A Dash Of Sparkle

Style blogger Susan B. wears a J.Crew pine sweater jacket, striped tee, crystal necklace and leopard boots. Details at une femme d'un certain age.

Color And A Statement Necklace…

This year has marked a major style shift for me…away from black and toward more color and lighter neutrals. I think I chose a good year for it; there have been so many great colors this season, including various shades of pine green.

Earrings | Sweater Blazer | Necklace (c/o) | Tee | Jeans (similar) | Bag | Boots

I’m a big fan of these “sweater blazers.” They’re a perfect weight for several months out of the year in our climate, and such a great throw-on-and-go topper. They’re also not too warm to keep on indoors when worn over a lighter layer. I’m wearing the Small.

Detail: adding a crustal statement necklace to a casual look. Details at une femme d'un certain age.

I am just CRAZY about this statement necklace! And I love the citrine color with the pine green. It’s irreverent and flashy when styled casually, yet would also look smashing and elegant worn with a classic LBD. (See how I layered it with a pearl necklace HERE.)

Detail: Marc Fisher leopard print ankle boots. Details at une femme d'un certain age.These leopard print boots are really comfortable. The lower-contrast print is very easy to style.

Have you made any major style shifts this year?

About The California Fires…

First, we’re safe. We spent the weekend hunkered down indoors because of the smoke from the Woolsey fire a few miles north of here. (You can see a pink tinge to the sky in the top photo.) The devastation from the fires here and in Northern California is unprecedented and staggering. My heart goes out to those who have lost their homes and loved ones. And I’m holding the firefighters and first responders in my thoughts. May they return home safely. It used to be that we only had these major fires in populated areas every few years; now we have several per year. Climate change is here, and we are already feeling the impacts.

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32 Comments

  1. So grateful to know that you are safe from the fires. I too send my thoughts out to the brave individuals fighting the fires. On a much lighter note, I just bought a pair of leopard print pumps! It’s my first venture out from my traditionally black wardrobe. Once again you have opened an entirely new idea in fashion to me!

  2. When I saw your heading ” A Dash of Sparkle” I thought oh no! Lurex sweaters! It seems to be in everything and I think it looks cheap. But no, you are talking over the top colored stone jewelry. I love the whole look, casual paired with dressy. I would wear the fabulous jacket with a rhinestone pin, jeans, a tee and loafers.

  3. I do love J.Crew to death and shop there often, (best sweaters and blazers ever!) and I hate to be negative, but over the years I have found their jewelry to be very poorly made. After too many dropped stones and clasps that quit working, I no longer buy their jewelry.

    1. I had the same experience with the ONLY piece of J Crew jewelry I’ve ever owned—a bracelet. It was pretty, but became defective on the first wearing. Such a disappointment. I don’t want to be negative either, but think people should know.

    2. That’s a shame, though I have not had similar experiences. But perhaps it depends on the piece. This one seems to be pretty solidly made.

    3. Try grayling jewellery grayling.com – made in Portland – company run by a lovely young woman – more expensive that J. Crew but much more nicely made with quality materials and supports made in North America businesses.

  4. So glad you are safe. I love the pine green color on the blazer and am a fan of stripes as well. I was always cautious about wearing stripes with prints but this whole outfit looks nice on you so I won’t be afraid to mix my stripes and prints anymore.

  5. Nice change from the ubiquitous French Kande, which can be and is boring when worn indiscrimately! I think some color in a wardrobe adds pizzaz in all climates especially in California. Although, I do not follow fashion edicts, I truly believe that black worn in the daytime is better suited for younger women. At night, it’s a different story.

    1. Daniella, here in Montréal, such an edict would never be followed, but it is wonderful to have alternatives that aren’t second-childhood pastel or lurid neon colours. I love forest green; pine seems a bit bluer, so I have to see it to make sure that it doesn’t veer off to teal … many of us remember a very nasty teal, among the “jewel tones”; acid colours that have nothing to do with actual jewels, or teals, for that matter.

      That jacket is lovely, but to be perfect here, it would need at least one button to be done up or not, at least under a winter coat, in the deep cold.

      That deep green would be fine in Nordic climates as well. Boreal forests, eh?

  6. Hi Susan, so good to hear you are safe. A question about the jacket: When I clicked the link, the only green jacket they show looks VERY dark. They call it “deep forest,” I think. Can that possibly be the same color as the one you are wearing? It looks almost black on their website. (Or did they used to offer it in your lighter color, but no longer do?)

    1. Hi Judy, depending on your monitor, the color of the jacket is slightly darker than it looks in my images but not as dark as it appears on the J.Crew website. Yes, the color I have is “deep forest.”

  7. I do hope the pine green colour comes to New Zealand next Autumn as it’s a colour missing from my wardrobe. What I love about it is that you can warm it up as you have done or cool it which would suit me more. Though I confess to buying tan shoes and bag last season as a nod to a colour trend which I thought would pass me by.

  8. Bonjour, désolée de savoir qu’il y a des incendies dans votre magnifique pays, je vous suis à travers les articles de votre blog tous les jours et je trouve très intéressant tout ce que vous partagez avec vos lectrices/ lecteurs. Merci pour votre bonne humeur et vos judicieux conseils.

  9. Véronique, moi aussi, mais par contre je salue les pompiers et premiers répondants qui ont à coeur de protéger non seulement les humains mais également leurs chiens, chats et chevaux. Tellement triste la destruction des forêts.

      1. Unsubscribing from a free blog, that’s making a real statement.

        So happy to hear that you are safe, and heartbroken for the lives lost and homes destroyed.

        I love your blog, and I look so much more coordinated and pulled-together these days having learned from your looks. Thank you!

    1. Yes, this was posted yesterday, which was the last day for that promotion. Starting today it’s 25% off with code READYTOPARTY.

  10. French Kande is far from boring! I love it when you wear it, I have a few pieces, I even met you once at their studio.
    Yes, I have noticed your color style transition, piece by piece, since your post concerning the thoughts that you needed to pep up your style after meeting with many of your fellow bloggers. Your look now comes across as softer, younger and far more interesting.
    As I age , I notice that I need to seek out different shades of colors that I used to wear. We are ever changing!!