Summer-Weight Tweed & Polka-Dot Shoes

minty-zara-6Finding blazers and jackets that fit in the shoulder is one of my biggest challenges, and when they don’t, it can be a $100 cost to fix at the tailor. So when Jean tweeted this little chain detail tweed jacket a while back from…get this…Zara Kids, I was curious enough to order two sizes.

Kids clothing is notorious for not only kiddish details that can look horribly wrong on adults, but also for unflattering boxy shapes. Knowing this, I figured if all the jacket needed was a de-boxing with a little tailoring, and it didn’t look too little-kiddish, it could easily be worth the relatively low cost to get it altered. Well, I liked it enough to keep and alter, and now I have a little summer-weight cream tweed jacket to play with. I’ll share the alterations in an upcoming post.

minty-zara-4Tweed jackets just look better with a brooch, don’t ya think?

These shoes have been sitting around since 2009 (!) without being worn. I love them, but just couldn’t walk in them. The heel is 4 inches tall, which if the back isn’t form fitting to the heel of my foot, makes it very easy for my heel to slip right out. Every time I would think of wearing them, my heel would slip out a few steps later and I’d end up wearing something else. The dot cut-outs made it a little more time consuming to figure out how to place a heel liner, which I never got around to playing with. Poor little shoes just sat, collecting dust. Shame on me!

Recently, I got fed up seeing them just sit there and finally gave it one last go to figure out how to keep them on my feet. After some careful snipping and placing of a few heel liners, I think I figured it out! Nearly an hour on my feet with no slipping is a good sign, huh?

minty-zara-5And now…at the height of the polka-dot trend…I have (hopefully wearable) polka-dot shoes. =)

And, a very happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

Outfit Details – Zara Kids jacket, size 9-10 (altered) (same cut, different color) :: J.Crew tee :: 7 For All Mankind jeans :: Jimmy Choo shoes :: Chanel handbag :: Kate Spade watch (customized) :: Stella & Dot bracelet (c/o) (in silver) :: Vintage brooch :: Lux Accessories necklace :: Banana Republic rings

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28 Comments

  1. says: pimpIT

    Wow, another shoot ‘on the road’  ; ) Love it. Cute shoes and super cute jacket!
    Thanks for the mom’s day wishes. Hope you’re gonna have a beautiful Sunday too. My Sunday is almost out now. Good night Kelly = )
    Corinna

  2. says: Jenny

    The blazer looks fantastic on you, and those shoes are great!  I’m only 5’2″, so it’s inspiring to read blogs by others that are vertically challenged like myself.

  3. says: Amber

    well done on the blazer!! and i have the same problem with heel slipping. i wore a pair of shoes the other day that were so high i could barely walk (but maybe im just getting old). thank goodness that had an ankle strap. it helps, but shortens the legs :/

    1. Yes, those extra high heels look so great, but usually have their own set of problems. Heel slippage has been a major issue for me as I venture into 4inch heels. Glad the ankle strap has been helping, despite it’s shortening abilities. =P

  4. says: Petitefashionsover40

    Kelly, I’m curious as to your preference for folding your jeans vs. hemming them. Is it strictly a style preference? A fit issue? I do know about that phenomenon of when you hem jeans and then suddenly, they look all funny and no longer fit right in the ankle area.  Thanks!

    ~Karmela

    1.  I think it’s a little of both. I like the look of cuffed jeans sometimes, and that you can only do with skinny jeans that have a little extra length. Of course, too much length and your cuff is too big and bulky (like the red jeans from my last post). I’ve been holding off on hemming my skinnies until they get a few more washes/dries to prevent awkward shrinkage, but a few of them I fully intend to hem (the white and red ones, specifically). These blue ones actually just shrank in the wash to a perfect length, so they won’t get a hem, and I’m hoping a few of my others will follow suit. I’m trying to decide if I want to slim the ankles of the ones I intend to hem as well. It’s all personal preference.

  5. says: Lisa Ng

    I woulda never guessed that was a girls jacket. What girl wears tweed anyways ;) Yes, a tweed jacket should have a brooch!  And look, you aren’t in the “garden”. Bravo for venturing out! Happy Summer!

    1.  Thanks Lisa! When I returned the other size of this jacket back to Zara, the sales associate held it up and said, “it’s Chanel for girls!” It’s a pretty sophisticated jacket for a little kid! And yes, another day venturing out of the garden. I’m getting braver! LOL.

  6. Cute outfit, Kelly!  I love how you altered this girls’ jacket and made it look so chic and sophisticated.  I find I often love the style of some of Zara’s kids’ clothes, but the cut usually looks wonky on me, as expected.  It’s nice to see what the finished product looks like after some strategic alterations.  

  7. says: witheachpassingday

    Yay we finally get to see the Zara tweet jacket and it looks fabulous. I can’t even tell that it’s a girl’s  jacket. I’m kinda weary about buying kids clothes. It may because my little girl will probably ask me why I’m shopping in the kids selection when I’m not a kid.  She has told me that I shouldn’t shop at Forever21 because I’m not 21 and the store is only for 21yrs. =)

  8. says: Alexia Knick

    I LOVE this look!  You always looks so put together and I love your style!  I’m borderline petite and nowhere near as skinny as you, so some of your posts I don’t relate to as well (for instance, I don’t think I’d even fit into any girl’s sized Zara jacket, haha), but one thing I really like is when you post about bracelets that fit tiny wrists!  I have extremely small wrists and have a terrible time finding bracelets that fit.  Usually it looks like I’m trying to start a new trend by wearing my bracelet on my hand, so I tend to stay away from buying bracelets. I would love to be able to wear them though since I see so many other girls on their blogs with adorable bangles/bracelets/watches…looking forward to seeing more of your looks :) ~Alexia

  9. says: lea

    you could also wear a sock with these heels. I have seen some cute ankle socks being worn with heels. think colorful lace or betsey johnson-like prints. 

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