If You’ve Got It, Wear It

I'm a proponent of wearing favorite pieces for everyday. Here I'm walking the dogs in a faux fur coat. Details at une femme d'un certain age.

Why Not…

….wear faux fur and sequins to take the dogs on their morning walk?

coat (similar) | sweater | necklace | jeans (similar) | shoes (similar)

Over the years, I’ve periodically found myself seduced by “fun” wardrobe items that are rarely worn. Either they feel too fancy or occasion-specific for every day wear, or they push a little too hard at the boundaries of my style comfort zone. Ultimately they wind up on the wrong end of a closet purge, and are consigned or donated. (And then I lament that my wardrobe is lacking interesting pieces. Rinse, repeat.) But before my next closet cull, I’m trying to give some of these items the opportunity to pull their weight. I’ve been throwing them into my everyday outfits to see what sticks.

The coat is from Madewell, and I picked it up last winter on final sale. It’s warm, but not too warm, perfect for cool mornings and evenings. I’m finding it surprisingly workable as an everyday piece. The shoes are also from last year, by Paul Green. They have excellent support for a flat slip-on sneaker, and worked well as part of last spring’s travel wardrobe. (Another Paul Green sneaker here.)

Paul Green sequined slip on sneakers. Details at une femme d'un certain age.

I love those destructed sequins! (I should also mention that I’m wearing Smartwool Secret Sleuth socks…my go-to!)

Have there been any closet orphans that you’ve managed to work into your everyday wardrobe?

Faux Fur…

Ellen Tracy | Sage Collective | Kenneth Cole | Kensie | Eliza J 

And Sequins

Easy Spirit | J Slides | Stuart Weitzman | kate spade | Sam Edelman

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41 Comments

  1. I really like those sequin slip-ons! That is my go to look, easy going outfit, not too much color, and then rock it with the shoes!

  2. You look super chic! This is the type of effortless style that I love. I imagine the ladies in Paris walking their dogs in such an outfit. I own this same Madewell coat. Now I just need some sequin sneakers!

  3. I love those sneakers!!! i saw them when you first posted them, sadly, they are not avail in wider widths – sniff. A few years back I picked up a pair of Superga silver glitter sneakers that I wore to death. am search for a replacement. My GF gave me the side eye when I grabbed them at TJ’s, but they served me well. They were the perfect emblishment for my mostly black and grey wardrobe 🙂

      1. Lisa, I have wide feet, and nothing fits me as comfortably and consistently as Paul Green. You might want to give them a try. I know the sequin sneaker can still be found ….

  4. I bought a faux fur vest earlier this year and I loved it, it was soft. But I never wear vests, much less faux fur, so I decided to return it. Metallic shoes, on the other hand, are a neutral for me. I started with patent leather loafers in high school and haven’t looked back! I worry sequins wouldn’t hold up over time so I haven’t gone there – but I love the look in theory! I’m just too practical to follow through 🙂 Red pants are something I love and buy but then struggle to style. I have a pair in my closet now and am making the effort to try with various colored & patterned tops to see what sticks!

  5. Cute, cute, cute! Great dog walking look…much better than what I throw on in the morning. Had to laugh, though, as you brought to mind a former neighbor who walked her dog in a full length mink and Uggs. Of course, we were in the dead of winter, but still. It was a LOOK. 🙂

  6. Hurrah! Why save the “good stuff” for a time that may never come – you are good and worth it! Love the combination and those shoes! Oh My! I want those now.

  7. You just gotta look cute walking the bowsers! I had a neighbour years ago (quite eccentric and fabulous) who walked her poodle in a navy blue double breated mink blazer. They looked divine.

  8. I have a Blenheim CKC. (Love your pups, too!) And, I have a sequined vest that might need to go out on a dog walk!

  9. I really love this outfit on you. Although the coat and sneakers say “fancy” the outfit itself has an overall casual vibe. I don’t have any sequined shoes (though I probably should!) but there may be a few items that I could add to my everyday look to make January less bleak.

