An Old Lemon. Cute but ‘Played-Out’

I saw a look today and immediately thought, ‘cute, but really played-out.’

What do I mean by ‘played out’? Well, it’s a look that’s common- not bad- but the look has been around for some time, as in years. If you look up the term, played out it means, ‘tired and no longer having power or effectiveness.

You know the look:

The jean jacket paired with a small print flowered dress and whatever shoe might go with it . It’s an easy combination anyone can do and it IS cute. The flip side to wearing this look is that there’s nothing fresh about it; it is “tired and no longer having power or effectiveness”. Ironically, this look is supposed to give off a sense of newness synonymous to spring- indeed a fresh look. Think old lemon. A lemon is inherently fresh until it gets old.

I’ve always been sensitive to looks, or anything for that matter, that is repeated too much and predictable. Some other examples are the black puffy vest with tall black (riding) boots and skinny jeans that appears at the same time of year as the pumpkin latte.

Another example is the brimmed hat (usually light brown or black) paired with a poncho, skinny jeans and brown riding boots. Again, these looks are easy to replicate but you come across as uncreative and predictable.

I love to see a new twist on a good standard look.

Here are a few ideas to change up the floral dress with jean jacket look this spring: Link to Look Books here.

· Ditch the jean jacket. Look for a linen blazer instead. You want to keep it ‘casual’, go for a baseball, bomber, or utility jacket. You could even find a jean jacket that has special patches designs like fringe, stitching, pockets, etc.

Caption: A white blazer (which goes with everything) instead of a jean jacket with the bolder floral. A striped handled bag compliments the floral.

Ditch the small floral pattern and go for a bolder colored floral or strip pattern, or an ikat print.

Ikat Dress instead of Floral — Caption: Trade up your floral for an ikat pattern. The jean jacket has bigger pockets and is more interesting than the average jean jacket.

Caption: This bolder floral takes the place of the smaller floral print and is just as feminine. The jean jacket has a fluttered neckline making it more interesting than the average jean jacket.

· Ditch the dress and go for a wide-legged jumpsuit with a baseball, bomber, or utility jacket.

Caption: Floral jumpsuit with a baseball jacket. Accessories are a sling bag and longer earrings.

· Add accessories like a sling bag, neck scarf, head scarf, or long earrings or big hoops. Adding accessories goes a long way. It can completely dress up an outfit or make it look “put together.”

Caption: This wide legged jumpsuit and neutral bomber jacket would look plain without the scarf (can be worn as a head scarf) and earrings. These accessories complete the outfit and “pull it together.”

I understand that this blog may ruffle a few feathers, but the aim is to begin to re-invent that stock standard look. When you resist trying new things you get stuck in a fashion rut that looks dated. Shoot for looking like the fresh lemon that you are! Here is a link to the look books. Feel free to click on the images to learn more about them and purchase.