September 2023: Top Faves And Whatevers

Closing out the month with an update on my style remix challenge for September plus I’m sharing a few of my top faves and “whatevers” that have stumbled across my path in the past few weeks.

On the outcome of my style remix challenge for September, let me bring you up to speed as to what that even is.  The idea for this format originates from my recollection of a monthly feature that used to be published in one of my favorite long-since-gone fashion magazines. That type of article was formatted to showcase a selection of garments/accessories, usually 4 or 5, that had been deemed key pieces to buy/wear that month. These pieces didn’t necessarily all work with each other nor were they specifically foundational key pieces for a capsule. They tended towards having trending and/or unique details.

The objective of the article was to show a variety of styling ideas for each of the pieces and essentially offer up nearly a month’s worth of looks (kinda/sorta like a capsule, but not really). My style remixing plan is somewhat similar. At the beginning of each month, I’m sharing the 5 pieces I’ve selected to be in that month’s style remix collection. The basic formula for a collection is a top, a bottom (e.g. pants, skirt, shorts), footwear, and an outer layer (e.g. jacket, sweater, blazer) which make up the core 4 pieces that could also reasonably be combined into a cohesive outfit. A wildcard item will be the 5th piece. It could either be worn with the other 4 pieces (e.g. a coat, vest, or accessory), in substitution (e.g. a dress or a skirt), or it might be a duplicate (e.g. second pair of pants or top).

Four of the five pieces that I’d chosen for this month’s collection were shown in the Style Remix: Fall In Line post. The four core items were; a blazer with an oversized silhouette, a striped button-down shirt, a pair of wide-leg jeans, and black booties. The wildcard item was a faux leather vest that I forgot to wear for the photos.

As this is a “challenge”, I strive to wear each of the pieces at least 3 more times during the month either on their own or in tandem with one or more other pieces from the collection. Each of the items would appear in the look for at least one other post during the month as well. After all, don’t we all find ourselves wearing a favorite over and over again?

Each piece did appear in at least one additional post this past month as shown in the photo set below plus the look for today’s post with my wide-leg jeans. However, I don’t have any OOTD photos to share because I’ve been finding what should be one of the easiest parts of the challenge to be one of the most difficult. And that would be taking the selfies. I’ve yet to figure out a setup at my home that I really like, either indoors or outside. It’s something I’ll continue to work on.

Now, onto the top faves and whatevers for this past month. I use the term “whatever” as an indication that my top faves could come from any number of sources and could be related to any number of topics. There could be recipes, life hacks, and social media posts among these “whatevers” or anything else that simply caught my attention sometime during the month that I felt was worthy of passing along. I’ve set no limit as to how many I will share, it’ll just depend on what comes my way.

First up, I want to give a special shout-out to some of the bloggers who’ve consistently participated in the Fine-Whatever link-up but haven’t had their posts selected as one “featured from the previous link-up”. It’s been my practice to only select fashion posts in which the blogger appears for that distinction so this is a chance for me to showcase those that don’t. Be sure to venture over to their blogs if you’re looking for a wider range of content.

Pamela at Style Yourself Confident
Amber at The Hungry Mountaineer
Dr Aletha at Watercress Words
Lyndsey at Perfectly Imperfect
Nicolle at Our Tiny Nest
Patrick at Adventures in Weseland
Nicole at Momfever
Nylse at Life Notes
Esme at Esme Salon
Wendy at The Inspired Eater
Jean at Delightful Repast
Lanae at Budgeting Belle 80
Helen at The Lazy Gastronome

This is not an exhaustive list and my apologies to any blogger who feels that they were overlooked. I’d had a full list of link-up participants on a page I called my Wall Of Fame, which I’ve only just now realized was deleted. Looks like I’ve got a new project on my hands.

I’ll simplify the remaining “whatevers” and just show you the top fave items I bought this past month that I’m eagerly looking forward to wearing in the next several months of Fall/Winter. And even though I’ll be publishing a new style remix collection on Monday, none of these are in it. However, they all go with pieces in the collection so they’ll likely be appearing in upcoming blog posts or at least, my IG OOTDs.

What better way to present them than in an old-school flatlay. From top to bottom;
Faux-leather black moto-style jacket (JCPenneys)
Burgundy puffer jacket (Costco)
Striped v-neck sweater (Old Navy)
Lt gray cardigan w/ collar (TJMax)
Lt brown cardigan w/ collar (Old Navy)
Grey jeans (TJMax)
Black velvet/velour skirt (Chico’s, thrifted)
Black combat boots (Mango, thrifted)

The skirt and boots were my lucky finds at a local area thrift store that The Husband and I recently discovered and visited this past week. A faux leather jacket has been on my wishlist since recently discovering that the two I had were no longer wearable. The outer surface along the upper back of both had begun to crack and peel. I’d had both for a number of years so I guess it was inevitable but still disappointing.

I have virtually the same puffer jacket in a light taupe that I bought three years ago, also at Costco. It quickly became a favorite (still is) and was featured in Would You, Could You? Puffer Jacket & Hiking Boots a month or so later. Every year since, I’ve been on the lookout for the same or similar one in a darker color. This was the year it finally returned. Yay!

It would appear that lately, I’ve become a Maxxinista. Well, I wouldn’t really consider myself obsessed but I do make it a point to stop in at my nearby store once or twice a month. And of course, you know I’m not shy about my adoration for Old Navy sweaters although this year, I won’t be doing the “get one in every color” thing like I have before. Even so, I think that sweaters with collars exude a quiet luxury vibe I’ve been kind of digging lately so I think that this style of cardigan fits along those lines and of course, b/w stripes are everywhere right now. Like I said, I’m sure that each of these new top faves will be appearing in upcoming posts.

As for today’s look, I did up a denim-on-denim look for the wide-leg jeans that were in the Fall In Line style remix collection. My southwestern motif blazer has appeared before as part of the Style Remix: Mad As A March Hare collection. The chambray shirt was bought two years ago and was included as part of my travel wardrobe for 21 In ’21: Highlights From A Road Trip. I added my Western boots into the mix just for a bit of fun.

Do keep an eye out for my next post where I’ll be sharing my style remix collection for October. Any guesses as to what the theme might be?

Stay well and let’s keep in touch! Subscribe, tweet, follow, friend, pin … all options are available. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

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Note: This is an unsponsored post; however, some or all of the links to clothing items are associated with an affiliate program where I earned a few cents for each click.

Photo credit: MMPerez and myself