Outfit Inspiration: Summer Trends - Checked Skirt Outfit

The fashion world always puts out their spring and fall trend lists long before the season ever starts. Lesser known, but still available are the summer and winter trend lists. Since summer officially starts later this month, I decided to feature a few of the patterns, colors and styles on the docket for summer.

Today’s outfit revolves around what Glamour calls Retro Gingham. The transition to clothing came as early as the early 1900’s, but it was Dorothy in the 1930 Wizard of Oz that made it a fashion statement. It took off in the 1950’s and 60’s being donned by actresses like Brigitte Bardot, and Marylyn Monroe. Gingham has continued to cycle through the fashion world much like leopard print, coming and going with ease.

Gingham always makes for a fun outfit, whether it is work as a skirt, shirt, or in the form of accessories like scarves or bags.

I have styled this skirt on the blog one other time since I thrifted it a couple years ago. I have no idea what the brand is, but I love the asymmetrical hem, the ruffle and the buttons off to the side. You can see how I styled it for the 4th of July last year.

I once again styled it with a white tee, and denim, but this time chose a classic crew neck, thrifted Great Northwest brand, and my 3/4 length sleeve thrifted Rue 21 cropped denim jacket.

You can see my jewelry in the above picture. I love the layer necklaces and there is no reason to think they have to match. I did think the gold ribbon on the multicolored bead, and the gold chain went well together. Both pieces pulled in the black Chaps espadrille shoes. I got these at Kohl’s a few years ago.

I wanted a summery bag, so I grabbed this Anne Klein piece that I thrifted about a month ago. I really like the straw weaving on the front, and it definitely says warm weather.

I think this is a great outfit for a summer graduation or casual wedding. What do you think? Do you like the gingham trend? Do you think plaid is perfect for summer, or do you think it should be reserved for cold weather? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

For more gingham inspiration check out these other posts from my blog: Gingham and Olive, Tie Front Pink Gingham Shirt, Gingham Scarf Outfit, Green Gingham Button Down, Gingham Pants Outfit, and Gingham Under a Poncho.

I hope you enjoyed this post. I have included a few shopping links for you to enjoy. These are affiliate link. All opinions are my own.

Have a great Wednesday eve!

Summer Outfit - Faux Lace Dress - Dressy

This week my summer outfit piece is a dress I bought at Kohl’s a while back on the clearance rack. I’ve had it hanging in my closet for a couple of years, I’d say, and it was time to either wear it or get rid of it. I hadn’t even taken the tags off. I’m sort of silly that way. Do you ever buy things and then they hang in your closet and you forget you even had them? I think I get into that dilemma, when I buy things on clearance at the end of a season, then I put them away, because a new season has started and I forget all about them until they are unearthed like some sort of ancient treasure.

This AB Studio dress is really nothing more than a fancy t-shirt dress with a lace pattern on it. It has a zippered back, but I can easily slip it over my head without even undoing the zipper. The other lovely thing about this dress is that it has deep side pockets which aren’t visible at all. I typically would not wear a dress this short, but I thought I would push myself outside my own box. Originally, I thought the dress would be cute with leggings and boots in the colder months. I need to try that too. I decided to wear black hose to cover my veiny legs and to give the outfit a leaner, longer look.

I chose a few pieces of jewelry that I wore to my oldest daughter’s wedding a few years ago. I also used my blingy, silver clutch to make the outfit look more dressy.

I thought my black Clark peep toe shoeties finished out the outfit perfectly, though you could have done black heeled sandals or even a heeled ankle boot.

My post wouldn’t be complete without a silly picture of me. I hope these bring a smile to your faces, because we all need things to keep us smiling these days. In reality, I was trying to adjust my glasses which tend, not only to slide down my nose, but also to be lower on one side than the other. Ha, ha. However, I think this is my stereotypical “librarian” face. Now, we all know that most librarians are very friendly and helpful, but for some reason all the old movies and shows always made them out to be older women with an attitude.

What length of dress do you like to wear? Do you like t-shirt dresses? I love to hear your thoughts.

I’ve included a few shopping links. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull.

Summer Outfit - Geometric Maxi Dress - Dressy

Today’s outfit revolves around a maxi dress my mother-in-law passed along to me. She had bought it for herself, but then didn’t really like it as well as she thought. When she showed it to me, and asked if I wanted it, I said sure. I actually wasn’t sure how to style it, or rather, didn’t give it a lot of thought since I haven’t been reaching for my maxi dresses all that often. If it was just me and my hubby and I wasn’t hanging out with a nine year old, I might wear one more frequently, as they are comfortable and a fun way to dress for summer. However, when I started thinking about featuring a few summer outfits for the blog, I wanted to show off this fun maxi dress.

The dress is Calvin Klein brand and features a tank style top attached at the waist to an a-line style skirt featuring a geometric pattern of rectangles and squares. The bottom is fully lined. Macy’s carries a broad line of dresses with all lengths and styles. I’ll include a few shopping links below.

The pink shrug doesn’t match the pink in the dress, but I felt like it worked. This shrug is a thrifted Forever 21 piece. It is sheer and flowy, making it the perfect way to dress up and outfit.

Gold accessories just seem to take the outfit up another notch. My thrifted gold necklace and clutch go with the gold beads and baubles on my wrist.

I do get rather silly when we are taking pictures, especially when we are in a place where other people are around. I already feel silly getting my picture taken, but then if there are people walking by, I feel even sillier. Ha, ha. Anyway, sometimes, my daughter catches me in my shenanigans. I felt like I was up against the firing squad wall. This is another spot at the Toledo Botanical Gardens.

By the time this is posted I will have gotten a much needed hair cut. My ends are looking terrible and I need to get some of the length taken off. Have you been to the hair dresser recently? I know for a lot of people that was one of the first things they did after things started opening back up a bit.

These are a different pair of black wedge sandals, also thrifted, but a brand called Connie.

What did you think of this outfit? Do you like to wear maxi dresses? They are an easy piece to wear and create a whole outfit with only one piece and a few accessories.

I’ve included some shopping links for you to look at. These are affiliate links. If you click on a link, I get a a few cents. All your clicks are appreciated since blogging is a hobby for me, I don’t make money, but it is nice to get a few dollars here and there. All opinions are my own.

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull.