Tag Archives: patterns

Nov15

Mix & Match OOTD

Posted on November 15, 2025 by lifewithlilred

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new OOTD here on lifewithlilred! This past weekend my brother, Johnny, and I attended Akron Comicon and it was so much fun! It is our tradition to go every year together and we always look forward to geeking out in the crowd of fandom fans. At an event like Comicon, anything goes for fashion and I decided I wanted to go quirky cool with my OOTD. One of my favorite ways to make an outfit chic and unique is by mixing and matching patterns that, at a glance, might not necessarily go together. I was actually ambivalent about this look but it came together perfectly and I absolutely love how it turned out! Take a look and let’s discuss:

Who? What? Wear?

Blazer: Scotch & Soda, TJMaxx

Button Down: Karl Lagerfeld, TJMaxx

Coated Skinny Jeans: Seven Jeans, TJMaxx

Platform Boots: Dolls Kill

Purse: Foley + Corinna, TJMaxx

The earrings are from Target I think!

As I went shopping in my wardrobe department store, I had blazers on the mind and began this OOTD by browsing my options. I had been so focused on cold weather jackets that I haven’t been thinking blazers at all and honestly had forgotten about my Scotch & Soda one! Shame on me because this pajama style blazer is SO fabulous. I am totally there for that relaxed fit and the floral pattern with colors that just scream fall. This little number was definitely the move but what to pair it with?

The last thing I wanted for Comicon was a basic look so simply wearing my blazer over top a black sweater just wouldn’t do. As the vast majority of my clothing features some type of pattern or bold color, I knew I would have to get creative with mixing and matching patterns. To get started, I took a closer look at the colors in the blazer which had black as well as some lighter hues that were close enough to white. Remember, if you are mixing and matching patterns that the best way to form cohesion is by using like colors in the two pieces you are pairing.

After my double check of the blazer, I knew black and white would be the best way to go and selected my button down by Karl Lagerfeld. This top features a stark white background with classic Karl aviators in black. Initially, I thought this top was too far a cry from the blazer but put both on with a pair of high waisted skinnies anyway to see the final effect. And you know what? It worked! Between the high rise of the Seven Jeans and the coverage from the blazer, the button down didn’t look out of place as it was being overshadowed. The end result provided this really cool pop of bright white among the burnt fall hues of the blazer and it was just the quirky cool flare I was hoping for.

Finally, it was onto shoes and accessories. I wanted long legs and height to extenuate the high rise skinnies and went for a daring pair of platform boots with a vertebrae heel. They were a hit at Comicon and I liked how the color of the vertebrae accents closely mimicked some of the lighter hues in the blazer. For earrings, I chose a gorgeous pair of dangly turquoise crosses for a surprise color burst. I love turquoise and orange paired together and these looked lovely with the blazer. Last but not least, I swapped out my purse I was using to a fully neutral one by Foley + Corinna with spikes and a chain strap. With that, I was ready to go get my nerd on!

This Mix & Match OOTD was SO fun to style despite initial uncertainty. Fashion is about taking risks and sometimes they work and other times they don’t. This was a fashion risk that definitely paid off!

Is there an event you go to yearly? What is something you are looking forward to? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb23

V-Day Pt. 1 OOTD

Posted on February 23, 2025 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and welcome to my OOTD from Part One of mine and Johnny’s Valentine’s Day celebration. On the actual day of V-Day, Johnny and I had a Middle Class Fancy jubilee at Red Lobster and it was a truly spectacular evening. We had an amazing time starting a Lobsterita Revolution and spent ninety-five percent of our night out laughing. The other five percent was dedicated to food and drink lol. A special date with my main squeeze meant getting dressed up in my Red Lobster best to show out in. Take a look:

Who? What? Wear?

