Day Twenty-eight: A swing- and a miss.

In my mind's eye I saw this outfit as a fun mix of disparate, funky elements. Elegant equestrian meets dime store princess. Or something like that. In these photos I can see that the only thing funky about it is that it pretty much stinks. The 'shrunken' jacket just looks too small, not charmingly undersized, when paired with this A-line skirt. Even the multiple rhinestone necklaces can't alleviate the dull matronly effect of this combination. I look like a prison warden who only gets invited somewhere nice once every ten years so it's hardly worth investing in a jacket that fits. I look like the blogger that time forgot. And am I wrong in thinking that this outfit adds 20 pounds AND 20 years?

I like: (surely there must be something?)

• The copious amounts of rhinestones. I was recently admiring a woman at the Phoenix Art Museum wearing a T-shirt and jeans and a GIANT yellow rhinestone necklace. Nothing else about her was particularly striking, and her outfit without the necklace wouldn't have caused me to look twice, but with the over the top necklace it was kind of awesome. Casual, cool, special with out being too precious, absolutely not 'trying too hard'. Totally the effect I am usually going for. I did not manage to achieve that effect here myself but I did like this combo of necklaces. The long necklace is actually a belt. From the Gap, years ago. I've had it for probably ten years and never worn it. It's a bit useless as a belt, in all honesty, because you can't really make it snug, and it slips a lot, and it also has quite a high snag factor. I put the buckle at the back of my neck and left the tongue? tail? what do you call that that end of a belt? hanging down the side. I thought it was pretty neato-creative. 

I'd change:

• I think where I went wrong is that the funkier elements (rhinestone belt and its sparkly friends, and intentionally ill fitting jacket) need a much more modern silhouette to make them seem deliberate and calculated and interesting rather than merely sad. Changing the A-line skirt with the black knit and leather pencil skirt in my capsule would make a world of difference. Even jeans would work better than this skirt. Jeans do tend to help play up the ironic notes of an outfit. They say, "an overdose of costume jewelry and a teensy jacket? Don't worry, its all in fun."

The verdict:

• Epic Fail.
• I've decided to get rid of this skirt. It's a bit loose in the waist and I don't like it enough to alter it. It's hard to tell from the photos but it is made of a very heavy, almost felt like, Melton. The waist facing is made of this same thick fabric so the waist is SUPER bulky. I need a black A-line that is a bit lighter in weight, a bit slimmer, dare I say, a bit sexier? As soon as my thirtieth outfit gets posted this skirt is O-U-T out. For now I'm going to fill its place with something more summery, and I will be on the lookout to replace it for Fall with a much sassier black A-line.
• I will wear the necklaces again with something a bit hipper and see if I can't actually achieve the cool effect of the woman at the art museum. People watching at the museum is one of my favorite pastimes. I can get overwhelmed and burned out looking at the actual art pretty quickly but I never seem to tire of people watching.