Two Ways: Coral Drape Blouse

Top: Drape Front Sleeveless Blouse($60)

From Left, Earrings: Rose Gold Studs ($87) Purse: Rebecca Taylor Tamara Purse ($350) Shoes: Daina Pumps ($113) Sweater: See by Chloe Cropped Cardi ($282) Pants: Stella McCartney Trouser ($235)

From Right, Necklace: Aspis Necklace ($48) Purse: Tusk Orissa (Endless, $88) Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell Brody Boots ($150) Sweater: Inhabit Cashmere Sweater ($225) Jeans: Citizens Avedon Skinny ($185)

For Casual Monday.  Clearly, I’m ready for spring to get here.  I mean, look at all of that color!  It’s like an Easter egg exploded on the page, but in a good way.

This top is best suited to leggy women.  This doesn’t mean you have to be 6’1″ with legs up to your neck, but it does mean that you should be a long-legged person instead of a long-torsoed person.  As the blouse should be worn exclusively with pants, in my opinion.

For this first look, I layered a cropped cardigan over the tank to let the draped bottom play to full effect.  I would leave it unbuttoned, but you could try it buttoned.  The pants are a traditional trouser width, not too wide, not too skinny.  Wide leg pants would just add more volume, which you don’t need.  And if you didn’t want to do the orange top, I would switch it out for ivory and keep everything else.

The accessories I chose are rose gold earrings and a coordinating rose gold bag.  The shoes are pointed toe to lengthen the leg line and a slightly darker grey than the pants because I don’t like to be too matchy-matchy.

For the hair, I’m thinking half-up/half down with some volume at the crown.  For the makeup, I’d do a natural flush cheek (not too pink), and a berry wash lip with neutral eye makeup.  The outfit is so bright, you wouldn’t want to overdo it with color on the face.

For a Birthday Party.  I think this top would look best with skinny jeans.  So for this look, I paired it with dark wash denim and a taupe sweater.  In a perfect world, the shirt would peek out of the bottom and the bottom of the sweater would end just as the drape of the top begins.  I think this would be the perfect look for a casual birthday party at a bar or at someone’s home.

I added a necklace to tie the colors together.  I like that this is mostly brass, and has just a hint of coral.  I added a gold clutch with an interesting wire handle and box shape, but if you want something more casual, I would add cognac envelope clutch.  And I still love these Jeffrey Campbell boots so I am showcasing them again. 

For the hair, loose waves with a good amount of texturizer so that the hair is just messy enough.  For the makeup, a nude lip with a light gloss, eyeliner, strong brows and highlighted cheekbones.