Blazer: Express, Goodwill

Cami Top: mittoshop, French Rooster

Snakeskin Pattern Skinnies: Wit & Wisdom, TJMaxx

Lace Up Heels: Juicy Couture, Kohl’s

Purse: Anne Klein, TJMaxx

Heart Earrings: SugarFix by BaubleBar, Target

Whenever I am building an OOTD, I typically will start with one key piece of the look and go from there. In this case, I started from the bottom up and the rest of the outfit essentially built itself. In the pants department, I decided to go for a pair of snakeskin patterned skinny jeans by Wit & Wisdom. I am a huge fan of anything in a snakeskin pattern and these jeans are so fabulous. They are comfy as can be and are fantastic when it comes to building an outfit. If you are styling a look with a pattern, forming a cohesive look is as simple as pulling a few colors out of said pattern to use for the remainder of your outfit. That is exactly what I did!

The Wit & Wisdom jeans featured hues of cream, taupe, and grey in the pattern and I chose to focus in on the cream shade. By pulling from that, it was easy to select the pretty, oyster shell lace cami to pair it with. Was it a perfect match? No. However, you are never going to find a perfect color match in two pieces of clothing so close enough is good enough! Of course, the weather on V-Day was cold AF and wearing just a cami was begging for hypothermia lol. So, I slipped on my four dolla holla Express blazer from the Goodwill. The beauty of the skinny jeans is that, despite the pattern, the colors are all neutral so adding another neutral piece like the black blazer was no harm no foul.

With the base of my outfit settled, it was time for shoes and accessories. For shoes, I kept with my established palette and put on one of my favorite pairs of heels. These Juicy Couture lace up heels are literally old as dirt but I just don’t care. I love them so much and they still look great! And, once again, a close enough color match to the rest of the look was good enough. For Valentine’s Day, you have to have some hearts so I provided a pop of color with my three tiered, dangly red heart earrings from Target. Last but not least, I tossed my pale pink Anne Klein purse over the crook of my arm and was ready for a Middle Class Fancy extravaganza!

Stay tuned tomorrow for the blooper reel from this look and check back in later this week for my V-Day Part Two OOTD! ❤

What is your favorite animal print? What is an old piece of clothing that you can’t part with? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan5

Hand Me Down OOTD

Posted on January 5, 2025 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new OOTD here on lifewithlilred. Today, we are going to take a look at a look I put together with a Hand Me Down sweater from our best friend, Cliff. Technically, it’s a double hand me down because said featured sweater belonged to Cliff’s grandpa! Johnny came home with a ton of clothes that Cliff was clearing out the last time they were together and nothing really caught my eye except for this spiffy little number. You can read why this will be the first and last time I wear this sweater in the Blooper Reel tomorrow, but let’s get to it:

Who? What? Wear?

Striped Sweater: Designed by Arnold Palmer for Robert Bruce

Skinny Jeans: 1822 Denim, TJMaxx

Snakeskin Patterned Kitten Heels: Splendid, TJMaxx

The earrings were purchased forever ago from PacSun!

I have been telling Johnny for forever that he would look So. Good. in sweaters like this Robert Bruce one. When he brought it home, I liked it for me but LOVED it for him. Unfortunately, he saw things differently than me and claimed that the sweater was “too small anyways” so never mind lol. After he discarded the notion, I tried it on for myself and, aside from one glaring issue, was all about it. And, rather than wearing it over top of something like a cardigan, I decided to button it up as a top since the V-neck wasn’t plunging. From the cut to the colors, this is truly a “grandpa chic” piece and I just know Cliff’s grandad was styling in it. ❤

Since black skinnies were the way to go, it was time for shoes and accessories. To keep with the vintage vibes, I chose one of my favorite pairs of stud earrings from PacSun. The gold frame and red roses in the center remind me of brooches and tend to be my go tos when I am building an outfit with vintage clothing. For shoes, I selected a gorgeous pair of snakeskin patterned kitten heels by Splendid. Despite the pointed toe, they made me think of loafers and that was perfect for the elderly aesthetic I was working with lol. The colors in the pattern of the shoes and the sweater blended beautifully together and I felt like all I was missing was a cup of tea to complete the look!

