Camo and Lace is Our Secret to Feminizing the Print
Quote of the day: “Stay true to what makes you different. As long as you’re unique, you’re irreplaceable. If you try to assimilate, you’re instantly replaceable.” Olivia Wilde
Living in Denver, Colorado, you can certainly see many varieties of camo print on men and women alike. But in all honesty, I have to say I never thought that I would be wearing it! Not for any reason other than I like fashion, and in the past, I would have considered camo functional, not stylish!
But as I have learned over and over, times change and so does the definition of what is stylish! And once the camo print hit the blogger scene, I decided that maybe we should explore the possibilities with this print. Heck, it’s just another design, right? We also thought about pairing the camo with denim.
Since we styled our camo last year in a multitude of ways, I had to get creative for this year! In fact, one of my blogettes from the past, Jude, was the brains behind this pairing of camo and lace. Isn’t it the perfect way to add some yin and yang to our outfits? Let me also introduce you to Kathleen, who has gone back and read all of my posts from the beginning. While she was commenting on last years camo print outfits, I suggested she join us!!
And on top of that, as I was crawling through Instagram this weekend, I saw my friend, Kim, also wearing camo and lace, so I asked her to join us also!! This must be proof that camo and lace is a great combination!
Kathleen (blogette): In Kathleen’s words “This camo jacket was found accidentally lurking on the misses rack in either TJ Maxx or Marshalls. It’s a junior’s jacket, but I wouldn’t have found it if it hadn’t been misplaced since I don’t usually visit the junior’s section!
I adore fashion, style and shopping – even more than I did in earlier decades! Life is too short not to enjoy presenting oneself nicely and appreciating everyone who does so. My other great love is animals and nature. My husband (of 36 years) and I love all creatures, great and small, and have been vegetarian for decades. We share our home with 14 cats (down from our all-time high of 39), and feed the birds, raccoons, possums, foxes and deer. (The occasional bear does his best to get at the bird feeder.) My PJ and lounging wardrobe is as extensive as my clothing wardrobe, for obvious reasons!”
I love how Kathleen wore this camo jacket over her lace dress!! It’s the perfect dichotomy of feminine vs. masculine!!
Kim (@MidLifeStyleTips on Instagram): I met Kim as one of my partners for the Fierce 50 Follow Fridays for Instagram.
Kim’s Instagram account is a combination of style-selfies, features of fashion bloggers from around the world, video posts of funny everyday anecdotes, behind-the-scenes looks at my flight attendant life & Sunday inspiration.
I thought adding her outfit to the mix was a perfect way to show you all more variety on camo items, since she’s wearing a pair of joggers with her lace top!
Jodie’s (50+) Outfit: First I have to comment on this shop in Denver! I’ve used their fabulous pink chair before on my blog when we styled Western Wear!
We were out with Nancy on this day taking photos, and Nancy ventured into the shop to check it out!! Not only did we find some great products including the t-shirt from this post, but we also met a couple of delightful women who you can see at the bottom of this post!!
For our camo and lace outfit, I only have camo shorts, so I grabbed these. I happened to get these shorts at a thrift store because I still question myself about the appropriateness of a 50+ woman wearing shorts! But I have found that I love wearing them with ankle boots! Maybe because it’s along the line of that yin and yang! Or maybe it’s because it’s new and different?
Of course, these ankle boots are the peep toe version. I realize that this could be considered silly, but you may like it more than you thought. At least here in Denver, we usually have many warm days all the way into November and so they could get a ton of use!! I found this pair and this pair that are lighter colored so would seem better for the warmer weather!!
My lace piece is my camisole that has lace at the trim at the top and lace at the bottom!! I certainly wouldn’t wear this cami by itself, but it works great under many items! If you don’t love the camis, you could always wear a white lace shirt or colored one instead so you’d feel more comfortable wearing it in case you need to take off your blazer!
I’ve always been a huge fan of white blazers!! They seem so crisp and clean, but I could never wear one while working because it’d get too dirty! I know many women will say they are too messy for them, but if you don’t pay a ton for them, then maybe you wouldn’t get so upset if you mess them up.
This might be the perfect time to check out some stores you don’t normally visit. The blazer I’m wearing was under $20, and this one and this one are too! Or you could choose a jacket instead of a blazer!!
Shorts: Joe Fresh-thrifted (similar here)~~Blazer: BooHoo (similar here)~~Top: Zenana Outfitters (similar here)~~Boots: Indigo Rd. (similar here)~~Earrings: (similar here)~~Bracelet: (similar here)~~Purse: Tignanello-thrifted (similar here)~~Sunglasses: Nora NYC with 10% off use NewShades (here)
Nancy’s (60+) Outfit: Nancy grabbed her Mod Loops lace piece that we discovered at our local boutique, Trendz to pair with her camo blouse.
