Plaid Shirt Face-off

Since Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow a couple weeks ago, winter in Ohio has been holding strong! Valentine's Day morning we got hit with this small blizzard, and for the past 2 days I've been barricading myself inside, watching Netflix (so glamorous, I know). So now here we are entering March and I'm still reaching for my winter boots and coats.

I've already shown you a couple post-holiday-but-still-winter worthy looks, but today I wanted to show you 2 ways I style one of my winter favorites, the plaid shirt. Although I like to keep my button ups accessible throughout the year so I can wear them around my waist during the spring and summer, winter is when I wear them the most practical way by keeping them buttoned up all the way and playing with layering.

My red buffalo plaid shirt has proven to be quite the versatile wardrobe piece already (styled differently here), as I've worn it quite a bit during my day to day outings. I got inspired by a very "campfire chic" look I saw on Pinterest and put my own little twist on it so I could wear my shirt a new way! I love finding new ways to wear my white skinny jeans in winter, and this look definitely didn't let me down. Paired with my new wanna-be Timberland boots and a vest I picked up last winter, I completed this updated and urban friendly outfit. I like to call it my LumberJill look, which also happens to be my high school mascot so talk about nostalgia.

Jeans (old): Express / Boots: Rock & Candy @DSW / Shirt: Old Navy / Vest (old): Target

For this second look I wanted to wear something styled entirely from basic fall / winter pieces that most women own (and if you don't own these pieces go out and buy them while they're on end of season sale). An essential green and blue plaid shirt with a cargo jacket and (I can't believe these made the blog cut) LEGGINGS! Not skinny jeans, not jeggings.....leggings. Fun fact: I bought my first pair of actual leggings, that I've ever owned in my entire life, just 2 months ago. I've never owned them or felt they were necessary, if I wanted to be comfortable I'd throw on jeans. Anyways, now that I work a very labor intensive retail job at a gigantic store, I needed something that would work with me on my longer shifts. I bought these super thick, ribbed Mudd leggings from Kohls and the rest is history. They converted me to a leggings wearing woman! They are ridiculously comfortable but also thick so they're fairly warm considering what they are, and they do feel more like I'm wearing pants. The seaming is very strategically placed to be flattering to the shape of a woman's leg, and for the price, they can't be beat!

Anyways, I only wear them if I have a shirt that comes down past my butt, and this (men's) plaid shirt does just that. To complete the look I actually went with brown boots. Remember, the trick to pairing brown and black is to look for richer brown tones like Cognac.