Our Accessories Can Add Summer to our Black Outfits

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Accessories to add summer to black outfits

Our Accessories Can Add Summer to our Black Outfits

Quote of the day: “In any situation, the best thing you can do is the right thing; the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing; the worst thing you can do is nothing.” Theodore Roosevelt

Are black outfits your go-to look for any season? If so you’re not the only one. I had a reader, Gail, ask if I could post some ideas about how to incorporate black outfits for your summer wear. In fact, once I started researching the topic, I found out that it’s supposedly cooler for you to wear black because it absorbs the energy from your body instead of reflecting it back. Interesting, right?

So for all of you lovers of black outfits, here is one of my ideas! Just add in some colorful accessories including your footwear, and your black outfits look instantly more summery! Just like Alison from Puppies and Pretties did recently! But more importantly, I’d like to introduce you to Clara who is new to the blog, but who realizes that even at age 87, it’s worth taking a little extra time to put together a stylish outfit.

Clara (80+ Blogette): Clara added in some fabulous red with her black and wanted to mention that sturdy shoes are important!! 🙂

Let me give you a little background about our newest blogette! Clara is 87 years old (and lived for 85 years in New York City!).  She lives with her daughter and family now in Franklin Lakes, NJ (about 30 minutes from NY).  She retired as an elementary school principal nearly 20 years ago.  She started her career (after college) as a buyer of women’s lingerie at Alexander’s then Lane Bryant and finally Interstate buying offices (the pre-cursor to Federated).  She enjoyed traveling with friends for many, many years. Clara has 1 daughter, Elena, and 2 grandchildren: Laura (age 17 who was the photographer) and Henry (age 15).

Jacket: Nippon TJMaxx 2 years~~Blouse: Jones NY 2 years~~Pants: Romans 4 years ~~Shoes: Monro (on sale)~~Watch: Coach TJ Maxx~~Ring, Purse & Earrings borrowed from Elena (all purchased on trips to Hong Kong/Singapore)~~Necklace: TJ Maxx 10 years

Jodie’s (50+) Outfit: I picked the color yellow to my black outfit!

Yellow has become my favorite color although I don’t usually wear it with black. I always feel that I might look too much like a bumble bee! Strange concern, I know, but I thought it looked great with this outfit as an accent color!

Yellow with black for summer

The black skirt is one that I DIYed myself to make it have fringe on the bottom!

Since fringe is such a fun detail that is on everything now, I thought this would be a fun way to modernize an old skirt! In the post about how to do it yourself I worked on one of my mom’s skirts from her closet which she has since worn in a post!

If the last thing you want to do is a DIY project, there are many denim fringe skirts instead! Of course, since it’s summer, you could always add a white skirt with this detail to your collection!

Black clothes in summer months for women 50+

And my yellow shoes got to come out for our date night!

In case you’re interested, we went to the restaurant Colt and Grey in the RiNo district. It was good but not really our favorite eatery!!

But back to the shoes!! Just last week, I told the story how I wore these heels our for the night, but realized they weren’t the easiest for walking. I’ve had them for years, and wore them when I was working. Obviously, I sat on my behind a lot at work, so wearing high heels was easy! But now that we tend to walk more, I ended up retiring these shoes, since I bought that new pair described in the last week, I told the story blog!

I might now need to invest in a pair of yellow sandals that would be perfect for the summer! Especially for a price like that pair! See, this is how I get into trouble. I look for fabulous deals for my readers and end up buying them myself!

Black Clothes for summer months for women over 50

The rest of my outfit came together with a neck scarf and earrings.

I didn’t want to be too matchy-matchy with my yellow accessories, so I grabbed my scarf that has a couple of different bright colors in it. I really like a scarf this way with an off the shoulder shirt, because it doesn’t break up the line of the shoulders. But you can see how I wore this same shirt previously without having it be OTS and with a long necklace!

And did you notice that my earrings are mint colored? I was trying to pick up the mint color from the scarf instead of having so much yellow. What do you think?

Skirt: Thrifted ~~Top: Chicos c/0 )~~Shoes: Aldo ~~Belt:~~Scarf: ~~Earrings: ~~Bracelet: ~~Purse: Mix No 6-DSW

Nancy’s (60+) Outfit: We put together Nancy’s outfit first before deciding on which color to add in with her accessories.

She had just purchased this tunic when the 3 of us went shopping for some brain exercises! It wasn’t part of the exercise, but it was a great deal and she thought it’d be perfect for her upcoming cruise. And she was right, because she wore it for her “fancy” dinners on the cruise.

