statement collar – Sal's Fashion Diary

Hello dear hearts! Pretty soon we will be celebrating the start of a new year. Personally, I feel like this year passed by in the blink of an eye, needless to say I am truly grateful for my 2017 journey of happy times, challenging moments and life lessons I was meant to learn. Having said that, I am looking forward to all what the universe may have in store for me in 2018 with an optimistic attitude, a joyful spirit and courageous heart.

Although the new year promises new adventures, I intend to continue some of my favorite ventures, one of which is, going on road trips and visiting other towns in North Dakota with my husband, Ahamad. Since migrating to North Dakota I have grown quite fond of going on long drives on the open road as part of my quest of exploring and learning more about this place I call, home. So far, these road trips have shown me that a wealth of knowledge lies in both the journey and the destination. For instance, during a road trip from Minot to Bismarck, I noticed the presence of numerous astronomic wind turbines constructed on the landscape along Highway 83 and it was after seeing this I learnt that North Dakota is one of the leading states in wind power generation.

So in the spirit of learning more about North Dakota, the hubby and I went on a 4 hours road trip from Minot to the city of Fargo. The city of Fargo is perhaps the most populous and diverse city of all of North Dakota. Therefore, as with any richly diverse metropolitan places, the city of Fargo offers a multitude of entertainment activities ranging from informative visits to historical museums and contemporary art galleries to attending more dynamic activities such as live concerts.

On this trip to Fargo, my outfit reflected my penchant for color. In fact, I seemed to be more inclined to adding pops of bold and bright colors to my outfits during the cold, wintry months. This affinity for vibrant colors can perhaps be attributed to my Caribbean spirit. In this instance, I wore an on trend, mustard color cape jacket which I layered over my heart patterned sweater. The cape like sleeves design can be traced to the early 1930s but its popularity has surged in recent times with it being incorporated in dresses, jumpsuits and jackets. The allure of the cape is based on its modish and elegant silhouette. Alongside its aesthetic appeal, the cape jacket is a versatile piece of clothing. For instance, it can be worn in every season and be styled in several ways depending on your outfit.

In my case, I thought it was best to wear my cape jacket with a pair of purple straight cut pants for that casual, chic look while I was out and about exploring downtown Fargo. At a first glance I love how the solid bold hues of the cape jacket and the pants complemented each other thereby paying homage to the fashion concept of color blocking. The cape jacket also provides a fresh alternative to wearing heavy winter coats on those rare winter days when the temperatures has increased and it is not bitterly cold. Needless to say it is still wintertime, it is therefore imperative to wear layers to guarantee being warm and protected against the cold winter chill.

To elevate the look of my outfit I decided to create the illusion of a statement collar on my cape jacket. I achieved this by layering it over a blouse which has detailed collar. Styling pieces can therefore be a creative venture to produce your own personal and unique looks. To bring my outfit together and to complete my look I wore ankle boots.

This concludes my blog post. Thank you for stopping by and reading.

Lots of Love,

Salisha

Hello my dearest lovelies! Thanks for stopping by the blog.

This year makes it two years since I migrated from the Caribbean island of Trinidad to the city of Minot, North Dakota in the United States of America. In light thereof, as I reflect upon and reminisce about how my life has developed and changed during those two years, what I can say with absolute certainty is that I have grown quite fond of this lovely, idyllic town that I now call, my second home.

The charm and magnetism of Minot, lies with the genuine warmth and gracious neighborly disposition of the people, a sense of peacefulness and belonging associated with country living and the natural beauty of the landscape harmoniously co-existing with historical buildings and monuments. This enchanting town has therefore successfully incorporated the elements of a contemporary modern society without losing its traditional values and sense of community.

Minot or The Magic City as it is fondly referred to, got its famous moniker because of how quickly the town grew in a short space of time. Since the history of the town is strongly connected to the growth of the railroad construction of the 1800’s , I thought it would be fitting to commemorate my life in Minot by visiting the train station. On this trip, I wore a patterned sheath dress which I layered over a blouse that has a statement collar. I felt that this pairing gave the outfit a rather Parisian chic appearance. Another bonus feature of this dress is that it is fully lined which makes it a great versatile article of clothing for all the seasons. For instance, in my case I used the dress as a transitional layering piece for the fall/ winter months.

For that extra layer of warmth and to protect my self against the wind chill, I wore an ultra chic moto jacket that has faux fur trimmings on the collar. Styling with the moto jacket added a touch of edginess to the otherwise ladylike ensemble. A moto jacket is such a diverse piece because it is timeless and the ways it can be styled is numerous. For instance, it can be paired over a dress or it can be worn with denim jeans. To complete my look and provide balance to my outfit in terms of proportion I wore one of fall’s favorite footwear, a pair of ankle boots.

This concludes this blog post. I hope you all enjoy this post and thank you for reading.

Lots of love,

Salisha