This mod loop lace piece is a 6 inch piece of lace that you can wear either on your chest or at your hips! The advantage is then you don’t have an entire shirt or cami covering you, but you get the prettiness of the lace trim! Nancy’s is a beige colored, so it’s almost camouflaged against her skin!!
The nice thing about Nancy’s camo print blouse is how lightweight it is! I hear that many women prefer to have their arms covered even in the summer, so finding the perfect shirts for that isn’t always easy! This one is python print or you might like a floral one better!!
Nancy’s usual choice of bottoms in the summer is a pair of capri pants. The 3 of us styled them earlier this summer, and in a couple of weeks, we will be pairing up with 2 other bloggers to show you more options and styling choices!! If you don’t wear them, I’d love to hear why! If you do wear them, then I’d love to know your favorite length!! There always seems to be such a controversy about this clothing item.
These are some of Nancy’s most comfortable sandals, but I usually veto them for the blog. To me, they aren’t the most stykish ones she has in her closet. But I’ve become less rigid in my old age, and decided to let her wear them for our outing since it was her birthday funday.
The three of us will be showcasing some Jambu shoes soon on the blog which are very much tailored to those of you who expect comfort from your shoes!! But I have to say that really, many manufacturers are doing a better job at combining style & comfort. Just the fact that many shoes have ankle straps make them so much easier to walk in!!
Pants: St. John’s Bay (similar here)~~Top: Living Doll (similar here)~~Shoes: White Mountain (similar here)~~Necklace: (similar here with coins)~~Purse: Charming Charlies (similar here)~~Sunglasses: (similar here)
Charlotte’s (70+) Outfit: For my mom’s outfit that involved camo and lace, we chose her lace blazer that she bought in Japan.
It’s one of those pieces that you don’t see everywhere, yet it’s been quite versatile for any season! I actually tried one on in Stein Mart not too long ago, but I curtailed my spending on it.
There are some fabulous ones available as more of a bomber jacket style, if you’re interested. This one is not only lacy but also sheer which would be perfect in the summer months!! There is also the crochet lace version that is really pretty! And then there is the version with just the sleeves being lace! In addition to that, the one I linked to as similar below is even different from all of those!
Then I grabbed these shoes because I thought the open holes in them would mirror the lace design of the blazer!! For those of you who love to match your details, I thought this was perfect!!
If you aren’t a huge fan of sandals in the summer, then holes in your shoes could be the best way to keep your feet cooler! This pair even has an ankle strap which has been my favorite feature lately!! But there are certainly ones without the ankle strap too!
And then the pearls came out!! In a way adding in the pearls is another way to create a more feminine look with the masculine camo, I think! Of course, my mom wasn’t buying it, but she’s a good sport and at least wore them for the photos!! I know when I wrote the article for Sixty + Me about wearing your pearls more, there was some push back from some of the comments on Facebook.
To me, wearing pearls with a casual outfit is that yin/yang idea all over again! Besides, why save the good pieces for special events? Isn’t everyday a special day??
The last thing that we picked out for this camo and lace outfit was the pants. It’s not our usual way to choose an outfit, but sometimes the creative juices work in mysterious ways!!
I’m sure you all have some tan pants in your closet. They are truly a basic, but I’ve also been noticing some funner ones out there. Of course, in the summer, linen is always a popular choice. But what do you think about the more flowy styles? If you like the wide legs, but wanted them shorter, there are also the culottes, which I’ve become a huge fan of lately!
Pants: Fabrizio Gianni (similar here)~~Jacket: from Japan (similar here)~~Top: H&M (similar here)~~Shoes: Clicks (similar here)~~Necklace: (similar here)~~Earrings: (similar here)
Here are Nancy & I with Hannah & Hannah at Wish Gifts in Denver! It’s always a fun time searching through their amazing gifts. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that they hand out champagne when you walk in the door!! You really should check them out if you’re in town!! Then stroll across the street to Bonnie Brae ice cream! That was part of the fun on this day too!!
So here I am trying to push some boundaries and rules that we didn’t grow up with! You may think of the camo print as something that only hunters should wear. But isn’t the camo and lace together a fun twist?
Thanks to one and all of you for your support. It means more than you know!
The Facts
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I rounded up a large variety of camo items. I’m betting you already have some lace in your closet, so what would your camo and lace look like?
