Shoe Swap

This outfit was a result of being jetlagged and running late for work. On any other day I might have continued to scrutinize it and eventually come to the conclusion that the combination of patterns and colors was too much, but on Friday morning at 8:50 a.m. all I wanted to do was get out the door and get through the day.

I think this mix of patterns works for a few reasons. First, the top is a random floral pattern while the skirt is a repeating geometric; this type of combination is easier to pair than say, 2 florals, although that can be done too. Second, the color palettes have some overlap but are not identical, which makes the pairing look more deliberate and less like a poor attempt at matching. Finally, the color schemes are essentially the reverse of one another; the top has colors on a white background while the skirt has colors on a black background. One additional element that ties it all together is the fact that the skirt has slivers of the same purple shade as the cropped sweater, though it's tough to see in this picture.

These shoes are the spoils of the shoe swap recently organized by Sal. My precious closet space was being consumed with a lovely but too-large pair of red mary janes; I sent them along to a recipient who happily runs about half a size larger than I, and poof! A practically new pair of perfectly-fitting brown pumps arrived to take their place. I can only assume that these occupied a similar position in the closet of my swapmate, as they can't have been worn more than once or twice. I've long wondered at my persistence in hanging onto shoes that I don't wear for whatever reason; I'm happy to know I'm not the only one who does that. A big thanks to Sal for putting the swap together!

Cropped sweater: Noa Noa (from Paris, of course!)
Top: Mica
Skirt: thrifted
Shoes: Rampage