Valuable Ideas on Clothing Inspiration with Closet Play Image
Our clothing inspiration can come from so many sources, and I think we’ve been trying to show this for the last couple of weeks. This week we took some of Liz’s photos from her Instagram page and I hope you check out the inspiration she took from us on her blog.
Quote of the day: “If you never fail, you’re only trying things that are too easy and playing far below your level… If you can’t remember any time in the last six months when you failed, you aren’t trying to do difficult enough things.” Eliezer Yudkowsky
“Failing” at styling clothes is what I consider easy since it’s very temporary and every day you get a mulligan. Then again what is failure when styling clothes? Maybe you put together something that doesn’t feel comfortable? I know many times, my first combination isn’t what I like (which I notice especially when I take a selfie every morning), so then I go change a piece or two.
Granted, most of us wouldn’t see someone in an apron and think about how to style their everyday outfit around it. But you know me! I always want a challenge. So when I first saw Liz’s gingham apron, it reminded me of my gingham pants. However, then I went a step further and thought how the apron is almost like a dress (except in the back, haha) and used that idea for an extra credit outfit.
Which is your fave?
Other clothing inspiration ideas from Liz?
Easily Finding Outfit Inspiration from Real Women
Using Charlotte’s Imagination to Copy Her Style with Liz
2 Clothing Inspiration Ideas
Let me talk more about the dress inspiration first since the rest of the post is about the gingham pants. This spaghetti strap dress was a hand me down from a friend. And even though you’d consider it a summer dress, it can be quite bare and short all by itself.
So the idea to layer it over a white blouse and leggings seemed perfect. Who knew such a great concept could come from an apron look?
Insider tip: I talk about many ways to actually wear some of the things in our closet that you’d otherwise purge in a blog post by exploring a new way to cull your wardrobe.
For my gingham pants look, I basically just took the idea of the black and white gingham along with the colors that Liz was wearing, and then added another color (turquoise) just to make it me!
The Extra Color
The extra color came about with the shoes. I needed a good walking shoe because we were going to explore the historic Wickenburg museum for the day. And I like how they gave the outfit a little more lightness and spring vibe. Then I tried to scatter that color in more of my outfit like with my earrings and ring. My purse is turquoise too although I didn’t show it for the photos.
I also added in the small neck scarf as a nod to print mixing, and especially because Liz wore one in the clothing inspiration photo also.
Insider tip: These Gibby scarves are made of bathing suit material and therefore stretch all 4 ways to make them much more comfortable than normal scarves. These neck ones (she also sells head scarves) are the perfect size to wrap around your neck without having a ton of extra material. (If you want to see how they stretch or other ways to wear them, I have a couple of short videos on Instagram here–you don’t have to be on Instagram to watch them)
If so go through my Gibby’s link you will get 25% off, making them less than $10. Or use code JodieTOS25SPR.
Denim
Looking at Liz’s apron photo, she is wearing blue denim and a white blouse. So I added a dark blue denim shirt and then a white denim jacket. I think my white denim jacket gets even more love than my blue jean ones.
In fact, the three of us experimented with white jackets for the fall. If you look back at that post, you can see I have this obsession with some kind of pin on the pocket of this jacket.
Spring Shoes and Socks
The best part about spring rolling around is spring shoes and bare ankles. And bare ankles doesn’t have to mean no socks. I purposely wore the mid cut Sheec socks so they would remind me to talk about them. LOL!!! If I had worn the low cut version, you wouldn’t see them and then I even forget that I had them on.
Before I tried Sheec socks, I thought all no show socks were the same. They would stay on if your shoes were tight enough. But after I purchased Sheec socks, I realized that these are better! One of the reasons they stay on is because they are sized for your feet and the other reason is because of the silicone grips.
Since I loved them so well, I actually reached out to the company to see if they work with bloggers. Now I have a discount code so you can save money. There’s actually a page on my site that will take you to the quarterly discount code (which is SPRINGJODIE right now). And yes, my husband loves them too!!
Insider tip: We have Rob get the black ones and I order the nude ones so we can tell ours apart. Even though we also get different sizes, it’s not very obvious. The bundles are a good deal. Right now it looks like there are only variety bundles available.
BTW, there are sock versions and liner versions. The liners are much thinner.
As for spring shoes, I always think espadrilles are such a good choice. In all honesty I’ve had many pair and they aren’t all comfy like you’d think they would be. This pair I bought cheap from ASOS and was pleasantly surprised (I thought I’d wear them as slippers when I ordered them).
But if anyone has a secret for being able to tell comfort and espadrilles, I’m all ears.
Inspiration
So hopefully, this exercise in having clothing inspiration from many sources has been helpful for you to put together different outfits in the future. As my good friend Em says, “It’s about inspiration not imitation.” Which gives me a couple of tips to help you recreate your own outfit from almost any photo.
1-Colors. You can copy the colors but in different pieces. For example, Liz wore blue jeans and I wore a blue jean shirt.
2-Prints. Seeing a print can remind you of a similar print. Liz’s gingham apron reminded me of my gingham pants.
3-Kind of Item. Seeing a specific item that you also have could be a great start. For example, Charlotte recreated her outfit after seeing Liz’s pleated skirt. Remember, inspiration not imitation!!
4. Accessories. Sometimes we forget to wear all of the fabulous accessories we have. When you notice them on others, it’s a good time to pull them out for yourself.
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