Day 2 :: of stripes and surplus

inspiration photo from gochicorgohome.com via Pinterest

I really love the look of a good surplus jacket - it feels tough yet approachable all at the same time.  Maybe it's the shape more than the color?  Regardless, I find that I have a lot of pins with surplus jackets playing a starring role.  I chose this one because I wanted warm toes. (You'll see what I mean in paragraph 4.)

The top was easy to dupe because I went stripe happy last summer.  The only difficulty was deciding whether I wanted to dupe the look or the drape.  I chose drape because I have poochy belly right now, so not my sweater (which had the exact same stripe width as the inspiration photo) but my H&M shirt instead.

The scarf was more complicated.  In the inspiration photo, not only is the scarf a different color, it's also a different shape.  Thanks, Del, for opening my eyes to this.  I'd texted Kid Sis #1 to ask how the gal had styled the scarf and she told me it was a square folded into a triangle and tied in back.  Well, sucks to be me coz I don't own square scarves - only oblong and rectangular ones.  So not only did I struggle with color and pattern, I also had to wrestle with shape.  I think my version works overall.

And now the toes.  Oh, the toes!  You'd think this would be a no-brainer in So. Cal. but we've hit a cold spell and I wanted leg warmth as well as toe warmth.  Plus, I found that - gasp! - in the plethora of shoe boxes I own, not a one of them contained a cognac lace-up half bootie!  

But did I go online and shop, my friends?  NO!  (Insert encouraging cheer here.)  I went with what I had on hand and ended up not only with warmth and comfort but with a new way to style this closet orphan.

What do you think?  Thumbs up or down?

P.S.  KS#1 (also known as Del) was helping me out with this blog last night and she suggested I do more with my hair than a simple pony.  I thought it was all about the clothes and my hair really is super long and sometimes gets in the way of the overall look, but in this instance, I think she's right.  I do look friendlier with my hair down, eh?  So yes or no with the hair?  Or do you think it really all depends on the outfit?  As Heidi Klum likes to say - it's also about the styling.  Right?

:: Just the facts, ma'am ::

Shirt - H&M

Jacket - F21

Jeans - F21

Boots - Ross

Scarf - Old Navy