Belting It Out

My outfit order got a bit screwed up because I was home sick from work on Tuesday with a migraine and my planned Wednesday outfit was not compatible with the tons of rain we had (suede boots that I have not yet weather proofed -- not gonna do it, wouldn't be prudent).

And as the weather is getting colder and a bit more variable (e.g., switching from "bare feet or lightweight hose with flats are maybe okay" and "socks and boots are necessary" weather), I'm building more flexibility into my outfit planning, so the days are unlikely to get all out of order.  I am enjoying the challenge to build new outfits using items I already own, but don't want it to be an "ack, it's going to be 25 degrees and snowing tomorrow, how do I make this dress work with a different set of warmer items!" mode the night before or, shudder, the morning of.  When that happens, I'll switch to a different pre-planned outfit.

Day 9: Put a Belt on It -- Wednesday, 11/5/14

What gives this week?  We have two days of belts (since wearing a belt is the most obvious "define the waist" technique) and two days of "shine" (more on this to come).  Well, I wasn't going to try to build another waist-defining belted outfit, so I went for something very different but that I also do infrequently if ever: wear a belt with work trousers.

And it was a no-brainer which belt I was going to choose, right?

No, your eyes do not deceive you -- I actually tucked in my shirt.  It's gettin' all crazy up in here, I tell ya.

As an added bonus to my day, when I walked into my (female) department head's office for a group meeting, she told me in about 3 or 4 sentences that she loves my style, I have great fashion sense, she always looks forward to seeing what I'm wearing, etc.  That felt great.  
 

Melon shift blouse (Nordstrom) -- wow, it looks really neon in this photo!
Black/white striped knit jacket (Nordstrom)
Black on black striped pants (thrifted, JCP)
Leopard belt (Target)
Black pointy-toed flats (Nordstrom)
Black tooth/claw necklace (Outfit Additions)

Verdict:  Tucking in a very lightweight blouse (that doesn't bunch up under the pants) and wearing with a cardigan/jacket and a belted trousers is a doable combination.  I have several of these shift blouses in various colors/patterns, so I could definitely recreate variations on this theme for a while.

Pro tip:  I used trick #13 from this list of styling methods to create the right amount of looseness above the tucked in blouse.  (In addition to the horrible bunching problem that puts me right off the full tuck, I generally have had my shirts tucked too tightly, so that there were weird wrinkles, etc., in the shirt fabric above the waistband.  Not any more!)  The whole list is pretty much brilliant.  I'm definitely going to be trying #6 (tuck non-skinny jeans into boots) this winter.