In the Grotto: OOTW Look Book

August 25th, 2015

Jewel Toned Textures 

Why live life like a black-and-white cookie?! Be a rainbow sprinkled sugar cookie!! Fellow fashionistas, the time has come for you to add some rich jewel toned garments and accessories into your  life.  Just like the importance of "positive thinking" and surrounding yourself with motivated individuals, your fashion choices should reflect your positive attitude.

For this look I wanted to share a garment I only wear a few times a year due to it being irreplaceable. A handmade embroidered linen tunic from India!  My Dad was nice enough to keep it after it was featured in a photo shoot he did in NYC a few years ago.

Please remember to be B O L D in not only your day-to-day attitude but in your fashion style!

As always, please scroll to the bottom of the post for store listings!

Even on me "the vertically challenged", the length is very short so to make it suitable for wearing in public, I paired it with cobalt blue lace shorts.  Working at Anthropologie has opened my eyes to mixing textures and patterns together in a playful way!

When it comes to styling these mix & match type outfits, I recommend searching for a textured garment that mimics a shape, pattern, and or color in the opposite garment.  For this outfit I was inspired by the cobalt blue embroidered hemline pattern on the tunic.  I immediately gravitated to the lace shorts hanging in my closet!  Once I slipped them on I was thrilled with the result!

The tunic is 100% heavy linen so it makes for a wonderful transition into fall garment. When the leaves turn color and autumn is in full force, I can wear the tunic with a pair of skinny jeans and brown heeled mules (yes, they are making a comeback and I'm a fan!)

My favorite part of completing a look, is accessorizing!! From shoes all the way to ring details, I love the trial and error process.  Most times I chose the shoes first, then the bag.  This is because I pay attention to the metallic details on the shoes (if there are any) to make sure the bag metallic details match. If you're confused this example should help, the brown wedges featured in the picture have small antique gold studs on them, so when choosing a bag I will look for one with gold details as opposed to silver.

Details

I love me an over sized bright clutch!  I consider a tiny personal homage to the wonderfully flashy 1980's.  The color is a tightrope-walk-across coral and pink.  I chose this clutch because it mimics the pink and red embroidery pattern featured on the tunic. 

*Fun fact from the grotto: the fish statue is made of wood and was hand carved & painted in Jamaica! 

One of my oldest and most sincere friend named Lauren gave these precious little earrings as a birthday gift a few years ago.  Please zoom-in to see the Native American stylized pattern and turquoise color blocking elements! 

While the sleeves of the tunic are mucho long, I still wore bracelets! I love how it adds a peek-a-boo moment to a garment with over sized and or long sleeves. When moving about/ pushing your sleeves up they can be seen.  Once again playing off the embroidery colors in the tunic, I chose two dainty gold link chained bracelets. One with green thread interwoven and orange in the other. 

*ATTENTION:  All of the photos featured in the Fashion Grotto's posts are property of the creator & founder of the Fashion Grotto. Copyrighted 2015. 

Shopping Guide

Tunic: from India

Shorts: Francesca's 

Wedges: Material Girl

Clutch: Francesca's 

Earrings: gift

Bracelets: Francesca's