I’m trying out a new series called “What Inspires Me,” where I’ll show outfits I see on bloggers and Instagrammers, fashion show runways, in art, etc., and then how I create something from my closet to emulate it. I’m not sure yet if it will be monthly, bi-weekly, or as the mood strikes me! If you’re a blogger and want to do this along with me, email me and we’ll set that up!

For the first inspiration look, I have this stunning outfit by Louise Roe of Front Roe. How chic is this rich navy and cognac combination?

I have had a navy dress in my closet for several years (it was on the blog here and here)…and I thought I would put my longline camel cardigan over it…and finally wear some leopard almost flats I bought at the end of last summer. Summer 2018. And my cognac bag. And red lipstick and dark sunglasses. And lots of gold jewelry.

That’s what I WANTED to do. That’s what I THOUGHT would look brilliant.

BUT.

Ha. Isn’t there always a “but”?

I haven’t worn the navy dress in two years and when I put it on it was like a big saggy potato sack. It’s not so obvious in the pictures since it’s mostly hidden by the cardigan but I had to keep readjusting the sleeves and shoulders so the neckline didn’t droop too low. And it’s longer than I like my dresses these days. But I kinda made it work.

The camel cardigan didn’t make as rich a combination with the navy dress as Louise’s cognac coat did…so I tried my chestnut cardigan instead…but the length was not good and it’s just a more casual looking piece than I was wanting. So back to the camel.

The shoes, which I bought on sale two years ago for $11, were so loose I could barely walk! The problem for me with buying shoes in the summer is that my feet swell so much in the heat, that what fits then is too large in the cooler weather when the swelling goes down. And these were really loose. I even put some arch supports in them to take up some room and “snug them up,” but…it wasn’t nearly enough.

I don’t have much nice gold jewelry anymore. I wore my very thin Gorjana hoops, which are nice, but not really the right vibe here and because they’re so thin you barely see them. And I tried to make a long pendant necklace by taking a very short “fob” pendant necklace and attaching it to a long gold chain…but then it was too long. It was literally down to my belly button. Ha. So I had to keep pulling the extra length up and hanging it down my back under the dress. So if it looks like the pendant is changing lengths in the photos…that’s cuz it is.

SO, for better or worse, this was my look based on Louise Roe’s gorgeous outfit.

The shoes and dress are Poshmark-bound and I am still on the hunt for a long pendant and gold hoop earrings.

Purely coincidentally, after emailing Louise Saturday morning to ask permission to share her picture on my blog, I was looking for a podcast to listen to on the way to our wine tasting (30 miles away), and I came across one on which Louise Roe was a guest! So it was fun to listen to her talking about her journalistic, fashion and blogging experiences after I’d just emailed her.

All the items I’m wearing are old or out of stock, but I found some comparable items in both plus and straight sizes here…

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