Over 40, At Work, In ASOS Curve

I don't usually think of style in terms of a particular age (except for when I'm forced to, as for instance when items I just think of as "clothes" are called "retro 90s"), but I had to name it something and since I am myself waaaaay over 40  and shop at ASOS (regularly described in media as a site for 20-somethings) for work-wear, thought I'd go with that. Actually, this post is really just an excuse to ogle some items on my ever-growing ASOS Curve wishlist. The totals make it pretty clear why this is just a VIRTUAL shopping trip.



1. "Puss in Boots"

ASOS curve swing dress with pussybow $44, curve tights $8, red light ankle boots, $75, ASOS neoprene tote, $20, River Island crystal earrings $12.$159.

2. "Juiced Couture"

 

ASOS curve viscose-nylon kick flare pant (in lengths), $43, hammered crepe hip length jacket, chartreuse, $78, faux suede brogues, $40 river island earrings, $15. $176.

3. "Wine Me Up"

 

ASOS curve soft drape jacket, $78, spear bib necklace, $21, easy leather ankle boots in oxblood, $58, junarose vest midi dress, $26, kenneth jay lane ball drop earrings, $15. $198.

4. "Knot Now"

 

ASOS curve peplum top knot detail, $63, wide leg viscose pants, $43, jumble suede look flatforms, $55, Kenneth Jay Lane spike earrings, $20. $181.

5. "Pretty Polygon"

 

ASOS curve v neck swing dress, longer length, $50, crop leggings, $16, New Look Jingy orange asymmetrical flats, $24, and Finchittida Finch Cow Bell Earrings, $10, Becksondergaard C-Diva Star Warm Blush Scarf, $20. $104.

And in case you are wondering, especially with the last outfit: no, my workplace does not have a clothing policy, lucky me. But I spend a good deal of work time making presentations, so being pulled together, if not exactly dressed up, is a priority, right along with my own standards of work appropriateness (which for me = no armpits, knees or significant cleavage on display ) comfort and ease (low heel or flat shoes, low or mid heel boots, leggings or tights are ok, but no panty hose or spanx, nothing that requires constant adjustment or fiddling to look right--except lippy)

Frock Art

A beaut dress is a joy forever. Or something like that.


1. "Mona Lisa"

 

               da Vinci, 1507              SWAK Juliette dress


2."Madame X"

            Sargent, 1884                       SWAK "Eternity" Dress


3. "Girl in White"

                 Whistler, 1892                   ASOS Curve dress

          mulberry paper fan, stylecolor,cultured pearl earrings,LaBelleDesign

4. "Green Study"

  Waterhouse, 1908                    ASOS Curve broderie dress

5."Time Flies"

          Kahlo, 1929               ASOS Curve smock; necklace, CharleysRoses 


6."Glamour Queen with a Paintbrush"

 Lempicka, "Woman in Yellow," 1929                         ASOS curve shift dress

7."Blue Music"

ASOS Curve dress                             Lempicka, "The Musician" 1929

8. "Op Shopping"

Riley, "Loss," 1964                                Jessica London dress

Featured artists (order of appearance--and chronology [yep, I'm a nerd]): Leonardo da Vinci, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, John Singer Sargent, Frida Kahlo, Tamara de Lempicka, Bridget Riley.

In a Plaid Mood

I hate acrylic. So in the winter I look for wool. There isn't much of it (new, anyway) in plus sizes. What there is, is often . . . plaid. Which I like. In theory. Sort of.


1. "Not Too Plaid"

OSP, Jessica London wool-blend plaid skirt $30 (up to sz 28) and cotton rib-knit turtleneck $40; Etsy, vintage high heel wing tips, WORNandWENT, $33 and vintage black tooled leather purse, MPRailroadCo, $25; ASOS reclaimed vintage glasses, $29 ($157 total).

2. "Raving Plaid"

OSP, Jessica London wool plaid jacket, $50; any old jeans (pictured: ASOS curve flare $43); ASOS rainbow/unicorn tee $31; Etsy vintage bangle AngiezillasBoutique $8, vintage keds, wolfmamavintage, $24 and handmade floral tote, tavatotes, $23; ASOS sunglasses, $22 ($158 total)

An uncharacteristically restrained combo:

3) "In Plaid Faith"

 

OSP, Jessica London Cotton Cashmere boatneck tunic, $30; ASOS plaid shoes $63; yoursclothing black twill jeans $36; Etsy handmade tote, BuildMakeDo, $28. ($158ish)


4) "The Good, The Plaid, and the Snuggly"

Autograph Australia dress, viscose knit in graphite (goes up to their size 26/xl, which equals a 34w/4x on the one stop plus ‘easy fit’ chart—struth! Yet in most cases AUS sizes are pretty much the same as UK. I know I'm not the first to say this--or the 918273645,000,000th, even, but why is this stuff so complicated?) $70; OSP Jessica London wool jacket already in my fantasy wardrobe (!); Etsy, vintage boots (cheating a little with these as I think they'd be a bit small on me, but don't they look great?), NuMoonVintage, $26 and vintage so fugly-it’s-totally-adorable leather-ish slouch bag, alicksandraflin, $8, upcycled wool infinity scarf, DentOnVintage, $15, handmade clay bead necklace, HaniaMarysia, $10. ($129 total) And BTW this is really how I tend to dress, because I dislike fiddling with things like buttons, zips, belts, ties, etc.