Now, I know that many women do not appreciate this open shoulder trend. But if it’s nice to showcase the parts of your arms that you still like.

Women over 60 wearing black outfits for summer

Once we had Nancy all clothed in her black outfit, I grabbed her orange necklace to add in the color!

I’m sure for many of you, adding in accessories is the most obvious way to change the look of an outfit. That’s exactly what we did recently in order to spruce up our t-shirts! But I know, many times, I tend to think about accessories that have the same colors of what I’m wearing. And the problem in those cases, is then the accessories don’t stand out!

The answer to that issue would be to find a necklace that has many colors in it.

Accessories for black outfits in summer

Since Nancy also has orange sandals, we figured that would be an easy addition!

Orange is one of those under appreciated colors, I think. But let me tell you how much love these sandals have gotten since we bought them a couple of years ago. They are perfect for adding in a bright color to any kind of outfit.

If you’ve never shopped for orange shoes before, then let me help you out!  And then there’s some with a small heel!

Black outfits for summer for older women

Nancy wore her Chico’s traveler’s pants with her dark tunic!

These are the same pants that she styled for our post about what to wear on a plane trip! I found that Chico’s is not the only store that has these kind of trousers! You can find them at Eddie Bauer or White House Black Market sometimes! I’m sure there are even more than this, but it is certainly nice to have items that are easy to travel in and don’t wrinkle!!

adding orange accessories for black outfits

Pants: Chicos ~~Top: Nally & Millie ~~Shoes: Franco Sarto ~~Necklace:~~Earrings:

Charlotte’s (70+) Outfit: Black outfits can be put together a variety of ways.

I started with mine as a black skirt & a top, Nancy’s as black pants and a top, and now mom is showing a black “suit.”

My mom made this matching knit pants and jacket many years ago. The ruffle part of mom’s jacket is quite modern right now! And one of the ways I know this  is when I search for an item with my shopping app there are many to choose from! Since this is a renewed style, you could even already have one like it in your closet?

adding accessories to summer black outfits

I didn’t exactly plan for us to all wear different colored accessories for this post, but sometimes I get lucky.

This way you can see how different colors look when they are paired with your black pieces. For my mom’s accessories we chose pink since I thought her floral shoes would add some nice lightness to this look!

I know I talk about shoes all the time, but they really speak to me! A great pair of shoes just seem like the cherry on top for an outfit. And if you are one that loves flats, there are still stylish floral shoes for you! I found a couple pairs that could be your “cherry on top.”

Pink necklace with black outfits

My mom picked this black & white shirt for under her jacket!

Since it’s a print top, you may not think that a necklace is needed. And even my mom thought this necklace wouldn’t show up much! But sometimes a more subtle detail is fun! In fact, I’ll show you some examples of accessories on print items next month!

Because if you are an accessory junkie like my mom or myself, then the fact that you are wearing prints shouldn’t stop you from showcasing all of your gems!!

70+ women wearing black outfits

However, for those of you who don’t love accessories, then a print top could be all you need to make your black outfits seem more summery.

There are so many pretty print tops available everywhere.

Summer additions for black outfits

Pants: Mom made them ~~Jacket: Mom made it ~~Top: Allison Brittney ~~Shoes: Alfani ~~Necklace: ~~Earrings: ~~Bracelet:

Our examples of adding in colorful accessories to our black outfits all used the warm colors. But you could certainly wear your blues, greens and purples with it too! You have to let me know, if this appeals to you? It’s always so interesting to me, that there are so many women that love wearing black, so I think it’d be fun to know who you are and why?

Thanks to one and all of you for your support. It means more than you know!

Our event with a local boutique called Trendz is only a couple of days away!!

Charlotte, Nancy and myself always love meeting the people that are reading the blog. Besides the owners of the store are giving every attendee a $20 gift card! What could be better?

Trendz Boutique

The Facts

Even if you wouldn’t consider purchasing your clothing online, it can be helpful to look through my links to see what is available! It certainly doesn’t hurt my feelings, if you click on them but don’t like them. Just so you know, one of the ways I make money from this blog is through these linked items.

Keeping in Touch

Are you registered for my email reminders to let you know when a post goes live? I’d certainly love it if you take the time to sign up and make sure all your friends sign up too!! There are other ways to follow my blog. Facebook readers can see my posts by liking my page. Or my Pinterest page has all of our outfits in a nutshell!

And if you’re new to the party, you can always see our outfits organized by categories, here! Don’t forget to check out the deals & discounts too, on this page!

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