Vests used to be a style that I always liked, but could never pull off. I always felt like the Stay-Puff Marshallow Man toting around an additional 15 pounds. But what I realized is that I was simply styling them all wrong!
This season, I decided to give them another try and was so glad I did!
As a mama bear of a toddler and a baby, I need quick, cute, casual outfit ideas that I can piece together in a flash! With a few key pieces paired with an adorable VEST, you can do just that.
My first tip when picking out the perfect vest, is to start with a neutral.
I bought this one from Gap a season or two ago, and am so glad I hung onto it. I paired it with a clean, striped, neutral shirt from Banana Republic, also from last year. This is a timeless, casual look that can easily be duplicated.
Be sure to pair your light, neutral tops with a super dark and skinny jean to get a cute contrasted look. A distressed jean would look awesome as well.
If you work in a business casual environment, pair it with skinny black pants on days you can’t wear jeans.
I completed the look with tan booties from Old Navy that give another pop of color but still align with the neutral look we are going for.
{I’m going to interject here and let you in on a little secret as to why I feel my vest days just weren’t working out for me in the past.} 😊
With vests that have the cute higher necks (which is almost all of them) wearing your long hair stick straight really doesn’t seem to work well.
Being curled with a wand (wavy look), pulled up on the sides or even in a cute, high bun or pony tail looks way better, in my opinion.
When I figured this out, it made all the difference!
Short hair gals may be able to pull it off down and straight, but for me, it just wasn’t working, so I did realize you have to have the right hairstyle when wearing your vest to get the best look!
Ok, moving on now.
Another trending way to style your vest is to wear it over a flannel or plaid shirt.
In case you haven’t noticed, everything this season is GREEN! I’m loving the cute vintage Christmas/army green hue that has taken over everything, so of course when I saw this vest in this marvelous color, I couldn’t say no.
Did I mention the fact that it goes with so many colors and plaids? It does!
Here’s a little cameo of my baby girl, Preslyn, or as we all call her “Pressy Butt” ❤️ Imagine how cute this vest would look over a buffalo plaid like Pres is wearing?!
See, very versatile!
Gah, her dimples kill me.
Anywho, I love this style, again, paired with skinnies and booties! It would also be cute with leather Sperry’s or causal white tennis shoes for a sporty look. (Side note: In the pics above, my top may look purple but it’s actually grey. Wanted to point that out!)
Check out my cute hubby rocking his vest too! His is paired with a J. Crew flannel I adore. This was at our Lumberjack themed Christmas party at church! 😍
Something that used to annoy me about vests and why I felt extra heavy in them is because I always felt I still had to try and sandwich it and me into a winter coat to be warm.
Not the case for me anymore.
I live in Texas, so even though our weather can be cray (32 degrees one night and up to 72 degrees the next day- true story just happened this past week) you can add layers under your flannel and even put a sweater over your flannel with the vest over that and stay plenty warm without bulking your look up with a coat!
And of course, those layers can be removed during the day 😊 Win, win, win!
So I saved the best news for last! Old Navy is killing it this year, as always, with their vests…. but that’s not the best news! The best news is, they’re currently $13! And their flannels? $10 and $12!
Remember how I said I RELISH in saving money?!! Well, let’s just say I went crazy when I bought my green vest because not only was it cheap, but I had a save $15 off $50 coupon!
I went to town and did two separate transactions and got $30 off of $100! Who doesn’t love getting $100 worth of fashionable clothing for $70?
Sign up for their emails to get coupons and Happy VESTING!
Olmos There.
Crystal Olmos
{Outfit Details}
Vests: http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=98796&vid=1&pid=227486042
http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=98796&vid=1&pid=274702012
Booties: http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?vid=1&pid=275782012 (shown in black but just saw the tan version I own in the store two days ago)
Similar-http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?vid=1&pid=434619032
http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?vid=1&pid=225507032 ❤️❤️❤️
Flannels: http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=1027152&vid=1&pid=283607002
http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=72302&vid=1&pid=283648012
Crystal Olmos 