As cute as this sweater might be (I really do love it!), it has since been retired from my wardrobe. Whoever ends up with it will have a triple hand me down!!

Do you like to wear vintage clothing? Where do you purchase yours at? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep22

Hello, Yellow OOTD

Posted on September 22, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hi hi!! This past week, duty called as a social media manager to take part in a meeting for a new project. This was on top of what is already my busiest day of the week and I was wiped out. Regardless of being tired, it is always important to me to put together an OOTD that makes me feel my best so I can put my best face forward. The said project was an art driven one so I wanted to create a look that was business casual with some funky flare. And, of course, I wanted to be comfortable. The Hello, Yellow OOTD you are about to see was so comfy, in fact, that it felt like wearing pajamas and no one was the wiser for it! Check it out:

Who? What? Wear?

Yellow Cardigan: A New Day, Target

Navy Blue Crop Top: This was a hand me down from my sister

Pinstripe Slacks: Free People, TJMaxx

Snakeskin Pattern Kitten Heels: Splendid, TJMaxx

Retro Headband: TJMaxx

The turquoise earrings are Lucky Brand!

Honestly, I didn’t know what I wanted to wear to this meeting and it was quite the mad dash to throw together. I was on a time crunch, had a decent drive ahead of me, and it felt like every idea I had sucked. So, I scrapped them all, took a breath, and did a restart with something that I knew for a fact would work. This began with my pair of pinstripe slacks by Free People. I love the modern take on business casual that they offer with the wide leg and soft cloth material. These slacks also helped set up a neutral base when paired with the navy blue crop top so that I could enhance the look with pops of color.

Speaking of pops of color, cue the mustard yellow cardigan by A New Day! The weather in Ohio has still been really warm and this was a perfect option as it was nice and light. Because navy is a neutral, I could wear this cardigan with no repercussions to the overall outfit. I am a huge fan of anything yellow and the cardi turned the very basic base into something special. It also provided me with some midriff coverage for the little bit showing between the crop top and high waisted slacks. This was great because it kept me worry free about any peek a boo moments for the duration of the evening.

Finally, it was onto shoes and accessories. For shoes, I decided on a pair of snakeskin pattern kitten heels. Had the pinstriping on the pants been more bold, I would have went with something different. However, it was so light that introducing a new pattern wouldn’t clash. This was further assisted by the fully neutral palette too. Next, it was time to browse the accessory department. My hair was not behaving whatsoever, so a headband was in order. I chose a lovely retro hued headband with yellow that closely mimicked the cardigan and popped on a pair of dangly turquoise earrings for good measure. With that, I was ready to go!

There is no rule stating that business casual has to be boring. This Hello, Yellow OOTD is my take on office ready vibes with my signature Lil Red aesthetic!

How do you dress for work? How do you dress for play? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul25

Flower Child OOTD

Posted on July 25, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new OOTD here on lifewithlilred! Today, we’re going to take a look at a look that I wore for a date day with Johnny this past Saturday. We enjoyed lunch with our favorite neighbor and then headed to downtown Cuyahoga Falls to do some shopping at the Jenks Building. The Jenks is a hub for local artists and musicians. It is an eclectic location that offers a little bit of everything and I wanted to dress the part. I admit that I had a case of “styler’s block” when I began creating this look. Then, it came to me in a vision and I am obsessed with the end result! Check it out:

Who? What? Wear?

Crochet Top: Rebellion Again, TJMaxx

Trapeze Pants: Patrons Of Peace, TJMaxx

Lace Up Heels: BCBG, TJMaxx

Butterfly Sunglasses: A Signature Antiques

I think the turquoise cross earrings are from Target!

