Spring Tops

Clicking on a link in an email from Layers Clothing, I was browsing their website and noticed they had some shockingly cute, modest, short-sleeve knit tops that would be perfect for Spring or Summer!

Take a look:

These were just three of my favorite tops, make sure to browse the rest of their clothing.

Casually Dressed Up

Casually dressed up? “Getting dressed up is such a pain,” you say! You’d rather be dressed to the nines or wearing something closely resembling pjamas than find a happy medium that says you care about your appearance but isn’t overwhelmingly foppish and stiff in appearance. It’s hard, I know. So how about wearing a dress?

I can hear the boos now. You thought I would have stuck to jeans and a t-shirt with a piece of jewelry thrown in? Maybe, possibly, a denim skirt, but a dress? That’s going too far, dresses are fussy and impractical! Are they?

A dress can feel as casual as shorts and a t-shirt but makes a far greater impact on the wearer and those who see her wearing it, because a dress is the quintessential feminine garment. It makes you feel and act like a lady and you’ll find yourself being treated like one, too. If you came to this fashion blog expecting me to only post about outfits that are jeans and pants and clothing items that hide a girl’s femininity, you came to the wrong place. I encourage my readers to embrace their God given femininity, not by only wearing skirts and saccharinely sweet clothing pieces, or immodest styles, but by wearing mature and feminine clothing that is an expression of their femininity and personal style.

The key to wearing the quintessential feminine garment and not feeling silly or overly dressed up is in the material of the dress and the accessories that you pair your dress with. Choose a day dress that is composed mostly of washable, durable cotton or a sturdy jersey/viscose blend. In keeping the style casual, choose soft leather flats, or flat sandals (not rubber flip flops), a laid back jacket, such as a military, or denim jacket, a casual canvas/straw tote, and an accessory or two, like a watch/bracelet, and a scarf.

Casual Dress by Anna Friedrich featuring J Crew bags

The above items are mostly from Boden, an English clothing co. that has an online store that sells to the U.S. I have bought several items from them now and have never been more impressed in my life with the high-quality fabrics, patterns, and construction of their garments. If their prices are a bit steep right now, wait around for a few more months and they will have a fabulous sale with affordable prices on all their summer stock.

Playing with Color

Some people are not confident about wearing bright colors. This is understandable, it’s hard to pull off a bright color when you are wearing a large amount of it in the form of a shirt or dress, and frankly, some people don’t look good in bright colors or have no clue what colors look best with their skin tone.

This outfit I created uses a grey backdrop to highlight the vivid, summery colors of the handbag and belt. The neutral grey of the outfit will tend to look better on warmer, browner skin tones; it would wash out my pale skin and blonde hair, for instance, but you could replace the grey with white, or light brown, or a darker grey. As a summer outfit, I shy away from black because black is quite a statement in itself, and also ruins the summery “aura” I was trying to create with the lighter colors.

Using a neutral background and adding a bright splash of color works with many different accessories, too, a bright green linen scarf, blue sandals, or even a bold statement necklace all achieve the desired effect

Neutral with Color by Anna Friedrich featuring J Crew belts

* As my long time readers know, just because I use or link to a more expensive piece of clothing or accessory, I’m often using it as an example, I’m not advocating buying that particular item. Items similar in style and color are easily found at a far cheaper price than some of the items that I link to, and I usually end up buying those less-expensive items myself.*