Friday, April 6, 2012

Black and Blue

Were you able to wear your school colors during the excitement of March Madness? I'd like to say that I color coordinated this black-and-blue outfit to my school colors but unfortunately that would make me a mighty tall stretcher of truth.







shirt — D.K. Gold (thrifted)
skirt — Express Design Studio (Express)
shoes — Blowfish (DSW)
necklace — thrifted
belt — thrifted
The truth is that no special thought went into selecting the colors for this outfit. Well ... that's not entirely true. I do happen to really like how black and blue looks together. What I couldn't decide about though was whether the multistrand necklace or the single strand one was better. Which do you think? (Ignore the fact that I was committing a fashion faux pas by wearing a necklace and earrings at the same time! Oh the horror of it.)
 
 
I also was a little nervous about wearing this skirt, which was a bit too tight and a bit too short,* to work. You know what they say about old ladies of a certain age wearing short skirts ... They say, "No-o-o-o-o-o!" The fashion police would probably say that it's worse than wearing a necklace and earrings at the same time! Shudder! I did try to disguise the fact that the skirt was a bit too tight and a bit too short by pairing it with an overly big shirt (aka a bag). Seriously speaking now, I think the outfit was okay — I don't think it was scandalous, and I even received some a few compliments.

* If I put it in teeny tiny letters nobody will notice that my skirt was maybe a bit too tight and a bit too short.


But back to the excitement of March Madness ... Woo hoo! and Woot! Woot! "What excitement?" you ask. Why, the excitement of the Lehigh University men's basketball team (my alma mater) beating Duke in the first round. This was a big deal. a HUGE deal. a gigantic enormous amazing HUGE deal. Did I say it was a big deal? LOL. Oh my. Not only was it Lehigh's first-ever NCAA Tournament win — as a 15th seed, but also they beat Duke (a 2nd seed) in doing it. They BEAT Duke! Now, c'mon that is huge. HUGE. Duke is Duke. Who hasn't heard of Duke? They're a powerhouse. Don't get me wrong, Lehigh is amazing, and I feel so fortunate and lucky that I was able to go there as an undergraduate. But sports is just not all that emphasized (except for wrestling. Oh, and then there's that annual Lehigh versus Lafayette rivalry thing) Whatever. You don't go to Lehigh to play sports — to make it to the big leagues. You just don't. And they won in style and class, and pulled off an upset! How I wish that I could have been back on South Mountain to celebrate. 


And then there was the excitement on the women's side as well! My second alma mater, the University of Delaware, was playing as a 3rd seed! Woo hoo! and Woot! Woot again! Even though they were expected to do well and to play in the tournament, their story was just as exciting.

Four years ago, when Elena Delle Donne graduated from high school in our tiny little state, she was the number one college recruit for women's basketball in the country. No surprise, she signed with basketball powerhouse — the University of Connecticut. She left for college, and the story turned upside down and inside out. Two days later she left UConn, came back home, gave up her scholarship, and enrolled at the University of Delaware. The women's hoops world was abuzz as to what would possess her to do this. (You've got to understand — UD is not what you would call a basketball school. In fact, it's probably more well known for producing our vice president, Joe Biden, than for women's basketball. Nobody knew why she left and people speculated, and some really nasty and cruel things were said about this 18-year-old kid.)

It turns out that Elena was homesick, and mostly homesick for her older sister, who was born without sight or hearing and with cerebral palsy. Elena sat out basketball for a year (UConn didn't release her), and then started playing basketball for UD. This was her third year, the team has finally been able to gel around the superstar player that is Elena Delle Donne and come into their own. And make no mistake — Elena is a superstar. Her story is an amazing feel good story — read more about Elena here and here.


I would like to say that both my teams went on to win and win big. I think you could safely say that they did and they didn't. To me, we can take lessons from both teams — from the Lehigh men's team to believe in yourself and the UD women's team of what is really important. And those are wins — that is what sports really should be all about.

Linking up to Fashion Friday at Blonde Episodes.


15 comments:

  1. Kari, great colors, and they look great on you. I like the single-strand necklace better. But why shouldn't you wear a necklace and earrings at the same time? (See how fashion conscious I am.) As for the short skirts, the fashion police may say no for women of certain ages, but what choice have we got? I love long skirts but I've been looking for them largely in vain for the past several years. All you see everywhere is skirts that come barely below the butt (BBBs--that's my new term for them). Skirts made for twenty-year-olds who wear size 2. I haven't been twenty in years and was never size 2. Why do we have to obey such arbitrary fashion "rules"? (Sorry--you just hit a hot button.) And congrats to both your teams--success stories indeed!

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  2. Ashamed to admit that I don't follow basketball, though elena sounds like a young woman with her priorities in the right place. I personally think the skirt looks fantastic on you. It was a real discovery to me that I could get away with shorter skirts, if I just wore tights with them.

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  3. I agree with Terri - that skirt is fabulous on you and I don't think it looks too tight/short at all. You've got great legs, my friend! And anybody that beats Duke is my best buddy for the day : > (long story, I'll tell ya when you come to FL again). Have a great weekend!

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  4. Whatever - the skirt looks great on you! I love that shade of blue!

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  5. I love that skirt, and it looks great on you! Electric blue/turquoise is my favorite color. This style is so popular right now; I have a bunch of similar ones, most of which I bought at Target. I too wondered if maybe I was too old for them, but then thought, what the heck? I just go a size up and balance them with dark leggings or tights and a bigger top, as you did. As for the whole necklace and earrings no-no, I'd never heard that one (of course, maybe that's because I don't have pierced ears :). I think the combo is great; I always say, the more accessories, the better!

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  6. That skirt looks good on you. I don't think it breaks any rules at all and now the rule is. If you can carry it off go for it. They lifted the age ban!:) And your comment realllly confused me in my email box. It said Kari commented on Focus and Go and I thought I had lost my flippin mind and commented on my own blog. HAHAHAHA!! Following you back, i'm 41 love reading fashion blogs in my age group!:)

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  7. I think you should wear whatever length skirt you feel good in. You pulled it off very well! I had no idea earrings and necklaces shouldn't be worn together. Ha! you learn something new everyday.

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  8. Love the blue and black and I agree that always wearing a long skirt can be, well, dull. Go for the short if it makes you feel good. I like the single strand too.

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  9. You have great legs; I don't think your skirt is too short at all, or that you're an "old lady"! I like the single strand better, maybe because the belt has details, too. Pretty combination of colors!

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  10. What a great hue of blue- electric and perfect to spring on Spring!

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  11. You look great!! I'm following and have one foot in the grave right behind ya!!

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  12. You look fabulous! I am a year away from 40 and I get to hear what I should and should't wear. I think you look great and i love the colors. :)

    xx
    Heel in Mint
    www.heelinmint.com

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  13. No blog posts from you in a long time. We miss you! Is everything okay?

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  14. Great outfit and a good mixture of colors

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  15. ooh this black and blue outfit really inspires me. You look great in it! I also wore a black and blue outfit the other day and looking back at the pictures i think it's one of those "pop up" color combo that looks so chic and lovely, I would sure wear black and blue again in the future :)


    YURI
    http://twothousandthings.blogspot.com

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Thanks for reading. Honest opinions and constructive criticism are always welcome.

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