It is very easy for me to fall into the trap of having “nothing to wear” during the summertime because my wardrobe is more curated to cold weather. When dressing for the summer, my main concern is staying cool while looking cute. However, I can only wear so many shorts and tops combos until I grow bored with it. I was definitely hitting a wall so I really needed to take the time and shop in my own personal boutique for inspiration. Saturday was hot but not unbearably so. With that in mind and expanding my horizons a bit further, my eyes landed on my Patrons Of Peace trapeze pants and I knew we were in business.

I think these pants are just the tops. I love the colors, the pattern, and the way the breezy fabric moves. They are incredibly comfortable and so unique in the sense that these pants could be viewed as a maxi skirt depending on how they lay when you look at me. But what to pair them with? Originally, I started out with a white tank top tucked in and that did nothing for me. This was problematic because a majority of my clothes have some type of color or pattern that would clash with the pants. So, back to my boutique I went.

Before browsing my selection, I took the time to really look at the colors in the patterns of the pants to narrow down my options of what I could wear to accommodate them. Everything I had in jewel or burnt shades wasn’t going to work so I focused on the cream hues of the flowers. This brought me to my crochet top by Rebellion Again and I knew I had a winner. It might not have been a perfect match in color but it was close enough. Just like the pants, this top offered movement. The best part? The flower pattern on both the top and bottom worked in tandem and created a look with a lot of visual interest.

Next, it was onto shoes and accessories. For shoes, I went with a pair of lace up heels by BCBG. They are old as dirt, but I will never part with them as they are highly sentimental. They are one of the first pairs of heels I vividly remember buying at TJMaxx! I wanted a simple pair of shoes since this fit featured top to bottom patterns and they were just right. For accessories, I chose a pair of dangly turquoise crosses for a pop of color. And, of course, this was an ideal outfit to break out my new butterfly sunglasses that I got while antiquing with Johnny. They added some super 70s flare, bonus bling, and were exactly what I needed to complete the look!

My Flower Child OOTD is, easily, one of my favorite looks that I have styled this summer. If I had an entire closet full of clothes like this, maybe I would like summertime styling a bit more!

What is something in your closet that you can’t part with? What are your favorite accessories to shop for? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May20

7 Ways To Make Your Home Look More Expensive

Posted on May 20, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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7 Ways To Make Your Home Look More Expensive

Every homeowner wants their property to look the best it can possibly be. When it comes to making a great first impression on your visitors, you may want to opt for trends that showcase your home in the best light and make it look super high end. Adding expensive-looking touches to your home that don’t break the bank could be one of the best design choices you make. Whether you’re planning an entire home renovation, or you want to make just a handful of tweaks, here are seven ways to make your home look opulent and expensive:

New Windows:

Getting new windows installed is sure to give your property an instant lift. Looking into window options will show you just how many styles there are to choose from. You may also want to look into residential and commercial window tinting if you’re not quite ready to upgrade your windows altogether. Window tinting can provide you with the look and privacy of etched glass without the additional expense. This is a great way to make your home look more expensive using a simple and affordable technique.

Don’t forget that your windows will need blinds and curtains to complete the look. Curtains are a great way to add color and texture into a room and can be swapped out seasonally or as often as you choose. Blinds will further enhance your newly installed or tinted windows and provide natural lighting. To get inspiration, simply enter a search for “Window Blinds Nottingham” (or your local area) to schedule a consultation with a professional team. You will be able to discuss the expensive look you are hoping to achieve to really make your house pop.

Fresh Flowers:

There is nothing quite like bright fresh flowers to bring a touch of glamor to your home. Don’t wait for somebody to buy you a bouquet of beautiful blooms, you can treat yourself to a new set every week, simply because you and your home deserve it. You can change up the color scheme depending on the season or your mood. Either way, your fresh flowers will be a stunning addition to your home, and it will make everything appear much more high end.

Luxurious Lighting:

The power of lighting should never be underestimated, especially when it comes to creating an expensive and beautiful looking home. The only way you can choose the right types of lighting for your home is by going to look around your local stores and seeing which ones appeal to you the most. Choosing the right lamp shades and lighting fixtures can completely transform the way your home looks in its entirety.

