Styling black with lilac – Weekly Wardrobe

If you have a lot of black in your wardrobe, but would like to inject a bit of pastel spring colour, then I recommend adding a little lilac. In my opinion there aren’t many colours that go with plain black: (not counting white and grey,) purple and red are the best ones, but paler colours are more tricky. A strong black and a light tone together just doesn’t often look right, but for some reason, I think lilac is the one that somehow works. Of course, if there’s any coloured pattern on the black you’re wearing, then you can just pick out any of those to wear with your outfit. Anyway, whilst on a mini holiday in the Lake District last weekend, I wore a lilac tie cardigan with a plain black top and skirt….

Pastel colours for spring

Lilac tie cardigan

The cardigan is by Sandwich and has this double layer of ties at the front. I like to leave the underneath ones hanging, and just tie up the outer ones – I just think it’s a bit more flattering that way. It’s about eleven years old now, and although the knit isn’t as soft as most of my cardigans, it has lasted well, particularly considering my cats’ claws!

Sleeve detail

Statement sleeves are well and truly in fashion at the moment, but aren’t the most easy or practical to wear. I like the very slightly flared detail on the cuffs of this cardigan.

I’ll be honest, I have a few plain black long-sleeved jersey tops, and I can’t remember exactly which brand this one was – I think probably F&F from Tesco.

Joe Browns black skirt

The black skirt was from Joe Browns a while ago. I really like the design of this skirt with the added panels to give it a sort-of flippy shape at the hem. I also like the corset-type lacing at the sides of the hip, which has meant I have adjusted it to fit throughout the various sizes I’ve been the last few years!

I wore my Timberland boots with the outfit as I thought they’d be sturdy enough for the short walks we were doing that day. Despite looking grippy on the sole, they were actually really slippery on the rocks; and particularly slippery on the wet paving outside Tescos! So they look good, but aren’t as practical as I’d hoped they’d be.

Bird pattern shoulder bag

I actually bought the bag while I was there, for £12 at Keswick market. The Kipling bag I took with me was not big enough to keep a bottle of water, an umbrella and my camera in, and I’ve been on the look-out for a bigger bag that will also fit my laptop, so I was pretty pleased with this find. More inner pockets would have been appreciated, but we can’t have everything can we?! (By the way, I made a laptop sleeve just before we left, and if you’d like to follow how to make it, please take a look at my video here.)

Spring in England is a difficult time to work out what to wear. (Actually that’s true for any season in England!) I’m writing this on a cold, windy, rainy day, but these photos were taken on a beautiful warm Monday a week ago when spring really felt on its way. Now it’s winter again! My coat was in the car though, just in case!

Shop the look: (all are similar.)

Lilac cardigan

I  actually struggled to find lilac cardigans, so perhaps the shops are so busy filling their rails with the (currently) more fashionable pink, they’re missing out on one of my favourite colours, which is a shame.

Anyway, I found this similar mohair one on Etsy, by jensondesigns1, with an upcycled shell brooch to fasten. I bet it’s soft! Other sizes and colours are available.

Or this hanky hem skirt from New Look:

New Look black tulle skirt

How are you managing to transition your wardrobe from winter to spring?

Linking with #visibleMonday at Not Dead Yet Style and #IwillwearwhatIlike at Not Dressed as Lamb.