Happy Monday, and welcome to Dressed for My Day. It may sound crazy, but it’s about this time in the summer – midway through – that I begin to tire a little of all the color. I know; don’t shoot me! I definitely continue to wear the pretty pastels and vibrant hues, but I think I’m more of a neutrals gal at heart. And when push comes to shove, I still love, love, love black. So today I’m posting the first of two simple black summer outfits.
For me, reverting back to black and white or black and grey occasionally after wearing so many colorful summer hues is about like taking a good swig of plain milk after a few bites of a chocolate chip cookie. It cleanses the palette and breaks up all the “sweet.” Know what I mean?
That’s why I will always and forever lean heavily on the simple, solid black, white and grey t-shirts I stock in my wardrobe year round. While I still love the v-neck Supima cotton t-shirts I favor from Banana Republic (see the black one here and the white one styled here.), I decided to create two black and neutrals summer looks from the Marcy crewneck solid tees that Mott & Bow recently sent me.
This post contains a gifted product from Mott & Bow, but I selected the product from the online catalog myself and I am under no obligation to share the product with you. All opinions are my own and genuine. This is not a sponsored post.
These soft fitted Marcy crewneck tees are a little thinner than the Supima cotton tees from Banana Republic, but not too thin. They have a very relaxed, flowy drape that I absolutely love. But they still have that nice fitted silhouette without being tight or snug at all. Really, these are the ones I’ll be reaching for over and over when I think a look calls for a crewneck instead of a v-neck. Oh, but yes! They do come in v-necks, too.
The Marcy crewneck tees run just a tad small according to the reviews, so I ordered up to a large. And while I might could have worn the medium, I’m glad I got the large. These tees drape close to the body, so I didn’t want them to be tight at all. Did I mention how incredibly soft this grey tee is???
Alright, getting back to that swig of plain milk… I simply paired my grey Marcy crewneck tee with my black relaxed fit chinos. My chinos, which can be cuffed up at the hem or worn long the way I’m wearing mine here, run true to size. I’m wearing my usual size 8 very comfortably. They’re 98% Cotton, 2% Spandex, so they feel very authentic but have just a bit of stretch for comfort and ease of movement. They’re 50% off today in Talbots‘ one day Summer Cyber Monday online only sale.
To make my look a little more modern, I slipped into my white leather sneakers. I certainly could have worn black or metallic sandals, but I just love the way these comfortable sneakers keep the look a little more contemporary and youthful.
Last I checked these Madewell Sidewalk Sneakers were pretty well stocked and marked down 40%. They’re extremely comfortable and I like that the white is not a stark white; it’s a little more subdued. I’m wearing my favorite no-show socks with them for added comfort. The website says these sneakers run large, so I sized down a half size to a 9. I hardly ever vary from my 9.5, so I’d say you definitely want to size down 1/2 size.
You may not need to add a top layer to this simple black and grey outfit, but if you’re wearing it to the office or church or a meeting, you could absolutely add your favorite black blazer. Your blacks do not have to perfectly match, although these just happen to be a very close match indeed. I’m wearing my Veronica Beard Scuba Jacket. As much as I love this jacket, I do not recommend buying it at full price without some finagling. I bought mine on a triple points day with Nordy notes. But my 1901 Stretch Cotton Twill Blazer would have worked just as well.
I kept my jewelry simple and classic, resisting the urge to add large statement jewelry. Of course, that would be absolutely fine. But I wanted this simple, pared down outfit to stay very clean and lean. Yes, just like that big swig of plain milk. Also, I generally favor silver jewelry when wearing black and grey. I’m wearing my compass coin pendant necklace and the Parker link collar necklace (50% off), both by Gorjana and available. Finally, I added my Brighton French Wire Twirl Earrings.
What about you? Do you just love wearing color, color and more color? Hahaha! Absolutely nothing wrong with that if you do. But I love a palette cleanser like this simple black and grey look every now and again…even in the middle of summer.