Minimal Clutter:

Getting rid of as much excess clutter as possible is a simple way to create a sense of lavishness in your home. If you want your home to appear more expensive, you need to throw away any unnecessary items that are cluttering up your beautiful space. This will give you more scope to decorate in unique ways and find more interesting places to highlight.

More Mirrors and Wall Art:

If you have ever walked through a grand home or estate before, you will notice that there are always pieces of artwork and mirrors on the walls. Adding more decor to your walls can help you to inject some of your personal style into your home, and it’s a great way to boost its overall appeal. With mirrors and wall art, there are so many different amazing styles for you to explore. Depending on the look and feel that you’re going for, you may find that certain types of frames or color schemes work better with your home interiors.

Wooden Flooring:

There are so many advantages that go hand in hand with getting wooden flooring installed in your home. First of all, wooden flooring is timeless and will never go out of style. Second, it’s very easy to make wooden flooring look expensive too. As long as you keep it clean and in good condition, wooden flooring will instantly give your home a sense of class.

Patterns and Textures:

Experimenting with a variety of patterns and textures when decorating your home is a brilliant way to add a layer of luxury. From rugs to curtains, you can use patterns and textures to enhance the interior decor of your home and make it a more lavish place to live.

Creating a fresh, stylish and expensive looking home is much easier than you think, especially when you have so many ideas to work with. All of these ideas will work with all sorts of different homes and will help you to feel proud of your property in every single way!

Jan18

Busy Day OOTD

Posted on January 18, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello darlings!! Normally, my weekends are all about having some much needed R&R after a crazy busy work week. This Saturday, however, was a different story because there was SO much to do. Johnny and I needed to give our apartment a much needed deep clean, but first I had to get recertified in CPR and first aid. As an Independent Provider, it is a very important requirement to have that and my certificate was set to expire in February. I was so happy to be able to get it done, even though I wasn’t thrilled to wake up early! Before heading out on a snowy morning, I wanted to get OOTD pics out of the way for the comfy cool look I put together. Check it out:

Who? What? Wear?

Killin’ It Hoodie: Forever 21

Star Pattern Jeans: Kut From The Kloth, TJMaxx

White Combat Boots: Forever 21

Cheetah Print Headband: TJMaxx

Earrings: American Eagle Outfitters

It’s never much fun to do work related stuff over the weekend, but it’s even less fun when the weather freaking sucks lol. For this OOTD, I wanted a laid back look that I could be comfortable in (While still looking cute!) as I got my training done. On really cold days, I just want to wrap myself up like a burrito in a million blankets. That wasn’t the case for me on Saturday, however, so I went with soft pieces to represent my burrito cocoon that I so desperately wanted to be in!

Usually when I’m styling an OOTD, I start from the top down. This time around, I began from the bottom up with my Kut From The Kloth jeans. These star patterned skinnies are just so much fun and a really unique piece. I don’t get to wear them too often because it is difficult to pair them with ninety-nine percent of what is in my wardrobe. Despite not getting to use them much, they are well loved and nice and soft, which is exactly what I wanted as I went about my day.

Next on the agenda was finding a top that worked and I decided to go the hoodie route to keep up with the comfy cute motif. I popped on one of my Misny Merch Ts as an extra layer, then chose an oldie but goodie hoodie from Forever 21. What can I say, I planned on killin’ it at my training and I did! This hoodie is the freaking bomb. It is SO cozy and it almost feels like wearing a nightgown in the best possible way lol. In fact, I have nighties that are similar! The black and white color palette was also just what I needed to keep the jeans from clashing with it.

Finally, it was onto shoes and accessories. I pulled my hair back with a cheetah print headband because practicing CPR with hair in your face is a hassle. This headband was a gift from my mom and I wear it constantly throughout the week. The animal print added a pop of something different to the look and was far enough away from the pants to keep an uncluttered appearance. Long, dangly earrings were also a no go for a CPR class, so I stuck with a small pair of gold earrings which looked great with the headband.

