Something Old, Something New & Spread the Kindness Link Up On the Edge #823

brown and white boho summer outfit, handmade tunic, brown paisley kimono, split leg pants, straw hat, brown furkenstocks, Shelbee on the Edge

But nothing borrowed and nothing blue. Just a whole bunch of brown and white. With school beginning yesterday, I thought today’s outfit share should feature some of my former school colors. I never really liked any of my school colors during the years I was in school, but now many of those color combinations appeal to me. My elementary school colors were blue and gold (aka yellow), my high school colors were black and gold (also yellow), my college colors were brown and white, and my graduate school colors were red and white. But these days, you can mostly find me donning purple and white…my kids’ school colors.

Back in college, I thought brown and white was kind of a boring muddy combination that represented dirt and poo. As I have matured in the 30 years since college graduation, I’ve come to appreciate these natural colors much more. Now browns represent the beauty of the earth in all of its splendor. When I wear these neutral colors now, I don’t feel muddy and dirty. Rather, I feel more connected to the ground, to nature, and to the universe.

I wore this outfit back in early July when the hottest days of the season had a tight grasp on us. Long light layers kept me feeling cool and breezy throughout the multiple heat waves we experienced this summer.

This outfit is a combination of old things and new things from my wardrobe. First, let me talk about the new things. I picked up these adorable split leg trousers on clearance at Walmart during an early morning grocery trip in June. I really liked the brown botanical print on the sheer ivory background. They were an online return so there was only one pair in size medium. I’m usually never a size medium, but sometimes an elastic waistband gives enough stretch to fit my size large waist. I also almost never like split leg pants on my body. So I walked past the pants multiple times before deciding to just try them on. My mother always said if you like it on the hanger, try it on your body. There is no harm in trying it and you might surprise yourself. So I tried them on and definitely surprised myself!

They fit perfectly and the split leg feature didn’t bother me as it usually does. They are a very lightweight sheer chiffon material and I believe they were marketed as a swim wear cover up. Since I don’t adhere to strict labels, I am marketing them as funky summer pants that can be worn with a swim suit or with regular clothing or as pajamas, if that’s your thing.

I’m also wearing a new acquisition to my jewelry collection. A few months ago, I hit the necklace lottery on a thrifting adventure and the short ivory and brown choker necklace was one of the treasures I found for just $1.

Now let’s get to the old stuff. As much as I love a good neutral outfit combination, I still need to keep it interesting with a variety of prints in coordinating colors. The more prints and patterns in an outfit, the better…in my maximalist opinion!

The split leg trousers were begging for a long tunic so I added this “vintage” tunic that my mother made for me way back in 2005. I’ve been wearing this top in regular rotation for decades. It made its first appearance on the blog in 2016 and has shown up many times since then. And it’s still going strong! I always feel my mother’s energy wrapped around me like a warm hug whenever I wear this tunic. The ivory color, monochromatic embroidery, and eyelet details of the fabric made it the perfect partner for these new split leg pants.

Wanting to incorporate some more pattern mixing into this neutural colored outfit, I added this old brown and white paisley print kimono. It’s not vintage like the tunic but it is about 4 or 5 years old and still makes its way into my styling choices. I completed the outfit with an old tan straw hat, my dark brown Firkenstocks, my Highland cow earrings, and a bold raggy necklace that I picked up at a gift shop during our October 2023 road trip to Asheville, North Carolina.

The colors are more neutral than my usual vibrancy, but the earthy hippie vibe of this outfit is still very much me. Plus it’s always fun to try new things and see how they work with your old things.

With that I leave you with a first day of school photo of my boys. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that my kids are in 8th and 10th grades. Didn’t they just start pre-K like last year? It sure feels like it. But here we are…with two teenage boys who are living their best lives! I’m excited for what lies ahead for them and I’m confident that they will both thrive and excel this year. To all of the students, teachers, faculty, and administration, may you all have the best school year yet!