The Look: Black Gypsy
Earrings: Primark, circa 2006
Necklace: [fairly expensive]* gift from parents, circa high school
Sweater Top: Vintage Express, circa late 90s
Coat: My all-time-fav bat wing sleeved faux leather 80s-mania coat!
Pants: Vintage 80s tapered-leg* with built-in belt, Bargain Thrift
*How I made the tapered leg look work to benefit from the harem-pants-gone-rampant trend: Take any seemingly shapeless, boring, how-the-hell-could-this-ever-flatter-my-body pair of pants and pair it with some sexy, skin tight boots. Tuck tapered bottoms of pants into the skin tight fabric of boot. Allow top fabric to billow out. Add a solid color (black or navy is best for all body shapes) form-fighting shirt or layer below with a body suit. What do you get? A little bit of genie thanks to the harem pant, but thanks to the more flattering elements (boots, monochromatic coloring, form-fitting pieces) not all the outlandish bottle that comes with it.
Boots: Nine West, purchased at Marshalls
*[This is one of those pieces of jewelry your parents give you and as soon as you open the box that its wrapped in, and your responsive facial expression can’t help but look “eh.” You don’t mean to seem so unmoved by your gift; it’s just … how can we say this: Not your style? But flash forward a few years. Your style changes, and if you’re lucky, you’ve kept a few of those double E purchases: expensive, but “eh.” This one particular “eh” matured into fairly sustainable excitement. A simple silver necklace with a gold heart within a circle design is now a fairly active go-to piece in my wardrobe. 17-year-old Sammy would never have realized that 23-year-old one would be so … eh, boring?]
What is your “eh” purchase that you’ve kept around from years past and now wear so much you wonder just how you ever lived without it? Leave me a comment now!