mixing things up.

Photo by Sarah Culver

shirt: Old Navy; skirt: Forever 21 (it is a silk blend!); wedges: DSW; belt: thrifted Coach

Photo by Sarah Culver

Photo by Sarah Culver

I will never forget the first day I realized that the colors in this shirt matched some featured in the skirt.  I think there might've been an audible, "oh YEAH!", muttered under my breath, like I had just read something that seemed true but that I hadn't yet been able to put into words.  It took me a while to work up the courage to actually wear this out in public, however.  It is one thing to mix patterns in a way that seems grown-up, and most people use the word "whimsical" to describe the sorts of outfits that execute pattern mixing well (think Anthropologie or even J. Crew).  It is another thing entirely to look like a five-year-old picked out your outfit, and I suppose I wondered if this particular mixture skewed in that direction.

Either way, I threw it on one day and ventured off to work.  And I adore the way I feel on the days that I wear these pieces together.  I feel fun and alive, youthful but not immature.  It's a good feeling to relish in, and sometimes we all need a bit of whimsy in life, don't you think?

**All photos taken by the SUPER talented Sarah Culver, who I am lucky to call a friend.  :)