Pastels for All Ages With Jodie
It’s that time again when Sherry, from Petite Over 40, is joining us in a Fab Collab. Since it’s springtime, we thought we’d investigate a time in our life when we wore pastels compared to how we’d wear them now!
We started our series with Sherry, our 40’s generation model, here, where she shared the southern traditions about wearing pastels.
Now you get to hear my remembrances…
Jodie’s history:
When I was going back through my school photos, I thought the most interesting theme I could see was the fact that up until about 5th grade, I always wore red for my school photos. After that, I noticed that the color changed to pink. Of course, I could theorize that my mom chose the red outfits for me, and I chose the pink ones. And who knows? Maybe that is the case. Is there some deep, psychological fact from those observations? That’s what I wonder!!
Along this time period in my photo album, I came upon these 2 pictures, and I knew I wanted to showcase these. I must have had a ton of pastels in my closet, because this was an occasion when my dad took us to a photographer. I was instructed to take along 2 different outfits, and both of mine are pastels!
This top photo includes one of my fabulous friends that moved away from our hometown in high school where I was living with my mother and landed in the same area that my father lived in Denver! Therefore we got to get together when I’d visit my dad, so she got included in our photo session this time. My dad took quite a liking to Diane when we would get together because she was such a thoughtful and intellectual friend!
So let’s look at the outfits the 2 of us are wearing above. Both of us have on puffyish sleeves, so that must have been so stylish in the early 80’s? My mom made my striped dress (that should not be a surprise to any of you by now!!). And if you look closely, you can see that I put on my pearl necklace that was given to me at my confirmation. Pearls and dressy outfits—they go together like peanut butter and jelly! Although I hope that you read my article on Sixty + Me by now, and have tried wearing your pearl jewelry even for casual affairs!
This striped dress was one of my favorites. I’m pretty sure that my mom made it for me as my Easter smock! It may be shocking to those of you who’s mother doesn’t sew for them, but I didn’t always love what my mom made me. Especially in those teenager years, because I wanted the same items that all of my friends were wearing.
Thus, you may giggle when you see my “polo” shirt here in the second photo. I yearned for one of these shirts so I would “blend” in with the other kids at school. They were so expensive compared to what my mom would buy me at that time, so I had to save up my money for this top. And look how I chose a pink one at that. I’m sure there was every other color under the sun, but I must have been in a pink phase. Even the belt is full of pastels.
So my dad would have been 46 in this photo. When I would come out to visit him during the summers, everyone would ask if I was out visiting my brother? My dad reveled in those remarks and of course would say “yes”! He always did look so young for his age. I mean, heck, do you remember seeing my parents wedding photo, here? To me he looks like just a teenager in this old wedding picture.
Enough of the memories. I could go on for days otherwise! Back to our present day pastels!
Jodie’s (50’s) Outfit: I will admit that I still really like pastels. Maybe I’m better about having more variety in my closet, but there is certainly plenty of pinks, light blues, and yellows hanging in my wardrobe!
But I do realize that some of the lighter pastels can make me look washed out. So for this outfit, I tried to add in some darker layers. The floral cardigan and the blush blouse under it are items I found in my Thrift Box purchase, here! We were attending a writing convention on this day, so I added in the darker purple as another layer, because you never know how cold they’ll be keeping the rooms at events like this!
Now, you have to admit that if you’re shopping at this time of year, there are plenty of floral sweaters. This cardigan is very similar to the one I’m wearing only without the extra material at the sleeves. But if you happen to like the darker florals better and the longer cardigans, you might appreciate this cardigan. And then for those of you who prefer more of a kimono that is less fitted, I found this one!
Even though the blouse was second hand, you’ll also be seeing a ton of blush at the retail stores right now. It is quite the popular color among bloggers and young women. If you like this color, I found a blouse that is similar here, on sale. Or if you wanted one with the fun sleeves, you could check out this one. Those two are quite light in color, so this one is more saturated and is a popular design, if you don’t mind the pockets.
You can see in this up close photo the 3 layers a little better. The dark purple layer is also a cardigan. Not that I usually wear 2 cardigans on top of each other, but after posting about layering 2 blouses I figured, why not? I also used a purple necklace (do you recognize it, Kate?) to be closest to my face, so hopefully I wouldn’t look so washed out!
One of the ways I can tell what is fashionable at the stores, is how easy it is to link to something similar. So let me tell you that purple cardigans are not very hip right now—ha ha! This one is more of a shrug, but it could be a great layering item. However, if you wanted your basic looking cardigan, this one would fit the bill better!
I absolutely love the interesting sleeves that are being shown on many blouses & sweaters lately. These cardigan sleeves are slightly ruffly, but not too much that they get in the way of function! Of course I wore my white jeans!! Since the theme was pastels, I wanted to keep the overall outfit light and bright.
I have been a huge fan of white jeans for many, many years. And I’m sure you know by now, that I don’t usually spend a lot of money on most items. My white jeans are from the LOFT are definitely a great buy. They are thick enough so you aren’t able to see through them. And the LOFT has sales going on quite often. So even though these may be under $100, if you put them in your cart and wait a week or so, I bet they’ll be 30-40% off! I think my last 3 or 4 pair of white jeans are from the LOFT, and I’ve always been happy with them.
I thought the darker booties would help ground the outfit and keep it from being too light! But looking at these photos, I may have liked my beige ankle boot better.
But I will tell you that these booties are truly quite comfortable. I don’t know if any of you have tried the Crown Vintage brand before, but both Nancy & I love them. Right now they are still available, here! The higher heeled ones were available when I was contemplating whether to get these or not, but I’m very happy with the 2 inch heels. They were very easy to wear when we were walking around Seattle one day!
I included this photo to show how I left the blush blouse hang out. Even though it hangs longer than the cardigan in the back, I don’t think it looks sloppy. Yet, I almost think the blouse blends in with the cardigan enough that it’s not super obvious!
Jeans: LOFT (similar here)~~Floral Cardigan: Charlotte (similar here)~~Purple Cardigan: Mossimo (similar here)~~Top: Naked Zebra (similar here)~~Boots: Crown Vintage (here)~~Necklace: Made by my friend, Kate (similar here with a large tassel or here with just the beads)~~Earrings: (similar here in amethyst & rose quarzy)~~Bracelet: I layered mine, but I’m linking to ones that give you that same look with just a single bracelet (similar here or here)
Thanks for coming along on our memory journey with us! And definitely join in and tell us about your like/dislike of pastels!!
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.
There are affiliate links in this post. What this means is that when you click on a linked item, I receive a couple of cents. Those couple of cents can certainly add up! So I appreciate it if you keep clicking to help support Jodie’s Touch of Style!
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!
If you’re not a huge fan of florals for your cardigans, I found others below you might like?
