Chic sightings Archives

Combining a Pair of Classics: Chic Sightings – Burgundy and Denim

September 30, 2026

I don't know why I never think of combining these two colors - they're both classic, and they go together beautifully. Sometimes, I have to see someone really eye-catching and elegant (but NOT expensive or dressy!) to get my brain started!

First - of course I found a painting! There is always a painting...

The first woman I saw was wearing the MOST simple jeans and chambray shirt, but her cardigan and boots were both burgundy, her scarf was perfection incarnate, and I have no idea what earrings she was wearing!

I like to think that she would approve of my earrings choice for her:

Plenty of women in my neighborhood wear denim skirts on a regular basis. Burgundy brings a certain loveliness to a ... View the Post

Chic Sightings – Combining Two Neutrals: Black & Brown

September 28, 2026

I've been seeing a lot of black with brown in my neighborhood, and I've been meaning to share it with you...

And then I stumbled across this painting! I've been having quite the run of good luck with paintings corresponding with my "real life" sightings; I think that's a good sign.

The first brown and black sightings I made were of women wearing a brown skirt or pair of pants with pretty much everything else in black. A scarf with the two colors, or a pair of earrings in onyx and tiger's eye, served to pull together everything and make it look intentional:

I particularly admired this dressy version:

A brown dress might be a fun way to experiment with brown; add a scarf and earrings, and your ... View the Post

Chic Sightings and Start With Art – X66 by Anne Ryan

August 17, 2026

Last weekend, Belovedest and I walked down to the Art Institute of Chicago to see a current exhibit: Beyond Form: Abstraction at Midcentury. As you almost certainly have figured out by now, I'm a big fan of abstract art...

Before we look at art, we usually go up to the third floor of the Modern Wing to The Member Bar, where we can get coffee and pastries. (note, if you're a member, and you can get free regular coffee...)

This is one of the great people-watching venues in Chicago. I think that those of us who purchase memberships to museums are a special bunch! Every time I'm there, I see at least one woman who is strikingly attractive, usually because she's "got her own style."

("get your own style" is a big ... View the Post

Dublin: What I REALLY Packed, Emergency Shopping, and Chic Sightings

July 23, 2025

Will someone clarify for me WHERE July has gone?

When I was in Dublin, there were a couple of days when the temperatures were up around 80 degree Fahrenheit, which is quite warm by Dublin standards. I learned to my chagrin that it's also quite warm by MY standards!

First lesson - when a country's weather service issues weather warnings of any sort, heed them. They probably haven't had their budgets cut the pieces so their work is still thorough and accurate, and they certainly know something about local weather that you don't...

The resident of Dublin were smart - they flocked by the hundreds to parks:

Let's flash back to how I packed for Ireland; I changed things up after I posted my travel capsule ... View the Post

Chic Sightings: Green Dresses, and an Amazing Discovery!

June 27, 2025

I wasn't sure at first - sometimes, a coincidence is JUST a coincidence. One shouldn't make too much of these things...

But then Belovedest noticed it too: LOTS of women are wearing green dresses! We were walking along the river last week, and saw FIVE women in green dresses... We didn't see five women in black, blue, red, yellow, AND white dresses.

Then today I went downstairs to our grocery store (in our building, the ultimate luxury!), and ran into one of my closest friends here in the building. Wear a green dress.

Okay, that's a sign! So let's look at some pretty dresses.

This first dress is pretty much exactly the color of peridots, so I gave this heroine some peridot jewelry. Realistically, her earrings ... View the Post

Chic Sightings: Modest Dresses and Nude Accessories

May 29, 2924

Last week I went for another cortisone shot in my wrist, as well as the ten millionth re-fit of my arm brace - heavy lifting is catching up with my wee bird-like wrists!

But the thing I remember most from the entire adventure is a group of people I saw walking OUT of the office building as I was walking in...

Maybe 30 or 40 of them, equally split between men and women. The men were all wearing suits or blazers and trousers, and ALL of them were wearing ties. That, in and of itself, might have caused me to swoon.

BUT THE WOMEN!