Last but not least was shoes and I went for a pair of white heeled combat boots from Forever 21. I know, I’m also shocked that there’s more pieces from F21 than TJMaxx in this look! These boots added the extra length I needed since the hoodie was so long and the stark white complimented the text on the hoodie too. With that, I was ready to take on the day the comfy cute way and rocked it!

While nothing pleases me more than dressing up, my Busy Day on Saturday called for a dressed down OOTD. This outfit kept me warm and toasty on the blustery day while still looking my laid back best!

How do you normally spend your weekends? What is your favorite comfy cozy piece of clothing? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan8

New Rachel Roy Vest Thing

Posted on January 8, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!! Tuesdays are one of my favorite days of the week because I don’t really have too much to do. I just have a short shift in the morning and later in the afternoon so I have from eleven to two thirty off. In that time, I either run errands, hang out with my parents, or work online. This past Tuesday, I decided to hit up TJMaxx because I had some Christmas gift cards and TJ rewards burning a hole in my pocket. I did a full restock of my skin care, which we’ll check out tomorrow and had just enough left over for this amazing Rachel Roy Vest… Thing? Lol take a look:

Post holiday shopping at TJMaxx is one of my favorite things to do. Until their spring shipment comes in, I feel like all of the weird stuff that didn’t sell throughout the year gets brought back out and everything is marked down. Luckily for me, I LOVE all of the weird stuff and have made some of my best purchases during this time of the year. During my rounds in the clothing department, I was searching specifically for these items and ended up finding this Rachel Roy Vest/whatever. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I did know I liked the pattern going around the edges and on the tie very much.

In the fitting room, I realized that you put this vest on like a poncho. It slips over your head so two panels of fabric are in the front and then you tie it together. Once it was on, I was completely sold! This vest is such a unique piece and I have never seen nor own anything like it. I love the traditional vest style quilting paired with the flowers in deep fall colors. The fit was also everything because after it was tied, the shoulders came jutting out and created such a cool shape. I found the only vest like this in the store and I highly doubt I’ll see anyone wearing one of them in public. This makes it feel exclusive to me and that is always a huge selling point for me because I don’t want what everyone else has!

Throughout the new year, I will be making lots of new content with Tim Misny and my Rachel Roy Vest Thing is the first thing I plan on rocking during our next shoot. I can’t wait to serve up fashion looks and a whole lot of fun!

What is your favorite day of the week? When during the year is your favorite time to shop? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov17

Misnyland Party OOTD Bonus Pics

Posted on November 17, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hellooo everyone and welcome to some bonus pics from my Misnyland Party OOTD!! Johnny and I spent this past Friday afternoon hanging out with Tim Misny at his appropriately named estate “Misnyland”. Rubbing shoulders with one of Ohio’s biggest local celebrities was due to a contest I won and all I can say is, your girl knows how to style an OOTD! 😀 Speaking of OOTDs, I knew I had to pull out all of the stops for this party and I was feeling my damn self in my new 7 For All Mankind dress. So much so that I have some extra content to share with all of you! Check it out:

After our afternoon at Misnyland, Johnny and I decided that we would take pictures on the way to his parents’ house. There really wasn’t anything noteworthy to post up by except for oodles of churches so we figured we would take what we can get. Granted, if we both didn’t burn up within five feet of the house of worship we picked lol. Obviously, we both lived to tell the tale and I loved how all of these shots turned out. ❤

As you saw yesterday, the church offered gorgeous green doors which is much more lively than my usual brick walls haha. What I liked best, however, was the huge courtyard in front with brick paving and greenery. It looked so pretty and I’m sure it looked even better during the summer or when all of the leaves from the trees hadn’t hit the ground yet. Either way, it was the perfect setting to twirl around in and my dress was the perfect thing to wear to do said twirling. The movement of the skirt was so much fun and it was impossible to stand still. There were a lot of duds in this bonus pic shoot, but I was thrilled with the ones that turned out well. Twirling pictures are definitely not my strong suit! 😀

We have seen the good from my Misnyland Party OOTD so it will be onto the yikes tomorrow. Keep it locked for the blooper reel!