5) "When A Good Girl Goes Plaid"

(See previous for Jessica London wool skirt and Yoursclothing UK blouse)Chunky mary jane heels from Etsy vintage shop, RevengeOfTheDress, $42, and also from Etsy, handmade custom-length black leather belt, AngelGrace, $20, NOS attitudinous pewter bulldog belt buckle (with red enamel eyes and a shiny black nose!), MilkaCervenka, $25; OSP woman within cropped denim jacket, $35 ($122).

6) "Sometimes I have Plaid Dreams" 

 

(Already in wardrobe: Jessica London fit and flare ponte dress, yours clothing black leggings and denim jacket) From etsy, aaaaa-maaaazing! vintage plaid boots, ironorchidvintage, $48, 1970s kimono clutch, StyledinJapan, $28, navy red gold origami earrings, HelloCamellia, $16. ($92 total)

 And here's a bit of summer for those on the other side of the world.

7) "Taking the Good With the Plaid"

 

OSP, plaid muk luks sneakers, $34, Jessica London cotton godet dress (comes in petite plus up to 28, too!) $40, and Woman Within cropped denim jacket in spot print $35; Etsy vintage lucite bangle, TracysVintageJewelry, $12 and vintage tote SweetShopVintage, $11; ASOS Rio Necklace $29 ($161-- but couldn't resist the necklace!)

Cold Down Under

Here in Oz we are finally heading into autumn/winter. 

Cool weather makes me yearn for brown suede and wooly wools. So I'm starting off with a 1970s-inspired ensemble built around a FAB! wool plaid suede trimmed vintage bag from Etsy (if you like the look, check it out--the inside has polka dots in the same colours!).

1. "Hot Chocolate" (AKA "I Believe in Miracles, You Sexy Thang")

 

ASOS aviator sunglasses, $15 ; Jessica London ribbed henley jumper OSP, $20; yoursclothing brown ponte skirt with black thong belt $29; Etsy, vintage vera bradley suede-trimmed purse, EpochandEra $14.00 and vintage suede shoes, HighwayChildren $30, vintage gold plate necklace bracelet set, edinburghvintage, $20. ($128 total: all clothing available up to 30/32)

 Winter solstice is 21 June down under, so. . .

2. "Wiccan Curl Up By the Fire"

 

Jessica London boatneck tee OSP, $15; Etsy creepy-cute little cat brooch, SunAndRainbowVintage, $10 and vintage microfiber zodiac messenger bag (yes, it has straps) HeyTokyoVintage $12, handmade velvet scarf, xyuezw, $13; yoursclothing embroidered skirt $45 and black button boots $45--add a pair of rust or plum or purple tights from We Love Colour, $9  ($149 total, clothing to sz 28/30)

 

Love all this upcycled wool and cashmere:

3. "Pink, Black, and Cozy All Over"

Yours black skinny jeans $36; Jessica London boatneck tunic OSP $15; Etsy upcycled felted cashmere infinity scarf, LadyBaabaa1, $26, handmade pink owl messenger bag, miasunique, $28, and upcycled wool wrist warmers, mcleodhandcraftgifts, $12; ASOS boots $39 ($156 total; clothes up to sz 28)

Another outfit that started with a vintage purse.

4. "Black is the New Black, Except When It's Blue"

 

Etsy vintage blue wool clutch, KittyCatShop, $13 and cocktail ring upcycled from 1950s earring, mariearnoux, $14; ASOS shoe boots $39 and longer length v-neck swing dress $49 ($115 total)

Cuddle up in a sweater that looks like it was knitted by the world's nicest, most talented--and stylish--nanna (who then let you plunder her collection of earrings and scarves to accessorise it!)

5. "Love from Nanna"

 

Etsy, GORGEOUS custom hand knit sweater  in plus sizes, afra, $104, earrings RumiCollections (they are supposed to be peach, but they look pink, so I went with that) $15, vintage pink silk scarf, laZycatdesignZ, $7; yours clothing boot cut jeans (various lengths, up to US26) $27;  (vintage bag and zappos boots see previous for details)($153)

Always kind of wanted a suede skirt; not really worth it in a place where it is spring/summer lasts 10 months of the the year. Still, it could be fun fulfilling those urban cowgirl dreams every now and then . . . 

6. "Ranch Dressing"

(see "In a Plaid Mood" for details re. osp ww crop denim jacket, vintage western booties) OSP, Jessica London tan suede skirt, $75; ASOS boyfriend tee, $20; Etsy, custom distressed tan leather belt, AngelGrace, $20, western style buckle with turquoise and red beads, StrayJane, $7, vintage bandana, MagicSnakeVintage, $3, handmade earrings, DorysBoutique, $18. ($143)

7.  "Purr Suede Me"

(see above for details re skirt, belt) Yours clothing black denim jacket $54; Jessica London v-neck ribbed sweater, $50; Etsy, black beige cat infinity scarfdailyaccessoriez, $15 and cat sugarskull belt buckleDogCentralDesignsm $17 (would make it actually worth the hassle of wearing a belt); ASOS flats, $30. ($112)

Another love note to brown suede and another leather jacket (I'd never, ever, ever purchase an ivory leather jacket, but it's got a retro vibe that I appreciate and, like other JL stuff comes in sizes up to US28). And, yes, this would be something that you could only wear in winter here.

8) "Rolled, Bowled, and Suede"

Etsy, vintage suede shoes, CuratedCloset, $20; OSP jessica london ivory leather jacket, $90 and stripe top, $15; (Yours bootcut jeans, see previous for details); blue q bicycle messenger bag, $20.