Green Inspirations and Wishful Shopping as Inspired by St. Patrick's Day. =)
So yesterday March 17th, it was St. Patrick's Day. My favorite thing about this Irish-American Day besides drinking green-colored beer, is wearing the beautiful color(s) of Green. Typical Irish Green is quite bright, cheery & pretty. It is a mixture of Kelly Green and Grass. Inspired by this color and by this holiday, I scoured and searched two of my favorite stores and bring you lots of goodies from them. Here is MY WISH-TO-HAVE GREEN LIST from two amazing, cool & casual stores (sister stores, for that matter) Old Navy and Gap.
First I headed on to Old Navy. I used to shop there a lot especially between 2002-2006. Then, I shoped there more rarely until late 2010. But last year, before I left USA to come back to Albania, I scoured and gained lots of new items from Old Navy. I was impressed with their stuff once again. Not only are their prices and sales great, but Old Navy is not just for basics anymore, they even have many kinds of shoes now (besides their usual colorful flip-flops). It is a great brand at cheap prices and not-so cheap quality for men, women, children and babies. Also, in the last couple of years besides shoes, they have introduced me to lots of amazing, cute, colorful scarves, as well as every-day, cute, beaded, colorful jewelry. So here I bring you lots of Green from Old Navy.
These 4 items are in a beautiful, light and bright shade of green that I would call Fresh Lime. Don't they remind you of freshly-squeezed lime?! I feel like I want a Corona right about now LOL. First off that beautiful, sleeveless, safari blouse is super cute. It can be dressed up or dressed down; could be worn to work or to a BBQ Party. I would also wear it with that lovely a-line skirt with the skinny, braided beige belt. I would add some beige/light camel flats, a red beaded necklace and some red bangle/s and I would call this outfit LOVINGLY CUTE. The maxi dress is cute too. Once again I love the big ruffle and that fun floral print (flowers bunched in groups). But probably my favorite are these highlighter-green rain-boots which would brighten up any rainy day!!
3 Adorable accessories in Green. Not one but two lovely scarves that are calling my name. I love the silky stripped scarf featuring Kelly Green, Navy, Light Gray & Yellow (which all these colors look great together). This is a summery scarf that can be worn either loose, tied around the neck like a bow or it would look great tied to a large handbag, too. But I especially love that bright solid green scarf. It is a breezy, summery material and it would punch up a classic beige or black trenchoat. That scarf worn over a trenchoat with slim ankle pants and some fun mustard, navy or yellow loafers = European Chic in an istant. =) And aren't those the cutest Espadrille Ballet Flats ever? Not only are they a gorgeous shade of Emerald, but they even have Polka Dots!!
Here we have 2 cute, light, casual Dresses. The first one is a soft cotton blend shirt-dress. Yes it is casual but worn with the right accessories, would look great for an office job, too. I know I could and would wear it to my job. =) I am in love with that Maxi Dress in all that gorgeous Emerald. The empire-style looks great on me and my curves. I could wear a maxi like this all summer long to lounge around, with similar sandals like shown here, nevertheless.
I grouped these 3 pieces together because out of this entire Green Old Navy Collection, they are my Most Favorite Items. =) Let's start with that beautiful blouse, featuring a puffy, 3/4 sleeve. I like the fact that it has a slight green-on-green print to it and that it is a buttoned-up style. It would look great tucked in or untucked, with pencil skirts, a-line skirts, trousers, dressy pants, ankle/cropped pants, capris, Bermuda shorts - the possibilities are endless. Also that neckline would be perfect with or without a necklace. You can even tie a simple, cute, little silk scarf to compliment the neck, and the silky-looking material of the top. Secondly, those are some gorgeous Kelly Green Wedges. I love the height of the wedge and the espadrille wrap-around tie. I love the fact that they are cloth. They are casual wedges but they can totally be dressed up to wear to a wedding or even the nightclub. Last but not least that is a Gorgeous Little Green Dress (LGD). It hits right above the knee, it contours to the body since it has that elastic part on the waist and looks like a great fit on the chest. I love that it has spaghetti-straps. Yes the material is gauzy, light and casual but once again this dress can be totally glammed up from your work-place, to a fancy date, a girls night out or to a wedding. It all depends on what you wear with it. Simply Lovely Dress!!