  10. The pups are adorable. What is that blue/green thing hanging off one of the dog leads? My guess is pooper scooper, but …

  11. These look great! Very j’e ne sais quoi chic. Maybe it’s time to keep and wear your it’s-out-of-my-comfort-zone things!! You must have liked them enough to buy them—your subconscious is trying to tell you something. Splash out a little more in 2018, you might be surprised by the positive reactions and results!

  12. Not kidding … crazy combos of faux fur, faux Chanel, tutus, sequined leopard jacket, faux pearls (multiple strands), fishnets, real leather pants, a floor length cape, and other pieces I used to think were too much to be seen in public.

    But now, at age 72, I find that life is just too short not to [sometimes) revel in costumes and a little streetwear drama. The older I get, the more I dress to entertain myself. And so far no one’s gotten hurt.

  13. Susan, if you feel (you! Not me, not a reader, not another blogger) your wardrobe is dull, instead of such statement clothing pieces, why not try more scarves? The one you wore in Paris is fabulous. And while I too love your French Kande jewelry, maybe take a look at some of the crazy necklaces on sale at Talbots? I think some faux tortoiseshell would look really great with your coloring. These accessories don’t look as “out there”as a coat does, but they jazz things up a lot. P.s. I admire your style, read you faithfully, and think you are way too hard on yourself regarding your style ruts. Not every outfit has to scream unique or look at me.

  14. At 65, I grew up in an era when we had dress clothes, school clothes, and play clothes. The first thing we did when we got home from church or school was change into play clothes. Throughout my career, I had work clothes and casual clothes. Now that I’m retired, I’m trying to bring some of my dressier items into my everyday wear instead of saving them for special occasions. It hasn’t been an easy transition, but I agree with you… why not?

    Elaine @ Following Augustine

    1. Thank you for reminding me where my mental clothing “boxes” came from. But I’ve taken it to the extreme – home clothes have come to mean “dog and cat hair covered clothes. Gotta figure out how to be home w/o being a mess. First step would be trading in the white dog and cat so pets matched my black sweat pants because white pants aren’t happening. But neither is trading the pets. Oh well.

  15. Very timely topic and such sage advice! I love a luxurious scarf but I tend to save the nicer ones for some reason. FOBR (fear of being ruined) maybe? At any rate, I purchased a beautiful print Bompard cashmere scarf last year after learning about them from you. I had been “saving” it but I got it out last week in the cold weather and it really lifted my spirits and in no way was “too much”. I’ve had it on almost every day since then.

    One tiny request: you always seem to have a great wardrobe of jeans. I find jeans very difficult. At the moment I am down to one pair of Eileen Fisher ankle jeans, and I am desperate for some other options. A jeans round-up from you would be fabulous — what’s in in terms of color, what silhouettes you look for, anything like that… (My big problem is that legging jeans/skinny jeans are a bit skinnier than I want. Can you recommend a good slim fit jean that’s not skintight?)

    1. Hi Cinzia, thanks! So glad to hear you’re enjoying your beautiful scarf and that it lifts your spirits! I’ve actually been meaning to do an updated jeans roundup, will put that on the schedule soon.

  16. That coat is awesome! I love this combination. I hope all of these items “stick.” Sequins and faux fur, you’ll never hear me nix either of them.

  17. This blog entry speaks to me on many levels, and I’m so glad that I found it! I’m 46 mom of two, college professor and have lots of premature grey hair that’s long (I want to be a hippy when I grow up!)…I have a real “taste flair” for the moto style and own 3 pairs of Harley boots. I also have leather jackets. These items always get pushed to back of my closet, and while I would never dream of purging my true loves, they never get worn. Why? I don’t know except that this blog today nods towards always coming up with an excuse of “too”. Too casual, too heavy, I’m too old…too-too. I see that it’s ridiculous when put into words.

    As I sit today, I am wearing a pair of my beloved Harley boots to “feel it out”. And LOVE it. They are now at the front of the closet! Hooray!

    THANK YOU!
    Ab

    PS- I second the earlier response about more on jeans…I am lucky to teach in jeans everyday and would also love more outfits dressing them up. And on moto style if you have outfits and ideas 😉