POW 6: The Summer-Styled Blouse

Everyone woman needs pretty, light blouse—something she can wear alone or with a jacket or cardigan. Something that can be dressed up, down, or worn to work. Something feminine without going overboard. Something flattering without revealing too much. Something sleeveless (that covers the bra straps) or something shorter-sleeved that works for spring and summer. Hopefully you have one or more of these types of blouses in your closet. This is another wardrobe essential—like the black trousers of the last POW. If you have one or more of these, then take this next POW as inspiration for styling that blouse.

Outfit:  Plume Top from cabi Spring 2016. Knight Skinny Jean from cabi Fall 2015. Olive Jacket from cabi Spring 2015. Metal Statement Neck with Cabs from Target. Orange Quartz bracelet by Solid Treasures. Shoes Older, not sure of brand.

If not, or if you need another, consider adding this lovely blouse to your wardrobe—the Plume Top. This is a pretty and casual cap-sleeved blouse that can easily be dressed up. The Plume has an easy tee-shirt style but with lovely, feminine features. The v-neck creates a longer, flattering look. The soft feathers are in magenta & pinks, purples, blues, greens, gold, and more. With all these colors, this blouse can go with so much, and it looks good on many different people. Plus, this is machine washable (on gentle) and machine dryable!

Outfit:  Plume Top, Lido Skirt, and Loren Sweater from cabi Spring 2016. Contessa Necklace and Vintage Studs from cabi Fall 2014. Suede Target shoes from a previous season and current season sunglasses from target.

Some other current season blouses that can be styled similarly are the Blossom Top, Gelato Top, Luisa Tank, and the Positano Top. cabi often carries blouses like this each season. A few that are similar (or could be styled sim similarly) from the Fall 2015 collections are the Reign Blouse, Evermore Blouse (very similar in shape and style), the Love Blouse (checkout the Love POW for even more styling options for this style of blouse!), the Flaunt Wrap, the Stained Glass Blouse, and the Flutter-Sleeve Blouse. I welcome other suggestions, from cabi or elsewhere! I’ll add any I get to this post with credit.

Do join us for the sixth POW and discover seven ways, from the playground, to the special occasion, to the boardroom, to style the wardrobe essential pretty short-sleeved or sleeves blouse!

If you want to buy, please contact me in the comments or via email or my stylist (Joni Allen via email or phone: 770 502-5243 [call or text]) and we can get you set up.  It is possible any order you make will be included in a show total for me. If that is the case, for each $250 spent in my show, I get one half priced item. So, I’d be quite grateful of any orders! I promise to blog about what I buy!

Love POW: Just add Sparkles, Fur, and Beads to make it Sunday Best

Outfit Mission Statement: Take a pretty blouse and a neutral pencil skirt and turn it into a sophisticated special occasion outfit with fur, sparkles, beads, and mixing a single metal

Sunday Best POW outfits are special occasion clothes for dinning, theater, opera, holiday parties, church, and other such occasions that need something special. The POW (Piece of the Week) is the cabi fall 2015 Love Blouse. With the gathered ruffle-like collar and lovely colors, this blouse easily works for special occasions. It’s easy to dress it up with nice accessories and a skirt. I’m wearing a classic navy pencil skirt here, for slim lines and a neutral to play the other pieces off of. The skirt is also a ponte knit, so I am comfortable and can move easily, including squatting on the ground with my toddler. After the lovely blouse and the neutral skirt, it’s all about special accessories to bring up the glam. Most striking may be the faux fur-trimmed Twist scarf. This adds elegance and warmth (why are places always so cold?). Plus, as mentioned in Friday’s Spicy Sweet Friday Night Drinks, the scarf can add a bit of flirtation too! The long gold earrings add sophistication and fun. I don’t wear these enough, because they are “big” for my day-today look (I don’t tend to go big in the jewelry department. I’m working on it. It may become a Personal Style Challenge I try to conquer later this year.) But I do love occasions when I feel I can bring them out. It’s nice to have statement earrings! The length and style draw attention to my face, neck, and hair, adding a bit of sex appeal too. I continue the gold accents, with a gold belt (actually it’s a necklace, see Wednesday’s Working it Lady-Like for more on this and the belt/bracelet combo worn professionally). Then we get to my shoes. These lovely sparkly shoes are nice in that they are not over-the-board sparkles. It’s more subtle, if you can say that about stiletto sparkling heels! The clutch, which my son loved, is gold and silver beads, and add a fun vintage accent. Together, I have a look that is comfortable (except maybe the shoes), dressy, flattering, and fun.

