What I Wore Sunday - Plaid Inspiration

I posted on Facebook Friday night that I was feeling a little bored by my wardrobe choices recently.  I mean, I have a 'type' when it comes to my Sunday best.  Ok, honestly, I have a 'type' when it comes to all of my clothing.  I mean, take a look at some of my outfits so far for this linkup.

I wear a knee-length skirt, a modest top, and tights to church pretty much every week.  There's no reason for this, per se, it's just that much of my closet consists of this type of outfit.  I look clean, neat, pretty, and ordinary.  I don't know, maybe it's stretching it to imagine that I could pull off anything even vaguely hip, but geez, I could try.

So I went on La Pinteresta and scrolled around a bit looking for inspiration.  I needed an outfit that was something I could see myself wearing, but that stretched me as well.  Something that was not, in other words, clothing I would generally wear or buy or look twice at - but at the same time wasn't neon green spandex leggings or something.  This is the Lord's Day we're talkin' 'bout here - I have to look presentable.

Here's what I came up with:

As you can see, it's a super duper change from my usual.  But at the same time, it's not extreme, at least in my mind.  Now, there are a few things I can't/wouldn't want to incorporate, but at the same time my intention is to use the outfit as inspiration, not to try and copy it exactly.

I'm not going to wear a mid-thigh skirt and a knitted toque to service, for example, and I haven't got over-the-knee length wool socks (Why don't I, btw?  Those look very comfortable.) but after looking at the outfit for a few days I think I have an idea of what makes it look the way it does.

1)  Dark colours.
2)  Belted waist.
3)  Plaid pattern.

Here's my interpretation:

I wore: black dress pants, a blue oxford shirt, black belt and beige cardigan, all second hand.  And a plaid wool vest that I've had forever and I believe I actually got from my grandfather.

So let's talk about the first impressions, shall we?  I debated a lot about this look because it's just so different from what I would normally wear on a daily basis.  And have I mentioned I'm not hip or trendy or really knowledgeable about fashion much at all?  Yeah, that definately came through in the decision process. 

"Do I tuck in the blue oxford?  Surely I don't tuck in the cardigan???  No, that can't be right.  Ok, let's tuck in the blue shirt but NOT the vest and cardigan.  Now where does this belt go?  OVER the cardigan?  Over the vest but not the cardigan?  Ugh."

If you'd heard the internal monologue you might have been under the impression I'd never actually dressed myself before.

I tried to draw as much inspiration from the model as I could, or felt comfortable with.  I stuck with darker colours in blues/greys and a brownish cardigan to replace the brown coat she wore.  I also attempted the thick black belt, and the plaid, as well as the buttoned up neckline.  I replaced the dress with pants, obvi. and ditched the hat.

My impressions:

On the positive side, after all the angst getting dressed I actually am not appalled by the result.  It is honestly not something I would have thought to try before, which is kind of the point, right?  It utilized pieces (like the vest) that I truly never wear.  I was initially awkward leaving the house in it, but no one laughed, which was good.

On the negative side, you cannot cannot cannot nurse in this outfit.  Cannot.  Well, I mean you can but it is very revealing and requires some skill.  Bring a blanket.  Or a sense of humour.  Maybe both.  It's also incredibly hot.  I think I forgot that I was wearing a buttoned up to the neck shirt with a wool vest and a cardigan overtop and then a tight belt, because I was very warm. 

Other people's impressions:

My husband said nothing until I asked him, which probably means he just didn't notice that I was wearing anything different at all.  But when pressed for his opinion he said he wasn't sure about the belt, and he didn't know about the brown sweater.  Only one person outside mentioned it at all, and they said I looked very 'school teacher ish'. 

I feel really optimistic about this experiement, so much so that I'm going to do it again next week!  Maybe, if you're bored with your outfits, you can join me in getting inspired to try something new.  My plan is to really push my boundaries next week, so we'll see how successful I am.

I'm linking up with Fine Linen and Purple and Watch What I'm Wearing.