naval orange

Recently, I've been talking a lot about exploring trends and clothing outside of my comfort zone and working more color and prints into my wardrobe. As an extension of that goal, I've been pushing myself to wear more creative outfits every day and to really explore my closet. I have a ton of clothes that I don't wear very often (if at all), and honestly it's getting pretty ridiculous. I think it's time to pull some of those things into my current rotation, get rid of what I know I'm never going to wear again, and maybe push a few of the things that I wear regularly to the back.

I feel like sometimes I fall into a bit of a style rut, where I wear the same basic combo of tunic, cardigan and skinny jeans for an entire week (different tunics and cardis and skinnies of course, but the same basic concept). While there's nothing wrong with this uniform, I've decided that this year, and spring in particular, is going to be a year of breaking my boundaries and pushing myself and my style to grow and evolve.

I originally paired this navy and gray maxi skirt with a pale pink halter and gray cardigan, but when I hung it next to this orange cardigan (that was originally meant to go with my polka dot skirt) I knew I had to wear them together. Orange and navy are two of my favorite colors right now, and it's my good fortune that they happen to look so lovely together.

We've previously discussed my aversion to flashy prints, but I do have to confess my love for geometric lines - blocks of lines that run different directions, such as in this skirt and my other maxi skirt.

Meet my kitty, Ghost Lion Pig Chitler Dumb Ass White Cat. Seriously. He's quite large for a cat, and seems to have an abnormal amount of fur. He sheds EVERYWHERE. My clothes and sheets have what seems to be a permanent coating of white fur, and given that I have a particular affection for black, this has caused me no small amount of angst. He's a fantastic guard kitty though - he's been known to chase off both stray cats and the neighborhood Chihuahuas. He'd probably go after the Dobermans next door if we let him.

Everyone in the house has a different name for him, but I named him Ghost. In the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, my favorite character Jon Snow has an albino direwolf named Ghost. I decided that Ghost would be a fitting name for my cat, since he thinks he's as big and bad ass as a direwolf.

My skirt is so long it covered my shoes completely, but these shoes are so awesome I had to share them. It helps that I scored them for $10 at Charlotte Russe!

[cardigan: maurice's (similar item here); skirt: maurice's (similar item here); bracelet: maurice's; wedges: charlotte russe (similar item here); sunglasses: charlotte russe; necklace, earrings: forever 21]

I love the way the darting on the skirt gives it a bit of a flare towards the bottom; it creates an absolutely lovely silhouette, especially in this last picture.

I incorporated several spring trends into this outfit (the orange, the navy, the maxi skirt, the colorblocked wedges, a bit of tribal jewelry), but the classic shape of the cardigan and muted color of the skirt keep it toned down enough that it's not overwhelmingly trendilicious. It's perfect for spring days when you're too tired for the peppy prints and pastels that make up the traditional spring wardrobe, but still want to look stylish and on trend. I love how the addition of the cardigan makes a casual maxi skirt office appropriate, and the combo keeps me from freezing to death when the AC is running on high. This is definitely something that will be in my regular rotation for the rest of the year - it's just so damn comfy.