely worth the trial and error, I'd say!

blouse-Buffalo Exchange
necklace-Etsy
cardigan-Ann Taylor
cameo-great-grandma's
skirt-Pie in the Sky
socks-Kate Spade
shoes-Target