[Linkup] Trend of the Month: Black and White!

You guys, I felt like it was fate when Marion at Marionberry Style picked black & white as the trend of the month. Why? Because I had planned to take an upcoming week and do a weeklong feature on 5 ways to wear black and white. The trouble was, I had 6 black and white outfits and I liked them all. So, this linkup gave me the perfect opportunity to showcase the "leftover" outfit, and to promote my upcoming black and white week!

{one quick aside - I'm finally starting to learn the manual settings on my camera, and am using them for outfit pictures. since I'm just learning, I don't get it right many times. please bear with me on the quality of my pictures as I get used to using my camera! oh, and since I have a bridge camera, there's no inbuilt light meter which has definitely made it more difficult to learn on the fly. now I'm completely reliant on viewing the pictures after the fact to learn what was good and what was bad. if you have suggestions for tutorials or helpful sites, I'm all ears!}

Outfit Details

Top: Topshop (UK summer 2012)

Pants: Target

Shoes: Chinese Laundry, old

Necklace: Forever21 

I absolutely loved this top when I first tried it on - though I didn't love the price! However, since I was in England, and knew I couldn't pick this up somewhere at home, I nabbed it. Oddly enough, I saw a nearly identical version of this top, in the same color as well as blue, when I was in Forever21. You can probably still find it!

 These shoes have been an old favorite for years. However, in an attempt to declutter, I'm forcing myself to get rid of items I love that are just not functional or in good shape any more - so this is the last time you'll see these shoes! You can see better why I'm getting rid of them in the slightly side-facing picture down below - the heels have oddly bent in with years and years of wear, and on top of it, sometimes the back strap doesn't stay on my heel and these function more like flip flops. I'm sad to see them go, but I need to respect that it's their time to go! :)

 

I wasn't sure how I would feel putting this outfit together - I love how pairing this top against black brings out the lighter shades in the top. If the pants weren't as skinny as they are, I would say the top could certainly be overpowering, but with a skinny pant and heel, I feel like there's just enough flow.

 

In previous blog posts, I've talked a bit about how sometimes this sleeve length impacts those of us ladies who are a bit more top-heavy. Sometimes, a half or 3/4 length sleeve doesn't work, but I really liked this one because the sleeves themselves are slim and sleek, not adding any additional bulk to the upper half.

Stay tuned for more black and white in the coming weeks!! How do you wear yours?