Among the Living

This outfit was inspired by S. over at Academichic, who has been sporting some really sophisticated looks with shorts recently. Her use of mixed neutral tones and rich scarves gives her shorts ensembles a cosy, winter look; this outfit in particular was what inspired me to pull out my brown wool herringbone shorts and try a look of my own. I especially liked how she used a casual blazer to give the shorts a more 'grown-up' feel, so I borrowed that idea for my outfit.

I knew my beloved Bata boots were not going to give me the contrast I wanted against the black leggings, so I chose my dusty gray cowboy boots instead, which gave the outfit an element of casual playfulness. Not wanting to drown the look in too much black, I then chose a bright silver shirt and charcoal waistcoat, and let the leggings be the only black item in the outfit. Finally, I topped it all off with a brown silk scarf, which kept the washed-out silver color away from my face.

Richly-colored scarves are a great trick this time of year for combating pale winter skin. With my olive undertones, my skin has a tendency to look sallow if I wear too much pale color right next to my face. Even a small amount of bright or saturated color near my face does wonders for keeping me looking like I'm still among the living, and allows me to wear colors that might not otherwise be flattering on me.

Scarf: Banana Republic
Jacket: La Redoute
Shirt: thrifted
Waistcoat: Last Kiss
Shorts: Mango
Boots: eBay