Then I headed over to Gap. Just like with Old Navy I hadn't shopped at Gap since 2007 or so. I feel like their quality became cheaper, their colors and styles more dull and their clothes were not that cute anymore. But come Fall 2010 I made a trip to my (then) local Gap and not only did I find a lot of pieces, but all of them at a great either Promotional or Clearance Price. I think that day I bought 13 lucky items. I went back and forth to Gap at least twice a month to check them out and I could always find at least a couple of things worth adding to my closet. Right now this Spring 2012 Gap is truly not dissappointing. I was particularly happy with their collection of tops, dresses & shoes (especially wedges). Also let me add that Gap has cute & comfy bras and panties as well as cool mists, body sprays, fragrance & parfumes that are all light and airy. "Close" is one of my favorite parfumes I wear at least once a week and it's from Gap. Anyway, here is what I would currently want from Gap in Green.
OK So I am usually not one to do matchy-matchy but I think both of these lime-green denim-looking pieces would look great together as long as there is no more green worn in the outfit. A plain white tee or tank, paired with gym shoes, Toms, Ivory flats or even a punchy-pink flat (as well as Girly Converse's like shown in the photo above) would look great with this casual & sporty outfit. I would so wear this with a baseball cap & tennis shoes, to a Baseball Game come May thru September. I used to have a green jacket almost identical to this in almost the same exact Green, also from Gap (back in 2003-2005). I gave it away last year along with 50 other boxes of clothes.
2 simple and cute green tank tops from Gap. The first longer one I love the rather darker green color and the length. I find longer tanks so versatile and they pair so well with short or cropped cardis as well as shrugs. They look great layered with other tanks too. The other tank is more of a cami and judging from the two super-soft, super-cute, super-comfortable camis I purchased last summer (with a promo) from Gap, I am sure this one would be great as well. It looks very nicely-made, super comfy and very similar to my camis from Gap from last summer.
These 2 pieces are gorgeous and together (not on purpose) they make a great set of accessories. I love all the bead work as well as the pop of Yellow & Turquoise in there. The thong sandals are dressy enough to wear at night with a cocktail dress despite the fact that they are flats. Also this pouch is dressy enough to carry instead of a clutch. It would fit your essentials such as cash, credit card/s, ID, lipgloss, mascara, cell-phone, etc.
I am currently MOSTLY Loving every single dress right now from Gap's Spring 2012 Collection. These three dresses are my favorite items in this entire Green Lineup of clothes from Gap, along with the last item (below). The first one is a cute, versatile, practical, comfortable wrap-style piece in a breezy jersey. I own 3 phenomenal wrap-style jersey dresses from Gap (2 of them have short-sleeves, one elbow-sleeves), purchased at least 5-7 years ago and to this day I have kept every single one of them. Granted I haven't worn them a lot but their style is timeless, they wash and stay so well, they don't wrinkle and I love them. This Green one featuring large Navy Polka Dots would be a great 4th Wrap Dress from Gap. That second dress in the deep Emerald Green is so pretty & girly, love the empire-waist and the slight fallen sleeves. I do NOT own a dress in that same exact color and even-though I have several Teal & Emerald Green dresses (four in altogether and 3 of them from The Limited to be exact) this is something I am craving and would love to have, right now. Last but not least my most favorite dress in the bunch is that Zig-Zag, Safari Shirtdress (that is my name for it by copyright LOL). This is kind of short but with darker tights it would look great for work and with bare legs it would make a great dress for anything around town, come summer time. I love the print and the style especially the split collar-neck as well as the length and style of the sleeves. Love it. I think it would work as a great tunic too for leggings, jeggings & skinny jeans. Ahhh.
Last but not least my favorite item in this entire Green Lineup of Clothes (including both Old Navy & Gap) is this gorgeous, Apple Green, Bright, Fun & Cheery Trenchcoat. It is a gorgeous piece: trendy yet classic, modern and timeless but with a twist (due to the color and wide lapel). I am IN LOVE with this trench and the gorgeous details. I also love that it has large buttons that contrast well with it. Had I had the opportunity to be at a Gap store right this moment, this is the first piece I would scoop up. =)
P.S. Love that the backgrounds on these Gap photos are in a soft Lime Green to match the photos. They also match the Green St. Patty's theme of this post, for me.
