Texture: The Fiber in My Sartorial Diet

This past week I was thinking quite a lot about creating looks from what already exists in my closet, but kicking it up a notch using pattern and texture. In art school, they used to always encourage us to push ourselves just that little bit further, to make a new choice, and not rely on the safety net of your ingrained habits and ideas.  I have decided to make more of a concerted effort to apply this philosophy to my daily wardrobe choices.

I hasten to add that I'm not talking about major neon pattern-mixing madness here. I cannot foresee myself in a pair of aztec print leggings paired with a fuchsia leopard blouse. No, I am simply taking something that I would normally reach for and kicking it up a wee smudge....in a way that looks perfectly sensible from afar, but will make you want to look at it for a second longer than usual once the details become apparent. Like when you have to look at something for a minute to figure it out. But in a good way.  It may be that only you know that this sartorial deviation is even there at all.  Think of it like sprinkling flax meal over your cereal in the morning. You may or may not be able to see it, but you know that it it there, and it makes you feel good.

So. Texture.
Here are some of the week's experiments.

Tweeds! Stripes! Colour! Beads! Oy!
J Crew merino sweater with beaded trim, J Crew tweed skirt, New Look tee and belt, Naturalizer 
sandals, which have heels, but you can't see them because they are sinking into the stones. 

It looks conservative enough from over here...
Wait for it.....

Sha-ZAM!...Plaid skirt! Leopard Shoes! Cables! Zap! Pow! 
Neiman Marcus Cashmere top, Anne Taylor Loft wool skirt, Donald J. Pliner shoes, New Look belt
And some really awesome natural lighting provided by Scotland. Thanks, Scotland.

Studs! Ethnic Print! The room is spinning!
New Look Aztec tee and J Crew studded merino cardigan

So there it is. Experiment complete. Discuss.