Match Making

Two years after its purchase, I still like my burgundy sleeveless tunic, but I still have trouble finding ways to wear it. We've been having a heat wave, with temperatures hitting 90° almost every day for the past 2 weeks, and I have no interest in wearing tight pants—my usual companion to an extra-long blouse. The other way I usually wear this top is over a short ecru skirt, but I'm tired of that look.

Today, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try it tucked into my blue paisley skirt. The skirt originally came with an ornamental waist tie, but over several wears, I found that I usually layered the skirt under a shirt, and the waist tie just created unnecessary bulging. So I removed the tie, but kept it around because you never know when you might need something like that again. Today, I needed it!

The blue of the skirt and the wine-red of the shirt were similar enough that they complemented each other, but the large blocks of color didn't really create a cohesive whole. So I attached the tie to the collar of my shirt to help create unity between the two disparate elements.

Repeat It Again.

Wearing a solid-color top and a different-solid-color bottom can make your outfit look incomplete. It can help to replace one of the solids with a neutral or a pattern—even if it is a monochromatic pattern. But it helps even more to repeat the color somewhere else in your outfit! This is similar to one of my oldest style tips – break it up, tie it together – but, since it's all about the virtues of repetition, I don't feel bad mentioning it again.

I paired it with navy blue boat shoes (I tried beige ones first, but all the dark colors in the outfit called for dark-colored footwear) and blue earrings to continue my efforts at color matching.