Fully Embracing My Spring Style Despite the Indecisive Weather

Hi, hi!

So sorry for the lack of posts this April, I've been crazy busy with school and life!! But I finally got some time to sit down and brainstorm some new content/post ideas for the blog and can't wait to share it with you all! But today let's focus on the #OOTD because I fell in love with it the minute everything was on.

I actually planned this outfit last night when I was laying in bed because I 1. Couldn't fall asleep and 2. Knew I'd most likely have a clothes fiasco in the morning unless I planned the outfit ahead of time.

I had actually never worn this top before. It was my grandmothers and after she passed I could just never pair it with the right pants or think of a way to make it work in an outfit that I really loved and felt 100% me in. (And if you're one of those people who has trouble finding outfits that you feel 100% you in or if you've never experienced the feeling of a 100% you outfit, don't fret because I'll be posting more on this topic in the coming weeks!). Because the shirt is of more somber tones (and because I still wanted to play into a spring color palette), I wore a Forever 21 light pink Utility Jacket. Not only did it brighten the the dull tones of the entire ensemble, but it also balanced the striped shirt which sometimes can be/look overbearing.

I loved pairing this shirt with high-waist boyfriend jeans because it defined my waist more appropriately than a pair of skinny jeans would've with this shirt (stripes sometimes tend to take away from the silhouette of a body and can make many features appear wider and/or bigger than they actually are). One of my favorite parts about this pair of jeans is the cut-out knee patching. It looks chic and trendy and I'm also just a huge fan of distressed jeans so they received major brownie points from the get-g0. I originally tried the outfit sans belt but am glad I made the decision to add it in because the skinny faux-black piece adds an element that I thought the outfit was missing.

Another aspect of these jeans that I really like are the raw-cut ankle hems, giving them almost a capri length cut which eliminates the need for any major cuffing, but also runs me into the dilemma of finding the right style of shoe to wear with them. And on top of that, finding a good time to wear sandals in the spring in Minnesota is almost near impossible. One day there's snow, the next it's sunny and 50 degrees and all the snow is melting. Sandals are most definitely my favorite type of shoe because they're comfortable, easy to slip on and they don't require any socks (thank god). It was pretty gloomy today, but the temp wasn't bad so I finally got the chance to break out these babies for what I realized was the first time this year (that is if you aren't counting the four days I spent in Florida last month).

I love the lace-up detail of these shoes and also the floral print embroidery on the strap. As an added bonus, there is a small heel so it gave me a little extra height. I also wanted to tie the color of the shoes into the tones of the shirt, so I went with black to match the dominate hue. I thought these lace-up sandals paired well with the jeans because they rose higher on the ankle than a thong sandal due to the lace-up element and because I'm pretty short, sometimes capri pants and regular sandals just make my legs look like nubs...I wish I was kidding.

Overall, this entire outfit made me feel confident and comfortable so I wanted to share it with all of you! To shop the items, see below.

Long-Sleeve Shirt: Thrifted (no longer available, similar here) | Distressed Boyfriend Jeans: Forever 21 (medium denim)

Merona Skinny Faux-Leather Belt: Target (no longer available, similar here) | Utility Jacket: Forever 21 (no longer available, similar here) | Lace-Up Sandals: Forever 21 (no longer available, similar here)

Make sure to check out all the related posts below that include pieces from this outfit incorporated into other looks! Don't forget to subsrcibe to receive updates on The Bleached Curl's newest posts!

Xoxo,

Abby

#denim #utilityjacket #springstyle #ootd