Red + White (plus how to slim ankle pants & extend the length of a too-short necklace!)

As the days gets colder, one color I am loving for work wear is crisp ivory or cream (also dubbed “winter white”). Unfortunately, that love is more wishful thinking, as I’ve been unable to find any suitable pieces. I would love a petite-friendly cozy crewneck sweater (no super long sleeves and torso) and fitted wool blazer in ivory – if anyone has any recommendations, I’d love to hear it. I seriously considered this option from H&M;, but the mediocre fabric quality and long length served as deterrents.

Until that ideal blazer can be found, this stark white jacket is the closest thing I have. At the risk of being too festive too soon, I wore it with tomato red pants and finished the look with brown and gold accessories.

There were a few adjustments made for this outfit. This gold chain necklace is an old favorite find from Savers thrift store, but the original length is very short, almost like a choker…

For wearing under a blazer, I find that longer necklaces have a more lengthening effect. Using a smaller chain necklace in the same color as the original one, I made a little “extender.” This is an easy and temporary way to change up the look of your shorter necklaces.

 The pants in this post also underwent some DIY adjustments. I originally thought they fit well off-the-rack, then reviewed some photos (the camera doesn’t lie). The legs were baggy throughout, and the ankle openings could probably fit two ankles each. The “After” difference is subtle, but in my opinion looks more streamlined. I didn’t want tight hot pants, so just slimmed and tapered the legs ever so slightly.

I put off alterations for the longest time due to the cuffs, which slightly complicated things. Here is a quick step-by-step of the process for anyone interested in doing this at home:

1. If your pants have cuffs: Using tiny scissors or a seam ripper, detach (pardon the spelling error below) the cuff from the seam of the pant leg that you plan on taking-in.

2. While pants are inside-out, put them on and mark along the seams with fabric chalk how much you want to take in. Keeping pants inside-out, stitch along this line all the way down to the leg opening.

3. You will need to take-in the cuff separately, just the right amount so it still fits over the newly-slimmed pant leg.

4. Flip the pants rightside-out and hand-stitch the cuff back onto the pant leg.

These embossed Sue heels, along with the black leather Sondra bootie, are now 30% or more off. I’m a bootie lover and tried on the Sondra’s in-store – the leather is buttery soft and the heel height is comfortable, but the top opening may be wide for those with scrawny ankles. For sizing reference, I usually wear between 5 and 5.5, and took a 5 in these.