fear not

The final prompt in Kayla's challenge: wear something that scares you. At first I couldn't come up with anything, since I feel like I've done a pretty good job expanding my horizons with these various challenges to things I wouldn't have tried on my own - lipstick, colored tights, hats. But then I looked through my closet for something to wear and remembered I still have a couple hang-ups. Kind of silly ones, really.

 jeans: Loft; top: JCrew Outlet; shoes: Target; necklace: F21

First one: heels with skinny jeans. Looks great with a lot of people's outfits, but somehow I feel slightly like a hussy if I try it. I think part of the issue is that it's pretty rare for me to wear heels, so when I do, I feel over-the-top. Or over dressed. So I gave it another try today, and while I did switch to flats for grocery shopping (I've got a running regimen to keep up here - can't have sore feet!), I decided that black heels + black jeans does nice things for a girl's legs, so even though I still feel a little over-the-top, I think the combination just might make an appearance for tomorrow's anniversary dinner date.

Second one: super simple outfits. Another thing I love seeing on other people, and something I actually gravitate toward with my own style. But somehow I can think "chic" or "classic" when it's on someone else (or a JCrew model), but on me my thoughts run more along the lines of "boring" or "plain." I still wear pretty simple outfits, but I seriously hesitate before clicking "publish post."

Thinking about these issues today, I realized the first way to overcome them is, of course, confidence. Walk tall in heels, and march around with the confidence that my simple outfit is indeed classic, chic, and pulled together. I think the other key with my second issue is to make sure the simple elements are special: avoid flimsy/cheap materials, have nice textures and fabrics and a little jewelry shine. And with that, I felt kind of fabulous in this one and will most definitely be repeating it. Just maybe without the heels...