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Blessed for My Day
Recently my husband has been preaching through the 23rd Psalm, and often he shares insights about sheep and shepherding that help us to understand this Davidic psalm more accurately. It turns out that wool laden sheep sometimes get “cast,” meaning they end up flat on their backs with no way of getting up. Can you imagine? And a cast sheep can die from fright or suffocation unless a shepherd helps him to his feet and steadies his fast beating, anxious heart. Oh, and sheep can’t help other sheep out of this dooming position either. Only a tender-hearted, diligent and attentive shepherd can right a cast sheep.
In the same way, we sometimes become cast in our souls. We become frightened, anxious and paralyzed by situations in our lives or in the world. Can you relate? In those times, we tend to look to other people (or sheep!) to help set our lives aright. But try as they may, other people cannot restore our souls. Only our Good Shepherd can truly set us upright again, calm our fast beating hearts and assure us that we are okay. Do you need to call out to your Good Shepherd today? He is ready and able to restore your downcast soul.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake. ~ Psalm 23:3
You could dress this outfit up or down….very comfy and I never thought of putting gray with black which is really another neutral like white.
Blessings,
Yes, I love black and grey. Thanks so much for reading Holly. Have a lovely week!
Hi Kay, glad you had a nice visit with son and DIL. I love love love gray and white together. It feels calming to me so I totally get where you are coming from with this post.
Have a great day.
Maria
Great. I’m glad the post resonated with you. Thanks so much for letting me know.
The long black pants just look too hot for the weather we’ve been having here in Ohio!! Perhaps black shorts with the gray tee without the blazer would be more comfortable.
I thought the exact same thing, Debrah! 90s and 100s here in Texas so I will try this with black or even white Bermudas or skort.
Absolutely Diane. Oh, but I do also want to point out that when we took these photos it was in the mid 90s and I was just as cool in this relaxed fit cotton pants as I would have been in my shorts. I just try to provide a balance of looks for my non shorts gals. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. ?
Hahaha! Well they’re just cotton chinos so they’re really not hot. And I absolutely could have styled this same look with cotton shorts. But I have so many readers who don’t wear shorts so I try to provide a balance of looks with shorts and then other alternatives. Thanks for sharing. ?
Would these pants work for curvy girls?
Gosh, that’s always hard for me to say. But because these are a relaxed fit and they have some stretch in them I really think they would work. Worth giving a shot since they’re 50% off and shipping is free. ?
There are times when I enjoy wearing neutrals or basic colors like black and grey, but I do gravitate to more color year round. So, I received the Talbots Flawless Girlfriend Short the end of last week. Oh my word!! They are the most comfortable pair of shorts I have ever put on. I actually ordered them in white earlier this morning, and am going to return the W&W white Bermuda shorts to Nordstrom because they don’t compare to the Talbots shorts. Thank you so much for sharing them with us! I hope that they restock them in the denim so that I can order them, even if I have to pay full price. I’m glad y’all had a nice weekend! Have a great day!
Oh that’s so good to hear, Ginger. I sometimes second guess my recommendations. I realize that Eve else won’t necessarily love everything I love, but I hate to lead anyone astray. So I’m very pleased that those shorts lived up to my billing for you. Thanks for sharing. ?
I love hamburgers but you can’t just eat them every day. Balance is always a good thing. I grab my black pants, black loafers, black purse and throw on a shirt in gray, white or striped, more times than I can count because it always works. I never thought to wear my white sneakers with black pants. It does modernize the look.
HI Eve! So glad to learn that great minds think alike. Ha! Thanks for sharing!
Cute outfits! I like that you used sneakers for both stylings. I also like that you show looks that can be changed slightly for a more dressy or a more casual event.
Thanks for BFMD today. You have given me encouragement!
Suzanne
Hi Suzanne, I’m glad the blessing spoke to you and encouraged you. Thanks for reading and sharing. Have a lovely evening.