Can you guys believe it? An outfit with no black elements. This is a big deal for me! My mom loves black and wears a lot of it, and she passed that love on to her daughters. Black is your friend when you are thin and when you are heavy, and can always help you feel polished and put together. At the urging of friends like Caitlin though, I’m trying to branch out a little bit and explore the world of color. The outfit below is one of my attempts to put together some of the pieces I already have in my closet (most of it is black so this is a surprisingly difficult task!) As you can see, I struggled with the color of the teal shirt a little bit. Is it just impossible to wear these two pieces together because of the different necklines?
Yellow jacket (thrifted) – $5
Teal button down (thrifted)– $5
Brown pants (thrifted, Gap, new-with-tags)-$8 + $16 to have them hemmed (yes I realize I should learn to do this myself since I own a sewing machine)
Pink flats, Payless (Bogo)- $10
Total Cost: $40
T1 wanted to have his own fashionably modest feature as well!
Orange onesie, Carter’s (Costco) – $4
Pants, Zara– $20
Shoes, Pediped - $40
Total Cost: $64
How ridiculous is it that his outfit costs more than mine?!?!?
I have another post going up later this afternoon. I’m participating in a little contest and I need to get my entry up before the end of the day!
May 6th, 2011 on 9:51 am
A of all, you look freaking amazing! Your bangs have inspired me to grow mine out a little. Your hair length has also inspired me to grow mine out. I’m going to grow it and eventually donate it, I think. But for now it is so much fun to have different things to do.
I like the yellow and teal together a LOT. My only suggestion would be to maybe roll the sleeves of the teal shirt up? I don’t know if that would work with the jacket sleeves, though. I really struggle with layering 3/4-sleeve tops. Either the shorter sleeve gets bunched up inside the longer sleeve, or I feel like the longer sleeve looks weird.
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Mandy Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 10:23 am
I was also going to suggest unbuttoning the teal shirt and rolling up the sleeves onto the yellow jacket. Since the jacket is 3/4 it just looks like it is to short.
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Tiffany Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 10:37 am
totally roll the sleeves up. that was the first thing i noticed. the different sleeve lengths just doesn’t work with this outfit i think. otherwise I love all of the colors!!
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Rachel Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
I fourth this opinion! It’s also the first thing I thought when I saw the outfit. Other than that, I love the color mixing!
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May 6th, 2011 on 9:51 am
Most of the time, I think hemming is best done by hand. It’s super fast and you get a better look.
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May 6th, 2011 on 9:54 am
I think the colors look fabulous together! Ditto to cuffing the dress shirt sleeves.
Love it!
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May 6th, 2011 on 9:56 am
You look ROCKIN and your hair is amazing! Did you curl it??
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Jenna Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 10:15 am
Why yes I did! A curly ponytail is my go-to “my hair is dirty and I need it off my face” do.
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Senora H-B Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 7:12 pm
Mine too. It’s so awesome and I get more compliments on it than when my hair is clean. Yay dirty ponytails!
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May 6th, 2011 on 9:58 am
He’s quite the little model, with that looking off to the side forlorn expression he’s got going on!
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May 6th, 2011 on 10:09 am
you look great in yellow!
i hem clothing for my husband and other family members, now that i know i can charge $16, maybe i will!
if sewing scares you, get steam-a-seam, i use that stuff on slacks and other materials i don’t want to see a seam line
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May 6th, 2011 on 10:18 am
He is too cute! Loving your hair and the color combo, but I think the shirt sleeves don’t work so well under the jacket. I second cuffing them right over the sleeves of the sweater.
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May 6th, 2011 on 10:33 am
I hem with this stuff:
http://www.amazon.com/Thermoweb-Heatn-Iron-Adhesive-3-Yards/dp/B000XZTSYQ
I don’t know why it got such bad reviews on Amazon (maybe they didn’t follow the directions- since the stuff has 2 different sides and you have to start with the right one). I’ve hemmed at least a dozen pairs of pants with it and it works great. I’ve also used it to hem curtains. It’s really easy. The last time I hemmed pants, I actually hemmed it to a cuff- no sewing!
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May 6th, 2011 on 10:55 am
I love the yellow jacket but in my opinion I think we have too many color elements going on. The shirt, jacket, and shoes are all great but when you put them all together it doesn’t quite work. I would try a plain white tshirt under the jacket and some more neutral shoes. My focus instantly goes to the jacket and I think you should really make that the focal point. With the other stuff it just competes too much.
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May 6th, 2011 on 11:05 am
I don’t usually comment but just wanted to say that you’re really looking fabulous! And I agree with the suggestion of rolling up the sleeves of your shirt - without them rolled, it looks like the yellow jacket is too small. It’s the first thing my eyes went to. The colors work well together though!
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May 6th, 2011 on 11:10 am
I LOVE all the colors. Black is my mom’s favorite color and somehow that didn’t translate over to me. I love lots of different colors, which is probably not so good.
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May 6th, 2011 on 11:21 am
I’m going to disagree with the people who say the top layer has to be the longest. However, I do think the button-up is too bulky… it would work if you had a long sleeve fitted tee under it instead (I love my Downeast Basics ones)
If you want to wear a bulky layer underneath, I would make it a coordinating color… I think you have light yellow going on with a jewel tone. though colors on the Internet can be difficult, so it could be different!
