black boots Archives - Suzanne Carillo

Chic Comfortable Style

This is how I do chic comfortable style on days when I can’t be bothered to wear jeans.

I mentioned before that maxi skirts are like wearing yoga pants. When made out of a cotton jersey like this fitted maxi pencil skirt it borders on PJ level comfort.

This maxi skirt had a very small slit at the back and I had to open it up so I could walk like a normal human being and not shuffle along like a penguin. I am not known for taking baby steps.

The top isn’t fitted or tucked, two things that can spell disaster for women with chesticles, but the fitted leather jacket helps a bit.

chic comfortable style suzanne carillo style over 40 — This necklace I made is for sale in my Etsy store here.

The French Bulldog bag adds the touch of whimsy required for all my outfits. I wish they would make a similar bag with a pug.

I have made my own DIY pug totes in the past but would really like the image on a leather bag. If I can find a good leather tote while thrifting I might just try painting on it.

Have you ever used Rimmel Provocalips? I’m wearing that here. The colour is quite a bit darker than what I normally wear. It felt like I was putting silicone on my lips. I decided to remove it after wearing it for a few hours and it wouldn’t come off. Even with makeup remover! It is classified as 16 hour lipstick. It worries me what kind of chemicals are in the lipstick when I basically have to scrape it off with my nails.

I don’t have much luck with lipstick or makeup for that matter. I had a favourite lipstick from Revlon and they discontinued it. Of course! Now none of their new colours work. Don’t you hate it when that happens? Also I’m finding that the older I get the more that lipstick seems to dry out my lips.

(research pause)

I just looked up that most of the drugstore brands I use for makeup still test on animals. I am 100% not okay with that. I will be switching brands immediately. I cannot believe that they still do that. Apparently Marcelle and Physician’s Formula are cruelty free.

Have you ever had difficulty removing makeup?

How do you feel about animal testing?

Linking up with What I Wore, My Whims Wednesday, Throwback Thursday, Turning Heads Tuesday

What can you do with a bunch of old brooches? Repurpose and reuse!

I’m a sucker for a fun, crafty project. Especially one that is so easy you can finish it in ten minutes.

It all started with this sweet leather skirt. An immaculate midi pencil skirt in butter soft black leather that I thrifted about three weeks ago for…get this…$10!

Here is the back view of the skirt…I’m building up the suspense of the DIY reveal!

When I went to style this skirt I reached for my jean jacket worn as a top. It the reverse of the standard black leather jacket and jeans.

It was okay but there was a little je ne sais quoi missing.

I could have reached for a scarf, or one of my fancy necklaces, but I really wanted to add something to the jacket itself without reaching for my sewing machine or paints, both of which would have been permanent additions.

That’s when my vintage brooch collection called out to me. Styling vintage in a contemporary way is a little pet project of mine. I love showing people that “old” is good.

(Just like me!)

Vintage brooches on a modern jean jacket is thinking outside the box. Or as the insanely creative Melanie would say, “Wait! There’s a box?”

Since this vintage brooch DIY isn’t permanent I can add or remove brooches as I like.

It turns a ho hum jean jacket into a statement and conversation piece. I picked up a few more brooches to add to this today. Ideally I’d like that whole shoulder area covered in vintage brooches.

My vintage brooch collection was a little sparse as I’d already used up a big selection of my stash on this DIY clutch.

I may have been subliminally inspired by by Constantinos pinned jean jacket. The wonderfully creative Mis Papelicos also had a similar idea here. I think Mis Papelicos and I are creatively connected somehow. We often create similar DIYs at the same time even though she lives on the other side of the world.

How To: Vintage Brooch DIY Jean Jacket

Accumulate a nice little selection of vintage brooches.
Thrift stores, estate sales, flea markets and vintage shops are the best places to find vintage brooches.
Move them around on the jacket until you find the layout you like best.
Pin them on and voilà you’re done baby!