WEARING LATELY: PART TWO

In the WEARING LATELY series, you’ll notice a lot of pieces marked as old. It’s a testament to consistency in personal style and confidence in how I want to dress. When an item is no longer available, I always try and link new alternatives for you. They’re thoughtfully selected and what I’d purchase for myself. The hope is you’ll find some gems worth holding on to while building a wardrobe reflective of your own personal style.

Same drill as Wearing Lately: Part One where I’m styling pieces from my closet. The process is to see each item worn two ways and keep it simple. Basically a system of top + bottom + shoe. Today I’m picking up where I left off with a pair of white jeans, then introduce a cashmere sleeveless top, navy linen trousers, several jackets, a couple of shirts, and classic jeans.

WHITE JEANS: Picking up from where I left last week with a pair of white jeans. Again, I like The Borrowed from Frame for the high cotton content and classic fit. They work with everything…sandals, sneakers, heels, and t-shirts, blouses, sweaters and a wide variety of jackets. I bought a second pair in a faded wash…scroll down to see.

Left: as before; Right: top, linen pant, sandals (old) – I like these as an option

A CASHMERE HENLEY: The sleeveless henley from Vince is the new addition. It’s the type of piece I’d easily look past, but the simple two button neckline caught my eye. I love it and since navy has been high on my radar this season, it’s a winner. After a comfortable pairing with white jeans, I wore it with a new tailored linen pant from COS. They’ve already been in rotation quite a bit. The Sleeveless Henley is also available in ivory and light blue.

LINEN TROUSERS: I’m currently favoring a tonal look and tossing different navy pieces together. I like how a brown sandal grounds the look but this Gucci sandal is pretty amazing. The suede sandals are old Valentino slides from 2022. COS linen pant also in black and light pink. They run large.

JACKETS AND SHIRTS: Next, I styled the linen pant with a Vince shrunken blazer – one I’ve referred to often this season. Here it looks best closed to balance the fullness of the pant. My favorite TWP ruffled top in navy from a couple seasons back finally has a casual bottom to pair for another option in styling other than jeans. The updated Spring 2025 version is a silk cotton voile with tie neck. I like this one too. I’m wearing the same navy linen trouser as before in both looks above.

THE RUFFLED SHIRT: I like to wear an unexpected top with faded jeans to create a unique, personal look. Consider how much more mileage you’ll get out of your dressier tops. The Borrowed jeans in an authentic faded blue wash called Ricochet is the same style as the jeans worn above in white. Chanel shoes aren’t available online, so I linked other options to try from Celine, Roger Vivier, and Manolo Blahnik. I especially like the ones from Roger Vivier.

GO BACK TO JEANS: From The Borrowed to The Ruler – both from Frame. The Ruler is very straight up and down and sits higher on the waist than The Borrowed. It creates a more elongated look where the Borrowed fits more like a pair of vintage Levi’s. Last fall, I discovered The Ruler in its original longer length and loved the fit. It’s my favorite slim style jean when I want to have a streamlined look while avoiding any hint of a skinny jean.

A POPLIN SHIRT: This is a typical run around outfit for me. I have several versions with a variety of cotton shirts, straight jeans and comfortable loafers, but this color combination is a current fav.

ADD A BLAZER: And it’s so easy to kick up a notch with the addition of a blazer and heels. Again, this is a look I wear often. One of my effortless uniforms. I’ll get creative with bags, belts and jewelry, but the base is very basic. When I don’t feel like wearing black, I’ll swap in a blazer in other classic colors like navy, beige or camel.

OTHER JACKETS: Wearing a blazer or jacket without a shirt is another go-to style. It creates an elevated look without any distraction. The silhouette or texture takes center stage. I do this with almost all of my shrunken blazers. It’s also effective with a collarless neckline. I’ll play around with the buttons – opened at the top or bottom – to see what looks best and fits my mood. The vintage Chanel above is a good example with lots of options.

Continue to Wearing Lately: Part Three and if you missed Part One, click here.