17 July 2009 – Summer neutrals

Posted on | July 17, 2009 | 12 Comments

17 July 2009 – Summer neutrals, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

White lace trimmed cami – BCBG
Drop waist top – ON
Tan linen skirt – H&M, remixed
Cardi – NY & co., remixed
Silver bangle – gift from dad, remixed
Maroon pumps – Etienne Aigner, thrifted, remixed

Endnotes:

As the week’s review session on Neutrals progresses, my outfits are also getting increasingly lighter in hue. I think it’s easier to pair darker neutrals (brown, navy, black) together or to construct outfits entirely made of those. I’m more hesitant to put all whites, creams, or tans together and probably would not have thought of this look were it not for our color challenge. But I am happy with the result: the soft tans and whites make for the perfect summery outfit and are great for showing off a tan (bonus!).

For the indoor version, I’m taking along a cream light-weight cardi that keeps with the color scheme of the outfit and still allows the maroon pumps to act as the only pop of color here.

And while we’re on the subject of these shoes, I just want to mention how lucky a thrift find these were and how fortunate I was that they were slightly too small for A. (who spotted them) and just slightly too large for me. When compromising on shoe size, never compromise by getting a too small shoe! A slightly larger shoe (about half a size up) is a much easier fix. I simply got a pair of shoe insoles (the cheap kind that you find at Walgreens and are cut to size) and used them to fill in that extra space in my pumps.

A. clued me in to these as she uses them in a couple of her shoes. The advantage to these cut-to-size insoles is that you trim them to fit your entire shoe, thus taking up an even amount of space from everywhere. They also do not need to be glued into place (no sticky underside!), which also means that you can take them out during colder months when you may wear those same shoes with thick sweater tights. I’ve had my share of traitorous too-tight shoes, but no more! Now I err on the slightly larger size when needed and use this handy trick rather than suffer scrunched-in toes and painful blisters. Hope this trick helps you too, if you weren’t already aware of it! S.

Category: Beltless, Color Combinations, Reaching New Heights, Skirting the Issue, Teaching Outfits
Tags: how to fix too big shoes > insoles > maroon pumps > neutrals

Comments

12 Responses to “17 July 2009 – Summer neutrals”

Sal
July 17th, 2009 @ 8:12 am

Such a beautifully breeze summer ensemble. And I agree that getting your shoes too small is a risk, but sometimes a good cobbler can stretch ‘em a wee bit!
Chiada
July 17th, 2009 @ 8:39 am

This is really cute. I love the tank and skirt. White tanks are one of my favorite pieces ever; you just can’t go wrong with them.
stylefyles
July 17th, 2009 @ 10:01 am

Very cute!!! This is my favorite neutrals look so far! love the skirt and cami!
Clare
July 17th, 2009 @ 11:18 am

I love the light neutrals paired with those fabulous burgundy heels! I’ve used insoles on uncomfortable shoes before to make them squishier, but never to change the way a shoe actually fits me. And I have tiny feet, so many thrifted finds are just too big. Thanks for the great tip!
Kathleen
July 17th, 2009 @ 12:47 pm

I love your outfit. I like wearing light colors like those together too, though I haven’t done it in a while. Inspiration for one of my work outfits next week!
JBC
July 17th, 2009 @ 12:55 pm

I have never been able to forget about your yellow bag. Then I came across a purple bag at Target from the Intuition line and went online to see all possible colors. I ended up ordering a green–it’s alot like your yellow! You should check it out.
R
July 17th, 2009 @ 5:29 pm

I’m loving your blog….so fascinating! Also, I wanted to add that I’ve found that heel liners are the best way to make a slightly-too-big shoe fit. I’m in between sizes; I think I’m about a 5-3/4, so a 6 might be slightly big and a 5-1/2 is too small. Unfortunately, you do have to stick them to the heel, but most of them last for as long as you have the shoes.
Elena
July 17th, 2009 @ 5:40 pm

I own that exact tank top from ON but rarely wear it. You inspired me; it made it out of the drawer and off to do some lab hours with me today.
catherine_sr.
July 18th, 2009 @ 4:11 am

I love the detailing on that top… my favorite things are basics that have a little twist to them. You look very nice and crisp.
Cora
July 18th, 2009 @ 8:53 am

I just found your site today. It is very fun to see what outfits you put together. I noticed that many of the outfits have pieces from Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic. I work at a Gap Kids in northern California. Do you (or anyone else you know) want a coupon for 30% off at any of those stores? We are having the Give and Get event July 30th thru August 2nd. I can email you an invitation, which you can forward on to anyone. Keep up the cute outfits!
admin
July 18th, 2009 @ 9:41 am

Thanks, everyone, for your nice words!

@R – great tip about the insoles! I will have to try those out and compare the two!

@Cora – we would love coupons and any discounts we could tell our readers about! Thank you! Just email us any info. you may have, the email address is on the “chalk board” on the ride sidebar of our page. Thank you!
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