Hats

To Coin a Phrase--Thursday, 1/12/17

In the post accompanying this outfit suggestion, Bridgette talks about column dressing--i.e., in which you "layer a topper piece, like jacket or cardigan, in a contrasting shade over a monochromatic base."  In the right outfit, she shows adding another color to bring greater excitement to a grey dress and burgundy blazer.

From bridgetteraes.com

I started with a pseudo-dress consisting of a closely matching dark grey skirt and top, then added the burgundy blazer, tights, and tall boots so I resembled the left photo above.  Rather than go with a strong pop of color, I added a scarf with colors that blended in with the grey and burgundy but also had a brighter color to stand out a bit.

Burgundy tipped blazer (JNY), $6.81/wear
Dark grey long-sleeved top (Kohls), $1.87/wear
Dark grey skirt (Walmart), $2.40/wear
Grey leggings
Tall grey boots by LifeStride, $6.67/wear
Grey/pink/blue paisley scarf (Target), $2.00/wear

Outfit total: $19.75/wear

What should we call this idea of adding an item with similar colors to the outfit but also one or more colors that differ from the outfit and are a bit more prominent and eye-catching?  Maybe..."cohesive brightening"?  Brightening of all kinds is welcome in this gloomy season.

I checked the phrase "cohesive brightening" on Google and it's an impressively little-utilized term (5 entries).

Here's some more brightening for our day, courtesy of fall color in my neighborhood in October.  (Note the juxtaposition of plum + yellow on a grey background, just as in our outfit inspiration photo.  Damn.) 

In other news...A Game of Thrones DVD arrived from Netflix, so that was pretty much my evening.  Because I can't get enough of watching people walking around in seriously sub-zero temperatures with no hats.  I accept that in this universe, technological advances are rudimentary, but you'd think someone would have figured out that if you put something on your head, you won't get as cold.  (OK, to be fair, there are a few crowns, but that's it.  Nothing that actually covers the top of the head.)  I understand that they want us to be able to see the actors and have a hope of distinguishing them from each other, but I think we could still do that if they were wearing small woolen caps occasionally.  (Sometimes it would be easier to identify the characters if they kept the hats consistent--"oh, it's that black fur Russian style hat guy.")  But I guess half the female audience would bail if they couldn't see Jon Snow's curls. 

However, since the show regularly gives me an excuse to say "People are not wearing enough hats," I suppose I can live with it.