Jewel of January

It's been awfully warm for winter lately.*  And by "awfully" I really mean awesomely.  Because of this good fortune you forget about the blacks, greys, and navys or the coats, hats and boots.  Instead you bring out that button down shirt you've never worn before, the one that's so bright you risk looking like an amethyst quartz in public.  So I guess that's where "jewel tone" comes from...

This was my church outfit... When I got dressed it seemed suitable.  A little loud, but suitable.  Now looking at these photos, I'm thinking "a lotta loud" and that the whole thing is quite a bit dressy.  Or maybe it's in the way I'm posing.  Who is that girl and where the party at?  

The Lola flower is not as tasty as anticipated

Whoa, the amethyst button-down with an outrageously large collar is 100% silk!  My mother gifts me gems (because present-me is highly unlikely to purchase anything like it).  Had to wear a tank underneath; button-downs have never been my friends (silent sigh for the classic gaping hole at the bust).  The dress shirt is a man's shirt, but women seem to really enjoy taking what was originally and solely men's garments.  Wait, I do benefit from the option of pants so I must enjoy the taking too.  Oh, pants from Summerly and wedges to elevate myself (from dumpy and squat to towering glamour).

Tell me all your secrets

I wonder if I've taken a few steps back in my self-taught, improvisation photography... My face isn't in focus and getting good close-ups of detail is an art I have yet to learn. :o  Anyway, I shot in the middle of the day with the sun shining exceptionally bright.  The first photos are out in the open with ISO 100/no flash and I had to watch out for where my shadows fell.  The photo right above was taken in a huge overcast and I tried to change the white balance to more closely match the other takes.  Result: somehow the color of the pants is much brighter.  That's what differential lighting does to ya.

Outfit Details

Catherine Malandrino dress shirt

H&M tank 

Gap legging jean(s)

Sam Edelman wedges

purple and black earrings from that one place

(mismatched) Michael Kors clutch

♥

 P.S. My cousin commented on my sky blue nail color choice the other day, saying he likes it and that it's an uncommon color for the current season.  He actually said something like that and I was about to engage him with "Yeah, you know...you're right.  This pastel is not usually a winter color."  But then I looked again at who I was talking to and said "I'm going to pretend you didn't make that comment..."  We both laughed as I left his room.  I'm reminded of that now because of the bold, contrasting colors in the outfit.  Just out of the ordinary, out of season.

*until today when winter decided to return