Last week I shared an outfit of the day with navy gingham and floral print. Today I am showing another version of the outfit formula starting with this aqua gingham shirt.
Part #2: Aqua Version
My aqua and white gingham shirt was another thrift store find, dating from the same December 2019 shopping trip as the navy one. It is Sonoma brand from Kohl's and cost $4.80.
After a period in which I'd purged all my long-sleeved button up shirts as being too stiff and uncomfortable, I became interested in this style again and decided to seek out a few thrifted shirts to see if I really wanted to give this another try. I had previously owned the revered and almost-universally-recommended "crisp button down*" versions of the shirt and worn them mostly as stand-alone pieces for work with nice trousers or a skirt (and sometimes layered under a sweater vest). But this time I was thinking of them in a different way...as a piece to layer under pullover sweaters or to wear as a jacket over other tops. I steered clear of anything that could be called "crisp" in favor of softer fabric, and selected three gingham options as having the best balance between "it's a print, not a boring solid" and "it's versatile to wear with many things." (The third shirt is the exact same as this one only in a salmon gingham print.)
*Why are they called button downs? I understand the term for men's shirts, but these shirts for women rarely have buttons on the collar. It seems weird to use the specific term button down for all shirts that button up the front when the more general term button up also exists. I prefer to use the term button up to reflect that they button up the front, whether they have button down collars or not, because I think that's the characteristic that distinguishes this style of shirt from other women's tops, many of which do NOT button up the front. (I use the term button up shirt for shirts that are clearly based on menswear, blouse for certain types of more feminine tops, and top as a general term.) I also refer to this shirt's print as aqua and white check rather than aqua gingham on my wardrobe inventory spreadsheet; in this case, both seem equally valid. (I wanted to point out that aqua gingham is shorter than aqua and white check but no one, including myself, would ever believe that I chose my terminology based on brevity.)
OK, where were we before I got caught up on the semantics? Oh yes, the aqua gingham shirt. As with the navy version, I wore it with a floral knit top/T that includes the colors of the shirt, a pair of pretty-much-nude-to-me flats, and a similar colored bottom piece...in this case, a jersey knit skirt in a darker turquoise color. On the day I wore this outfit, I didn't put on any make-up, not even the quick swipe of tinted lip balm I often use in photos, so you get to see my natural overall pinkish-white look that includes my poor almost-bloodless lips. I also didn't do any cute styling like tying the shirt-tails into a knot that I get to fiddle with all day...this is 100% work-from-home ease and comfort.
Coral/aqua/white floral top - St Johns Bay/JCP - 2X - $5.59 - 11/2017
Turquoise knit skirt - thrifted, Lane Bryant - 20W - $10.99 - 3/2019
Aqua/white check long-sleeved shirt - thrifted, Sonoma/Kohls - 2X - $4.80 - 12/2019
Sky blue/silver multi-strand seed bead necklace - made by me - 6/2021
Turquoise bead strand - made by RB
Thin silver chain - gift from Mom
White crystal heart pendant - gift from Mom
Light grey wedges - BCBGeneration - $70.00 - 12/2014
Let's move on to the layered necklace of the day. I started with this messy layered necklace that I made from sky blue 3mm seed beads (in 4 slightly different colors/finishes), various long and short silver spacer beads, and narrow silver box chain. (It's quite similar to the orange/sandstone/gold one I shared a while back.) I like pairing this floral top with this very nice turquoise bead necklace made for me by a friend of mine (who is a much more skilled jewelry maker who uses much higher-quality materials) a couple decades ago. I intentionally let it layer with and get mixed up in the seed bead necklace for a casually messy look. To subtly ramp up the silver tone, I threw on a beautiful silver chain that was a gift from my mom as part of the mess. For the final piece, I wanted something with a small neutral pendant, so I added this crystal heart pendant with thin silver chain my mom gave me above the mess. I am LOVING how the layered necklace / neck mess style is giving new life to some of my older, sentimental pieces...especially the more delicate ones that can look out of scale for my plus size self when I wear them alone.
Do you give consideration to scale in your outfits? I am reasonably tall (5' 8") and chubby, so I have the size to pull off larger prints and larger accessories without looking overwhelmed, but put a single delicate chain with a little pendant around my neck and it gets lost.
I link up with:
Shelbee at Shelbee on the Edge (Mondays; 3rd Thursday)
Mica at Away from the Blue (Mondays)
Debbie at My Random Musings (Mondays)
Leelo at Beauty by Miss L (Mondays)
Roxanne at Glass of Glam (Mondays)
Laura at I Do deClaire (Tuesdays)
Emma at Style Splash (Tuesdays)
Jess at Elegantly Dressed & Stylish (Tuesdays)
Gail at Is This Mutton? (Wednesdays)
Shelly at The Queen in Between (Wednesdays)
Jodie at Jodie's Touch of Style (3rd Thursday)
Carrie at Curly Crafty Mom (Thursdays)
Ada at Elegance and Mommyhood (Thursdays)
Jacqui at Mummabstylish (Thursdays)
Suzy at The Grey Brunette (Fridays)
Nancy at Nancy's Fashion Style (Fridays)
Michelle at My Bijou Life (Fridays)
Erika at A Little Bit of Everything (Fridays)
Rena at Fine Whatever (Saturdays)