This outfit came together slowly over time. First, I found the sweater at Modcloth. I love the colours - a "is it brown or is it grey?" background with abstract roses in shades of blue and peach. Then I found the shoes, and much later the skirt, which echoes the base colours in the sweater and adds a contrasting print.
As much as I liked how the pieces worked together, with matching colours but diverse fabrics, I just wasn't feeling the focus or the passion of outfit. And then yesterday I found a necklace on Etsy that brought everything together.
Made with peach aventurine and antique brass, the necklace is the perfect colour and the perfect "mood" for the outfit. And the artist named the necklace "Jane Eyre" which totally explained it all. Jane Eyre (the character in the novel of the same name) was a study in contrasts - romantic and sensible, strong and tender, passionate and restrained.
The outfit also is all about contrasts - the comforting merino wool of the sweater, the sturdy heavy cotton of the skirt, the romantic whimsy of the flowers, the regimented tradition of the stripes, the practical low heel of the shoe,the soft elegance of the necklace.
(And how appropriate to post a Jane Eyre outfit during the week when the DVD of the 2011 version of the story is being released.)
