shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion

Inspired by a 7 Year Old: Buffalo Plaid Dress

January 9, 2020 / 35 Comments
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion

You might be thinking I’m a little bit crazy. And I can’t deny the accuracy of those types of thoughts. I am a little bit crazy, somewhat off kilter, marching to the beat of my very own out-of-tune songs. What rational thinking mature adult would take outfit inspiration from a mere child? Well, this adult. Although I probably cannot confidently state that I am mature or rational thinking. Most times I am neither. Perhaps that is the reason that I can see an outfit styled by a 7 year old and think, “This is fantastic and I want to wear it, too.”

And when something like this happens, inspiration strikes, even from a child, who am I to deny or reject it? Inspiration comes to me so infrequently these days that I would be stupid to turn away from it. So when I saw Laura and her beautiful 7 year old daughter Claire, of I do deClaire, styling their mommy and me holiday outfits, I was sold on Claire’s Buffalo plaid dress with white tights.

Laura and Claire of I do deClaire
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion

Claire’s dress immediately reminded me of a new wardrobe acquisition from Old Navy…this Buffalo plaid shirtdress. Certainly the style is a bit different from Claire’s adorable bow waisted swing dress, but it was the contrast of Claire’s bright white tights against the saturated black and red plaid that really caught my attention. I had not even considered white tights with this dress. I even bought the same dress in black and white so that I could wear all of my colorful tights with it, but I had seemingly planned on just black tights with the red plaid dress. So I owe a huge thanks to Claire for pushing me to think outside the box.

shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion
white tights, velvet flats, Mary Jane shoes, fashion over 40
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion

Many may think that white tights are just for little girls (or nurses), but I disagree. I think there is something fun and whimsical and a bit unexpected about white tights, particularly against a darker outfit. The contrast adds a bit of drama to an otherwise pretty basic dress. And I do believe that it totally works on an adult, mature and rational thinking or not.

I have a bit of a funny story about my outfit as well. When I came downstairs dressed to go take photographs, my husband’s jaw dropped and he said, “Wow. I really like that outfit. It’s really, really good.” I laughed and happily declared, “I copied a kid!” He responded, “Whatever works. And this really works.” Again, huge thanks to pretty little Claire for helping me to create an amazing outfit!

shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion, tweed coat, plaid scarf, pattern mixing
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion, tweed coat, plaid scarf, pattern mixing
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion, tweed coat, plaid scarf, pattern mixing
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion, tweed coat, plaid scarf, pattern mixing

Some things that I have learned about Claire from reading her sweet mommy’s blog.

  1. She is a Christmas baby and just celebrated her 7th birthday on December 25 with a cooking party.
  2. She is a huge fan of Harry Potter.
  3. She is the proud big sister of 2 year old Aveline, who wore a matching Buffalo plaid dress and it is cuteness overload. You can see her here.
  4. Claire enjoys wearing matching outfits with both her mom and her baby sister.
  5. She makes frequent appearances with Laura for Mommy and Me outfit posts.
  6. She likes to give her momma advice on what should be shared on I do deClaire (I mean it is her namesake, after all. I guess she is entitled to make executive decisions.)
  7. She is really becoming quite the professional fashion blogger in her own right, striking some fabulous poses when she does appear on the blog. Seriously, check out this post. We might all be able to learn some modeling tips from this girl!
  8. She is absolutely a style icon already! Clearly, since I just copied her outfit.
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion

You can follow Claire and her mom Laura on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Bloglovin’.

Have you ever been inspired by a child? I must admit it is quite refreshing, so don’t discount the innocence of children when it comes to inspiration as well as teaching us and motivating us to be better versions of ourselves.

Keeping it on the edge,

Shelbee

Linking up with these Fabulous Link Parties.

shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion
shirt dress, Buffalo plaid dress, white tights, velvet flats, fashion over 40, 40 plus fashion

Shop my look…

Outfit Details: Dress-Old Navy (Exact) / Cardigan-Kohl’s / Lace Extender-c/o Dresslily / Tights-Thrifted / Shoes-Payless / Coat-Talbots / Gloves and Scarf-Target / Necklace and Earrings-Old / Clutch-Coach

I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.

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