Tips:

• Start your special occasion outfits with a lovely blouse with feminine details
• Have one main neutral garment that can act as a base for the rest of the outfit
• While mixed metals are in, focusing on accenting with a single metal in various tones creates a more elegant look and one that may be easier for many (mixing metals can be hard for some)
• When working with various tones of the same metal, do keep the metals separate so the differences don’t conflict
• Look for ponte pencil skirts for elegance, clean lines, and comfort
• Adding fur, sparkles, and beads can make anything fancier or cheaper—limit each by choosing items where it is more subtle or an accent, not the full thing (if one is the full thing, tone the others down even more)
• Consider statement earrings—statement necklaces have been in for a while, but sometimes, especially when you have a striking collar, earrings are the better choice
• Have at least one awesome pair of “wow” heels with some fun attribute like sparkles (or bows, or zippers, or whatever)
• Realize you can do special occasions with separates and it may be both more fun and more striking

 Outfit Breakdown:

The clothing items in this outfit are all cabi Fall 2015, and no longer available. Contact me if you must have something and I may be able to direct you to a stylist who has it. Look for substitutes from your own closet or check out the alternatives below. I normally will make the POW a currently available item, but my blog launched later than planned and I wanted to share these outfits. The next POW will be of an available item, I promise!

• Blouse: This is the cabi Fall 2015 Love Blouse. To find a substitute from your own closet, look for a feminine blouse with a special feature. If you don’t have quite the right blouse to substitute in your closet, consider these cabi Spring 2016 alternatives: 
  • Vita Blouse: This gorgeous draped blouse is also sleeveless, and has a sexy cutout in the back
  • Bella Top: This feminize, fluttery blouse has a similar feel to the love blouse
  • Tivoli Top: This fierce black and taupe blouse has plenty of cool features
• Skirt: This ponte knit is a vintage cabi skirt, and not available. However, the Lido Skirt from cabi Spring 2016 collection would be a perfect replacement. This classic pencil skirt is in navy and has a tiered hem for a feminine touch that still can work as a neutral in your special occasion outfit.
• Scarf: This is the cabi Fall 2015 Twist Scarf, which sold out in black and cream. You can go a few different ways to substitute. You can go with fur or a scarf, or, if you find it a combination. Here are some options: 
  • Marabou Bolero Shrug: By INC International Concepts and sold at Macy’s this is a faux fur shrug
  • Persian Cartouche Burnout Shawl: By the Metropolitan Museum of Art Store, this shawl is a striking black scarf with bright colors and a rug design
  • Louis XIV Arabesque Burnout Shawl: Also from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Store, this striking silver and black large shawl will allow you to bring your metal (silver in this case) into your shawl too
  • Dunand Deco Floral Scarf: This stunning black, white, and gray has a leaf design based on a beautiful lacquered wood panel and is from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Store
• Earrings: This are ones I’ve had for quite a while—they are Stella & Dot Devon chandelier earrings. They are not sowing on the site, but here are some great alternatives: 
  • Grace Chandeliers: Graceful gold earrings cast from leaves
  • Chantilly Lace Chandeliers: Pretty lace-inspired gold earrings
  • Casablanca Chandeliers: Stunning Art Deco silver and pavé-encrusted earrings
• Belt: I am wearing the cabi Fall 2015 Heirloom necklace as a belt—the necklace converts into several different pieces. The cabi Spring 2016 Locket Necklace is also a convertible piece and can be worn as a bracket and belt also, and has a similar feel to the Heirloom.         
• Shoes: Jennifer Lopez’s Women's Metallic High Heels—I’m shocked they are still available at Kohl’s! I got these last year and now they are only $39.99!
• Clutch: This is a vintage clutch (I’m guessing from the 1950s or 1960s) that my mom bought me for Christmas. I’ll put the shop name in where she got it when she gets back to me.
• Griffin’s necklace: Griffin loves my jewelry and hair stuff and always wants to wear my jewelry, have a ponytail, or have hair pins in. So, I commissioned this necklace from Shine Chaser Jewelry, based off her cute elephant earrings. Griffin adores it!

For a Spring cabi 2016 version of this, with mixed silver (instead of gold) try the: Vita Blouse, Lido Skirt, with the Louis XIV Arabesque Burnout Shawl, Casablanca Chandeliers, Metallic High Heels (in Pewter), and Vintage Silver Clutch Purse.