Leggings or Jeans and a Tote Bag Trick

Styling A Checkered Shirt

When I decided to do a photo shoot of this checkered shirt on the blog, the plan was to style it with leggings as you see above. However, after taking several photos and looking at them I decided....no, maybe not, this is not a good look. I felt that the shirt didn't come down quite far enough to hide the top of my legs and I felt that the look was unflattering. Luckily, in this photo, I am holding the clutch bag strategically, so my upper leg is covered. So, I changed my plans and my clothing.

At least, I changed part of my clothing. Instead of leggings I went with skinny jeans and added tennis shoes and my new tote bag. More on the tote bag later. 

Since the shirt doesn't have the length of a tunic it needs the structure of a heavier pant in my opinion. I like this look better on me. I also decided to belt the shirt to emphasize my waist. It's a very casual look, especially with the tennis shoes, but even though it is casual, the look is still polished. I really like this shirt and have been wearing it like crazy. I also bought the shirt in a pink/tan check pattern. 

Now, let me share my tote bag trick. For awhile I have been trying to move to smaller purses that don't hang off my shoulder causing pain. Those shoulder bags can get really heavy and hurt, especially if I am walking around with the purse on my shoulder while I shop or run errands! The problem was, though, that the smaller purses/clutches didn't have room to carry all my things. What to do?

So, I simply carry a smaller purse/clutch that I toss into the tote bag with the other things I need such as my snacks, hairbrush, book to read, water bottle, etc. The tote bag stays in the car and I can remove the smaller purse to carry with me into stores for shopping. I'm loving this solution and I have a variety of totes in various colors that I use for this purpose. Problem solved!

Checkered pattern shirts seem to be trending this season. Have you jumped on board with one? And have you tried carrying a tote? Hope you will chime in and share your thoughts. I love hearing from you!

*By the way, after writing this post, I was trying to figure out which term to use....checkered, checked or plaid for the shirt. I discovered all could be used fairly interchangeably, although the size of the pattern might need to be more uniform to say plaid. Just an interesting tidbit!

Until Next Time,

Debbie

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