Happy Friday, everyone! I hope that your week has been full of fun! I’m still getting back into the swing of things since I moved back to Ohio, but I’m really excited to continue blogging and creating new content! As most of you probably know based on the amount of pumpkin-spiced products flooding the shelves at our favorite stores, it is officially fall — and I couldn’t be happier about it!
I’ve been dreaming of fall since early August, and for good reason! Living in South Carolina for a year was enough to make me not want to deal with humidity for a very long time. Leaving for work at 8 a.m. and breaking into a sweat, only to do the same exact thing when leaving work at 6 p.m. was just not my thing. Some people like that kind of weather, but it’s not for me!
Anyways, since I moved back to Cleveland, I quickly realized that my sweater selection has dwindled away. I’m stuck in this weird mindset of thinking I need to dress for 90-degree weather, even though I know I’m not in South Carolina anymore. Get my dilemma? I also haven’t been feeling super inspired by any of the sweaters I’ve seen in stores lately. Well, with the exception of this one, which I bought right before I left South Carolina!
This piece is considered as a lounge or sleepwear kimono, but seriously, I’m wearing it all day, every day. It’s the comfiest, coziest, and softest blanket kimono I’ve ever owned. Plus — it’s so easy to style!
I get a lot questions from friends about what they should wear with their kimonos. I did a blog post about kimonos a while back that you can check out here for more info! For this kimono, I would say that my styling technique is different than the one mentioned in the blog post above. I’ll always wear this kimono with a long-sleeved blouse and jeans, but if I found a dress that I liked, I think I could throw this kimono over it with a wide belt.
The biggest difference between this kimono and others that I’ve styled in my closet is this one has a lot more fabric, which makes it bulkier. Because it’s intended to be more of a lounge piece as I mentioned above, styling with anything other than simple layers, like jeans and tees, could be a little difficult, but it’s totally possible!
This piece is still really versatile and if you love soft statement pieces like I do, you’ll love this kimono! Also — it doesn’t contain any wool, for those who are wondering. My skin reacts really weirdly to wool, so I avoid it at all costs!
This kimono is on the pricey side, but I know that it was a worthwhile investment for me for two reasons — 1.) It will be my go-to sweater throughout Cleveland’s fall, winter, and second winter (spring lol) and 2.) I know that with proper care, it will last me for years.
My best piece of advice when trying to determine if an item is worth it?
Read the reviews! I cannot express how much this has helped me. Of course, everyone’s opinion of something will be different, but I love reading reviews because they often provide insight into a product that I wouldn’t have necessarily known or figured out myself.
As I mentioned above, this kimono is perfect for layering with jeans, especially these ones that I picked up at Nordstrom Rack! If you read Monday’s blog post, you’ll remember that I mentioned I bought another pair of jeans on top of the ones included in that blog post. This is that pair!
The original retail price was $295, and I bought them for $47 … how crazy is that! They’re Derek Lam 10 Crosby. I love the patchwork detailing and the style of them is so unusual. They only have one back pocket, which I thought was unexpected and cool. Like I said, Nordstrom Rack is my go-to store when it comes to jean shopping. I cannot recommend them enough if you have trouble finding jeans you like.
Well, that’s all I have for ya today! There are so many fun things happening in town this weekend that now I’m stuck with the dilemma of figuring out what I want to do. I’ll do it all! Keep up with my adventures by following me on Instagram @stylishlygoodvibes. Thank you all for your constant support and for reading today’s blog post!
Until next time!
Alicia <3