What I Wore to Work: A Lace Shell

Many of the outfits I wore last month were... underwhelming. While I like most of the individual items I wore, the outfits were kind of one-note. As I looked through them, I realized I was missing the elements of a mantra that I picked up during my days of watching What Not to Wear: "texture, color, pattern, sparkle & shine." These, apparently, are the things that make outfits interesting. My goal for the month of February is to focus on each of these elements in turn, spending a week on each one. First up, texture.

Right around the time I started thinking about introducing more texture into my outfits, I was watching True Detective with my husband and was struck by one of Michelle Monaghan's looks in which she is wearing a monochrome outfit that uses texture really well: wool slacks, a lace shell, and a nubby open cardigan all in light grey. (I would share an image, but it's impossible to google images of Monaghan from True Detective because she's in a few sex scenes that the internet is all about.) I don't own much grey, but I figured I could create a similar outfit in black if I could find a black lace shell. The Target Gods were smiling down on me and over the weekend I found this on sale for $16.08.

This lace shell is the centerpiece of my texture challenge: I decided to wear it every day for a week. Here are the results:

Monday

(I am a poor photographer wielding a mediocre camera so the texture is often invisible, so you'll have to use your imagination for some of these pictures)

 

sweater: Eva (probably a South African designer?) | trousers: Michael Kors via Marshall's (and altered) | shoes: Nine West | earrings: Dina Varano | watch: Timex

This is my re-creation of Monaghan's look in True Detective. Monochromatic, but not boring. Not bad for day one.

Tuesday

 

trousers: J.Crew (altered) | shoes: Banana Republic | blazer: J.Crew

I realized that unlined bottom of the shell would be more visible against colored trousers, so I chose these red ankle pants from J.Crew and wore them with a black blazer and black flats (see the collage above). I really liked replacing a plain tee, which I would normally choose for a blazer and trousers combo, with lace. Texture for the win!

Wednesday

 sweater: Target | skirt: J.Crew (thrifted & altered) | tights: LOFT | boots: Ecco | necklace: J.Crew Factory

This is another outfit where I'd favor a plain tee, but the lace adds a little something without being too "out there." This is also my first double-texture outfit: in the spirit of my self-created texture challenge, I chose a pair of textured tights instead of the opaque ones I would normally choose. This outfit helped me realize that mixing textures is nothing to fear, especially when the two textures are the same color.  

[One downside: these LOFT tights stink. They ripped the first time I put them on and even though I tried to convince myself the hole wasn't very visible, it is and these tights have to go.]

Thursday

 

jacket: Anthropologie | ponte pants: Ann Taylor (thrifted & altered) | boots: Ecco

Another two-texture look in the form of the lace shell worn under a quilted jacket. You can't really see the shell at all in this picture (though it is poking out from under the cropped jacket) but I thought it worked well. This jacket is one of my favorite pieces of all time -- it's been in my closet for almost nine years and it always gets compliments. However, with the colors and patterns it can be tough to match so I usually wind up wearing it with a black tee underneath. Switching out the plain tee for lace was an easy but nice change of pace. 

Friday

sweater: Anthropologie | jeans: Land's End | shoes: Nine West | bag: J.Crew factory | brooch: Ten Thousand Villages (it's a peace dove made out of a bomb casing!!!)

My final look of the week! This sweater was purchased on the same trip to Anthropologie as the quilted jacket above -- one of the benefits of this self-imposed challenge was that it sent me back to some of my old faves. I thought the nubby texture and wooden buttons complimented the heavy cotton lace of the shell. At five o'clock, I swapped out my work bag for a small teal purse and ditched my glasses for drinks with friends followed by P&P and Zombies.

So in conclusion... 

I was a bit nervous about this shell since I haven't bought anything made of lace in probably ten years, but I did two smart things when I decided to seek out a new item slightly outside my comfort zone: (1) I bought a low-cost version, so I could give it a try without making a big investment and (2) I forced myself to find many ways to wear it, so it became "naturalized" into my wardrobe. I now think the shell was a great buy and I'd definitely recommend it (even at the non-sale price of $22.99; it also comes in cream, navy, and cranberry). It held up beautifully -- spilled lentil stew/soap spatters/deodorant came off easily with a damp cloth. It's heavy cotton, fully lined, and decent construction for the price.

I also learned a lesson that goes beyond this purchase: I can and should embrace texture. I often worry that outfits will be "too busy," but this challenge showed me that adding texture to an item with a simple shape and basic color creates interest, not chaos. I'm going to try to swap this shell in for a simple black tee more often going forward, and I can think of a number of other great ways to wear this shell. I'm also going to try my best to find some other ways to incorporate texture into my looks.

Next week...

I'm going to continue my challenge, taking on the next term in my What Not to Wear-inspired mantra: color. My goal for next week is avoid wearing black. Given that a full twelve of the fifteen work outfits I wore in January incorporated black, this is not going to be easy. But I'll give it a try and see how it goes, and probably learn something in the process!