Oh So Fancy Francie

Two Denim Styles for Fall 2021

The old stand-by skinny is not the only denim in town now. Wider options are working their way in from the just past skinny, straight, to the dramatic, wide. Two styles are featured in the post: flares and wide.

I was a little apprehensive with the flares at first. When you go from a five-inch pant-width to ten-inch, that seems like jumping off a cliff. I like how the leg narrows at the thigh, forming a mermaid shape if a mermaid had legs. Oh-so-feminine!

Shoe pairing is easy. A pointed toe is ideal in order to elongate the leg. Sadly, my pointed-toe days are over–the “rewards” of “growing up.” Pretty much anything goes as shown here with a peep-toe bootie and sneak.

The wide-leg style felt like I was really stepping out of my comfort zone, by a mile, but it was only six inches from my skinny-jean days and one inch from my flare dare. I really feel cool in these jeans no matter how I’m dressed, sneaks or heels. Which is your favorite?

Check out my progression below:

Flares: JustBlackDenim

With RomiBasha Khaki Cargo jacket and P448 Johnny Dama

ohsofancyfrancie justblackdenim — Casual cool flares.

Generation Love floral top with Monroe peep-toe bootie.

ohsofancyfrancie justblackdenium — Dressed-up.

Wide-Leg: MotherDenim

ElieTahari Long-sleeve in navy and Golden Goose sneaks.

ohsofancyfrancie motherdenim — Even sneakers look posh.

GenerationLove lace top and Monroe peep-toe heels.

ohsofancyfrancie motherdenim tomcat fray — Oh So Chic

Three Ways to Style Fall Floral Midi

The passing of Labor Day signals the end of summer, unofficially. There’s no better way to feel like fall without burning up than flirty wrap dresses in fall colors. I love, love, love the shades of green for fall 2021. I found both pieces at TJMaxx and they were oh-so-affordable so I got both!

Max Studio (@leonmaxofficial) wrap dresses are flattering to most figures and come in a flurry of colors. The dresses are a great transition piece from the warmer temps of summer into the cooler air of fall.

Two fun looks! Which is your favorite?

MaxStudio midi wrap from TJMaxx. You can pair it with any shoe: bootie, sneaker, wedge, sandal.

ohsofancyfrancie maxstudio wrap — The Canvas

Sadie and Sage Faux Shearling cropped shacket (shirt plus jacket) with AllSaints Docita combat boots. I like to balance edge with feminine.

ohsofancyfrancie faux shearling crop shacket — A little country.

BlankNYC faux leather moto jacket and Vionic Wilma waterproof booties.

ohsofancyfrancie moto jacket — A little cool.

Closet Clean-out Pay$

Money is inside your closet right now, possibly lots of it. It’s just hanging out, not doing anything. Never going anywhere. Taking up valuable space.

Hidden in plain sight, are clothes that never make the regular rotation. You can make money by sending them to consignment and there are two easy ways to go about it.

Consignment stores have upped their game over the years. If you do your research, you can find one that is full service and doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable when you bring in a haul. One I like is in my own backyard: ReChic. Maureen, the store owner, likes to think of herself as a consultant; she helps people determine what’s best to sell with ReChic versus another consignment option. She’ll even work with photographs if you are pressed for time and want to be sure it’s worth the trip. Whatever doesn’t sell, can be donated. You can get a tax receipt through the store’s customer portal.

ohsofancyfrancie rechic — A classy consignment store that feels like a first-hand clothing boutique.

Her biggest piece of advice when doing a closet clean-out is, “Get rid of it sooner than later. The longer you wait, the less valuable it will be to a consignment store.”

ThredUp is the second way to purge your closet fast. A closet clean-out kit offers large bags with prepaid postage that you can stuff with clothes in good, clean condition. You can pick up a kit online or in-store. After registering your bag online with your email, drop it off at the post office. You’ll receive payment in 4 to 6 weeks depending on backlogs. Anything that can’t be resold, is donated or recycled.

Another plus for ThredUp, they partnered up with The Gap and offer payment in gift cards to The Gap, Banana Republic or Athleta. I like Athleta as I’m a fan of their Brooklyn pants, perfect for travel or looking stylish and being comfortable running errands. Per the website, the payout is 15% higher through an affiliate and to me, that’s the only way to go with this service.

ohsofancyfrancie thredup — Good for a lot of reasons.

For the greatest payback, do both. Use your local consignment store for newer and in-season items, hung and pressed. The rest can go to ThredUp. In fact, bring a Thredup bag to the sorting process at the consignment store. Any unsellable items can go straight into the clean-out bag and dropped off at the post office on the way home.

What are you waiting for?

Introducing @ohsofancyfrancie

Hi!

I’m excited to write about fashion and share looks I love and tips I pick up along the way. I confess I’m nervous to put myself out there. I’m not the selfie kind of social media poster, at all. No modeling experience, and that’s probably obvious. But, my idea of a good look isn’t going to come through unless it’s on a real person, me. And to be honest, I’ve wanted to do something like this for a long time and wasn’t sure how to go about it.

My online inspiration came from this gray-haired lady in flowy outfits on Pinterest. She looked nice, but it was not me! How can she be the only one representing the over-fifty age group? The only thing she inspired in me was to start my own influencer site. I want to show how dressing over fifty doesn’t mean one step away from a coffin or some kind of punitive sentence. As all good scaredy-cats do, I sat on this idea for three years.

While I was procrastinating, I worked as a stylist in local boutiques. I noticed two things. Many women come in at age fifty, announcing in a whispery voice, “Well, I’m fifty now,” their eyes darting around in case someone heard their confession like it’s a terrible thing.

I just want to say to them, “And, the problem?” Or, “Great! I’m 56!” Instead, I just say happy birthday and it’s time to celebrate. “Let’s go find something cute!”

The second thing I noticed as a stylist, is there are fashionistas in their seventies that can rock an outfit that even a teenager would wear. The stand-out grannies, and they are grandmas: skinnies with Haviana flip-flops and another in a washed linen, A-line skirt with On Cloud sneakers. CUTE! To me, there is very little room for, “I’m too old for that…”

IMHO, picking a style is a mindset and sometimes you need to see a lot of looks to get comfortable with trying something new. Or, just start trying! I’m hoping I can inspire you to be a prettier, more vivacious you!

If you have questions or ideas for posts, I’d love to hear from you. I hope to build a girlfriend network here where we spark confidence, creativity, and cute outfits.

Let’s get oh-so-fancy!