Pink Coat & White Tights

for my non-sewing readers:

I mentioned in this post that I spent New Year\’s in Charlottesville with all my college roommates and our boyfriends, fiances, and husbands. You absolutely can not visit Charlottesville without visiting one of the local vineyards–regardless of whether or not you drink wine, the very best views in the county can be found at the beautiful wineries that dot the countryside surrounding the city. We headed over to Pippin Hill for some early-afternoon sunshine and champagne (well, blanc de blanc).

I\’m wearing a few of my favorite pieces from last year: my leopard print swing dress (Simplicity 6820 from 1966) and my pink bow coat (Simplicity reprint 1197), and, in an effort to add a bit more vintage flair to my daily outfits, I\’ve accessorized with my white and nude kate spade purse and white tights and nude Varas. Black tights and shoes are always good, but white tights are more decidedly 60s: think Twiggy or girls in little mod mini dresses. They can be a bit tricky to style though! Here are my suggestions:

1. The right shoes. In most of the period photographs I\’ve seen with girls wearing white tights, they\’re wearing white shoes, but I don\’t think many of us in 2017 own white shoes! Nude shoes are a good choice, and wearing close colors lengthens the leg–important since white tights aren\’t the most slimming pick. I also love black or brown t-straps or mary janes for more of a schoolgirl look, if that\’s your style.  Without a strap detail, it looks like you\’re wearing the wrong shoes, but a white background can make dark straps pop!

2. The right hemline. This is such a 60s look, I think it looks best with a shorter 60s hemline! Since white emphasizes the curve of your leg, you wouldn\’t want to pick, for example, a midi skirt that hits at the widest point of your calf. An a-line skirt or babydoll minidress are perfect options.

I love this combination of a-line coat and dress, tights, and block heels–it\’ll definitely be popping up in my \”New Year, New Wardrobe\” planning! I especially like pairing the bow detail on my coat with the bows on my shoes, but really any time I wear this coat I feel great. It goes well with the a-line shape of Simplicity 6820, and luckily I now have two more in addition to this leopard one, so I\’ll be wearing this combination a lot!

White tights are going to be a bit twee no matter what, but I think they can look chic, too. Would you wear white tights, or do you stick to black? Do you wear nude hosiery? I never do, but then again Kate Middleton\’s sheer stockings always make her legs look incredible, so maybe I should. What do you think–too old-fashioned?

xoxo,