All were wearing either:

(a) a skirted suit,

(b) a dress and jacket, or

Please, of course, understand ... View the Post

Winter Coats! Japanese 24 Seasons: Rittō – Beginning of Winter

November 10, 2023

After it snowed on me LIKE THE END OF THE WORLD last week, on Halloween, I've been seeing more and more people finally break out their winter coats! It seems like a challenge, here in Chicago, to see how long you can go (1) wearing shorts, (2) wearing sandals, and (3) layering 4 sweatshirts, so you don't have to wear your "real" winter coat...

Crazy people, aren't we?

I was out for coffee yesterday with a friend, and this post is inspired by the Chic Sighting that was her outfit! None of these are exact replicas, but they all resemble her overall outfit idea...

Please note that neither of these camel garments are CALLED camel, nor are they named the same color! Must shopping be so complicated?

I feel ... View the Post

Chic Sightings: Black Tee Shirt and Blue Jeans

November 14, 2022

When I'm out and about, I'm always looking at other people! (mostly, I'm looking to see if there's anything with which I can help them...)

In Chicago, and I suspect in a fair number of cities, a black tee shirt with blue jeans is the base for all kinds of outfits, from casual to dress, and in any color you can imagine!

Their starting point is pretty simple:

I've seen some people bundled up:

I really admired a simple black cashmere cardigan with an amazing scarf that picked up the blue in this heroine's jeans:

The scarf will take the place of a mortgage payment... but it is perfect with her coat and shoes!

This heroine was getting lots of smiles from everyone:

I ... View the Post

Chic Sighting Round 2: White Shorts and Pants

July 27, 2022

On Michigan Avenue, you see all sorts of people - locals, tourists, people in from around the region for a shopping day...

In the parks near my home, it's much more a neighborhood crowd...

Maybe it's because most of us are pretty close to home, but people don't seem to be nearly as worried about wearing white as you might expect:

One of the many joys of wearing white pants or shorts is that ANY top that you have clean will go perfectly!

Of course, living this close to the lake means that we will see a fair number of people dressed in classic sailing colors!

Any top with a white background is a candidate for these kinds of outfits:

If you choose the right top, your can have ... View the Post

Chic Sightings: Dark Tops and Print Skirts

July 25, 2022

Michigan Avenue was packed yesterday! I was out among them, checking out how many women were wearing dark colors...

I was wearing a black dress, which is normal for me on even the hottest days. I migrate to the shady side of the street as often as possible, and I DID notice that a lot of people were doing the same!

And while I didn't see all that many dark dresses, I saw TONS of dark tee shirts and tank tops. Often, they were wearing their simple top with a glorious printed skirt:

I saw all colors of sandals:

A few women had managed to find PERFECT handbags...

Some women were doing beautiful things with traditional color combinations, like navy and turquoise:

One doesn't see a lot of brown ... View the Post

Chic Sightings: Black Column with Warm-Toned 2nd Layer

September 29, 2021

Autumn's arrival is still sort of iffy, here in Chicago, but I am seeing more women wearing lovely fall clothes on the cooler days! What a nice break...

One thing that really jumped out at me a few days ago was seeing lots of women wearing a column of black - often a black dress - with something over it that was ivory, beige or camel.

I think a lot of us who live in black (or navy, or grey) tend to think that we can only wear cool hues with our neutral. But that's not at ALL true - what about a woman with dark brown hair with no hint of red or warmth, but clear amber eyes. (I'm looking in the mirror for this...)

And what's a woman to do when you're thrifting and you see a gorgeous camel blazer or sweater, but ... View the Post

Chic Sightings: Black Tops!

September 4, 2020

Just in the last few days, I've been out a bit, and it seemed that ALL of the beautifully-dressed women I saw were wearing black shirts or tops of some sort!

I'm going to notice these things, of course. And this is such a great way to get dressed - especially for those of us who are top-heavy, or who prefer to downplay the top half of our bodies. Everybody can picture wearing a ton of different things with a simple pair of black pants, or black skirt. I need to remember that the opposite is equally possible!

Of course, my favorite winter outfit in a black cashmere turtleneck and faded jeans...

Let's look!

A black top doesn't have to be a simple tee shirt - this top has a subtle Swiss dot pattern woven ... View the Post