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Wearing Orange and Black for Halloween or Anytime

Quote of the day: “In time, the people with desire will always rise to the top.” Bobby Unser

I feel like there are two camps of people that revolve around Halloween. Those who love to get all dressed up in costume, and those who don’t. I happen to fall into the category of those who don’t dress up. But I thought we could still have fun wearing the colors associated with Halloween instead.

Thus this post explores how to styled with the colors orange and black. Whether you wear only those two colors or incorporate another neutral, I’ve shown it on us in all different ways.

Jodie’s (50+) Outfit: For my orange and black outfit, I added in some tan to break up the Halloween vibe.

I’m one of those that always thinks of holidays with certain color combinations. For example I have a hard time wearing red and green together because it always reminds me of Christmas. Now I’m not sure why I consider that a bad thing, but my solution is to add another neutral when these colors come together.

And who doesn’t have a pair of tan pants? They may not be the most trendiest item in your closet, but they certainly can work for so many outfits.

As for my black piece, I chose this sleeveless blazer. Or the women around my age might call it a vest—ha ha! Like I talked about in our fall trends post with the longer cardigans, the longer pieces are making a comeback. And this vest used to be a jacket. I had my mom remove the sleeves so I’d wear it more.

It’s a fabulous idea for any of you that have a longer blazer in your closet that hasn’t been worn in ages! And trust me, I still have the sleeves, in case I change my mind in the future and want to reattach them! But if that sounds like too much work, I’ve found a couple of other varieties for you. There is a green version, a white version or even a red version.

I figured this was the perfect time to bring out my black cat purse!

I was so lucky to win a gift card to Unique Vintage through Lindsey’s blog a couple of months ago. And I figured this purse would be perfect for the Halloween theme. The black kitty reminds me of my Spookie girl who is featured quite a bit in my Instagram Stories. If you haven’t followed me on Instagram yet, I’d really appreciate it! I try to incorporate different photos and happenings in my different social media. The Instagram Stories are the place that I tend to document the day to day things!

But I can’t forget to talk about the orange sweater that I’m wearing. This is just a basic crew neck sweater that I picked up at the thrift store over a year ago. I’ve really been surprised at how much I wear it, because it layers over and under other items really well.

Since the day was a perfect Indian Summer Day, I even pulled out my peep toe booties without worrying about being cold. And I know you can’t see the bracelets very well, but my friend just sent them to me. They have pumpkins and skulls on them for Halloween. I linked one that is even crazier below!

Jeans: Banana Republic (similar here)~~Vest: Banana Republic (similar here)~~Sweater: LOFT-thrifted (similar here)~~Boots: Indigo Rd (similar here)~~Bracelet: (similar here)~~Purse: Unique Vintage (here)

Nancy’s (60+) Outfit: For Nancy’s orange and black, I had her grab her white jeans, since they work all year round now.

White is another easy neutral that you can add to almost any outfit to break up two colors. And as much as I love the fact that you can wear white jeans all year round, there is a disadvantage. And that is they don’t go on sale like they used to.

I used to be able to find the white pants for a steal at the end of August. Don’t get me wrong, I still can find some sales, but not the deep discounted ones of the past! Either that, or I’m not looking in the right places anymore!

In a way, this outfit of Nancy’s is a classic black and white look, with a colorful sweater added to the mix. Even if you’re not a fan of the color orange, this outfit could be easily recreated with any  other color cardigan. You could keep the look neutral with a dark print sweater.  Or really lighten it up with a lighter neutral one. Of course, I’m always a fan of pulling in the brighter colors like this one or this one.

This colorful bead necklace is really one of those accessories that work with almost any colors.

I know many of us try to match our accessories to what we are wearing, but sometimes the disadvantage to that is you don’t notice the accessories as much. If you add a totally different color to the mix, the bling will stand out so much more. Take Nancy’s necklace for example. Doesn’t it pop so fabulously against the black shirt? Now if she had worn a black necklace, it would have blended in and you wouldn’t see it as well.

This whole idea of contrasting our accessories is on my list for future blog posts!! I think it would be an interesting experiment.

And the last part of Nancy’s orange and black outfit to discuss are her boots. These boots are almost what you’d consider hiking boots, only a little more polished. Even though Nancy seems dressed up with the statement jewelry, it’s fun to add in some sportiness with the footwear.

Another great example of this would be if you found some velvet boots or even floral ones. I feel like it’s much easier to find the comfortable and practical footwear online nowadays, and they even make them stylish. Talk about the best of both worlds.

Jeans: Chicos (similar here)~~Cardigan: St. John’s Bay (similar here)~~Top: Chicos (similar here)~~Boots: Crown Vintage (similar here)~~Necklace: (similar here)~~Earrings: (similar here)

Charlotte’s (70+) Outfit: My mom wanted to wear only orange and black for our experiment.

I actually consider her top more of a coral color, and her purse more of an orange. And this isn’t just my photos, because it looked the same in real life too. But in reality, maybe that’s a great way to wear orange and black without looking too Halloweenish. Find a shade of orange that isn’t as pumpkin hued.

Let me brag some more about my mother’s creativity. The embellishments on this sweater? They were actually headbands, that my mom removed the elastic portion from and sewed them on her cardigan instead.

Now if you love the idea of embellishments on your cardigan, but you know there’s no way you’re going to be adding your own to one in the near future, then read on. I found another black one with metallic dots. Or if you are of the idea that the more, the merrier, then you’ll adore this one. And there’s always ones in different colors.

I always love that my mom still likes to wear skirts and dresses.

If you were reading along a couple of weeks ago, we explored the idea of wearing pants for dress up instead. But my mom still has a boat load of skirts and wears them much of the time we venture out.

These pleated skirts have even been popular among the young women lately. So if you have one languishing in the back of your closet, now is the time to pull it out. Either that or I can point out a couple of great ones under $50. There are many in different lengths and materials that can be so fun. They come in faux suede, patterned, asymmetrical, elasticized waistbands, super long or a little shorter. And trust me when I say that you can wear these with sneakers, brogues or boots.

Of course my mom absolutely loves her tights of any color or any pattern. She just purchased an ombre pair when we were in Seattle, and don’t worry, I’ll get her wearing those soon enough. But if you’ve been keeping abreast of the tights trends, the fishnets and patterned ones are quite popular now.

If you want my opinion on these tights, I think they are a great way to add some excitement to an outfit. I’ve had a pair of flesh fishnets for over 5 years now, and the best part is they don’t run as easily. If anyone knows the reason for that, I’d love to hear it. Either that or I’ve just been lucky.

Skirt: Summit Hill (similar here)~~Cardigan: (similar here)~~Top: (similar here)~~Shoes: Anne Klein (similar here)~~Tights: (similar here)~~Purse: (similar here)

Here’s wishing you all a happy Halloween whether you are giving out candy, playing with the kids, or going out to eat (like Rob and I will be doing)! I always love to hear your thoughts, and wonder if you wear orange and black together?

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

The Facts

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If your closet is lacking in some orange items, then I researched a couple of things you might like: