I don’t know about you, but I seldom shop for clothes online. I know I’m old school, but I like to touch and feel the fabric, examine the workmanship, and try things on before I buy. In these uncertain days when we should all be staying home as much as possible, many retailers are temporarily closing their doors and going to online shopping only. Rather than shopping for anything new, I’ll be playing with the things that are already in my closet. This is not a bad thing. In fact, it fits perfectly with one of my fashion goals for 2020… “I will strive to buy less and experiment with new ways to wear what I already have.”

One of the things that I like to ask myself when I’m considering adding something to my wardrobe is can I wear this at least three different ways with items that I already have in my closet? If so, it will probably be a good purchase. This won’t always work for something like a special occasion dress, but it’s a good rule of thumb for most other wardrobe purchases.

For today’s post, let’s look at three different ways to style an item from my closet. I randomly chose the Garden Blouse from the cabi Fall 2018 collection.

Here’s a colourful, casual look suitable for daytime outings and lunch with friends. I’ve paired the Garden Blouse with my Brick Dust Skinny pants, also from cabi. They were part of the Spring 2018 Collection, but one of the things that I like about cabi is that the company is intentional about ensuring that new releases coordinate with items from previous collections so that over time a customer can build a cohesive wardrobe. I’ve finished the look with a cute pair of flats in a floral pattern similar to the top.

Now let’s glam it up a bit for an evening out with my hubby.

I’ve tucked the top into a pair of dressy black pants, added the little jacket that has appeared on the blog numerous times before, and changed the accessories. Black isn’t the best colour on me, particularly close to my face, and I’ll be adding less of it to my wardrobe in the future, but for now I’ll be wearing what I have.

Though it was part of a fall collection, the blouse is very lightweight and the sheer sleeves and overlay are right on trend for spring 2020, so let’s look at a spring/summer look featuring the same top. I had to dig into storage for this one as I won’t be transitioning to my warm season wardrobe for awhile yet. We still have lots of snow on the ground here in Alberta, but a girl can dream, can’t she?

As with many pieces in my closet, I can easily dress the Garden Blouse up or down and I can wear it with many other things that I already own. This makes it very versatile and greatly reduces it’s cost per wear. 

And yes, if you’ve been wondering, I do have a new hairdo. I actually had it cut a month ago, but I haven’t posted any pictures of myself on the blog since then. It looks a bit wild and crazy sometimes, but after fighting with my natural curls for much of my life, I’m embracing them!