Also — I love you and your thrifting skills! Amazing!
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May 6th, 2011 on 11:30 am
You look great Jenna. Too funny, I’m a fan of black too. If you look into my closets nothing but black or grey. For the past years, I’m trying to branch into colors with somewhat moderate success.
Love the look. However, if I could make a suggestion, I would try to layer the yellow jacket with something less bulky & perhaps unbuttoned.
T1 is soo freaking adorable!!!
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May 6th, 2011 on 11:53 am
I love the teal shirt it makes your eyes stand out.
I’m less a fan of the yellow with it but that may be because I’m not really a yellow person in the first place. It does look bright and sunny on you though.
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May 6th, 2011 on 11:54 am
I love the yellow, teal and maroon combo! And your hair really does look great too.
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May 6th, 2011 on 11:59 am
I’m lovin’ the colors! I had to laugh a bit, because I’m definitely wearing black right now. But, I love the mixed color look; I’ll have to challenge myself sometime!
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May 6th, 2011 on 12:26 pm
the teal shirt looks really fabulous on you.
Only thing I would change is to fold up the sleeve of your dress shirt once or twice over the sweater.
You could definitely pull this top off with white pants or skirt as well!
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May 6th, 2011 on 1:20 pm
I haven’t read thru the comments, so I apologize if I’m restating something that’s been said… however, I don’t think that the necklines look bad at all. I think the bright yellow & the teal look nice together! The only thing I’d maybe change is the sleeves. To me, it looks a little awkward for them to be different lengths, so maybe next time roll the teal shirt’s sleeves up & over the sleeve of the yellow sweater so that they’re the same length. I think that would look really sharp!
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May 6th, 2011 on 1:55 pm
You look nice in teal!
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May 6th, 2011 on 2:31 pm
Ummm, outfit does not work on you, sorry. You are looking good, however, with the exercise and good eating….T1 is cute.
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May 6th, 2011 on 6:11 pm
I think this is a super cute outfit! I like that the layering is a little kooky and off-kilter. It’s fun. I also like the unexpected pop of color with your shoes. How fun is that jacket?! The only thing I’d suggest is adding a cute brooch or necklace that brings another little pop of that pink to the look.
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May 6th, 2011 on 6:39 pm
Love the color combination but have to agree with previous commenters about the sleeves.
T1 really is adorable. I can see he will be modeling in many future photo shoots of yours.
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May 6th, 2011 on 6:54 pm
Love the yellow!
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May 6th, 2011 on 7:24 pm
You are looking amazing!
I think the outfit would have worked a little better with a plain white round neck top under it instead of the shirt. Or even a teal one! I just think the combination makes you look bulky when you definitely aren’t!
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May 6th, 2011 on 9:08 pm
Great color combination! You look great, I’d roll the sleeves up (but that’s just me). And also, if you want to save some $$$ I highly suggest using hem tape…I use it on most of my inexpensive every day pants and love it.
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May 6th, 2011 on 10:05 pm
oh my gosh you look GREAT!!!!
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May 6th, 2011 on 10:25 pm
You inspire me to thrift. Jenna you really are looking amazing. Good for you!
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May 7th, 2011 on 6:44 am
Your hair looks gorgeous, so do you. I would also roll up the sleeves like others have mentioned. And switch the brown pants with dark wash jeans!
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May 7th, 2011 on 6:58 am
Echoing those before me on hem tape and sleeve rolling. I do wear short sleeve (above elbow) jackets & cableknit sweaters with full-length sleeves, but I agree that this particular shirt would look cute rolled up.
Black is the uniform of New Yorkers. People do wear colors, but I notice when I travel that i must always look in mourning. I go through phases of working color in…. But black looks good! I’ve been successful w/ incorporating non-black thru winter coat (a white & a red - they pop!) and one or two cocktail dresses in color. I think the LBD is a good idea, but who wants to look like everyone else?
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Life On Mulberry Reply:
May 7th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
the more i look at this jacket, the more I really like it!! Was it a brand/label that you know of?
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Jenna Reply:
May 7th, 2011 at 8:36 pm
It’s from Chicos, and I actually gave it away today! I’m in a bit of a purging stage lately. If you thought it would fit I would go buy it back from the thrift store and ship it your way
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May 7th, 2011 on 11:45 am
Late to the commenting party, but you look amazing in this outifit - the colors really make your eyes pop. Rolling up the sleeves will definitely help, as well. Love these posts - they’re so inspirational!
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May 9th, 2011 on 2:32 pm
Oh I love the color combo, but I would wear the yellow jacket with a long sleeve white or teal tee with a scoop neck instead. The teal button up shirt does look too bulky on your figure. Go you for stepping out of your black comfort zone!
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May 10th, 2011 on 5:19 pm
Oh my goodness, what a bright and happy outfit! Love the color combo
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May 12th, 2011 on 9:18 am
Jenna I have a feeling that many people have already said this but your hair looks amazing like that! Keep it up!
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