An Unlikely Combination: Leather and Ruffles

It's pretty typical of me to hold onto things for years and years in hope of me figuring out the best way to wear them. I tend to hoard clothes for those "just in case" moments that are far and few between in the age of, well, me basically wearing a variation of the same five neutral outfits because me being caught dead in color is a true rarity, one that I've brought to life in today's post.

I don't really celebrate Easter, but this was my best attempt at putting together an Easter ensemble. I feel like I was doing great with the skirt and the sweater, but then I feared that it was too cold to go without some kind of outerwear so I was presented only two choices: this leather jacket or my absolutely trashed distressed and oversized denim jacket that I nicked from my mom who nicked it from my dad god knows how long ago. In fear of being cold (edit: it probably wasn't that cold in the sun, but I needed it for the shady parts of the walk), I took my chances with the leather jacket and hoped the juxtaposition of the various shades of pink and ruffles with the more masculine and edgy leather jacket would work. 

If I'm being honest, I definitely think it worked. It's been a while since I have put an outfit together that actually made me feel excited about getting dressed. I've been struggling with my style a bit lately, probably due to the fact that I'm trying not to shop as much since I've moved to the city. This is difficult considering my two jobs in Cleveland involved me working at boutiques, one of them being a luxury consignment shop where I had first dibs on some really dope and discounted second-hand designer pieces that kept my wardrobe fresh without breaking the bank or putting a bigger dent into my environmental footprint.

Adjusting to life after working in retail has been rough for my fashion sense, especially when you add in the whole like, budget thing where I have to keep my spending to a minimum to ensure I can, you know, pay for rent and groceries so I have a roof over my head and food to nourish myself with. Because, contrary to what Carrie Bradshaw, I won't buy Vogue instead of dinner because it does not feed me more than a big ole bowl of pasta will. Sorry not sorry!

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The funny thing about this outfit is that I almost got rid of two of the staple pieces here. The leather jacket was in my "to donate or sell" pile for almost a year while I tried to figure out what to do with it. I actually should probably make sure that it's not currently on my Poshmark page because it's definitely not going anywhere anymore. I bought it my senior year of college right before my 21st birthday so that I had something I could wear out to the bars because I owned absolutely nothing appropriate to go out on the town because I was a dweeb who liked tulle skirts and otherwise "man repeller" esque clothing pieces that screamed "fashion bitch" more than "HEY BOYS LOOK AT ME."

I hated this jacket. I hated the tight feeling and I just wasn't into it. I think I might have worn it out once or twice to the bars and then maybe once or twice again just to wear in photos for the blog. After that, I just lugged it around from move to move, wondering if I was ever going to wear it again.

I took it out on a whim a few weeks ago because one of my outfits required a jacket and nothing else in my closet suited. And thus began my process of re-falling in love, or rather, falling in love for the first time with this jacket I grabbed in a stressful whirlwind trip to Zara after a long day of work right before my roommate's and I had plans to go out that night (not sure if we actually did, but at least I had the jacket just in case).

The sweater was something I ended up getting for free at the consignment store because it had the tiniest little microscopic stain on it which made it unsellable and the owner of it didn't want it back. Womp womp for her, big win for me. Except I don't wear color, especially hot pink, and I tend to avoid things that are tight and form-fitting as I like my body to be a mystery. Just kidding. I just don't like the feeling of tight things, even if they technically fit, but that's another story for another time. 

I find that the best way to pull yourself out of your style rut, even if just for a day, is to just throw some stuff together and hope for the best. My favorite outfits tend to be the ones I send to my mom and ask her if they look stupid. I usually don't wait for her response because as soon as I hit send I decide that it's fun and if I'm questioning it, it's just because it's out of my comfort zone. Anything goes in New York, anyways, so really, who cares at the end of the day?

If I learned anything about myself just from this outfit, it's this: (1) sometimes holding onto things pays off, but girl, clean out your fucking closet; (2) you can wear color when it's color-blocked and pair with all neutral accessories so you don't pass out from stepping so far away from your neutrals; (3) wear that leather jacket more, you look like a bad-ass.

I think I need to start thinking more out of the box when it comes to everything in my closet. In reality, I have more than enough pieces, footwear, and accessories to spice things up instead of falling into my daily trap of neutrals and Levi's and the same white t-shirt. I already wear the same makeup look every day (you'll have to pry my winged eyeliner out of my cold, dead hands ), I might as well try to make something about myself look different on a day to day basis so I'm not looking like a clone of myself continuously. 

Sweater: Equipment (similar, neutrals in stock)

Skirt: Zara (similar, printed)

Jacket: Zara (similar)

Sneakers: Steve Madden via Saks Off Fifth (similar)

Purse: Rebecca Minkoff (exact)

Sunglasses: Miu Miu via Saks Off Fifth (updated version)

Photos by Becca Glasser-Baker