Where is your favorite place to take pictures? Do you tend to buy a new outfit before an event? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep7

YAS In Yellow OOTD

Posted on September 7, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new OOTD here on lifewithlilred! Even though it has been hot as BEJEEZUS for the past several days, I have been in a complete fall state of mind thanks to my new hair. During last week’s OOTD, I created an outfit to fully compliment my new do and I loved how it turned out so much that I wanted to go that route again. I also want to take all of the opportunities I can to wear dresses without tights before the weather gets too cold! Take a look at this look and let’s discuss:

Who? What? Wear?

Yellow Floral Dress: Xhilaration, Target

Denim Platforms: Bamboo, TJMaxx

Double Strand Earrings: I think these are from Target?

Can we all just talk about how great dresses are for a minute? They are one of those pieces where literally all you have to do is throw it on and you have an outfit. Also, bonus points if the dress has pockets like the one I’m wearing in this OOTD! It feels so weird to not see a huge list of clothing and accessories under Who? What? Wear? but I simply didn’t need anything more than what I had. That’s the power of a patterned dress because the last thing a bold print needs it to be bogged down with anything extra.

After rocking a navy blue dress last week, I decided to show attention to another color in my hair – Pulp Riot’s Satire. This yellow shade is my absolute favorite and it feels perfect for the last days of summertime and the approaching fall season. I mentioned in the Fabulously Fall OOTD that I thought the dress I was wearing shrank but, alas, it wasn’t the one I had on. It was actually the Target dress I have on in this shoot lol.

After assessing my options, I decided to try the lovely yellow frock to see if it was as badly shrunk as I remember it being. Happily, that wasn’t the case even with platforms on so we were in business! I love this dress so much and I have yet to find anything similar to it in stores. This dress is old as dirt, but it still feels brand new – especially since I just didn’t wear it for years straight lol. Of course, the color is great but there is so much more to this little number than that. The bell sleeves, for example? Darling! The burnished gold buttons down the front? Adorable! Flowy A-line skirt? Too cute! This dress is a statement in itself and when you break down why, it makes sense to style the rest of the look minimally.

For shoes, I went with my denim embroidered platforms by Bamboo. Although there were no perfect color matches to the shoes in the dress, that was okay! Denim is a neutral – this is why you can pair anything with blue jeans and it’s going to look good every time. These heels added fantastic length without making the dress too short and they are also comfy as can be. I could walk for miles in them… I think, anyways. 😀

All that was left to do for this look was accessorize and with the patterned dress, I didn’t need much of anything other than earrings and rings. However, there is more to keeping things minimal than just the pattern of the dress. Notice the neckline, for instance. It’s almost nonexistent and there are already tie down strings so you can tie it with a bow if you want. Would it be smart from a styling standpoint to put a necklace there anyways? No! Same with the sleeves of this dress. Sure, you could wear bracelets but I would rather the focal point be on the gorgeous bell sleeves!

Styling killer OOTDs is all about common sense and if you are struggling to create something, it helps to look at your clothing objectively. You can then see what parts of the outfit needs built up and what parts you can leave alone. This YAS In Yellow OOTD was all about minimal styling because the dress required it to be. When you can establish how and why you need to style specific pieces, you’re outfit building game will improve tenfold!

What is your favorite thing to shop for at Target? What is something you struggle with when styling OOTDs? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

	lifewithlilred on Spirit Christmas Haul
	oliveunicorn on Spirit Christmas Haul
	Simon on Thxgiving OOTD Bloopers
	lifewithlilred on Thxgiving OOTD Bloopers
	Simon on Thxgiving OOTD Bloopers