An experiment in mixing patterns

Scarlett writes:


(This is a clicky thumbnail. Click it for the original image in all its poorly-lit glory! I promise, I will find a better way to do pictures in the future.)

Clearly, we are using pseudonyms in this blog.

I chose "Scarlett" after one of my favourite female protagonists, Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind. The main reason I admire Scarlett O'Hara so much is that She Does What Needs To Be Done. Plus she managed to turn curtains into a gown fit for a Southern ball; a little bit of sartorial magic!

Today I took two risks.

1) I experimented with mixing patterns, a concept that I've been toying with for a couple years and began trying on myself in small doses a few months ago. It's been a somewhat lacklustre relationship so far, owing to the fact that I didn't own much in the way of prints until I started making some bold purchases. i.e. Me in the fitting room: "Well, this doesn't really go with anything I own whatsoever... F--- it, I'm going to buy it anyway."

(Have we decided if we're going to be swearing in this blog yet?)

Anyway, back to mixing prints: I'm comitting. I think we're getting serious now.

I think the key to an outfit that is A Lot of Look (as mixed-print outfits are wont to be) lies in minimizing accessories. To me, even a small pair of stud earrings would have been too much.

I tried to echo the grey of the tights in my grey belt. I knew I wanted to wear a black vest, so I had to go with black boots to pull the black vest and the black pattern of the skirt all together. The fact that there's a bit of pink in the skirt that tied in with the pink polka dots in my shirt was purely a happy coincidence.

2) I never know how far I can push the envelope at work, but I've been trying my luck more and more in the past several months. It all began when I bought the pair of boots seen in the picture above. With the tops flipped up, they become just-barely-thigh-high boots. Wanted to find out if I could wear thigh-high, black, fake leather boots to work. I tried it. Turns out I could.

I would consider the look above quite casual. It's the kind of outfit that, if I had an exciting and eventful life, I would wear on the weekends to impress strangers. I don't, so I decided to wear this look to work instead.

Because I am eternally devoted to the Art of the Bargain, here's where I sourced my outfit:

Vest: Suzy Shier
Shirt: Simon's
Skirt: Smart Set
Tights: La Senza
Boots: Suzy Shier

(I promise, I do shop at stores whose first letters come from other locations in the English alphabet. Oh, wait, that belt is from Femme de Carriere! Not an "s" in sight.)

What do you think?

(To make this seem like a more interactive, living blog, I'm thinking that other writers can post reactions directly in the entries made by other bloggers, and visitors are welcome to use the Comments feature.)