For my second blog post, I thought I would talk about one of my fashion passions…As I mentioned in my previous post and in the “About Me and the Blog” section, I love cardigans.  I remember a time, about 10 years ago, when I couldn’t find any cardigans in any of the stores I shopped in.  Then Hollister debuted a whole line of cardigans, in almost every color imaginable.  Realizing this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up, I spent a good chunk of my paycheck as a veterinary technician (job I had throughout high school and college) and purchased all of the cardigans available in my size. Here’s one of the Hollister cardigans I wore to an Antiques Roadshow show (with my stepdad) back in 2009/2010…I still have them and use them to this day:

This was the beginning of my love affair with cardigans.  In my opinion, one can never have TOO many cardigans.  They can brighten up a rather ordinary or plain outfit:

They can also tone down a busy a pattern, while showcasing that season’s “it” color (with my husband and Gio):

They can keep you warm in cold restaurants (looking a little creeped/grossed out by the patrons behind my husband who were sneezing/coughing onto our food…Getting sick on vacation is the worst so I felt for them…internally):

They can make a dress presentable enough to wear inside the Vatican…I actually thought that wearing a dress would be enough and while having a hot flash – I was truly sweating like a pig – I decided to take my little cardigan off.  In the blink of any eye, a guard approached me and told me that I had to cover my shoulders while inside (I’m not sure why I look so buff in the picture on the left, but I guess that’s better than the alternative?):

And, cardigans have even replaced the suit jacket in many corporate settings.  Here I am at a work dinner during one of my yearly trips to company headquarters:

For those of you working from home, cardigans, a cute top, and a statement necklace are perfect for conference calls and telemeetings where your audience can only see you from mid-chest up. Even if you only have one or two good tops, you can make an endless number of outfits with a solid cardigan collection and some statement necklaces. This is my current cardigan collection…I was talking about my collection to my husband, I’m sure he was bored to tears, and mentioned to him that I thought I only had about 20 or so cardigans.  He said, “yeah, right…let’s count them.”  I was SO WRONG.  I have quite a few more and I’m still on the hunt for new additions:

Here are a few little cuties I’m dying to get my hands on:

Since I’m trying to add more solid colors to my wardrobe, on the advice of my husband, I’ve been at a loss to figure out how to pair a solid cardigan with a solid top.  I usually give up because I’m in a hurry and grab either a khaki jacket or a different top altogether. If I’m forced to forego my trusty khaki, I usually go for the monochromatic look…different shades of the same base color.

Since I can’t go on forever this way, I decided to hunt down some color coordinating tips on Pinterest. One pin in particular, from Handbag Heaven’s website (http://www.handbagheaven.com/style-guide/beginners-guide-to-style) caught my eye:

So, it looks like I was kind of on track with the monochromatic instincts. But the triad matching business does give me some pause….weird, right, coming from someone who wears dinos and dresses up like Frida Kahlo?!  I don’t think I’d ever pair straight up RED with straight up YELLOW, as the only colors in the outfit. So, I get the concept of adding triad colors as pops of color to an outfit, and not necessarily a red shirt, with a blue cardigan and a yellow necklace. I found 2 photos of me from a previous Style Me Challenge through the Get Your Pretty On blog (#GYPO), and I think they cover the red, blue and yellow triad pretty well:

Picture on the left – Shirt from J. Crew Outlet, shoes from DSW, cat watch from Charming Charlie, jeans, cardigan, purse and scarf from Target.

Picture on the right – Earrings and watch from Charming Charlie, shoes from Urban Outfitters, jeans, shirt, cardigan, purse and scarf from Target.

What do you think? Hit or miss?

Let’s get the conversation started! Do you all have any color coordinating tips and tricks? How do you style cardigans for work? Where’s your favorite place to find cardigans? Looking forward to hearing from you!

Take care,

Lauren

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