Style Over 40: How to Deal with Closet Orphans

Closet Orphan…an item you love, but don’t wear, because you can’t figure out how to style it. The struggle is real my friends.

But sometimes, all it takes is a mate, or in today’s case the perfect pair of shoes, to turn that item your almost donated, into a piece that works with your wardrobe.

I wear the color black quite a bit because it’s easy to assemble outfits around and always looks professional, put together and chic. On the flip side, when you wear a lot of black, your outfits can tend to look the same and can get a bit boring. So why not mix things up you say? Time and effort. But if you are bored with your every day, I say it’s worth the effort.

THESE beautiful winter white flare pants entered my wardrobe back in September.  I had selected them to wear at a Trina Turk shopping event, that I co-hosted with my fashionable blogger pal Kim Wheeler of Northern California Style.
When saw them on the rack, it was love at first sight, yet my nagging style conscience kicked in with, “be practical, buy them in black”. But Kim, along with the fabulous sales ladies at Trina Turk Burlingame, convinced me these trousers would be a welcome addition to my wardrobe, and paired them back to an animal print top, that I then wore for the October event.

My struggle back then, and up until very recently was what shoes paired best with these stunning trousers?

I tried cream booties, animal print pumps, black boots, gold sandals, burgundy patent sandals-yet nothing seemed just right. That is until I found (THESE) snakeskin mules a few weeks ago over at Nordstrom. With a walkable heel, the black/off white print was the perfect mate for these statement trousers.

So you see, all it took was a pair of shoes, and a few closet try-on sessions, to get these pants to work within my existing wardrobe. Mission Accomplished!

Meet The Pant:

‘Fete 2’ Pant by Trina Turk styled with brown shooties from the store display. Had the heel been a bit lower, I would have bought the display shoe and saved myself alot of running around. Pants on sale now at Trina Turk (HERE).

How I Styled Her for the October Trina Turk Shopping Event:

Still on the hunt for the perfect shoe, I pulled together an outfit with  (THIS) animal print faux fur top and (THESE) gold mules from Target. These shoes on their own are great, but they were not really right for this pant, as the pant hem kept getting caught under my heel which made walking a challenge. It didn’t help that I had not hemmed them. I was still on the hunt for the right shoe so I didn’t want to commit to a set hem length. Many of you will recognize my pals Andrea from Andrea’s Wellness Notes and Kim from Northern California Style!

How I Styled Winter White with Black This Week:

Finally, with the right shoe, I was able to hem my trousers and wear them for work. No longer a closet orphan, these pants work back to so much in my wardrobe – and all it took was finding the right pair of shoes to turn these not-so-basic trousers into a closet staple!

Do you have items you love, yet don’t wear? Have you asked yourself why you don’t wear said item? The solution could be as simple as finding that second piece, one that will allow you to work your purchase back into your wardrobe. I recommend searching YOUR closet first. You may already own the perfect mate-you just don’t know it yet!

Outfit Details: Trina Turk Fete 2 Pant, On Sale at Trina Turk (HERE), similar in black, on sale at Lord and Taylor (HERE) | Pointed Toe Mule, Treasure and Bond, now 60% off in 4 colors (HERE) | Bell Sleeve Knit Sweater, DVF thrifted @ The Real Real, similar (HERE) ($20.00 HERE) | Stretch Belt (older style) (similar $9.97 on sale HERE) | Long Cashmere Vest, Autumn Cashmere (older style) (SIMILAR with Sleeves HERE) | Kate Spade Square Sunnies (HERE)

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